This is just awful (and the Week 12 College Football TV Schedule)

If you haven’t heard, there was a huge tragedy on the campus of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Three players on the Cavaliers, Lavel Davis, D’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed in a shooting at the end of a field trip. Two other students were severely injured and are in hospital. The shooter is a former UVA football player. I have not heard anything about a motive. This is just awful. Seems like more senseless violence. I don’t know how the team is going to move on for the final two games of their season. At this point, it feels pointless to move on but many of them probably need football as a distraction to help healing and mourning the loss of their teammates and friends. Condolences to everyone at the University of Virginia. I would say hopefully lessons are learned from this but they never are, unfortunately.

UPDATE: The Virginia-Coastal Carolina game will not be played this Saturday. This does not affect Canadians and what they can watch but it is noteworthy. And also not surprising in the least. There is also no word about what will happen with the Commonwealth Cup game against Virginia Tech the following weekend.

Alright, it seems much less important this week but let’s get on with the schedule.

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Ohio at Ball State	7:00 PM
Bowling Green at Toledo	7:00 PM

A couple of big MACtion games to start the week. If the Bobcats can beat Ball State and the Rockets beat Bowling Green, then Toledo will help Ohio win the MAC East. This would mean that Ohio would go to Ford Field in a couple weeks to face…Toledo. Interesting how that works out.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Eastern Michigan at Kent State	6:00 PM
Miami-OH at Northern Illinois	7:00 PM
Western Michigan at Central Michigan	8:00 PM

If Ohio loses the previous night, then the EMU-KSU game becomes quite a bit more important as the MAC East will still be up for grabs. Otherwise we got some bowl-eligibility issues here: Kent State, Miami-OH and Central Michigan all have to win to keep their bowl game chances alive.

Thursday

		US	Canada
SMU at #21 Tulane	7:30 PM

Only one game Thursday night (not even a game on a network Canadians can’t get). It’s a big game for the Green Wave as they absolutely need to win this one to stay alive for a berth in the AAC Championship.

Friday

		US	Canada
USF at Tulsa	9:00 PM

One game here. TSN is picking it up. I don’t know why because it means nothing. Neither team can go bowling.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Navy at #17 UCF	11:00 AM
Illinois at #3 Michigan	Noon
Duke at Pittsburgh	Noon
Indiana at Michigan State	Noon
UConn at Army	Noon
Wisconsin at Nebraska	Noon
Yale at Harvard	Noon
#4 TCU at Baylor	Noon
Florida at Vanderbilt	Noon

I’d say the most interesting game here is the TCU-Baylor game. It’s your classic trap game as the Bears are a good team and the game is in Waco. The other truly interesting one out of the bunch is the Wisky-Nebraska game in the Big Ten West Chaos Carnival. No one is in the driver’s seat (but the Huskers aren’t on the trip at all). All the teams are in seats on the bus trying to see who can last to the final stop. I think I got that analogy right.

Yes, you see that right. We have morning football. ESPN2 still has their quadrupleheader but it starts an hour early. I will explain more later in the post. And yes, you see that right. Yale and Harvard, once again, appearing on ESPNU. Despite the fact there are other teams that might deserve that spot, it’s nice to see ESPN embracing FCS football. I just wish they would do that when Gameday goes to an FCS school, like this Saturday when they head to Bozeman for the Brawl of the Wild between Montana and Montana State. That game is on at 2 in the afternoon on ESPN+. Ridiculous. Give it the late ESPNU spot for Christ’s sake!

Finally, a little bit about the UConn bowl situation. The Huskies are bowl-eligible. They do, however, have to hope that there are not enough teams to fill all the spots. There is no guarantee for them as they have no tie-in to any other bowl. Even worse, Liberty is in the same boat and is ranked way ahead of them so will get the first chance when a bowl doesn’t have two teams to fulfill the tie-ins. So the program is still fingers crossed to make a bowl as it’s not set in stone just yet.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Washington State at Arizona	2:00 PM
#25 Oregon State at Arizona State	2:15 PM
Boston College at #18 Notre Dame	2:30 PM
#2 Ohio State at Maryland	3:30 PM
NC State at Louisville	3:30 PM
#11 Penn State at Rutgers	3:30 PM
#1 Georgia at Kentucky	3:30 PM
Akron at Buffalo	3:30 PM
Miami at #9 Clemson	3:30 PM
South Alabama at Southern Miss	3:30 PM
#22 Cincinnati at Temple	4:00 PM
Iowa at Minnesota	4:00 PM
WKU at Auburn	4:00 PM
Georgia Tech at #13 North Carolina	5:30 PM
Stanford at California	5:30 PM

This might be the biggest afternoon schedule I have ever seen. Saying that, it’s definitely quantity over quality as there isn’t a ton here to whet the appetite. What does this mean? We are in for something crazy. It never fails.

I talked about TCU’s trap game earlier. You could say the same for Georgia here. I like UGA’s chances more than TCU’s obviously but if the Dawgs let the Cats stay around into the fourth quarter, expect a lot of nervous Georgia fans around the country. The Big Ten West Round Robin Fun-Time Carousel continues in this timeslot with Iowa and Minnesota facing off to see if we can get some clarity going into the final regular season week.

UPDATE #2: Akron-Buffalo has been postponed due to the snowstorm that has already hit the Buffalo area and moved this weekend’s Bills game to Detroit. The game is reportedly going to be moved to Sunday but I don’t see that happening with what the area will be like through the end of the weekend.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Boise State at Wyoming	7:00 PM
#5 Tennessee at South Carolina	7:00 PM
#24 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma	7:30 PM
New Mexico State at Missouri	7:30 PM
#14 Ole Miss at Arkansas	7:30 PM
Syracuse at Wake Forest	8:00 PM
#7 USC at #16 UCLA	8:00 PM

A huge Pac-12 game that could have been one of the biggest in years if the Bruins hadn’t blown a gasket against Arizona, of all teams, last weekend. Plus the Oklahoma Sooners are in a very odd spot, at least for this program: they need a win to become bowl-eligible in November. This is a stark difference to some Bedlam games of the past decade or so where it was the Pokes who needed that win badly to play some postseason ball. The Sooners don’t need to win this one but if they lose here they only have one more shot to keep their bowl game streak going.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
UAB at #6 LSU	9:00 PM
Colorado at #15 Washington	9:00 PM
Fresno State at Nevada	10:30 PM
#10 Utah at #12 Oregon	10:30 PM

So the entire reason for ESPN2 starting their schedule at 11 in the morning is so that LSU could host UAB on the station at night? Are you fucking serious? That might be one of the dumbest things I’ve heard. The schedule could have easily been shuffled around to accommodate this in a normal way but ESPN is really upping how much they kowtow to the SEC. It’s probably a good thing the Big Ten is leaving for FOX. Also here we have the other high stakes Pac-12 match of the weekend that is, once again, a little less high stakes than it could have been. Both the Utes and Ducks still have Pac-12 Championship and New Year’s Six opportunities available…well, one will after this game.

Big Games O’ The Week

USC at UCLA (8:00, FOX) – I don’t remember a time when I’ve done this blog where the Pac-12 is the conference to watch on any given week. I think every other Power Five conference has had their week to shine (with the SEC and Big Ten having a lot of weeks to shine) but this may be a first for the Pac-12 on this blog. Look, a USC win may move them up to #6 or even #5 going into the final regular season week. It clinches their spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game and possibly sets them up to return to glory. A UCLA win doesn’t fully eliminate any team but makes it a lot tougher for any team from the conference to get to the College Football Playoff. What it does do, though, is cause massive Pac-12 chaos inside the conference which is also fun…for me at least.

Utah at Oregon (10:30, TSN2) – Hey a TSN quadrupleheader! That’s nice. What’s not so nice? This is probably the high water mark for TSN college football coverage this season. I will explain later. Anyway, the other big Pac-12 game this week pits two teams who still have big aspirations which hopefully lead to a Rose Bowl spot. No matter the result, there will still be a bit of chaos left in the Pac-12 to just determine it’s title game participants. Thankfully there are no divisions this year as it’s so much better to just have the best teams in.

Illinois at Michigan (12:00, ABC/TSN2) – Most years, this has the makings of a blowout. Not this time around. Yes it’s in the Big House so the Wolverines have a big home field advantage. Other than that though, this is not a game Michigan should take lightly. Illinois still has a shot at the Big Ten West title but a few other things have to go their way. A win here REALLY helps though. Michigan is heading into The Game with Ohio State and a win here, coupled with Ohio State winning, would set up the biggest matchup since…well, you could say last year but I would say since 2016’s double overtime classic.

Georgia at Kentucky (3:30, CBS) – This could be the game of a lifetime for Mark Stoops and Kentucky if they could pull off the upset. It would also completely upset the college football apple cart with very little time left. Let’s be honest though: it’s going to take a lot for the Cats to keep this close. Hopefully they have watched UGA’s games against Kent State and Missouri to figure out the best approach.

TCU at Baylor (Noon, FOX) – Dave Aranda’s Baylor Bears could throw a huge monkey wrench into TCU’s national title plans. If they beat the Horned Frogs, that probably spells the end for TCU’s CFP hopes. TCU has to be very careful with this one. It is the very definition of a college football speed bump game.

Tennessee at South Carolina (7:00, TSN2) – So it drops off a bit of a cliff after the first five games. But this could be a sneaky good one. Tennessee is not out of the College Football Playoff conversation just yet. South Carolina could put the nail in that coffin and potentially destroy the Vols’ New Year’s Six possibilities in one fell swoop if they can pull off the upset in Columbia.

Psycho Game of the Week

USF at Tulsa (Friday, 9:00, TSN2) – The Bulls are here for a second straight week. I would call that a trend. I get that TSN2, somehow, has nothing to air that night so this goes there by default. But of all the games to show. You know what, TSN? You’d be better off showing Best of Curling or World’s Most Incredible Darts Throws or something like that. This is terrible.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Colorado at Washington (9:00, Pac-12 Network) – Man, Colorado is bad. Worst Power Five team? It’s between them and Northwestern. Maybe they should play a bowl game to determine the worst of the worst. The Huskies should annihilate Colorado here in a game that might be long over by halftime.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

Time for my picks for the upcoming week of college football. Is there any basis for these picks? Not really. I mostly wing it.

• Ball State (+3.5) over Ohio (and the mild upset win!)
• Central Michigan (-11) over Western Michigan
• Navy (+16.5) over UCF (they’ll cover but not win)
• Northwestern (+20) over Purdue (the Boilermakers will win though)
• Illinois (+18) over Michigan (covering but not winning)
• TCU (-2.5) over Baylor
• Oregon State (-8) over Arizona State
• South Alabama (-7.5) over Southern Miss
• Penn State (-19.5) over Rutgers
• Miami (+19) over Clemson (the Canes will cover but the Tigers will win this one)
• Minnesota (-2.5) over Iowa
• Wyoming (+14) over Boise State (the Broncos will end up with the win)
• Ole Miss (-2.5) over Arkansas
• Oregon (-3) over Utah

OK an explanation about the TSN comment I made earlier. Normally, the final week of the regular season would bring at least 8 games on TSN if not up to 13 or 14. TSN would go all in because the CFL would be done for the season. Just like this year, the Grey Cup lands on Week 12 of the college football season. One wrinkle, though: the World Cup. It begins Sunday. TSN and CTV are showing every game of the tournament. If I just take a look at the schedule, it means the following:

• It’s almost a guarantee that there will be on early Black Friday games aired on TSN.
• TSN 2, 4 and 5 are available for afternoon/night Black Friday games.
• The next day (Saturday, American Thanksgiving weekend) might be mostly out for college football games as there are World Cup games that overlap the early and afternoon windows. I can see TSN stepping up for primetime and late night games, though.

So, 14 games? Not going to happen. 10? Doubtful. Maybe they get back to that 8 mark but it will be dicey. Is this one of the reasons why the World Cup shouldn’t be in November and December? Yes. But it’s far down the list. Like WAY down the list. Remember…it’s in Qatar. That’s all you got to say.

Tomorrow you should get the bowl projection and rankings post and on Thursday the NFL post. Not guaranteeing anything but this is the time of year where staying on schedule is pretty imperative. Enjoy the games everyone!

The Coaching Carousel is in full swing already – Week 11 College Football TV Schedule

The amount of coaches, both head and otherwise, shitcanned so far this year has hit a staggering amount.  I get that it’s been the second kind of wacky year in a row for college football (for very different reasons) but you have to wonder if many coaches got a bit of a COVID exemption, like some of the super seniors that they coach (or used to coach).  So let’s go through what’s happened so far this season.  Strap in.

• Remember way back in September when Captain Bonus, Randy Edsall, decided to retire and then the next day resigned instead?  Seems like so long ago.  It was 64 days ago.  Barely over two months.
• How about when Clay Helton was finally fired at USC?  For many of the Trojan faithful, it was about four years too late.
• But Helton wasn’t out of work for long.  He was recently hired to replace Chad Lunsford who had been fired by Georgia Southern back in late September.  Probably a good spot for him.
• Ed Orgeron was fired because he likes sexing up hot women in Baton Rouge rather than coaching LSU after he divorced his wife.  Thinking with your dick is fine in certain situations, this may not be one of them.  Then again, the buyout will be ridiculous for him.  Good shit.
• You knew this was coming as soon as you heard the backstory.  Nick Rolovich’s firing was a surprise to no one…except maybe Nick Rolovich.
• This one was a bit of a shocker.  Matt Wells was fired after Kansas State came back to beat his Texas Tech team dropping them to *checks notes* 5-2?  What?  Now the Red Raiders have hired a successful high school coach to replace him.  This is either seriously stupid or seriously brilliant.
• The end of an era in Fort Worth as Gary Patterson was let go.  Some thought he should have been allowed to finish the season but with this new early signing period many teams who have fired their head coaches are going to want to get their new guy sooner rather than later to take advantage of this signing period.
• Tom Arth was fired.  He was 3-24 at Akron.  I know it’s Akron but good lord.
• But again, it could be worse.  Walt Bell dropped to 2-23 in his tenure at UMass after they lost to Rhode Island.  Maybe this team should be not long for FBS.

Now, many, including myself, wondered if Scott Frost would be on this list by the end of the season.  Instead, he got his contract restructured and he will be back for 2022.  Now his buyout has been slashed in half and his yearly contract went down by a million bucks so it’s not like he made out like a bandit.  He celebrated this by firing four assistants.  Maybe bringing in a better offensive coordinator will help and with the extra money, they might be able to afford it.  But Frosty the Coachman’s hot seat will be molten lava if the Huskers get off to a bad start next season (or finish this season on a losing streak).

OK enough coaching crap, on to the schedule!

Wednesday​​

		US	Canada
Toledo at Bowling Green	7:00 PM
Ball State at Northern Illinois	7:00 PM
Kent State at Central Michigan	8:00 PM

Gotta love Midweek MACtion.  Nothing better than cozying up and watching some college football on a weeknight as the weather gets colder outside.  And there are some important games.  Ball State-NIU might very well be for the MAC West title.  Also, Kent State tries to take advantage of the MAC East being pathetic by winning to put some room between themselves and the rest of the division.

Thursday

		US	Canada
North Carolina at #21 Pittsburgh	7:30 PM

Only one game but it’s important in the ACC Coastal.  The division synonymous with chaos could become even more chaotic if the Tar Heels can pull off the slight upset of Pitt.

Friday​​

		US	Canada
#5 Cincinnati at USF	6:00 PM

Only one game that is being shown in Canada tonight and it starts at an odd time.  Why so early for this one?  The reason is that there is a huge World Cup Qualifying game with the United States facing Mexico.  That starts at 9:00 on ESPN2 which makes it so this game had to start no later than 6:00.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#6 Michigan at Penn State	Noon
UConn at Clemson	Noon
Rutgers at Indiana	Noon
Bucknell at Army	Noon
Mississippi State at #17 Auburn	Noon
Northwestern at #18 Wisconsin	Noon
UCF at SMU	Noon
#8 Oklahoma at #13 Baylor	Noon
Syracuse at Louisville	Noon
New Mexico State at #2 Alabama	Noon

I wouldn’t say there are any massive games in this timeslot but there are some interesting ones.  Michigan-PSU is an elimination game of sorts in the Big Ten East.  Baylor needs to win or we will most definitely have a Bedlam rematch in the Big XII Championship.  And of course, TSN picks up (for their only early game)…New Mexico State heading to Alabama?  For fuck’s sake, why?  This will probably be the most lopsided game of the weekend and that’s what they pick?  With a few other options open?  Plus it’s on the SEC Network!  I honestly don’t get it.  That makes no fucking sense whatsoever.  I guess I should feel kind of happy they didn’t simulcast the ABC game but there are three ESPN games they bypassed.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
#19 Purdue at #4 Ohio State	3:30 PM
Duke at Virginia Tech	3:30 PM
Minnesota at #20 Iowa	3:30 PM
#1 Georgia at Tennessee	3:30 PM
UAB at Marshall	3:30 PM
Miami at Florida State	3:30 PM
Iowa State at Texas Tech	3:30 PM
Boston College at Georgia Tech	3:30 PM
Tulsa at Tulane	4:00 PM
Maryland at #7 Michigan State	4:00 PM
South Carolina at Missouri	4:00 PM

Just like the opening salvo of Saturday, no real huge games here but some interesting ones.  Purdue-tOSU is obviously a pretty big game knowing what the Boilermakers have done this season.  I don’t know if UGA will play down to the Vols’ level since they haven’t done that all season, except maybe against Clemson in their opening week win.  And somehow, Miami and Florida State still get a prime ESPN spot on the weekend.  You don’t see too many teams keep getting prime TV spots like The U does.  Florida State less so since they have been appearing on the ACC Network quite often the past few seasons.

Saturday Primetime​​

		US	Canada
Air Force at Colorado State	7:00 PM
#11 Texas A&M at #19 Ole Miss	7:00 PM
Kentucky at Vanderbilt	7:00 PM
#9 Notre Dame at Virginia	7:30 PM
#16 NC State at #12 Wake Forest	7:30 PM
Kansas at Texas	7:30 PM
#25 Arkansas at LSU	7:30 PM
TCU at #10 Oklahoma State	8:00 PM

Look, when ND-UVA is your ABC primetime game you know it’s not the greatest week on paper.  And you know what means, right?  We are in for some wackiness for sure and there are a couple of games in this timeslot where an upset would really cause some upheaval.  Oklahoma State has to beat TCU to continue their run to JerryWorld and Notre Dame can’t trip up against the Fighting Mendenhalls of Charlottesville.  Oh, and we all remember Kansas upsetting Texas a few seasons ago.  You never know.

I have noticed TSN really has started showing a lot less college football which is pissing off some fans and rightfully so.  I think the premise that people will pay for what they want just totally escapes Rogers, Bell, Eastlink, Cogeco, the CRTC and others in the broadcasting industry.  You want to lose cable subscribers?  Keep doing what you’re doing.

Saturday Late Night​

		US	Canada
Nevada at #22 San Diego State	10:30 PM
Washington State at #3 Oregon	10:30 PM

Two late games, both fairly important.  Oregon needs to look a lot better against Wazzu or they could blow up this opportunity that’s been handed to them.  As for the other game, it probably decides the Mountain West West Division, no offense to Fresno State or San Jose State.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Oklahoma at Baylor (Noon, FOX) – Amazingly enough, it’s the Baylor Bears that still seem to register as arguably the biggest shock in a season full of shocking results.  Honestly, they are a couple of botches against TCU from being 8-1 and in the Top 10.  Saying that, the Bears probably do need to win this game as a loss here clinches a spot in the Big XII Championship for Oklahoma and may end up doing the same for Oklahoma State.  With this being in Waco, the hope for Baylor is that the Sooner defense, which has been shaky all season, crumbles under the pressure of a good Baylor offense.  Also, if Baylor wins this they have Kansas State and Texas Tech left where they would be favoured by quite a bit.  The Sooners, on the other hand, are at the start of a very difficult three-game stretch with this game followed by Iowa State and OSU.

NC State at Wake Forest (7:30, specialty pack) – Man, did the ACC Network ever luck out getting this one.  It really does show how little people feel about Wake Forest (and to a lesser extent, NC State).  This is arguably the biggest game of the season in the ACC Atlantic and it gets relegated to the ACC Network?  Completely ridiculous and something I would understand if we were still in October (or better yet, September).  The winner here is in the driver’s seat in the division and would only have to contend with Clemson if the Tigers win the following week against those same Demon Deacons.

Michigan at Penn State (Noon, ABC) – Honestly, this could have been the primetime ABC game and I’m kind of surprised it wasn’t despite the fact the Nittany Lions aren’t ranked.  Penn State still could cause a massive amount of issues in the Big Ten East with games here against the Wolverines and later on against Michigan State.  A Big Blue win here will set them possibly for a winner-take-all showdown against Ohio State two days after American Thanksgiving.

Purdue at Ohio State (3:30, ABC) – And of course the Wolverines and Nittany Lions will be scoreboard watching to see if Purdue can pull off yet another huge upset.  If the Boilermakers can pull it off, it blows the Big Ten wide open and gives quite a few teams a true chance at the crown.  In the East, that would bring Michigan, Michigan State and even Penn State back into the fray whereas in the West, all of a sudden Purdue might be the favourite to head to Indianapolis.  That would be interesting to see them play close to home for a chance at the Big Ten title.

Texas A&M at Ole Miss (7:00, specialty pack) – When the game where College Gameday is going to be ends up fifth on this list, isn’t it a good week?  Both of these teams have two losses in the SEC West.  It means they have to hope for at least one Alabama loss in their final two conference games for them to have any chance at the division title.  This game should be relatively evenly matched.  I’ll have to check but I am sure Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be there so for their sake I hope they get a good game although they have been a lot luckier than, say, Brad Nessler or Gus Johnson in that regard this season.

Honourable mention: Georgia at Tennessee (3:30, CBS); Notre Dame at Virginia (7:30, ABC/TSN2); Nevada at San Diego State (10:30, CBS Sports Network)

Wanna bet?

I had some pretty damn fantastic picks last week.  I picked North Carolina over Wake Forest.  But I went against my gut with Michigan State and I paid for it.  Also, Washington was oh so close to upsetting Oregon although thanks to Jimmy Lake’s playcalling, they didn’t get the chance.  But that’s the past, let’s talk about now.  The picks for this week are below!

Georgia over Tennessee

Texas A&M over Ole Miss

Wake Forest over NC State

Nevada over San Diego State

Oklahoma over Baylor

Notre Dame over Virginia

Ohio State over Purdue

Penn State over Michigan (slight upset)

Tulane over Tulsa

Central Michigan over Kent State

Marshall over UAB

As per usual, I will be up past 2 in the morning watching games.  This is the time where I really up my game so to speak.  I know the end is a mere couple of months away so I want to get in as much viewing as I possibly can.  Personal issues have made things rough for me lately but the one thing it has done has opened the door for me to watch more college football.  That’s not a bad thing, right?  Anyway, enjoy the games this week everyone!

Most Important Games of the 2020 College Football Season – The Second Part

Hey remember when I mentioned that we were getting closer to the NCAA Football video game series returning?  It now looks like that may not be the case.  Even with the NCAA allowing players to receive money for their name and likeness, without school licensing, the players would not be able to be represented in the video game.  The next step would have to be some sort of group licensing that involves school logos, names, stadiums, etc.  So the sadness remains with all those people who would buy a PS4 or PS5 or whatever the most recent X-Box is just for this game.  Which includes me.  I say that even though I just sold the game since I just don’t play anymore…the PlayStation going up to my son’s room accelerated that.  Am I officially a miserable adult now?

So normally, I do the first post of this series and a day or two later more schedule updates appear changing my original guesses already.  It would make me feel a bit dumb.  This year?  Of course that didn’t happen.  COVID-19 has changed so much and this is yet another thing that has changed.  Instead of some games being confirmed, this year we have the question of which schools would even participate in a college football season in 2020.  Here is what I know so far:

• The SEC seems all in.  This is not a surprise.  Hell even Mizzou is showing their SEC-ness.  Did you see the picture of the Lake of the Ozarks the other day?  Marty Byrde would be all over that action.
• The Big Ten seems iffy.  Michigan has already stated that unless students are on campus and everything is back to some sense of normalcy, there may not be a season for the Wolverines.  I have heard rumblings of other schools feeing the same way.
• John Swofford of the ACC had a more measured approach.  He said with his conference being in ten different states there may be a possibility that some schools are playing this season and others may not.  It’s a wait-and-see approach there.
• The rest of the conferences, for the most part, have said nothing.

This could lead to a massive amount of schedule changes.  If some schools don’t play, the schools that have scheduled them would have to replace them on the sked.  It means we could see some huge matchups throughout the season.  It also may mean that conference play doesn’t matter.  A lot could happen.

Saying all that, I feel better about my predictions for the schedule this season because in the end, it may not matter.  So let’s go with the second part of this series.

Week 4

Game of the Week: Wisconsin at Michigan (Noon, FOX) – FOX gets a few marquee games to put at Noon during the season.  This is definitely one of them.  You can say what you want about the Wolverines but they bring ratings, love em or hate em.  It does help that there aren’t many other games this week so FOX could easily have the biggest game of the week and win the ratings war.  I would love to say this could be a Big Ten Championship preview but I would be lying.

Other Really Important Games: Virginia at Clemson (3:30, ABC) – I could see this moving to primetime but again, it all hinges on every conference getting their contracted amount of primetime games on ABC in.  On a week with not a lot of great options, this could get a lot of eyeballs.  It is yet another opportunity for an ACC team to topple the mighty Fighting Dabo Swinneys.  Until it happens, we have to continue to believe that the Tigers are a favourite to get to the College Football Playoff.  If the Hoos can somehow pull off the upset, that entire conference could be in a heap of trouble to get a team to the dance.

Florida at Tennessee (3:30, CBS) – “Is Tennessee Back” is the new “Texas is Back.”  There were hints last year that maybe, just maybe, the Volunteers are back to the Phil Fulmer days of being in the top tier of the SEC every year. I will be honest: it is almost sad to see a fanbase of a team that used to be good go through five-plus years of no better than mediocrity. Almost…those same fans tend to be complete assholes at times which means the hate is still there for every other fanbase. On the other side of the fence is one of the best coaches in the land and a team that is nipping at Georgia’s heels in the SEC East.  These are the kinds of games they have to win if they want to get back to the SEC Championship for the first time since 2016.

Louisiana Tech at Baylor (Noon, FloSports) – Will Baylor be as good as last season?  That is the question since Dr. Matt Rhule, D.D.S. left for the greener pastures of the NFL and the Carolina Panthers.  The Bears have a history of having a season every so often that makes them seem like a real contender followed by a few seasons of being a pretender.  As for the Bulldogs, this is their first time in the important games section.  Congratulations to them.  This is the kind of game they must win if they want to be the first Conference USA team to make it to the New Year’s Six.

Notre Dame at Wake Forest (3:30, specialty pack) – Can we just finally say that the Deacs are an upper tier ACC team?  I’m serious.  This may say more about the conference as a whole, beyond Clemson, than anything but I think you can’t help but agree.  I wouldn’t say this is a massive game for both teams but it’s one that both programs have on their radar right now.  This is part of the Notre Dame-ACC agreement that runs for a long time, like until the year 2245 or something.  It still feels weird to this day and probably always will.  Anyway, this should be fun so watch it.  Or don’t.  I mean I’m not going to force you to or anything.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Arizona State at USC (7:00, specialty pack) – This may essentially end up being an early season Pac-12 South elimination game.  This may also end up being one of the Pac-12 South round robin games where the division winner has three conference losses.  This should be a pretty even match and these two teams have had some great games in the past.  Now watch it be a blowout.  I am glad this game was this week since my next pick would have been Western Kentucky-Louisville.  My god.

Best Group of Five Game: Temple at Navy (3:30, CBS Sports Network) – You know, after one bad Navy season many people, including myself, figured the Midshipmen would get back to .500 and maybe end up with a winning season.  So what did Ken Niumatalolo do?  Put them in the Top 25 for a while.  This year should be no different for this team.  And I have noticed in the past few years that playing at Navy is not an easy thing for teams to do.  I don’t know what it is but it feels like an intimidating place to play, something the other two military academies can’t boast.

Worst Power Five Game: Stanford at UCLA (6:30, DAZN) – It is a bit odd to see Stanford in this spot but they were not good last year and I can’t see them being a ton better this year.  And I wonder when the Chip Kelly Experience will actually pay dividends for the Bruins since nothing has really worked so far.

Week 5

Game of the Week: Baylor at Oklahoma (3:30, ABC) – The best week of the year has one of the potential games of the year right here.  But this is only if Baylor doesn’t struggle with Matt Rhule not around.  That is the caveat.  We know the Sooners will be good since they are always good, like it or not.  Now watch this game end up being a blowout.  And in the Big XII, blowouts can get crazy.

Other Really Important Games: Wisconsin at Notre Dame (in Green Bay) (7:30, NBC) – Despite the fact that the Irish have five ACC games every season, they always find a way to schedule their rivals (like USC, Michigan and Navy).  They also add a juicy game or two every season.  I remember the last time there was a game at Lambeau Field: the Badgers upset LSU and destroyed my national championship pick early on in the season.  Thanks a bunch guys.  This ends up being a primetime NBC game so we should be expecting something special here.

Penn State at Michigan (Noon, ABC/TSN1/TSN4) – This does not feel like a Noon Big Ten Game.  At all.  This is the kind of game that is usually on ABC in primetime.  We should hear the familiar refrain of the Woes of James Harbaugh throughout this one.  The continued talk about James Franklin resurrecting the program at Happy Valley.  And somewhere in there will be an actual college football game.  Let’s call it a Big Ten East elimination game since it probably is one.

Washington at Oregon (10:30, specialty pack) – Well at least Chris Petersen isn’t around to freak the fuck out about this game being on in the late night timeslot.  Now this could end up on ABC in primetime since my current choice, Florida State-NC State, really does not look like a good game on paper.  I guess it’s the problem with these conferences having these kinds of minimums in their television contracts.  Although can you imagine if that wasn’t the case?  I am sure we would almost never see the Pac-12 or the ACC ever again.  Anyway, as of right now, this is Pac-12 After Dark which is sometimes good for some late night insanity.  I will most certainly be watching, losing some sleep in the process.

USC at Utah (10:30, FloSports) – This could be one of the best late night schedules ever and you will see why below.  We have the game above and now this one that we can now see!  I am sure Clay Helton will be sweating all throughout this one as he continues his rocky tenure as the head coach in LA.  I do wonder if Utah can recreate the magic of last season and make another run at the College Football Playoff.  Now that LSU broke through and won the whole thing, we need another new team to get into the mix so why not the Utes?

Kentucky at Auburn (7:30, specialty pack) – I have this game on the SEC Network.  Seriously.  If the Wildcats are any good this season, we could be watching a barnburner on an American specialty sports network that is shown on a specialty pack here in Canada.  It’s also kind of interesting that this is the best week of the season and this is the first appearance of the SEC on this list.

Texas at Kansas State (Noon, FloSports) – Normally one of the games we wouldn’t be able to see.  Before this season, it’s the Big XII that we Canadians would miss most of.  The one conference without a conference network (and no, the Longhorn Network does not count) has struggled overall compared to the other Power Five conferences to get their games on in the best timeslots.  If it wasn’t for the Sooners and at least one other Big XII team, no one would notice this conference.  Both these programs are trying to be that “one other team” this season.  Would be fun to see Kansas State back being a true contender.  Especially since what the hell else is there to do in the Little Apple?

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: North Carolina at Virginia (7:00, specialty pack) – The Tar Heels are fun again under Mack Brown for the first time since, well, Mack Brown was coaching.  Bronco Mendenhall is doing the same types of things he did at BYU in Charlottesville.  These are the two teams I would consider as the best bets to dethrone Clemson (or at least give them a conference loss).  No this is not a de facto division title game since this is the ACC Coastal division and this division is utterly insane.  I wait for the season that everyone ends up 4-4 and there’s a seven-way tie for the division crown.  God that would be glorious.

Best Group of Five Game: Navy at Air Force (10:30, specialty pack) – This is the third game in the late night triple threat this week.  There were a few choices I could have put here.  Memphis-SMU and Utah State-BYU fit the bill as well and on any other week would have been here.  But this game should be great and considering the way the two offenses are, should be over before Saturday Night Live’s episode that week is done.  I think this is the first time a Navy-AFA game could be this big.  It could also be the first time, as far as I know, that both teams come into this one ranked.  Now that would be something.

Worst Power Five Game: Nebraska at Northwestern (Noon, TSN5) – Now this…this feels like a Big Ten game at Noon.  It means that either Beth Mowins or Steve Levy has to call it, right?

Week 6

Game of the Week: LSU at Florida (3:30, CBS) – God damn this could be a MASSIVE game this season.  Two SEC contenders.  Potentially, two CFP contenders.  This is still a possibility to be moved to a primetime SEC on CBS game as it is that big.  Or for some reason CBS allows ESPN to pick it up and even put it at that odd 6:00 start time.  You never really know.  Anyway, this could be a CFP elimination game.  By this point we should know if the Tigahs are ready to defend their national championship or not.

Other Really Important Games: Auburn at Georgia (7:00, specialty pack) – Many would say this should be the game of the week.  It’s a good game but I don’t think it hits the heights of the previous game.  Also this could be a good week for CBS to exercise that doubleheader they get to do once a year.  Both teams look good heading into the season and there’s always talk about Gus Malzahn being shitcanned so that is fun for people who like that kind of thing.  Some also hate Kirby Smart as well because he hasn’t won an SEC title yet.  Life can’t be easy for an SEC head coach (although I am sure the crap-ton of money they get eases the pain a bit).

Iowa at Ohio State (Noon, FOX) – FOX not taking a back seat to Disney this week for game selections. Then again this could end up as the ABC primetime game.  You just never know with the schedules.  Man, the Pac-12 still has to be livid that FOX said that their best games will be on at Noon.  When do they finally say Fuck it and say “Fine, put a game on at 9 local time.  I’m sure no one will care and besides, we want the main event!”  If Chris Petersen was still around I am sure this would have been pushed.

Minnesota at Wisconsin (Noon, TSN4) – Man the Noon timeslot is fantastic this week.  Many would consider this further down the list to be honest.  I still have faith that the Golden Gophers can Row The Boat and stay atop the Big Ten West.  Wisky will be Wisky and try and run the ball for like 500 yards on what looks like seriously uncomfortable turf in Madison.  I can’t imagine what’s that like to get tackled on in late November.

Oklahoma vs. Texas (in Dallas) (Noon, ABC/TSN2) – It’s something when this is the fifth-best game of the week.  The Red River Shootout (SHOOTOUT!) is always a crazy game so I always enjoy watching it.  Now we have to continue hoping that the decrepit Cotton Bowl doesn’t collapse during one of these games.  This could end up being a FOX selection just for the teams involved but there are a lot of options this week so both networks will have to pick carefully.

Utah at Washington (8:00, FOX) – This could be a preview of the Pac-12 title game and it is this far down the list.  That tells you more about the Pac-12 than the state of college football.  Call it East Coast bias if you want but the teams out west just don’t seem to have the cache these days that many teams east of them do. Knowing that, I could see them moving this to 10:30 or 11:00 at night.

Clemson at Florida State (3:30, specialty pack) – Hey remember when both of these teams were legitimate contenders and this could be counted on as a potential game of the year?  The Tigers have been carrying the conference so their shoulders must be tired at this point.  The Noles have been average, at best, and are looking to re-establish their identity in the ACC.  A win here would be a fans-storm-the-field kind of instance for Florida State.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Virginia Tech at North Carolina (8:00, specialty pack) – One team has to emerge from the ACC Coastal Division, technically.  The Hokies and the Heels are as good a bet as any to make it to the ACC Championship.  I’d like to say the loser here is eliminated from the race but not in this wacky division.

Best Group of Five Game: Louisiana at Appalachian State (Wednesday, 7:00, specialty pack) – This could end up being one of the games that decides the Group of Five New Year’s Six spot.  Don’t laugh.  The Sun Belt has been steadily improving over the past few years.  Everyone knows what App State can do but the Ragin’ Cajuns have been underrated recently.  This could be a breakout game.  It also could be a preview of the Sun Belt Championship game.

Worst Power Five Game: Rutgers at Purdue (Noon, BTN) – Ah Rutgers back in the Rutgers spot.  Remember what I said about the huge Noon slate?  Well it’s still true so I wonder how many people would actually watch this game.  Not many I think.

Week 7

Game of the Week: Iowa at Penn State (Noon, ABC/TSN1) – The Big Ten has a huge week this week.  And this is the biggest game of a huge bunch.  Kirk Ferentz will try and do some Kirk Ferentz things to lead his Hawkeyes to a victory.  Penn State has been close to the big dance and needs a win here to try and break through to the next level for the first time in a long time.

Other Really Important Games: Texas A&M at Auburn (3:30, CBS) – This is one of three games that could be considered the game of the week.  It really isn’t a huge week for top-of-the-line game quality but there are a lot of good games this week.  It used to be that everyone was trying to catch Alabama.  Now it’s everyone in the SEC West trying to catch LSU.  The Gus Bus and whatever vehicle you want to associate with Jimbo Fisher will be hard up to win the division if they lose here.

Michigan at Minnesota (7:30, FloSports) – See now that Canadians can access these FOX Sports One games, I don’t care that they move some big games there. I understand the reasoning behind doing that because it makes it so FS1 would eventually be in more homes in the U.S..  Saying this, this game could be moved anywhere on the FOX schedule this week, especially if both teams have had hot starts to the season.

Oklahoma at Iowa State (Noon, FOX) – It’s nice to see a program like Iowa State have a sustained string of successful seasons.  Matt Campbell has done a phenomenal job in Ames.  And they have pulled a massive upset on the Sooners in recent years.  Nothing says it can’t happen again.  I know the rest of the Big XII will be rooting for the Cyclones even if they don’t admit it.  Anything to knock the Sooners off their perch would be a good thing for the rest of the conference.

Ohio State at Michigan State (7:30, ABC) – A lot of good games this week as I mentioned above.  Now there’s a caveat with this one: the Spartans have to be better than they were this year to make this a reality.  In most years this would be in consideration for Game of the Week.  With the Mark Dantonio era over, things start anew in East Lansing with Mel Tucker.  They always have a gauntlet with the Big Ten East, having to face Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and, these days, Indiana every year.  Don’t be surprised if FOX picks this one up for their primetime game if ABC passes on it.

Oregon at California (Friday, 10:00, FloSports) – The Golden Bears are good again!  A young enthusiastic head coach and a program that is on the right recruiting trails helps.  The Pac-12 not being the Pac-12 of old is also a factor here but make no mistake about it, Cal could make some noise in the Pac-12 North with a win here.  The Mario Cristobal Show rolls on in Eugene as he tries to take the final step to get the Ducks into the College Football Playoff.  It would be good since we need some new blood in there (I know, Oregon has been once before but it feels like that was DECADES ago).

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Wake Forest at Florida State (Noon, specialty pack) – OK I had to dig a bit deeper to find a good underrated game.  I would say that this is the only one that truly qualifies and it’s more because of Wake than FSU.  With the way the Noon schedule is, if this does appear in that timeslot it will be drowned out by the other bigger games so it better be close to be relevant.

Best Group of Five Game: UCF at Memphis (Friday, 8:00, specialty pack) – As of right now, this game will sort of split the national spotlight with the UO-Cal game I mentioned above.  The American conference loves their Friday night games and they usually get some good ones in on those nights (unlike the ACC that drops whatever shit there and doesn’t think of the matchup).  This should be a barnburner as per usual between these two teams.  This could possibly move to TSN.  This game is one of the G-5 games of the year and will shape the New Year’s Six, guaranteed.

Worst Power Five Game: Maryland at Northwestern (3:30, BTN) – Man the Big Ten has some bad games this season.  The bottom tier of the conference can compete with any of the other Power Five conferences to stay they are the bottom of the barrel.  I guess the silver lining here is that it isn’t Rutgers this time?  I wonder if the Big Ten is still happy with getting the Scarlet Knights and the Terrapins into the conference a few years back.  I mean I know the money is a big part of it but man, on the football field they have been atrocious.

We are more than halfway through the season now (with these posts).  With only thirteen weeks this season I had to have one longer post because of it.  Sorry about that.  The next two posts will be the most difficult as almost none of it is set out beforehand and with 6 and 12-day holds on scheduling games, many of the choices are done later in the season.  This means many of these could be wrong because of that.  And in those cases I will blame the networks.  Not me.

I have not picked up a college football preview magazine yet.  Why?  Because none of them are out yet.  I can’t even order the Phil Steele magazine because of everything that is going on with the pandemic.  I am hoping to get it sometime in early August but no guarantees.  With bookstores closed I will have to keep an eye out for the others and order them when I get a chance.  Anyway, we are 88 days from the scheduled opening of the college football season.  A lot is up in the air at this point but as of right now I am assuming they will start, with empty stadiums, on time.  Hope everyone has a great week and enjoy the weather!

Most Important Games of the 2020 College Football Season – Part I

Alright it’s time to get to the good stuff finally!  Actual college football posts about the next season…whenever that may begin.  As cathartic as this feels, we really have no idea what we are looking at for the 2020 season.  The schedules are out, at least in terms of what days the games will be played.  Of course, games can, and will be, moved around, usually for national television purposes.  I haven’t got any preview magazines yet though.  I will be ordering my Phil Steele magazine soon but obviously with bookstores closed, there is no timeframe as to when I will get other magazines.  Some schools are adamant they will be pretty much fully open in the fall whereas others are hesitant.  With many other sports starting to slowly put out plans as to when they will commence play again, there are a lot of balls still up in the air.  Here’s hope that things do improve as it pertains to the Coronavirus pandemic so that we can get back to semblance of normality.

Anyway, I figured I might as well get a jump on these schedules.  I am sure many things will change and some games might be outright cancelled but I am going with what I can see at this moment.  Remember, we are in May so these lists will definitely not be correct later in the season.  As the season progresses, there are always surprises and disappointments.  It happens.  For example, we all know that for the next few years, CBS has the big SEC game of the week on at 3:30.  This has been the case for years until 2024 when they no longer will have the rights to the best SEC game of the week.  Saying that, let’s say that for some unknown reason, the Iron Bowl is not shown on CBS on American Thanksgiving weekend (this happened when the Egg Bowl moved there and it was a bit of a ratings disaster for CBS and a coup for ESPN) and in its place, the Missouri-Arkansas game is moved into that timeslot.  Two of the following three things would have had to have happened:

1. Eliah Drinkwitz continues to drink success and does the same thing he did at Appalachian State.
2. Sam Pittman becomes the most shocking coaching success story in a long time at Arkansas.
3. To the absolute joy of everyone outside of the state of Alabama, the Tide and the Tigers are both unranked.

So let’s just say I feel quite secure in putting the Iron Bowl at that time instead of the Battle Line Rivalry.  I think they need to come up with a better name than that.  Like Orgy in the Ozarks.  Wait, no, don’t do that.

Disclaimer: Just so you know, some of the broadcast info may change between now and the time I do my network-specific posts.  I say it every year and luckily no one says anything about it.  Which is great because I wouldn’t want my feelings hurt or something like that.  I am sure some people do it in private and that’s fine.  We aren’t like much of Twitter where the smallest thing ends up being a massive argument.

For the third year in a row, the Important Games list will be broken down week-by-week and then as per the following:

• Game of the Week – This is my opinion of the game of the week.  It may differ from your opinion.  That is OK.  Because the next part is…
• Other Really Important Games – See?  One of these games might be your game of the week choice.
• Sneaky-Good Underrated Game – Some games are underrated.  I will try to find one each week that could fulfill that criterion.
• Best Group of Five Game – Pretty self-explanatory but has to have TWO G5 teams involved.
• Worst Power Five Game – Just like above, except the opposite (with two P5 teams involved).

The “Other Really Important Games” section is the one section where the number of games I include may vary.  In some weeks you will only see one or two.  Others there may be like seven.  We pretty much know which weeks will have better games and which ones won’t so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Let’s start with the official commencement of college football blogging season (for me): the weekly rankings.  If you were looking for something similar to every other year then ho boy are you in for a shock.  Just a reminder that I list the week and the date that corresponds to the Saturday of that week so you can follow along:

1. Week 5 (October 3)
2. Week 6 (October 10)
3. Week 13 (November 28 – American Thanksgiving)
4. Week 12 (November 21)
5. Week 2 (September 12)
6. Week 7 (October 17)
7. Week 10 (November 7)
8. Week 9 (October 31)
9. Week 4 (September 26)
10. Week 8 (October 24)
11. Week 11 (November 14)
12. Week 1 (September 5)
13. Week 3 (September 19)

First off, we are back to thirteen weeks.  Do I like this?  No I do not.  Honestly I would prefer 14 if not 15 weeks in a season.  I understand that the way the Saturdays fall makes this a difficult venture but it is tough on the players to go through these three-plus months with only one bye week.  This year’s Week 1 is much like last year’s Week 1: weak.  It should be called Weak One.  Really, the Notre Dame-Navy Week Zero game is almost better than any other game in the Week 1 schedule.  American Thanksgiving falls to third…THIRD!  Weeks 5 and 6 are the big weeks so far on paper.  I don’t remember a time when the October schedule has been this good but here we are.  But here’s the craziest thing.  SEC Sleepwalk Week is NUMBER FOUR!!!!!!!  And no I am not high saying this.  I can’t even call it Sleepwalk Week anymore which does kind of make me sad.  There are a lot of good conference games this week including a couple in the SEC.  For the first time, Week 3 is the worst week of college football.  It’s a lot like many worst weeks in the past.  At least one potential game of the year.  Maybe another good game or two and then it falls off a massive cliff.  It’s when you get past the first three or four games of a week where you find out how good a day of college football it will be and man, this is not shaping up to be a good one.  In the end, it is college football, which I am craving right now, so I will watch as much as I can.  Also, last year the networks stepped up and Week Zero football appeared in Canada.  Nice.

Now it’s time for the weekly breakdowns.  I will be guessing with quite a few of them, especially when it comes to TSN coverage.  Again, keep in mind there is a lot that could change here, especially with this season kind of being up in the air.  At least the lists of games I will be presenting should, for the most part, be important games throughout the 2020 college football season.  Let’s begin.

Week 1

Game of the Week: Alabama vs. USC (in Arlington) (7:30, ABC) – Remember, it’s all 7:30 games for the ABC Primetime game, not just something for the Big Ten because it might get chilly.  Honestly, it could start at 9 and it wouldn’t matter to me since I am up through 2 in the morning watching college football so I may just have a problem.  About five or six years ago this would be a game of the year candidate.  Not so much this time around and it shows that Week One is back to being what it used to be:  the introduction to the season that gets everyone excited but rarely has huge matchups.  Saying all this, a USC win here would be huge for Clay Helton’s future in Los Angeles.  You also wonder how Bama is feeling after playing in the Citrus Bowl last year which might as well have been the Independence Bowl in Shreveport for all they care.  It’s always New Year’s Six or bust for this program.

Other Really Important Games: Georgia at Virginia (Monday, 8:00, TSN1/TSN4/TSN5) – The annual Labour Day SEC-ACC Football Challenge takes on more importance this year thanks to the Hoos actually being good now.  Bronco Mendenhall has done wonders in Charlottesville and this might be the year they put it all together and make a real run at the ACC title.  It’s a lock that the Dawgs will be a great team again this year despite their losses on offense.  With it being in Virginia, this could be a big test for Georgia and could affect their CFP plans.  UVA could throw the first staple in the shredder for this season if they pull off the upset.

Michigan at Washington (3:30, FOX) – FOX steps up on opening weekend unlike, well, any year before now.  A game between two teams that many believe underachieve most seasons.  How many times will we hear that Jim Harbaugh’s job is on the line in this one?  I put the over/under at 12.  As for the Huskies they are now in the post-Chris Petersen era.  Jimmy Lake takes over and has a lot of pressure right out the gate.

Florida Atlantic at Minnesota (Thursday, 8:00, BTN) – I am not joking with this one.  Minnesota should still be really good rowing that boat.  And FAU should still be good despite the fact the Lane Train departed for Oxford.  Now watch both teams be about .500 so I look like a moron.

Indiana at Wisconsin (Friday, 8:00, FloSports) – This is the first instance of me including FloSports in the important games posts.  It means that this game will be on FOX Sports One.  I used to hate when these games ended up on the list since it meant I couldn’t see it, nor could any Canadians.  Now, we have the means.  This is good.  Progress.  The more we are allowed to see, the better.  It’s not about giving us all the games, it’s about giving us the avenues to watch these games legally.  And it’s becoming more and more that way.  Anyway, it looks like four of the five nights on opening week have big games so at least you can say it’s spread out and not all in one or two timeslots.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: BYU at Utah (Thursday, 10:15, TSN5) – This is going to be an interesting year for the Utes.  They came within one poor performance at the Pac-12 Championship from getting into the College Football Playoff.  This is the kind of high-profile game they need to win.  On the other side of the field is their Holy War rivals, the Cougs.  Unfortunately for them, the only way for them to even get into the New Year’s Six is to lose no more than one game on the season.  For their sake, a win here gets them into the conversation.

Best Group of Five Game: Georgia Southern at Boise State (9:00, FloSports) – This is why it is important that we get FOX Sports One games here now.  The Mountain West inked a new deal with FOX meaning some games end up on the main network and also FS1 (FS2 as well but we won’t discuss that).  Part of the deal is that Boise State games are to appear on either FOX or FS1.  Meaning it is imperative that we get to view FS1 games because otherwise we would miss the blue turf every season for the next several years.  As for the game, the Broncos are again looking to break through into the CFP whereas Georgia Southern is trying to just win the Sun Belt for once after being very close for most of their seasons up in the FBS.

Worst Power Five Game: Purdue at Nebraska (Noon, FOX) – These are two teams that are never supposed to end up in this spot.  But really, the Huskers have been no better than average for a long time now and the Boilermakers, other than one good season, have been pretty bad since Drew Brees was quarterback there.  Worst part is that the other choice for worst P5 game is another Big Ten game, Michigan State and Northwestern.  Really, the bottom part of the Big Ten is not looking good and could be considered the worst of the Power Five conferences (if you include Rutgers and Maryland).  I will watch part of it, I know I will.  It’s just that there are other options so unless this game is close I won’t be clocking in much more than a few minutes here.

Week 2

Game of the Week: Ohio State at Oregon (3:30, FOX) – Last year this was the worst week, on paper, in the college football season.  This year it is way up the list and has an early candidate for game of the year.  The Ryan Day Buckeye Juggernaut Express rolls into Eugene for this one and tOSU is going to try and do what they always do…win big games.  An Oregon win here probably blows the national championship race wide open and cements Mario Cristobal as one of the upper tier coaches in the game.

Other Really Important Games: Texas at LSU (7:00, specialty pack) – I kind of wish CBS would pick up games like this but they never do.  Probably due to the contract that they can only show two SEC teams.  I, am, however glad that this game is at night in Death Valley.  One, it is arguably the best atmosphere in college football.  And two, if this was at Noon, the temperature would be approximately lava.  Hey let’s find out if Texas is back here.  God am I ever glad that horseshit is over.  Saying that, the Horns are good and are the first speed bump for the Tigers defending their national championship.  Without Joe Burrow this could be a very interesting matchup.

Tennessee at Oklahoma (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Tennessee should be back in the mix this season.  And Oklahoma has one of the brightest head coaches around, Lincoln Riley, at the helm, so they will be good as well.  As much as the Vols are improved I would be shocked if they pulled off a win here.  If they did it would be another grenade thrown on the national championship race.

Kentucky at Florida (Noon, specialty pack) – Now that the streak is over and Kentucky finally got their victory over the Gators a couple seasons ago, the Wildcats have gained a modicum of respect in the college football world.  Unfortunately, they have to travel to Gainesville and play a game on a field that will be slightly cooler than the surface of the sun.  Without Lynn Bowden, the Cats could be in real tough here for a team that has to be considered a legitimate SEC title contender.

Louisville at Clemson (7:30, specialty pack) – We all desperately need more ACC contenders.  I, for one, am getting tired of Clemson and the Thirteen Dwarfs.  The Cardinals might not be quite there yet but they had a young team last year and one of the better coaches around so who knows.  The Tigers have had at least one early season struggle the past couple years (Texas A&M and then North Carolina) so this could be that game that gets the Tiger faithful’s heart racing.

Penn State at Virginia Tech (Noon, ABC) – Does anyone realize that this could have ended up as a conference matchup?  Check out my what-if post on the Big East and you will learn why.  This is one of those matchups you never get and, as a college football fan, is a real eye-opener.  I am so looking forward to this one as it should be a great match.  Now watch one team blow out the other.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Iowa State at Iowa (Noon, FOX) – This is quite a good week when this is considered an underrated game.  Cy-Hawk has been a fantastic game the past few years despite the fact that the Hawkeyes continue to dominate the rivalry.  This is definitely a statement game for the Cyclones as this is one of the humps they can’t seem to get over.  The other is the Big XII title (or at least getting into the Big XII title game).  I am positive this will end up with a score of like 16-15 and Kirk Ferentz will do something Ferentzian to somehow help Iowa to the W.

Best Group of Five Game: Boise State at Air Force (3:30, CBS) – No that is not a misprint.  The Mountain West’s new contract with CBS calls for games to appear on the main network three times a season.  Huge for the conference as this allows it to compete with the American for the title of best Group of Five conference (and believe me, that does mean something).  This may be the biggest Mountain West conference game of the season and hearing Brad and Gary call it will be all kinds of weird but fun at the same time.

Worst Power Five Game: Syracuse at Rutgers (7:30, FOX) – As per tradition, at least once a year FOX absolutely shits the bed for a primetime choice and to be honest, I don’t think they even care.  This is what happens with more of these conference networks in play: you will get a terrible game or two on FOX or ABC.  I just wonder about the fact that there are other better options.  The only thing I can think of is that they would have to fulfill their Big Ten total games on the main network for the year and this is a relatively easy way to do it.  I mean I would have picked WKU-Indiana or Memphis-Purdue or even Ball State-Michigan but I am not a network exec so I obviously don’t know what I’m talking about.

Week 3

Game of the Week: Georgia at Alabama (3:30, CBS) – This will have serious national championship implications but I don’t need to tell you that.  Now I did have a choice as to whether this game would end up as the lone SEC on CBS primetime affair.  I did not choose this one and I will explain it in a later blog post.  I think you will hear a hundred-some-odd times that Kirby Smart will need this win to get over the Nick Saban’s assistant hump.  Nick Saban destroys his assistant coaches and probably relishes doing so.  Also, if you noticed above, this is the worst week of the season and you will see why in a bit.

Other Really Important Games: Iowa at Minnesota (Friday, 8:30, FloSports) – See?  It’s already starting to go downhill.  Saying that, this could be the de facto Big Ten West Championship depending on what happens in Madison this season.  This is another big test for a Gophers team that likes to schedule difficult in non-conference knowing they are going to probably get a brutal Big Ten schedule anyway.

Appalachian State at Wisconsin (3:30, BTN) –The number two and three games on this list are a Friday night FOX Sports One affair and a mid-afternoon Big Ten Network matchup.  Good fucking God.  To be honest, the bigger deal here is obviously the Mountaineers.  I have this feeling that this might be the season App State makes a serious run to becoming the first Sun Belt team to reach the New Year’s Six.  If this wasn’t a non-conference matchup I might have considered it elsewhere and I still think it might end up on FOX seeing what the week three schedule is like.  Plus it’s not like ABC has a stellar schedule on this week so it may be a week to bring eyeballs over to FOX.

Hawaii at Oregon (6:30, DAZN) – Some of you may be asking what DAZN is.  It is another site that, like FloSports, allows Canadians to get games on a channel we won’t normally get.  In this case it’s the Pac-12 Network.  This week is such a shit sandwich.  Now watch it be one of the most exciting weeks in college football history because if it isn’t, it may be one of the worst.

Sneaky-Good Underrated Game: Florida State at Boise State (Noon, FOX) – Boise State on FOX!  This is thanks to the new Mountain West contract with FOX but man, Boise making some serious concessions with this game going off at 10 AM.  Ten…in the morning.  I honestly do think this is underrated because of the Noles but you never know with this team.  If they ever get a good quarterback this team could be relatively dangerous.

Best Group of Five Game: Navy at Tulane (3:30, specialty pack) – To be honest, the early season doesn’t usually give us a bunch of good G5-on-G5 violence.  The previous week has a huge AFA-Boise matchup.  The first week got, well Boise State again, that time against Georgia Southern.  These two teams have been two of the most exciting recently which I know sounds weird when we talk about Navy but I like watching them play.  Tulane is like a pseudo-Navy where they also pass the ball more but run the option as well.  This game could be over by dinner.

Worst Power Five Game: Maryland at West Virginia (Noon, ABC/TSN1/TSN4) – This may be the only time you ever see an ABC game in this section.  I could see TSN deciding not to show this game so they can show a repeat of Motoring 2017.  Look the ‘Eers may end up being good soon with Neal Brown at the helm.  Maybe the Terps can turn it around with Mike Locksley, the hometown boy, in town and starting to recruit his own brand of team.  But as of right now, neither team is very good and there are other, somewhat less shitty options in this timeslot.  OK remember what I said about TSN not airing this game?  I wonder if instead of ABC this goes to FSN and we don’t get to see it at all here.

There you go.  The first three weeks are complete.  And it’s the first official blog post for what could be a very weird 2020 college football season.  I’d love to say we are getting close but are we?  Nobody knows.  As of right now there is only 97 days until the start of the season.  That could very well change.  I mean I love college football but if there isn’t a way to do it at that point then better to delay the start of the season.  Saying that, it’s more than three months away so anything more than two weeks into the future should really not be speculated on since no one has an idea of how things will go.  Hopefully you have a great rest of the weekend with this nicer weather (at least in my part of the world).

2017 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions!

Let us rejoice!  It’s bowl season!  And Christmas too.  But BOWL SEASON!  The last bunch of college football games of the season (other than the few all-star games in January).  Then we go to an EXTREMELY dry period of no college football.  It frankly sucks ass.  But what can you do right?  Maybe I will get to the 273 TV series that everyone says I have to watch.

Hey let’s talk a bit about the Army-Navy game before we get to rankings and predictions.  Could that have been one of the best Army-Navy games ever?  It was easily one of the best of this century so far.  The weather.  The old-school running attacks.  The close game.  And the fact it came down to a missed field goal with no time left.  Amazing.  Sometimes I lament why this game is on its own after the conference championships.  Then games like Saturday’s remind me why.  Just fantastic.

Alright I have done some different scales in the past for the different posts, most notably the UNCLE VERNE SCALE.  This year, I figured, since this is site that is primarily for college football television schedules in Canada, I would rank them based on the network these games would show up on if it were, say, a week in the middle of October.  Makes perfect sense for this site no?  You may have to bear with me on some of these and, in your opinion, some you may move up or down one or two slots but other than that I think this’ll work.  Famous last words.  Here we go!

10 out of 10!  This is Saturday Night on ABC kind of games

Game of the week quality.  So the College Football Playoff and the best two New Year’s Six games land here.

Sugar Bowl – Clemson vs. Alabama (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – Clemson-Bama III.  Not in the championship but still the rubber match.  Clemson has reinvented itself from last season which is a remarkable feat in and of itself.  Alabama is Alabama and always has to be considered dangerous since they have no big weaknesses.  This should be close.  Watch it not be.  But I am hoping it will since I will be up quite late to watch this one.  My pick: Alabama 35-28.

Rose Bowl – Oklahoma vs. Georgia (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – Thank God the College Football Playoff games are on New Year’s Day and not New Year’s Eve.  In the States, it’s because many people are out on New Year’s Eve and can’t watch it where they are.  Here in Canada we have that problem along with another “problem”: the World Juniors.  New Year’s Eve is a full slate of games including, usually, a huge Canada game late afternoon.  So this year we do not have that problem.  Oh, by the way this could be consider 1B to the Sugar Bowl’s 1A.  Both CFP games are very good this season.  My pick: Oklahoma 33-23.

Cotton Bowl – USC vs. Ohio State (Dec. 29, 8:30, TSN5 (JIP)) – I wish this was on ABC.  Why?  Because the whole “Joined in Progress” thing that TSN5 will be doing kind of worries me since doing anything other than broadcasting the whole game in the past hasn’t worked out too well.  Anyway, this is my pick for best New Year’s Six game and if it’s anything like USC’s last bowl game than saddle up…this gun be fun!  My pick: USC 44-39.

Peach Bowl – Auburn vs. UCF (Jan. 1, 12:30, TSN1/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) – January 1st has three of the top four bowl games this season.  Just like old times.  I believe this could be one of the most anticipated bowls as it usually is.  We get to play that game of “Can the Group of Five champ hang with a really good Power Five team.”  Scott Frost’s last hurrah for the Knights is here as well.  My pick: UCF 43-42.

9 out of 10! This is the SEC on CBS quality…normally

Arguably the biggest game of the day but goes here because the SEC is never on ABC (at least as the home team).

Orange Bowl – Miami vs. Wisconsin (Dec. 30, 8:00, TSN3) – Two teams who had their chances to make the College Football Playoff and gacked them away.  Wisconsin probably came closer than Miami since the Canes already fucked up their season with an inexplicable Black Friday loss to Pitt.  But I still think they have a more talented team than the Badgers.  Why?  Call it intuition I guess.  Hey, I’m not an expert!  My pick: Miami 36-30.

Fiesta Bowl – Penn State vs. Washington (Dec. 30, 4:00, TSN3) – This is the worst New Year’s Six game.  Think about it.  That’s still damn good.  Neither team is their 2016 version but I am really looking forward to the Trace McSorley-Jake Browning showdown.  Unfortunately I think the Nittany Lions will be WAY too much for the Huskies.  My pick: Penn State 37-17.

Citrus Bowl – LSU vs. Notre Dame (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC) – As I said in my bowl schedule post, both teams took very different paths to get here.  Hopefully this gets Brian Kelly and Ed Orgeron (two hot seat punching bags) from even sniffing the hot seat area…you know at least until mid-season when one or both is being skewered in the media for underperforming.  My pick: Notre Dame 23-20.

Alamo Bowl – Stanford vs. TCU (Dec. 28, 9:00, TSN3) – We still haven’t hit a specialty pack game.  Good on TSN for stepping up especially with HOCKEY in the way between Christmas and New Year’s.  The Citrus and Alamo Bowls are undoubtedly the best two non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl games and should be exciting affairs.  My pick: Stanford 26-23.

8 out of 10!  I’ll call this ESPN…on Saturday…or maybe Thursday night…but not always Saturday late night

Still really good games.  Must-see for college football fans at this point.

Camping World Bowl – Oklahoma State vs. Virginia Tech (Dec. 28, 5:15, specialty pack) – Probably the best game on the specialty pack this season.  Again, this should be good and we get Mike Gundy’s mullet!  Bonus!  I just remembered that I am turning 40 next year (I’M A MAN!  I’M 40!)  My pick: Virginia Tech 41-35.

Liberty Bowl – Iowa State vs. Memphis (Dec. 30, 12:30, ABC) – Is this our Arena Football Bowl game of the season?  Perhaps.  Memphis usually puts up a boatload of points and ISU is a Big XII team.  Take the over.  My pick: Memphis 45-35.

Holiday Bowl – Michigan State vs. Washington State (Dec. 28, 9:00, FOX Sports One) – I smell a trend.  A bad, bad trend.  Well, for Canadians at least.  We can’t see this game.  At all.  This blows.  I won’t even bother analyzing it.  My pick: Not that it matters but Michigan State 29-23.

Las Vegas Bowl – Oregon vs. Boise State (Dec. 16, 3:30, ABC) – OK you know what?  No…THIS is the Arena Football Bowl game of the year.  Oregon might just hit the 50-burger…which will be something because I picked the Broncos.  My pick: Boise State 55-44.

7 out of 10! This is FOX territory.  You could move this up 1 if GUS JOHNSON! is calling the game

Most college football fans should watch these games but we are getting eerily close to the equivalent of a game where Kansas is involved (despite the fact they are in a Power Five conference.

Texas Bowl – Missouri vs. Texas (Dec. 27, 9:00, TSN2 (JIP at 9:30)) – Still waiting for that Texas-Texas A&M matchup.  This would be the obvious place to put it.  Can you imagine if a bowl’s organizers decided to invite those two teams?  Could be the first time since Louisiana Tech a few years back where a team declined an invitation.  Anyway, I am actually picking Texas here despite the fact Missouri is easily the most volatile team here.  They might score 60 but let up 80 for all we know.  My pick: Texas 36-35.

Armed Forces Bowl – Army vs. San Diego State (Dec. 23, 3:30, specialty pack) – Two programs that would have been interesting selections to play Power Five schools.  And I think with the offenses these two teams run it wouldn’t be easier for those big boy programs to win.  This should have at least 700 yards rushing and may be over before I even have dinner.  My pick: San Diego State 38-21.

Birmingham Bowl – Texas Tech vs. USF (Dec. 23, Noon, TSN1) – I have a feeling this game will be overlooked by many.  Why?  It’s on at Noon two days before Christmas.  At least it’s on a Saturday.  I honestly can’t see the Red Raiders being within two touchdowns of the Fighting Charlie Strongs by the time the first quarter is halfway done.  My pick: USF 55-21.

TaxSlayer Bowl – Mississippi State vs. Louisville (Dec. 30, Noon, TSN3) – This might be overshadowed by the Liberty Bowl on at the same time.  It would have been pretty even but with Nick Fitzgerald out for the season there is no bloody way Lamar Jackson will let another bowl game go the way it did last year.  My pick: Louisville 40-24.

6 out of 10.  We will put NBC here because they have to go somewhere.

Let’s be honest, NBC has very few games during a college football season.  Like seven of them.  But one or two are REALLY big games so on average, you have to put them above some other networks right?  Plus all the Notre Dame fanboys would have a shit fit if I put NBC any lower.

Outback Bowl – South Carolina vs. Michigan (Jan. 1, Noon, TSN2) – Jadeveon Clowney might as well show up for this game, strap on the pads, and recreate that hit from the bowl game against Michigan a couple years back since it will be shown and talked about approximately 100 times by the time kickoff occurs.  My pick: South Carolina 27-25.

Foster Farms Bowl – Purdue vs. Arizona (Dec. 27, 8:30, FOX) – Here’s FOX’s only bowl game on the main network this season.  They should have multiple games.  Then again, so should CBS.  And NBC should get one.  And Don Criqui should call that game.  Yeah.  Anyway, Purdue is fun again!  And Khalil Tate is a joy to watch for Arizona.  This could be a very underrated game.  My pick: Purdue 44-38.

Sun Bowl – Arizona State vs. NC State (Dec. 29, 3:00, CBS) – It’s CBS.  There should be an SEC team here.  Other than the Army-Navy game (which is usually awesome) CBS should always have games with at least one SEC team in it.  What is this, the 1980s?  Well as I said in the schedule post, at least Arizona State is here so it won’t look so empty in El Paso.  My pick: NC State 43-27.

Dollar General Bowl – Toledo vs. Appalachian State (Dec. 23, 7:00, specialty pack) – Good thing Canada doesn’t have bowl games.  Can you imagine?  The Value Village Bowl LIVE on OMNI1.  I shudder at the thought.  We have two Group of Five champs going to head-to-head in this bowl game here so it should be a good one.  My pick: Apppalachian State 43-40…hell I will even say it ends in overtime!

5 out of 10. Some hot ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network action right here!

These are the networks I really love to be honest with you.  They provide a shit-ton of football on the specialty pack and at least once a week you get a great game on it.  Well a great finish at least which is what we might have to hope for with this group of games.

Belk Bowl – Texas A&M vs. Wake Forest (Dec. 29, 1:00, specialty pack) – Wake Forest is in bowl games in two straight seasons.  Nice.  Dave Clawson doing some good things in Winston-Salem.  And the Aggies?  Well, the Aggies struck the mother lode by bringing in Jimbo Fisher.  This could be the first game on the Aggie SEC Redemption Tour.  My pick: Texas A&M 35-28.

Cactus Bowl – UCLA vs. Kansas State (Dec. 26, 9:00, TSN2) – I can’t see either of these teams or their fans enjoying the fact they have to head to Tempe for bowl season.  For UCLA it will feel like a conference game to be played on the Pac-12 Network.  For KSU it might feel a bit like failure since other than Kansas can they say they are truly better than any other Big XII team this season?   My pick: Kansas State 33-28.

Music City Bowl – Kentucky vs. Northwestern (Dec. 29, 4:30, specialty pack) – WILDCAT BOWL!  This feels so Canadian.  Or at least like the SEC.  Either way Northwestern should mop the floor with Kentucky in this one but that’s why you have to play the games, right?  I’m just kidding, Northwestern should crush them.  Seriously.  My pick: Northwestern 33-10.

Hawaii Bowl – Fresno State vs. Houston (Dec. 24, 8:30, specialty pack) – Nice to see Fresno State back in a bowl game.  Jeff Tedford and former Hamilton Tiger-Cat Orlondo Steinauer have done wonders for this Bulldogs team.  And Houston…well, the Cougs aren’t the Cougs of last year that is for sure.  If it wasn’t for Ed Oliver I don’t think this game would be even close.  My pick: Fresno State 27-21.

4 out of 10.  I have to grudgingly put FOX Sports One here.

If we don’t get one of these games, one of them will be an AWESOME game and we will kick ourselves for not watching it (or not being able to).  That’s how I feel with FOX Sports One and for God’s sake can we at least get the FS1 games on the specialty pack next season?  Please?

Heart of Dallas Bowl – West Virginia vs. Utah (Dec. 26, 1:30, specialty pack) – Boxing Day.  Going out to get good deals.  Eating Christmas Dinner leftovers.  And watching Drunk Uncle Dana Holgorsen go apeshit at least five times during the game.  And that’s with me picking them to win.  Fun times.  My pick: West Virginia 39-33.

New Orleans Bowl – North Texas vs. Troy (Dec. 16, 1:00, TSN2) – Some classic mid-2000s Sun Belt action!  Actually these are two pretty good teams with good offenses although the Mean Green certainly didn’t show it in the Conference USA Championship game.  Troy has all the momentum right now and should run away with this one.  My pick: Troy 48-27.

Pinstripe Bowl – Iowa vs. Boston College (Dec. 27, 5:15, specialty pack) – I’m gonna be honest: this game doesn’t really float my boat.  I will watch it and I wouldn’t be surprised if either team put up a bunch of points but it just seems like a meh matchup between two Power Five mid-carders.  The only thing that keeps from being lower on my list is that I think it will be a close game (and Yankee Stadium is kind of a cool backdrop for a college football bowl game in December).  My pick: BC 29-28.

Bahamas Bowl – UAB vs. Ohio (Dec. 22, 12:30, TSN2) – There may not be a better story in college football than UAB this season.  Two years not playing football at all.  First year back and they go bowling.  And it wasn’t any 6-6 kind of thing.  They became bowl-eligible with a few weeks left in the season.  Impressive.  How Bill Clark wasn’t named Coach of the Year I will never know.  My pick: UAB 35-31.

3 out of 10. CBS Sports Network or Big Ten Network type games.  The whole “it’s about quantity, not quality” rule.

OK maybe I am a little down on BTN because I don’t get that network but how often do you see quality games on there?  Same goes for CBSSN.  OK full disclosure, I would watch the shit out of BTN games if I was able to get BTN because I watch way too much college football and that’s not a problem right?  RIGHT?

Military Bowl – Virginia vs. Navy (Dec. 28, 1:30, specialty pack) – A home game for the Midshipmen that for some reason doesn’t feel like as much of a home game.  Navy is on a down year this season, only finishing 6-6.  Bronco Mendenhall has done a masterful job in Charlottesville this year and I think will pull this one out.  My pick: Virginia 27-17.

Boca Raton Bowl – Akron vs. Florida Atlantic (Dec. 19, 7:00, TSN1) – It’s the Lane Kiffin Show!  Starring Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane…KIFFIN!  Don’t get me wrong, I think the guy is hilarious on Twitter and an underrated coach with, sometimes, a bit of an attitude problem.  What I do not enjoy is when the media (ESPN) talks about it 563,741 times before, during and even after the game is done.  We get it: he’s a polarizing figure.  Can you please talk about something else?  Like the fact Devin Singletary will probably run for 2 bills in this one and that FAU should mop the floor with Terry Bowden’s squad?  Please?  My pick: Florida Atlantic 58-28.

Frisco Bowl – SMU vs. Louisiana Tech (Dec. 20, 8:00, TSN2) – The Miami Beach Bowl bit the dust.  ESPN bought it from whomever and moved it to Frisco.  I kind of like this move.  The FCS Championship is played there and it’s a fun little venue that is the perfect size for the smaller bowl games with G-5 teams like this one.  I just don’t think the game itself will be that good beyond like the 10 minute mark of the second quarter.  My pick: SMU 43-20.

Independence Bowl – Southern Miss vs. Florida State (Dec. 27, 1:30, TSN2) – Florida State in Shreveport.  If you told me this would happen a few months ago I would have thought you were crazy.  But here we are.  And on top of that, Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M and Willie Taggart is in.  Crazy times in Tallahassee.  In the end though it doesn’t matter since the Noles should (SHOULD!) mop the floor with Southern Miss.  My pick: Florida State 39-13.

2 out of 10. This is some ACC Network dreck over here.

Once the ACC Network is actually like the SEC Network this should move up the chain.  This is the first year I haven’t had access to ACC Network games and unlike the BTN issue I talked about above, I can’t see me going out of my way to get any of these games.  Until further notice lower-level Big Ten games > lower-level ACC games.

Arizona Bowl – Utah State vs. New Mexico State (Dec. 29, 5:30, CBS Sports Network) – This bowl game would honestly be in the lowest tier if it wasn’t for the story of the New Mexico State Aggies.  First bowl game in 57 years.  FIFTY-SEVEN!  That is insane.  And they’ve been in FBS/Division 1-A/Division 1 all that time.  You’d have a better chance of winning Lotto 6/49 twice than doing that.  So for that reason I have to pick the Aggies.  For sentimental reasons.  And that’s why my picks sometimes suck.  My pick: New Mexico State 30-27.

Quick Lane Bowl – Northern Illinois vs. Duke (Dec. 26, 5:15, TSN2) – Full disclosure (and I have said it before): I really wanted Florida Atlantic here.  Quick Lane.  Lane Kiffin.  The jokes would write themselves.  Instead we have two teams that aren’t from Michigan in a bowl game in Detroit.  We know how that usually goes in terms of attendance, especially with a MAC team here instead of two Power Five squads.  My pick: Duke 26.  Northern Illinois 20.  Attendance <15,000.

Camellia Bowl – Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State (Dec. 16, 8:00, TSN2) – The Camellia Bowl might suffer from bowl fatigue.  Hear me out.  The first day of bowl season is exciting.  Fun.  It’s college football on Saturday with multiple games again.  But once the nightcap comes around and it’s only one game and it’s this one, it better be good or many people will tune out.  And with the NFL on at the same time, this might be tough sledding for ratings and viewership.  My pick: Arkansas State 45-31.

New Mexico Bowl – Colorado State vs. Marshall (Dec. 16, 4:30, TSN2) – I hate to say it but if it wasn’t on the opening day of bowl season it might go into the bottom rung.  Again, they are going up against the NFL so it will be interesting to see the ratings it gets.  At least this game, like my previous section (Camellia) will have a lot of offense.  Maybe the only thing that will save this from being close to unwatchable.  My pick: Colorado State 48-32.

1 out of 10.  Or zero.  I don’t care.  It’s football.  I might watch.  That’s the best I can do.  This is the FSN regional or ESPN3 game that, for some odd reason, magically appears on the specialty pack.  Most of the time you didn’t need or ask for this game.

There is a good chance I am putting these games on the PVR.  If they aren’t close I might watch about five minutes of them.  There is only so much I can take.  I love college football and even I have a limit.  I mean natrually I will pine for these games in May but for now, no.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Wyoming vs. Central Michigan (Dec. 22, 4:00, TSN2) – Mid-afternoon on the Friday before Christmas?  Talk about the timeslot of death.  I guess they decided, after last year’s icy skating rink of a field, to move this game up a few hours.  Thing is, last year’s Idaho Potato Bowl was one of the best bowl games.  This will not be.  And the timeslot makes it worse.  This goes to PVR City.  My pick: Wyoming 39-28.

Gasparilla Bowl – FIU vs. Temple (Dec. 21, 8:00, TSN1) – This should be in the bottom tier every year.  Why?  Because of the shitty field they play in and the shitty stadium that field is in.  Tropicana Field is a joke.  Are you telling me they couldn’t figure out a way to play this game at Raymond James Stadium?  Outdoors in nice weather?  No?  I don’t believe it.  This bowl is sparsely attended, looks terrible on TV, and never has good teams and rarely has a good game.  This will be no exception I think (unfortunately)  My pick: FIU 33-21.

Cure Bowl – Western Kentucky vs. Georgia State (Dec. 16, 2:30, CBS Sports Network) – The worst bowl game of the bunch.  This is almost universally accepted this season.  It’s on opening day, yes; but it’s in the middle of other games on other networks so it doesn’t truly get the national platform it could get.  Being on CBS Sports Network doesn’t help (although it is nice to see games not on ESPN).  Either way, I will watch this because I have the opportunity to but still…ugh.  My pick: Western Kentucky 45-14.

So there you go!  The bowl schedule and rankings are done.  So now you can enjoy the games!

As for other college football games going on in lower divisions, I honestly don’t know what is going on there.  Last weekend we were supposed to get two of FCS semi-final games and we didn’t.  No reason given.  They just never appeared.  This Friday/Saturday, based on previous years and the fact that the specialty pack is supposed to show college football from ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU regardless of what division it is, should (SHOULD!) look like this for these other games on the specialty pack:

• NCAA Division III Championship: Mary Hardin-Baylor vs. Mount Union (Friday, 7:00, ESPNU)
• FCS Semi-Final #1: Sam Houston State at North Dakota State (Friday, 8:00, ESPN2)
• FCS Semi-Final #2: South Dakota State at James Madison (Saturday, 4:30, ESPNU)
• NCAA Division II Championship: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. West Florida (Saturday, 6:00, ESPN2)

UPDATE: So the Friday night games never showed but right now the SDSU-JMU game is showing on the specialty pack.  Go figure.

UPDATE #2: I feel tricked.  They showed the first few minutes of the SDSU-JMU game and then it went off the air.  Ugh.

I get that it’s not bowl games or NFL games but it’s still football and we could see a great game or two among these four.  Whether they will actually appear on the specialty pack is another story.  I am not convinced it will happen.  Makes no sense but then again, when do a lot of what the telcos do with these specialty packs make sense?

Well it was a good run Big XII – Week 9 College Football Recap

OK actually it wasn’t.  It was pretty pathetic.  There is basically no way the Big XII will put a team in the College Football Playoff.  Not saying it is impossible, but it’s highly improbable.  The best overall records still belong to Baylor and West Virginia and no one will put them in a four-team playoff unless they absolutely have to.  Meaning it has to be 1990 or 2007 again for that kind of insanity to occur.

It was a really fun day full of quite a few upsets.  It’s the kind of weekend that you always look forward to as a college football fan.  Let’s recap it shall we?

Jabrill Peppers, Heisman Trophy Winner?  Don’t be surprised if this conversation picks up steam.  He had an absolute MONSTER game against Michigan State.  He’s basically Myles Jack on crack.  Arguably the best pure athlete in college football today.  Unless he falls off drastically, he should at least get an invite to New York in December.

So now it’s the ACC officials turn.  Clemson-Florida State was a great game.  Unfortunately it was a bit marred by terrible officiating.  Like Big XII awful.  It’s too bad this was the case because there were a lot of moments where it looked like the Noles would pull off the upset…a phrase that no one would think they would be saying in 2016.  Deshaun Watson proved his mettle putting the Tigers on his shoulders and carrying them to the win, keeping their College Football Playoff hopes intact.

A Big Ten West battle worth watching.  The best game of the night, in my opinion, was Nebraska-Wisconsin.  A great game that went to overtime with the Badgers coming out on top and Nebraska losing their first game of the season.  The kind of game Big Ten officials have been clamoring for since the Huskers joined the conference.

And now for the game we couldn’t see… Of course Washington-Utah ended up being a great game.  It was like another slap in the face.  It’s one thing to not be able to see a big college football game, something I thought was behind us now in 2016.  It’s completely another that the game was a great one with a punt return touchdown being the deciding score.  Let’s hope this changes next season (I won’t hold my breath that we would get access to FOX Sports One games).

Hey, the Iron Bowl looks like a good one again!  It was assumed that Alabama would get to the Iron Bowl with one loss at most.  They are such a dominant team that I can’t even foresee them falling out of the top four even with a loss.  But now that Auburn is moving up the rankings, this could become a HUGE Iron Bowl.  If Auburn wins out, then beats Bama in the Iron Bowl, it would be Auburn going to the SEC Championship which would bring back memories of the Tide losing to LSU and getting back to the BCS Championship (and eventually winning it).

That’s not the Houston we thought we’d see.  Yes, the Cougars won the game in a great comeback.  But still, they looked awful shaky and not like the dominant team of last season (and the dominant team we saw earlier this season).  Tom Herman’s stock has fallen slightly but he is still almost a lock for a Power Five head coaching job next season now that Houston isn’t going to the Big XII and isn’t going to the CFP or New Year’s Six.

Lamar Jackson is still in front in the Heisman race.  True statement.  Another true statement?  Louisville almost botched their New Year’s Six (or even CFP) plans by narrowly escaping Charlottesville with a win over Virginia.  I can see the Wahoos being a contender starting next year if they can get a good quarterback.

Don’t count Virginia Tech out in the ACC Coastal.  I’m finally getting those ridiculous division names right.  Anyway, everyone seems to have North Carolina as holding their own destiny in the ACC Coastal division.  Not so fast!  The Hokies have finally woken up under Justin Fuente and if they win out, they would go to the ACC Championship game against what looks like Clemson.

And then there was one.  Undefeated Group of Five team that is.  Wyoming (kind of) shocked the college football world with their upset of Boise State on Saturday.  It is not quite an Appalachian State over Michigan in 2007 type upset though.  Wyoming is a good team with a really good offense.  Craig Bohl is a great coach as was seen by taking North Dakota State to the FCS mountaintop.  And Boise wasn’t exactly destroying teams as of late.  So now we are left with Western Michigan as the Group of Five hope.  Win out and they are assured of a trip to the Cotton Bowl.  Lose once and all hell breaks loose.

Back to the Big XII for a second.  Baylor loses to Texas.  West Virginia loses to Oklahoma State.  As I mentioned above, the Big XII’s chances at the CFP are almost over and it’s Halloween today.  Pathetic.  I don’t care what anyone says, the Big XII’s days are numbered.  And if they do stay together it is solely for Oklahoma and Texas to have an easier conference to play football in, period.  I can’t see ESPN or FOX throwing a lot of money their way.  Would you?  Not for football I wouldn’t.  And now with the Big Ten moving first tier games over to FOX/FS1 next season, the writing is on the wall.  Unless it’s a huge game, don’t expect to see the Big XII on FOX much at all next season.

Rocky Stop.  How do Butch Jones and the Vols keep doing this?  They, for the most part, look like the true team to beat in the SEC East.  Not really a threat to Bama for the SEC as a whole but a solid team that would put the division in the Top 20 at least once.  Now, they lose to a much improved but still mediocre South Carolina team and looked horrible doing it.  Now it’s Florida who controls their own destiny but see who is looming right behind them?  That’s right, Kentucky.  Strange times we live in folks.

Alright, enough recapping for today.  A look at my Bossman’s Top 25:

#1	Alabama
#2	Clemson
#3	Michigan
#4	Washington
#5	Wisconsin
#6	Louisville
#7	Ohio State
#8	Texas A&M
#9	Florida
#10	Auburn
#11	Oklahoma
#12	Nebraska
#13	Baylor
#14	LSU
#15	Western Michigan
#16	Florida State
#17	West Virginia
#18	Penn State
#19	Utah
#20	North Carolina
#21	Oklahoma State
#22	Colorado
#23	Washington State
#24	Virginia Tech
#25	Boise State

I have Western Michigan up at #15 and I think they will sloooooooowly move up the chain and should end up in the Top 10 by the time the final rankings come out (as long as they keep winning).  I would say the top 8 in my list are probably the only teams that could have a legitimate shot at the CFP.  Then again, who knows.  This is college football and it has already been a pretty crazy season.

Alright there you have it, another week in the books.  Tomorrow is the NFL recap/rant, then updated bowl projections Wednesday, college football schedule Thursday, NFL schedule Friday.  The usual.  Or the yoozh (ush?  Oozh?).

UPDATE: Damn, already an update.  And it’s all about me forgetting about EVERYDAY FOOTBALL for the next three-plus weeks.  Anyway, tomorrow night, we have MACtion on the specialty pack.  Western Michigan-Ball State and Bowling Green-Northern Illinois both starting at 8.  Also, Wednesday night there’s more MACtion with Toledo-Akron starting at 7:30.

Jameis CrabLegs, the Duke team you actually like, and How to Upgrade During Realignment: A Primer (the ACC story)

Thanks to Famous Jameis and Jimbo’s best Bobby Bowden impression, the ACC is finally starting to look good.  As much as the Big East got heat for being the worst of the BCS conferences, the ACC should have got just as much shit if not more.  Unlike the Big East, the talent was there in the ACC, it just seemed like the collection of teams underperformed on a ridiculous scale.  But it’s not just the Noles doing this.  Clemson has looked great the past few years, North Carolina and Miami have had mini-resurgences, and Duke (Duke…I repeat, DUKE!) is a player now in the ACC, not the doormat.  And it continues this year as they somehow were able to upgrade from Maryland to Louisville (good job there Big Ten).  Alright, here are the predictions (with the first one being painfully obvious).

Atlantic Division

1. Florida State Seminoles (8-0 conference, 12-0 overall) – What a shock eh?  I, along with pretty much every expert out there (and no I don’t include myself as an expert), have the Noles running the table, at least for the regular season.  I can’t see how they won’t be favoured in every game, and most of them by double digits.  I guess the road games at Louisville and Miami could be considered tests but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Noles never even trailed in a game all regular season.
2. Clemson Tigers (6-2 conference, 9-3 overall) – And now for the consolation trophy presentation.  It is clearly a race for best of the rest in the Atlantic and despite the fact Dabo lost Boyd and Watkins, this team should still be damn good.  One of the tougher schedules in the country will make it difficult to win more than 9 and it wouldn’t surprise me if they won less.
3. Louisville Cardinals (6-2 conference, 9-3 overall) – The ACC came out smelling like roses after the realignment this time around.  Replacing Maryland with the Cards?  That’s a coup for a conference that is starting to bear its teeth a lot more.  The conference is already much better with UL on board and with Fun Time Bobby Petrino back at the helm, this should be, well a fun team to watch (as long as they have banned Sideshow Bob from motorcycles…and women…might as well hedge their bets).
4. N.C. State Wolfpack (2-6 conference, 6-6 overall) – After the top three there is a MASSIVE drop-off.  Basically the rest of the teams will be scrambling for enough wins to be bowl-eligible.  The Pack should be the best of those teams.  Dave Doeren has had a rough time so far in Raleigh but things are looking up for a team that should be at least middle-of-the-pack (and can always terrify the shit out of better teams like Florida State once or twice a year).
5. Syracuse Orange (2-6 conference, 5-7 overall) – Their season should start out so nice.  A 3-0 start.  Then it all goes to shit.  Their schedule is not fun.  Notre Dame, Louisville, and Florida State in consecutive weeks makes you think the scheduler has a hate on for Donovan McNabb, Paul Pasqualoni, the colour orange, any town within 100 km of Syracuse, etc.  They will need to overperform to try to get to .500 this season.
6. Boston College Eagles (2-6 conference, 5-7 overall) – I don’t know if there is a single team out there that loses a bigger part of their team than BC does with the loss of Andre Williams.  He was basically the offense.  I mean no offense (and pun very much intended) to the offense but he was the man last year.  All chances of scoring rested on his shoulders.  Super Steve Addazio is a great coach, but even he may want to temper any excitement on the Hill this year.
7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (0-8 conference, 1-11 overall) – Every year there are the best and the worst in various things.  When it comes to Power Five conference teams, Wake Forest, in my estimation, will be the worst this year.  I would feel sorry for Dave Clawson but he chose to come here so no dice.  It will take a few years and some Jim Grobe-like luck to bring this team back to bowl contention as the rest of the teams in this division at least are light years better than the Deacons.

 

Coastal Division

1. Miami Hurricanes (6-2 conference, 9-3 overall) – You could make a case that FSU, Clemson, and UL are the three best teams in the ACC.  But in the end it doesn’t matter since one team from each division goes to the ACC Championship.  It won’t be easy with 5 contenders in a 7-team division but when it’s all said and done, Al Golden and Al Golden’s tie should lead the U to the title game…to be squashed by the Noles for a second time this season.
2. Duke Blue Devils (6-2 conference, 10-2 overall) – Hey, a Duke team you can cheer for!  Don’t get me wrong, I respect everything Coach K has done.  I just can’t stand the basketball team and love it when they lose (like many, many people).  Plus, Coach Cutcliffe is pretty awesome so you have that.  Unfortunately for Duke this season, it’s the fact they travel to Miami and don’t get the Canes at home that will probably keep them out of the ACC title game for a second straight season (that sentence still looks odd in the Duke section).
3. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-2 conference, 8-4 overall) – So Larry Fedora (who I still wish would wear a Tar Heel-blue fedora just to one game…doesn’t matter which one) and his Heels are the chic pick to win the Coastal.  They will be better than last year because I assume they won’t start 1-5 this season…more like 3-3.  They play on the road against Miami and Duke which, in my opinion, makes it so they won’t win the Coastal although they are on the rise and next season we may be looking at a dark horse CFPMania contender.
4. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-3 conference, 9-3 overall) – Great Dave Wannstedt’s ghost!  The Panthers will be players this year for sure.  Actually, Paul Chryst should make his team a trendy pick to do some damage as they have a great chance to start 8-0 which should get a lot of people talking.  The last stretch of four games is difficult by ACC standards and should knock them out of contention for a division title but watch for this team.  The only issue may be the loss of Aaron Donald so if they can make up for that, it could be interesting (for once) in western Pennsylvania.
5. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-4 conference, 7-5 overall) – This will be a very unpopular pick as everyone loves Frank Beamer and everyone loves Beamer Ball (or is it Bud Ball?).  I can’t see how they lose Logan Thomas and improve from last season when they were just above-average and nothing more.  Plus their schedule is less than favourable with the Hokies travelling to the four teams above them in this division.  I mean they will make it to a bowl (again) but it sure won’t be a Big Boy Bowl.
6. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-5 conference, 6-6 overall) – Another unpopular pick I am sure.  Look Paul Johnson coaches a good game.  A good option offense.  I would never want to see a game between the Ramblin Wreck and a military team.  No time to get a snack or have a bathroom break.  The game would be over in about an hour forty-five.  I think many other teams are catching up and are able to defend the option much better.  Plus, unless you have the athletes specifically for this type of offense it can’t work to the point where you’re a contender.  Just a middle-of-the-road (albeit bowl-bound) ACC team.
7. Virginia Cavaliers (0-8 conference, 2-10 overall) – And now to a team that seems like a minor-league outfit compared to every other team in their division. I feel sorry for Mike London I really do.  It looked like things were looking up for the program but after last year, it is painfully obvious they are in need of an overhaul.  And target numero uno will be London, followed by his staff.  I don’t know many coaches who would be able to thrive in Charlottesville but expect a good Conference USA or MAC coach (or maybe Louisiana’s Mark Hudspeth) to take a crack at it and hopefully become the next Al Golden and not the next Darrell Hazell (sorry Darrell, I had to come up with a quick example).

Just like the pick for the Atlantic division, this one is a no-brainer.  You could put any Coastal division team up against this year’s Noles and there is no hope in hell for them to win.  Florida State should win easily, meaning they get to cement their place in the first College Football Playoff Semi-Final Fun-time Extravaganza.  Also too, the Noles dominance will probably prevent any other ACC team of even getting into the major bowls as well.  Such is life in the conference that is still at the bottom of the Power Five pecking order (but at least they’re in the Power Five…ask the American conference how they feel).

Finally, on a completely unrelated note, Sportsnet has SHOCKINGLY dropped OUA football from their schedule.  And by shockingly, I mean not shocking at all since they paid an arm and a leg (and probably sold some souls as well) to get the NHL package.  They have no time in their schedule for OUA football.  If they have no time for NCAA football, they sure as shit weren’t going to show anything OUA or CIS-related.  Could this be the beginning of more schools looking at the NCAA (at least for football)?  Simon Fraser is now D-II and I know UBC has been looking into that.  There are a few schools who could actually do well at the FCS level (Laval, Western, Saskatchewan) so it wouldn’t surprise me by the end of the decade if more schools moved in that direction.