A look at games that might pique your interest
Yeah, I’m late on this and there were games on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so… my bad. But, hey, this week is all about the Saturday action.
Before that great Saturday slate, though, there’s a big Friday night game between Utah and Arizona State. Both former Pac-12 teams are sitting at 4-1 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play. I’m not sure either team are really contenders for the conference title, but the loser will be in really bad shape.
Saturday kicks off with Clemson continuing their run through the ACC with a game at Wake. That’s going to be ugly.
Also in that opening Saturday slate is a Washington-Iowa game that you should absolutely not watch. Wisconsin being on the same level with Rutgers just feels weird and wrong. The combined over/under for those two games is 86 points. Big Ten football at its finest, eh?
Go Yellow Jackets!
Honestly, go run your errands and be a functional human before the midday slate of games starts, because that’s when the fun really begins.
In that 3:30pm timeslot you have both Texas-Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry and Penn State at USC. The latter doesn’t carry as much significance since the Trojans already have two losses on the year, but it should still be a great game. Lincoln Riley can scheme an offense now, but that Penn State defense is phenomenal, a step up from the Michigan and Minnesota defenses that held USC in check this year.
But really, that Texas-Oklahoma game is going to be the headliner, and rightfully so. Oklahoma is sitting at 1-1 in SEC play with the lone loss being against Tennessee. A loss pretty much puts them on the outside looking in for an SEC title while a win would launch them right back up into that conversation. It would also be a massive victory for Brent Venables. For Texas, they’ve looked like the #1 team in the land so far this year, but this will be their toughest test yet – yes, they have a win at Michigan, but the Wolverines don’t really have an offense this year. The Longhorns will also get Quinn Ewers back for the game. How rusty he is after missing a few weeks will be interesting to watch.
There are a couple huge ACC games in that midday slate, even if they pale in comparison to the two aforementioned matchups. Cal is sitting at 0-2 in conference play but has proven they can go toe-to-toe with anyone. If the Bears want to keep their ACC title hopes alive, they’re going to have to win out. That would start with this game against a Pitt team that is currently undefeated and has looked excellent this year, although with a pretty tough remaining slate. The Panthers have a bit more margin for error than Cal if they want to win their second ACC title in four years, especially since they play two of their fellow unbeaten conference foes, but winning this week would go a long ways to proving they belong in that conversation.
The other big ACC game is Louisville-Virginia. Somehow the Wahoos are 2-0 in conference play, but I think reality is knocking and the doors going to get kicked in over this weekend and next. The Cards already have a conference loss thanks to SMU last week, but this is a strong Louisville team and could make the ACC race really interesting with games against Miami, Clemson, and Pitt still to go.
NC State is playing in the primetime slot on the ACC Network, but I don’t think there’s going to be a huge TV audience for the matchup with Syracuse. That’s because there are two huge games that kick off 30 minutes before the Pack.
Ohio State heads to Oregon in a matchup of two Top 3 teams in the polls, although the advanced metrics don’t think quite so highly of the Ducks. This is a massive game for conference and playoff races. Ohio State has yet to be challenged this year, surrendering just 34 points in 5 games… but they’ve also not played anyone of note. They get Oregon and Penn State over the next three games, so we’ll see if the Buckeyes and their $20M NIL roster are for real. The Ducks are the underdogs, but they’re not slouches.
The other primetime game to keep an eye on is Ole Miss at LSU. The Rebels have looked fantastic outside of a head-scratching loss to Kentucky. LSU would be undefeated if they didn’t have to play season openers under Brian Kelly. They should have probably also lost at South Carolina, but that’s another story. This LSU team isn’t as good as last year’s, but they’re 1-0 in SEC play and right where they want to be.
And then there’s a pair of late night games that you can catch after the Pack wrap up.
Go State!
Rankings for SP+ Ratings (here’s the SP+ ranking for all college football teams) and Sagarin Ratings listed, respectively, ahead of each team’s name.
Friday
80/89Northwestern @ 42/49 Maryland – 7:30pm – ESPN
67/39 UNLV @ 143/130 Utah State – 9:00pm – FOX
24/22 Utah @ 59/54 Arizona State – 9:00pm – FS1
Saturday
12/15 Clemson @ 67/86 Wake Forest – 12:00pm – ESPN
31/38 South Carolina @ 3/4 Alabama – 12:00pm – ABC
19/34 Washington @ 29/21 Iowa – 12:00pm – FOX
39/41 Wisconsin @ 44/43 Rutgers – 12:00pm – BTN
45/53 Georgia Tech @ 48/70 North Carolina – 12:00pm – CW
1/1 Texas vs 16/16 Oklahoma – 3:30pm – ABC
6/9 Penn State @ 25/18 USC – 3:30pm – CBS
87/94 Stanford @ 10/8 Notre Dame – 3:30pm – NBC
46/46 California @ 32/36 Pittsburgh – 3:30pm – ESPN
20/23 Louisville @ 56/64 Virginia – 3:30pm – ACC Network
50/45 Cincinnati @ 43/50 UCF – 3:30pm – ESPN2
40/44 Arizona @ 35/20 BYU – 4:00pm – FOX
23/37 Florida @ 8/7 Tennessee – 7:00pm – ESPN
58/51 Washington State @ 89/82 Fresno State – 7:00pm – FS1
2/2 Ohio State @ 7/6 Oregon – 7:30pm – NBC
5/5 Ole Miss @ 11/13 LSU – 7:30pm – ABC
52/55 Syracuse @ 61/80 NC State – 8:00pm – ACC Network
21/11 Iowa State @ 37/27 West Virginia – 8:00pm – FOX
14/14 Kansas State @ 55/29 Colorado – 10:15pm – ESPN
34/19 Boise State @ 104/118 Hawaii – 11:00pm – CBSSN