A look at games that might pique your interest
NC State is on a bye week, which gives us all a chance to watch a week’s worth of games without the anxiety that surrounds the threat of a Wolfpack loss. Man, am I glad the Pack pulled out that win last week at Cal… On to the week’s games!
The big Thursday night game is Syracuse at Pitt. The winner stays in the thick of the ACC Championship Game hunt. This is a big game for both schools and an excellent national TV audience for it.
Louisville and BC square off on Friday night. I was looking forward to this one a bit more before the Eagles basically took three quarters off last week against VT. Louisville’s played everyone tight and I expect the Cards to come out on top here.
The big Friday game is actually the Boise State at UNLV matchup. With the G5 conferences guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff, jockeying for the top spot among those teams is going to be interesting, and this is a matchup of two of the best G5 teams this year. Both teams enter with a loss, but Boise State’s was to Oregon while UNLV fell in overtime to Syracuse. This is a must-watch game.
There are a slew of good games on Saturday. I don’t expect Nebraska to stick with Ohio State, but if the Cornhuskers can pull off the upset it might put Ryan Day’s job in jeopardy, which is hilarious when you look at his overall record. Notre Dame vs Navy is a Top 25 matchup, even if the advanced metrics say the Irish will steamroll the Midshipmen.
Indiana should handle Washington, but I’m just here to point out that the Hoosiers under Curt Cignetti are 7-0 and have a decent chance of being 10-0 heading into their game with Ohio State. That’s amazing.
Go Wahoos!
Kinda like that Notre Dame vs Navy game, Illinois at Oregon is a Top 25 matchup, but the advanced metrics clearly think Oregon will roll easily. I would tend to agree, but maybe the Ducks have a letdown after last week’s massive win.
BYU is 7-0 right now and with a really really good chance of finishing the regular season undefeated. Crazy stuff.
Missouri-Alabama is another Top 25 matchup. With the Tide already having two losses, it’ll be interesting to see if their team still has the motivation to give it their all. I’d count on at least a few trick plays from Eli Drinkwitz in this one.
If you value your time at all, do not watch Wake-Stanford. Do not do it. Leave it to the losers who have no life, like me. That game’s gonna put a dent in my liver just to get through it.
I know you’re wondering why Bowling Green vs Toledo is on here, but it’s a rivalry game of two of the best MAC teams this year with conference title implications on the line. It should be a lot of fun.
Texas and Vanderbilt are tied in the SEC standings, which is hilarious. The advanced metrics think the Longhorns win easily, but this Vandy team is tough (I still wouldn’t bet on them winning… but covering the 18.5-point spread? Maybe).
FSU-Miami gets the primetime treatment, but don’t be fooled. This should be a beatdown administered by the Hurricanes, but FSU’s defense really isn’t that bad. If the Seminoles offense can hold onto the ball, they could at least make the Canes sweat it out.
Penn State at Wisconsin is going to be a much better primetime game, but still not as good as LSU at Texas A&M. The Aggies are at the top of the SEC standings under first year coach Mike Elko. LSU is the only other SEC team still unbeaten in league play. This game has huge ramifications and will be a must-watch.
Keep an eye on SMU at Duke. We’re about to find out if the Blue Devils are for real or not.
Go Football!
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.
Thursday
89/78 Georgia Southern @ 104/92 Old Dominion – 7:00pm – ESPN2
51/55 Syracuse @ 30/32 Pittsburgh – 7:30pm – ESPN
Friday
21/26 Louisville @ 65/71 Boston College – 7:30pm – ESPN2
39/20 Boise State @ 60/34 UNLV – 10:30pm – CBSSN
58/68 Rutgers @ 26/24 USC – 11:00pm – FOX
Saturday
32/50 Nebraska @ 1/1 Ohio State – 12:00pm – FOX
8/5 Notre Dame @ 64/60 Navy – 12:00pm – ABC
27/49 Washington @ 12/17 Indiana – 12:00pm – BTN
31/29 Oklahoma @ 3/6 Ole Miss – 12:00pm – ESPN
48/54 Georgia Tech @ 25/28 Virginia Tech – 12:00pm – ACC Network
49/77 North Carolina @ 66/64 Virginia – 12:00pm – CW
67/35 Tulane @ 86/87 North Texas – 12:00pm – ESPN2
45/38 Illinois @ 5/4 Oregon – 3:30pm – CBS
22/18 BYU @ 47/42 UCF – 3:30pm – ESPN
15/25 Missouri @ 7/7 Alabama – 3:30pm – ABC
79/88 Wake Forest @ 98/103 Stanford – 3:30pm – ACC Network
62/51 Texas Tech @ 38/44 TCU – 3:30pm – FOX
99/109 Bowling Green @ 87/84 Toledo – 3:30pm – ESPN+
68/72 Oregon State @ 46/57 California – 4:00pm – ESPN2
2/2 Texas @ 54/67 Vanderbilt – 4:15pm – SEC Network
70/63 Florida State @ 10/12 Miami – 7:00pm – ESPN
6/11 Penn State @ 20/22 Wisconsin – 7:30pm – NBC
11/8 LSU @ 14/15 Texas A&M – 7:30pm – ABC
73/61 Michigan State @ 24/36 Michigan – 7:30pm – BTN
43/47 Kansas @ 16/10 Kansas State – 8:00pm – ESPN2
17/16 SMU @ 37/65 Duke – 8:00pm – ACC Network
85/93 San Jose State @ 91/86 Fresno State – 8:00pm – truTV
41/30 Cincinnati @ 40/23 Colorado – 10:15pm – ESPN
44/37 Washington State @ 117/111 San Diego State – 10:30pm – CBSSN