How about I rank the bowl games now that they are complete?

Wait, WAIT! Look you’ve read some of my longer posts on here so don’t leave now. Honestly, this won’t be as long as some of the crazy-ass long posts I’ve done in the past. Plus, we can re-live some of Bowl Season’s greater moments together. Because let’s be honest: this wasn’t exactly the best Bowl Season ever. Not the worst mind you; but yeah, definitely not the best. So how about we just dive in and get started, OK?

1. Rose Bowl (Michigan 27 Alabama 20 (OT)) – This was one of the greatest College Football Playoff games of all-time. And funny enough, it still wasn’t exactly the cleanest game. Sloppy play by both teams made it so neither team could pull away. And in the end, the issue that caused Bama fits all game, poor snaps from center, came back to haunt them one final time. The low snap on 4th and Goal caused Jalen Milroe to panic and run up the middle to try and score. The play that was drawn up would have had a good chance of working if the snap had been perfect. Michigan finally erases so much CFP pain and will now have their chance at a national championship.
2. New Orleans Bowl (Jacksonville State 34 Louisiana 31 (OT)) – This feels like the validation of Jax State’s ascent to the FBS level. For some reason, some schools make it work and others (see UMass) can’t figure it out. The thing about this game is that it felt like the Gamecocks were throwing it away, literally. Three defensive touchdowns by the Cajuns kept them in the game. All it did though, is delay a backup kicker, who rarely played, kicking the game winning field goal for the Cocks. This is the perfect argument for why bowls do, and should in the future, exist.
3. Sugar Bowl (Washington 37 Texas 31) – The second of the two semi-final games was easily the worst…if you just watched the first 58 minutes or so of the game. Then the Huskies decided that maybe, juuuuuuuuuuuust maybe, they didn’t feel like going to the national championship after all. U-Dub was able to hold on when Texas almost seized that final chance and will now play for all the glory. Also, some people were actually introduced, truly, to Michael Penix Jr. for the first time. And I include people who report on college football as they were astounded by what he did despite the fact he did that in half the games this season.
4. Gator Bowl (Clemson 38 Kentucky 35) – Put your hand up if you thought Kentucky would be in one of the best bowl games of the year. Now put your hands down, you filthy liars. No one, not even Kentucky fans, thought that would be the case. That insane fourth quarter alone, with 42 points scored between the two teams, was enough to put this game in the upper echelon of this year’s Bowl Season.
5. Famous Toastery Bowl (WKU 38 Old Dominion 35 (OT)) – And the award for the most stupidly awesome bowl game of the year goes to this one. The Hilltoppers were down 21-0 just seven minutes in. I actually stopped watching for the next hour. I come back to see what’s going on and see the first touchdown of what would be the fourth-greatest comeback in bowl game history. How did it end? A blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, followed by another blocked field goal in overtime, leading to a walk-off field goal and then toast angels on the field. How can you not love college football?
6. Arizona Bowl (Wyoming 16 Toledo 15) – If you had said this bowl game would have been the one out of the two on at the same time to be the better bowl game I would have…well maybe not laughed but been intrigued by your logic. This game went up against the blowout that was the Orange Bowl so it was easy to tune into this game. This is the second straight year the Arizona Bowl has been a great game and Wyoming, this time, is on the better end of the score. A perfect end to Craig Bohl’s coaching career.
7. ReliaQuest Bowl (LSU 35 Wisconsin 31) – This ended up being a great battle, something that many thought wouldn’t be the case. The Badgers certainly showed up for this one after a lacklustre season. The Tigers didn’t even have the lead until their final touchdown with a little over three minutes to go. A good college football start to 2024.
8. Camellia Bowl (Northern Illinois 21 Arkansas State 19) – This falls under “It’s So Bad, It’s Good” territory. Not exactly the best of the best but the final portion of the game makes up for it with its sheer insanity. ASU went the entire length of the field to get within two, missed the two-point conversion, then recovered the onside kick! But it was flagged for offside in one of the biggest botched calls of the entire season which made Butch Jones go as red as a ripe tomato. Entertainment…that’s what we want from our bowl games, right?
9. Quick Lane Bowl (Minnesota 30 Bowling Green 24) – Minnesota threw for 26 yards and won this game. Hilarious. It helps that they could hand the ball off to Darius Taylor who went off for over 200 yards. Fun fact: the Gophers have now won seven consecutive bowl games. That has to be tops, no?
10. Pinstripe Bowl (Rutgers 31 Miami 24) – A good game at Yankee Stadium. Now I’m not huge on regular season games at baseball stadiums (as in they should be banned) but I am totally fine with them during bowl season. There was more scoring than many thought there would be but there was no stupidity from Mario Cristobal, which was also expected (by me).
11. Cure Bowl (Appalachian State 13 Miami-OH 9) – This game was played in atrocious weather. I fucking loved it. It was just a bunch of silly backyard-style football fun, if your backward was a swimming pool. At one point it felt like they were going for the bowl game fumbles record. Combined, the two teams ended up with 12. How either team got a kick off, I will never know.
12. Peach Bowl (Ole Miss 38 Penn State 25) – Most thought it would be a great matchup between the seriously up tempo Rebel offense against the Nittany Lions’ stout defense. It was not to be. The Fighting Kiffins shredded PSU and pulled away in the second half. So Lane is safe in the fans’ minds in Oxford. James Franklin…well I am sure there are many unhappy people in…(Un)Happy Valley.
13. Pop Tarts Bowl (Kansas State 28 NC State 19) – Let’s be honest here: all we wanted to see was what would happen at the end with the mascot. And it was fucking glorious. Whoever thought of this should get a MASSIVE bonus. Also, the game was pretty good with it being close nearly the entire way.
14. Alamo Bowl (Arizona 38 Oklahoma 24) – Man, the Wildcats are going to be a load in the Big XII next year. They went blow-for-blow with the Sooners and ended up leaving them in their dust thanks to causing six turnovers. Gotta hand it to Jedd Fisch: not many thought he would get the program to this point this fast. So is he the best coach out of the Bill Belichick coaching tree? Oh wait, Nick Saban did a few years under Belichick. So yeah Jedd you will always be second in this case.
15. Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Kansas 49 UNLV 36) – Speaking of teams who could be really good next year in the Big XII, the Jayhawks overcame being called for over 200 yards worth of penalties to almost put up a 50-burger. Jason Bean has been a god-send considering Jalon Daniels was injured most of the season. And he showed it in his final game throwing for six touchdowns. This was KU’s first bowl win in 15 years. Incredible. And don’t shortchange the Rebels who also had a pretty good game and great season.
16. LA Bowl (UCLA 35 Boise State 22) – Look, I think most were interested to see if Chip Kelly’s team would show up for what was basically a home game for them. And they sure did. The Bruins were able to stick with Boise until the second half and then pulled away for a relatively easy victory and a tiny bit of momentum going into the Big Ten next season.
17. Texas Bowl (Oklahoma State 31 Texas A&M 23) – Somehow, the Aggies, with all sorts of players not playing (for various reasons), came back from an 18-point halftime deficit to make things very interesting late. Also, Mike Gundy has won 10 games in a season EIGHT TIMES? Really? Wow. This guy should get more credit for what he’s done in Stillwater.
18. Armed Forces Bowl (Air Force 31 James Madison 21) – Some called it bad and I think it’s because the Dukes lost. Air Force showed why they were the Group of Five favourite heading into November. JMU tried to make a game of it but the Falcons’ run game was way too much for them. A perfectly good bowl.
19. Holiday Bowl (USC 42 Louisville 28) – Miller Moss took advantage of Caleb Williams opting out of this game by throwing for a Holiday Bowl record six touchdowns. I will be honest by saying that the amount of people online saying we have an early Heisman frontrunner irked me. This isn’t preseason hype: this is the end of the previous season hype. Ridiculous. Not saying he won’t be good but I wish some in college football media would pump the brakes sometimes since they sound like idiots every so often.
20. Gasparilla Bowl (Georgia Tech 30 UCF 17) – The slightly weird start time didn’t detract from a pretty good bowl game. Despite the loss and the 6-7 finish, you have to think the Knights thought this season was a success. Their first as a Power Five team and they showed they could compete. As for the Ramblin’ Wreck, well, I am sure they sent a postcard to Mario Cristobal for gifting them that win that essentially put them in this bowl game.
21. Birmingham Bowl (Duke 17 Troy 10) – I tend to rank closer games higher than offensive shootouts that end with one team winning by like 21. That’s just me. Very little is more exciting in college football than a chance for a team to tie or win a game late. Both teams had interim coaching staffs so we can use that as an excuse for this one although it feels like it’s happening more and more these days. Not a good trend.
22. Las Vegas Bowl (Northwestern 14 Utah 7) – A great ending for the Wildcats who wildly exceeded expectations this season. Utah just didn’t have the players to contend in this one. If you liked defense…well, you still might not have liked this one since it was more the offenses struggling than anything.
23. Liberty Bowl (Memphis 36 Iowa State 26) – There were some high hopes for this one. Iowa State was a better-than-advertised Big XII school and Memphis was at home. And it wasn’t a bad game but it felt like the Tigers were in control for most of it which kind of sucks the life out of a bowl game in the latter stages.
24. Hawaii Bowl (Coastal Carolina 24 San Jose State 14) – Pretty good game but drops a few notches because it wasn’t on Christmas Eve WHERE IT BELONGS.
25. Fenway Bowl (Boston College 23 SMU 14) – It was cold. It was wet. It was fun…for me to watch. Not for the players, coaches and fans, I’m sure. Well, at the time it was probably not too bad. I’ve played in games like that and it was fine until after the game. Then you feel like shit. You might feel less shitty if you win…but you still feel like crap. Anyway, this is a conference game next season! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C! A-C-C!
26. Independence Bowl (Texas Tech 34 California 14) – After a full opening day of bowl games I was hoping this one would be good. Or fun. Or weird. It was none of the three. It was fine until about halfway through the second quarter and the Red Raiders rode away with it. Lack of drama drops this way down.
27. Military Bowl (Virginia Tech 41 Tulane 20) – This was a nasty weather game so you’d think I would rank it higher. There were a lot of fumbles and chaos so you’d think I would rank it higher. I don’t know what it was but this felt like not a very fun game to watch. I kind of stopped paying attention in the second half. I really didn’t think the Green Wave was in it nor did they care much to be there. And that can happen sometimes when your coach leaves for another school. Maybe that was the case here, I don’t know. Either way, it was meh.
28. Cotton Bowl (Missouri 14 Ohio State 3) – I was kind of hyped for this one, not gonna lie. I was thinking this would be quite the prove-it game for Mizzou and we would see if no Kyle McCord would be an issue for tOSU. I was right, for the most part, on both fronts, yet this game sucked. Luckily for the Buckeyes, their awesome defense kept them in it going into the fourth quarter but their offense was painful to watch. They should have found a student in the crowd to play quarterback since it would have been just as good.
29. Frisco Bowl (UTSA 35 Marshall 17) – Would this have been better if 14th-year senior Frank Harris had been able to play? It would have been a blowout rather than a relatively easy victory for the Roadrunners, that’s about it. Biggest take from this game? The starting quarterbacks were Cole Pennington for Marshall (Chad’s son) and Owen McCown for the Roadrunners (Josh’s son). I feel seriously fucking old.
30. First Responder Bowl (Texas State 45 Rice 21) – Not the greatest game to be honest as the Bobcats were in control for most of it. It was definitely helped, though, by the fans (especially the Texas State ones) who were jacked for this one. So jacked that they ran out of beer at the game. Five minutes into the third quarter. Yeah.
31. Idaho Potato Bowl (Georgia State 45 Utah State 22) – The Aggies looked pretty damn flat in this one. The Panthers, on the other hand, overcame their late-season collapse and get back to that early season form. Almost 650 yards of offense for GSU and they were way too much for USU. Even with the french fry bath, this was a bottom tier bowl game this season.
32. Myrtle Beach Bowl (Ohio 41 Georgia Southern 21) – A bit of a ho-hum affair kicked off Bowl Season this time around thanks to the Bahamas Bowl having to move to Charlotte. Ohio went up big and kept the lead the entire game. Nothing super interesting with this one.
33. Music City Bowl (Maryland 31 Auburn 13) – This game was over early and was done without Taulia Tagovailoa. So it was impressive. Just not interesting to watch after the first quarter.
34. New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State 37 New Mexico State 10) – I thought this would be a good game. I had high hopes for NMSU in this one. It was not to be. Fresno State cranked it up late and ran away with this one but even earlier on it didn’t really feel close as the Bulldogs showed the form that had them the favourite for about seven days to be the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six. Oh well.
35. Duke’s Mayo Bowl (West Virginia 30 North Carolina 10) – Props to West Virginia for completing a good season, much better than most thought would happen. Neal Brown got mayo dumped on him. And that’s about it. The game was forgettable.
36. Sun Bowl (Notre Dame 40 Oregon State 8) – Boy, for a game that was sold out quicker than I think any other Sun Bowl ever, this game was an absolute dud. Notre Dame’s backups beat the ever-loving shit out of Oregon State’s backups. Ugh.
37. Fiesta Bowl (Oregon 45 Liberty 6) – I think we’ve found our new BYU. No, I don’t mean weird religious institution (even though they are). I mean a team that’s probably too good (most of the time) for their conference but not really good enough to be in the Power Five (or maybe even a better conference). Didn’t help that Oregon came in looking pissed off and after the Flames took a 6-0 lead it was all Ducks. 45 unanswered points and Bo Nix left as a record-setting quarterback. This was a trainwreck, really.
38. Citrus Bowl (Tennessee 35 Iowa 0) – Geez, where do I begin with this one? This was one of the most Iowa games of the season which is saying something. The offense was awful. The Brian Ferentz Experience has come to an end and I am positive most in Iowa City are thankful for that. What made it worse was two other games on at the same time. So I watched almost none of the second half. And I don’t feel bad about that at all.
39. 68 Ventures Bowl (South Alabama 59 Eastern Michigan 10) – I am starting to wonder why this bowl even exists. Even by ESPN Events standards, this is shit. I love more football but good God. The Jags just ran the Eagles off the field in another boring 68 Ventures Bowl which was called…like seven other things before this. This is perfect fodder for the Too Many Bowl Games crowd.
40. Boca Raton Bowl (USF 45 Syracuse 0) – This was one of the biggest beatdowns in bowl game history. Well at least I thought that until…I’ll get to that in a second. Anyway, I figured the Orange would show up. They did…technically. They were the opposition…technically. Other than that, USF, a middle-of-the-road American Conference team who played out of its mind for new coach Alex Golesh, beat the brakes off of Cuse. It was a pathetic performance, regardless of who was missing from the lineup. And speaking of players missing from the lineup…
41. Orange Bowl (Georgia 63 Florida State 3) – This picture encapsulates this game perfectly:

Mike Norvell looks like he wants to be anywhere other than where he was at that moment. This game is THE biggest win in bowl game history. So Georgia one-upped themselves. This game, and everything leading up to it, was a completely fucking mess of a shitshow and is a big part of what’s wrong with college football today. Florida State (and to a lesser extent, Georgia) being left out of the College Football Playoff, some even saying that FSU should boycott the game, some politician trying to force the CFP to put the Noles in (somehow), then all sorts of players opting out or transferring out (from both sides mind you). It all led to this travesty of a game. Even Kirby Smart, during the post-game press conference, told everyone “if this doesn’t show that there needs to be some change, then I don’t know what does.” I’m paraphrasing but he’s right on the money. When players can transfer, when coaches can leave a school to get hired somewhere else, what happens to a player’s NIL when they opt out of a bowl game…all this stuff needs to be dealt with. If it doesn’t, these bowl games will get less and less important. And this is after the playoff has already eroded the bowl system (a bit).

See? Not my longest post ever. So no complaining.

Well we’ve hit the end my friends. One last game. The national championship is tonight and, other than the weird all-star games with their weird rules, it’s the final college football game of the season. Cherish it. Even if it’s a blowout. Remember: the wait for the next season can be long and arduous. Enjoy the game everyone!

2023 Bowl Game Rankings and Predictions for those Bowl Games!

We are a little over a week away from Christmas. You have your Bowl Season schedule and now you need some Bowl Game rankings and Bowl Game predictions from your friendly neighbourhood Bossman.

Time to go back to basics…I think? After introducing the Play-by-Play Announcer Scale last year we are heading back in time to the broadcasting network scale. An oldie but a goodie but since much has changed in the past few years, there are a couple of newbies and some networks that just don’t broadcast college football anymore. So let’s get right into this!

Now one thing that will change is this will be in tiers. 8 tiers like last year but with networks instead of announcers. Let’s fucking go!

The ABC Saturday Night Tier

Game of the Year type games right here. The games that matter. In this day and age that means the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six.

Rose Bowl – #1 Michigan vs. #4 Alabama (Jan. 1, 5:00, TSN3) – This will get a lot of viewers. I am starting to wonder if ESPN kind of helped with all the controversy to get even more people to watch. Let’s be honest: these two teams may be the two most hated college football teams in the land right now. And they are both just fine with that. Expect this to be a very close and very exciting game. My pick: Michigan 36 Alabama 31.

Sugar Bowl – #2 Washington vs. #3 Texas (Jan. 1, 8:45, TSN3) – They should have had the Rose and Sugar as the College Football Playoff semi-finals from the get-go. But it’s college football so they sometimes trip over themselves figuring things out. They still haven’t learned from having games on New Year’s Eve where the ratings, while still good, were probably much lower than they could have been. Normally one CFP semi-final is a fair amount worse than the other. This is the case this year and it has nothing to do with the Huskies or the Longhorns. At least it feels like both game will be really good because it’s rough to watch a CFP game get out of hand (see 2022 national championship). My pick: Washington 27 Texas 24.

Peach Bowl – #10 Penn State vs. #11 Ole Miss (Dec. 30, Noon, TSN5) – Two teams with head coaches that their fanbase doesn’t fully trust. I kind of get it but, because it’s college football, many go overboard. I mean who is going to State College or Oxford and doing a lot better than James Frankin or Lane Kiffin are? It would be a tough sell at Penn State to get a truly elite coach and even tougher at Ole Miss. Honestly, both coaches will probably be around through the end of next season so fans might as well focus on this game and stop talking about their next hypothetical coach. My pick: Penn State 21 Ole Miss 14.

Orange Bowl – #5 Florida State vs. #6 Georgia (Dec. 30, 4:00, TSN1/5) – This bowl has gone off the rails and it’s two weeks away. Now we have some Georgia lawmaker wanting to make the Orange Bowl another semi-final. So how the fuck is that going to work, Jethro? The winners get together for a hot game of rock, paper, scissors? Or maybe a three-way Cage of Death match up in Barrow, Alaska. Televised LIVE by ESPN AND NO ONE ELSE of course. What a fucking shitshow. I’m almost ready for the 2024 season to start so we can be done with this season. My pick: Georgia 35 Florida State 25.

Alamo Bowl – #12 Oklahoma vs. #14 Arizona (Dec. 28, 9:15, TSN3) – Well hey look at this. Not a CFP bowl and not an NY6 bowl! I say it almost every year but the Alamo Bowl, on paper, is one of, if not the very, best bowl games outside the major bowls. I wonder what will happen with the tie-ins with the Pac-12 being history. Either way, a great game to watch even if you end up exhausted at work the next day. My pick: Arizona 42 Oklahoma 39.

The SEC on CBS Tier

I’m shedding a tear right now looking at that logo. Long live the SEC on CBS. Things will never be the same again.

Cotton Bowl – #7 Ohio State vs. #9 Missouri (Dec. 29, 8:00, TSN2) – One team who was one win away from being in the College Football Playoff against one team who played way better than anyone expected. I can’t see this game being done before Midnight. Thankfully it’s Saturday the next day. We shall see if the absence of Kyle McCord really does affect the Buckeyes. I think it will. My pick: Missouri 34 Ohio State 20.

Armed Forces Bowl – James Madison vs. Air Force (Dec. 23, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – The best pre-Christmas bowl game and of course it features America’s (Eastern) Team, the James Madison Dukes (America’s (Western) Team resides in Las Cruces as you already know). As for the Falcons, talk about a horrible slide to end their season. They were at the top of the Group of Five mountain going into November and by Selection Sunday were an afterthought. My pick: James Madison 31 Air Force 10.

Pop Tarts Bowl – #18 NC State vs. #25 Kansas State (Dec. 38, 5:45, TSN3) – This has to be the bowl game with the most questions. Nothing to do with the two teams involved who did very well this season but were one or two bad losses away from causing potential chaos. No, I’m talking about the edible Pop Tarts Bowl mascot. You read that right. Edible. Mascot. We don’t even know what flavour it is. Watch it be a really shitty flavour like blueberry or the disappointing chocolate fudge one or grass and dirt. Wait, there’s a pumpkin pie one? That one then. Ugh, just the thought of that makes my stomach churn. My pick: Kansas State 36 NC State 28.

Fiesta Bowl – #8 Oregon vs. #23 Liberty (Jan. 1, 1:00, TSN3) – The worst of the New Year’s Six games and it’s really not even close. That seems to be the take everyone has, partly because Oregon is one win over Washington from being in the playoff and partly because many hate Liberty because of the university itself. Ugh. Oh well, I’d love to say this could be close. I just don’t think it will be. My pick: Oregon 52 Liberty 28.

Citrus Bowl – #17 Iowa vs. #21 Tennessee (Jan. 1, 1:00, ABC/TSN+) – It must look weird to have an Iowa game here but hey, the Iowa defense was one of the best in the country. Sure they couldn’t score for the life of them but defense wins championships, right? It feels like football is trying to do away with that adage. Look, at least the over/under isn’t as ridiculous as the last few Hawkeye games this season (it’s 36.5 the last time I checked which is still low but I digress). My pick: Tennessee 21 Iowa 14.

The Big Noon Kickoff Tier

Really good games that are approaching the SEC on CBS level except when they end up showing Indiana or Nebraska playing a team like Ohio State. Then it’s not so fun and you fear for Gus and Joel’s sanity.

Holiday Bowl – #15 Louisville vs. USC (Dec. 27, 8:00, FOX) – Of course the BNK section has to have the only FOX bowl game. I’m just happy they don’t have a bowl game on FOX Sports One anymore. Sure I can watch it but many Canadians can’t and I am a man of the people. Anyway, GUS won’t get to call any Caleb Williams on-field action because he’s not playing. Between players opting out and players transferring before bowl games, Bowl Season is becoming, I hate to say, a bit of a mess. Hopefully someone fixes it. They won’t though. My pick: Louisville 36 USC 19.

Guaranteed Rate Bowl – Kansas vs. UNLV (Dec. 26, 9:00, TSN2) – UNLV has been better than advertised this season. Barry Odom has done an unbelievable job in Vegas. And you know my thoughts on Lance Leipold and the direction of the Jayhawk football program. Hell, the renovations are going to be so big that it may cause them to have to play at least one game at Arrowhead Stadium next season. That wouldn’t have happened with the 2010s Kansas Jayhawks. This may end up being one of the most fun games to watch. My pick: Kansas 31 UNLV 27.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl – North Carolina vs. West Virginia (Dec. 27, 5:30, TSN5) – I don’t usually like picking sides. But there is something intriguing about the idea of Mack Brown being buried in Duke’s Mayo. OK wait, buried was the wrong word. I didn’t mean… My pick: North Carolina 45 West Virginia 42.

Liberty Bowl – Memphis vs Iowa State (Dec. 29, 3:30, TSN2) – This could be a bit of a track meet game if the Tigers get rolling in front of their home crowd. What I’m saying is: take the over. My pick: Memphis 49 Iowa State 40.

Sun Bowl – #16 Notre Dame vs. #19 Oregon State (Dec. 29, 2:00, CBS) – At one point this was going to be THE non-CFP/non-NY6 bowl game. Then we have D.J. Uiagalelei transferring. Jonathan Smith is now head coach at Michigan State. Sam Hartman might not play for the Irish. From a game that looked like it would be loaded with points, it might not end up being that way now. My pick: Notre Dame 23 Oregon State 21.

The Notre Dame and/or B1G on NBC Tier

Notre Dame games still hold a lot of reverance for fans and the Big Ten will slowly make their mark, especially with Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge calling their games.

Arizona Bowl – Wyoming vs. Toledo (Dec. 30, 4:00, The CW) – Yes the C Fucking W. They may go down in the list of notable networks that have broadcast bowl games like Mizlou Network and the American Sports Network. This bowl is sponsored by Barstool Sports so many won’t watch it just for that. I do kind of get it since it’s like watching a game at one of those sportsbooks in Vegas with 10,000 screens and odds on everything and anything. But it could end up being a good game and I don’t want to miss that, right? My pick: Toledo 33 Wyoming 27.

Cure Bowl – Appalachian State vs. Miami-OH (Dec. 16, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Even though it’s on ABC it might be overshadowed by other bowl games. Which is too bad since we have the MAC champs and the Mountaineers that are back after missing Bowl Season last year (in one of the craziest seasons in Sun Belt history). Don’t sleep on this matchup despite the fact it could be a bit of a defensive slugfest. Like if you enjoy Iowa football this may be your type of game. My pick: Appalachian State 20 Miami-OH 18.

ReliaQuest Bowl – #13 LSU vs. Wisconsin (Jan. 1, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – The first football game of 2024 is also the first game on this list that is on TSN+ and the specialty packs. Also, if Heisman winner Jayden Daniels does decide to play, this shouldn’t be cloase at all. My pick: LSU 48 Wisconsin 13.

Music City Bowl – Auburn vs. Maryland (Dec. 30, 2:00, ABC/TSN+) – Auburn has been all over the place this year. The highs are always high playing in the SEC. The lows can be very low although a loss to New Mexico State doesn’t look as bad as some may think. This is the younger Tagovailoa’s final game at Maryland and I think he goes out with a bang against an inconsistent Tigers team. My pick: Maryland 49 Auburn 29.

Gator Bowl – #22 Clemson vs. Kentucky (Dec. 29, Noon, TSN2) – If the Tigers hadn’t had a hell of a November, this may have been an even matchup. But it won’t be. At least I doubt it. My pick: Clemson 41 Kentucky 15.

The Late Night ESPN Tier

Jesus Christ that looks horrible. Oh well, I don’t feel like finding another logo. Basically this tier is the ESPN game that’s not the SEC primetime ESPN game of the week. So it could be the Noon, 3:30 or late night affair. So still a pretty good game but a step below the rest.

Independence Bowl – Texas Tech vs. California (Dec. 16, 9:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – This feels like an odd pairing in Shreveport of all places. Maybe next season they can get the Sun Belt champ to play an SEC team here, like God (or the Bossman in various posts) intended. I’m going with the team that scratched and clawed their way to bowl eligibility and have a bit of momentum as they head to the ACC. My pick: California 41 Texas Tech 27.

LA Bowl – UCLA vs. Boise State (Dec. 16, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – This is going up against the rest of opening day of Bowl Season plus a few NFL games plus a couple of lower-level playoff games. So, yeah this isn’t exactly high up on anyone’s list of appointment viewing I’m sure. Considering Gronk is involved, my interest has dwindled even farther. Maybe it will be close and keep my attention. I don’t think it will be though. My pick: Boise State 39 UCLA 26.

New Mexico Bowl – Fresno State vs. New Mexico State (Dec. 16, 5:45, TSN+/specialty pack) – Hey it’s America’s (Western) Team, the New Mexico State Aggies! They ended up giving Liberty quite the run for the Conference USA Championship. They get a head coach-less Bulldogs squad that had the inside track to the Mountain West Championship and blew it because of a loss to, well how about that, New Mexico. The script writes itself. My pick: New Mexico State 44 Fresno State 31.

Texas Bowl – Texas A&M vs. #20 Oklahoma State (Dec. 27, 9:00, TSN5) – Usually this game has been a fairly good one so at least we have that going for it. Problem is you have a team that might not have one of the best running backs in the nation for the game up against a team that just spent a shit-ton of money to get rid of their old coach. It will be close only because neither team will be able to pull away. My pick: Texas A&M 28 Oklahoma State 23.

Birmingham Bowl – Duke vs. Troy (Dec. 23, Noon, ABC/TSN2) – This was looking like a really even game and the kind of game I love to see during bowl season. Instead, Duke loses their quarterback and I have a feeling the Trojans will run away with this one. My pick: Troy 36 Duke 20.

The FS1/ESPN2/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network Tier

If you’re a college football fan you are watching these games. If not, well………

Fenway Bowl – Boston College vs. SMU (Dec. 28, 11:00 AM, TSN3) – It’s late morning football in what should be chilly BAW-stun. This could be considered the Mustangs’ first ACC game as they join the conference next season. I believe they will show the Eagles why they were coveted by the conference. My pick: SMU 48 Boston College 21.

Gasparilla Bowl – Georgia Tech vs. UCF (Dec. 22, 6:30, TSN5) – I don’t get the start time but whatever. The Knights have to consider their first season in the Big XII a success as they go bowling. And Brent Key may have just started the Ramblin’ Wreck’s ascent back up the ACC standings. This should be another good one but I will go with the home cookin’. My pick: UCF 22 Georgia Tech 17.

Hawaii Bowl – Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State (Dec. 24, 10:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Coastal has had a great run recently so this season feels…a little blah by their now lofty standards. Much of that has to do with the rest of the conference catching up and, for some teams, passing them. I honestly have no real intuition about this game so I will pick the team that doesn’t have to travel clear across the entire country and then half the Pacific Ocean. My pick: San Jose State 45 Coastal Carolina 24.

New Orleans Bowl – Louisiana vs. Jacksonville State (Dec. 16, 2:15, TSN+/specialty pack) – The Ragin’ Cajuns are close to home where they have played in front of some good bowl game crowds at the Superdome. But the Gamecocks are playing in their first bowl game ever and are doing it with RichRod at the helm! No offense to Cajun fans but I have to go with my heart. My pick: Jacksonville State 36 Louisiana 28.

Military Bowl – Virginia Tech vs. Tulane (Dec. 27, 2:00, TSN5) – I am shocked at how well the Hokies did this season. And I was so close at getting my G-5 NY6 pick correct but the Green Wave fell in the American Conference Championship. I usually don’t feel good about teams whose coaches have left for (usually) greener pastures but I think this will be a very close and competitive game. My pick: Tulane 30 Virginia Tech 29.

The CW Tier

When it was announced The CW would be doing an ACC game most weeks, most laughed. I sure did. But holy shit, despite the average commentary, the sub-HD look and the overall lack of production values, they had a few games that hit it out of the park. So you can’t sleep on this station because you might miss a really good game!

Pinstripe Bowl – Rutgers vs. Miami (Dec. 28, 2:15, TSN3) – Ah, an old Big East showdown. Maybe years from now, when conferences hit 28 teams, some teams start to hate it and they break off into smaller conferences, like the Big East. Just a thought. I don’t trust Mario Cristobal to coach this team to a bowl victory as far as I can throw my car. My pick: Rutgers 34 Miami 19.

First Responder Bowl – Rice vs. Texas State (Dec. 26, 5:30, TSN2) – G.J. Kinne has done a fantastic job in San Marcos, coaching the team to its first bowl game ever. Rice did better than expected and could look even better next year in the AAC. This feels like the kind of game that should be on ESPNU that everyone will turn to because there’s the possibility of a fantastic finish. My pick: Texas State 45 Rice 39.

Las Vegas Bowl – Northwestern vs. Utah (Dec. 23, 7:30, ABC/TSN2) – Got to give the Wildcats kudos for a great season considering what things were looking like heading into it. But they are facing a Utah team that, if it weren’t for injuries, would have been in that super dogfight at the top of the Pac-12. I still think the Utes on most nights are safe pick and this is no exception. My pick: Utah 31 Northwestern 10.

Myrtle Beach Bowl – Georgia Southern vs. Ohio (Dec. 16, 11:00 AM, TSN+/specialty pack) – Ohio has Canadian quarterback Kurtis Rourke here so…wait…they don’t? Looks like Rourke entered the transfer portal and has already been picked up by Indiana of all the teams. So my Bobcats pick has to be changed to an Eagles pick since without Rourke I don’t think they have a shot here. My pick: Georgia Southern 32 Ohio 13.

Frisco Bowl – UTSA vs. Marshall (Dec. 19, 9:00, TSN3) – This is the same spot the Frisco Bowl was in last year. So yeah it’s not like they are getting amazing teams to come to Frisco (other than North Dakota State most seasons). At least it’s another Texas team here as the Roadrunners meep their way up the state to face the Thundering Herd. I see Frank Harris, in what his finally his final game, lighting it up one last time. My pick: UTSA 51 Marshall 27.

The Pac-12 Network Tier

They should have taken the two worst teams in football and had them play a “bowl game” on a weeknight at 11 Eastern on the Pac-12 Network. Just to show how little that conference network mattered. I don’t get it. You create a conference network and make it available to most people and people will watch. Hell, the Longhorn Network is still around and that thing is garbage. Yet, this network will die sometime in the late Spring (I assume) and pretty much no one will miss it because they COULDN’T FUCKING WATCH IT! Man. Anyway, this is the bottom tier. Still games I will watch but if you miss them it’s not the end of the world (at least watch the highlights though).

Famous Toastery Bowl – Old Dominion vs. WKU (Dec. 18, 2:30, TSN1/3) – This was supposed to be the Bahamas Bowl but because of renovations to their only stadium on the island capable of hosting this game, it had to be moved. Thus is the creation of the Famous Toastery Bowl. My hope is that the winning coach gets a whole whack of toast dumped on him. Or even French toast. Ugh that would be so sticky (especially if you include syrup which you should) but would be worth it for my entertainment. The game? It will probably be close only because these two are arguably the worst two teams to make bowl season. The closeness keeps it from the bottom. My pick: Old Dominion 23 WKU 20.

Camellia Bowl – Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 23, Noon, TSN+/specialty pack) – Despite the fact ASU has done better than I thought they would this season, their defense is still atrocious. They couldn’t stop a slight breeze. NIU loves to run the ball so despite the clock always moving this could see a lot of points. My pick: Northern Illinois 50 Arkansas State 38.

Idaho Potato Bowl – Utah State vs. Georgia State (Dec. 23, 3:30, TSN+/specialty pack) – Let’s follow one lowly bowl with another. Sometimes Boise gets a great matchup. This, I’m sure, does not qualify as one. GSU limped into the postseason on a 5-game losing streak. Make it six. My pick: Utah State 37 Georgia State 13.

Quick Lane Bowl – Minnesota vs. Bowling Green (Dec. 26, 2:00, TSN2) – Almost everything about this spot on the list is the same as last year. Same bowl. Bowling Green is in it. It’s on Boxing Day. Hell, it’s on a TSN station and only half-an-hour earlier than last year’s edition. Kind of creepy. I remember a time when the MAC champion would go here and face a fairly decent Big Ten team. I guess those days are gone. My pick: Minnesota 21 Bowling Green 14.

Boca Raton Bowl – Syracuse vs. USF (Dec. 21, 8:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – USF might get a boost from being so close to home. That is until their defense hits the field and they have to try to stop the pass which they couldn’t all season. Look, their game against Alabama was wild and fun to watch but Bama struggled to throw the ball all day. Syracuse won’t. My pick: Syracuse 45 USF 14.

68 Ventures Bowl – South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 23, 7:00, TSN+/specialty pack) – Different name, same shitty bowl game. This is the second straight year the former LendingTree Bowl ends up in the bottom spot on my list. Even the Jag-you-ares playing in front of a home crowd isn’t enough to pull this out from the bottom rung of the ladder. I like EMU but this won’t be even remotely close. My pick: South Alabama 44 Eastern Michigan 9.

There you go! Bowl schedule, bowl rankings, bowl predictions: all complete. All there is now to do is watch the games.

As an add-on, there are some lower-level playoff games. Hell, let’s do another mini-schedule right here!

FCS Semi-Final: UAlbany at South Dakota State	Friday, 7:00
Division III Championship: Cortland vs. North Central (in Salem, VA)	Friday, 7:00
Celebration Bowl: Howard vs. Florida A&M (in Atlanta)	Saturday, Noon
Division II Championship: Harding vs. Colorado School of Mines (in McKinney, TX)	Saturday, 1:00
FCS Semi-Final: North Dakota State at Montana	Saturday, 4:30

All of these games are on TSN+ and the specialty pack except for the Celebration Bowl which goes to ABC.

It looks like other than one game, your boy Bossman can watch every game if he wishes. I most definitely will, thank you very much. And you too…enjoy the games. We’re almost ready to wrap up this season of college football season so get as much viewing in as you can.

Lists, Lists…..LISTS!

You’d think I was employed by Buzzfeed with all these lists I’m making.

So just like last year, I will add a few more lists to accompany the Most Important Games post. It should give you a good idea of the important games to watch (at least at this point) and maybe some games to avoid (unless you are a Sicko like me and will watch any football…even, yes…arena football!)

I know, I know, I have always stated my disgust for arena football but I have to admit it does have its own trashy charm to it. OK let’s just get to the lists, shall we?

Sneaky-Good/Underrated Games

I used to list a game like this for every week of the season. This time I will rank the top dozen games that should be considered underrated but very good and that didn’t rank in the Top 35 from the previous post.

1. Oklahoma vs. Texas (at the Cotton Bowl) (Week 6, Noon, ABC/TSN2) – First of all, I am not on drugs. Not many are talking about the Sooners and most are calling for the Longhorns to walk off to the SEC with a Big XII Championship title. Do you remember what game this is? It’s the god damn Red River Shootout/Rivalry/Game/Brawl/Drinking Contest. Many times it is ridiculous, crazy, wild and just plain dumbfounding. Don’t count OU out…at least in this one game…….oh the second thing. Yeah, ABC has picked up this game but the time hasn’t been set. It will be either Noon or 3:30 because the State Fair of Texas becomes a gangland shootout at night or something like that.
2. TCU at Kansas State (Week 8, Noon, specialty pack) – The rematch of last year’s Big XII title game loses a bit of its luster but should still be important in the grand scheme of things in the conference. I get it’s not Gary Patterson anymore but Sonny Dykes is already showing he can also make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. Chris Klieman will get every opportunity to show off why he got a big extended contract and this is one of those opportunities at home in front of the Wildcat faithful.
3. Iowa at Wisconsin (Week 7, Noon, Big Ten Network) – As I said in the Most Important Games post, it feels like all the conference networks get at least one good game a season now. This could be that game, if it ends up there. Once again this could be for the Big Ten West title but it’s going to feel weird with Wisconsin not running the ball as much. Iowa, on the other hand, should be exactly the same, trying to win games 6-5.
4. Texas A&M at Ole Miss (Week 10, Noon, specialty pack) – Many will sleep on these two teams…wait, bad analogy. I forgot Petrino was at College Station. Anyway, two teams that many will cast aside but it’s almost a guarantee one of them will cause a bit of a stink in the conference. Also, take the over.
5. UCLA at Oregon State (Week 7, 5:30, Pac-12 Network) – Speaking of conference networks, here’s the worst of the bunch. That includes the Big XII’s non-existent network. Look, one of these two teams is going to be very good (I think) and will cause quite a few headaches at the top of the Pac-12 food chain (I think) and will end up being in the Pac-12 Championship (ehhhh, I don’t know).
6. TCU at Oklahoma (Week 13, Friday, Noon, FOX, confirmed) – Black Friday will start with a game between a team who just got destroyed in the national championship and a team that normally is great and struggled to be bowl-eligible. Both teams will have something to prove and this could be their last real chance to do so (and make it count) this season.
7. Kansas State at Texas Tech (Week 7, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – I guess it makes sense that the Big XII fills a good portion of this section after almost being shut out of my Top 35 most important games of the season. The Red Raiders always put up the points, no matter who the quarterback, head coach, or receivers are. And KSU can also do that when they want to. Should be a shootout (of sorts).
8. South Carolina at Texas A&M (Week 9, Noon, specialty pack) – More Fun Bobby! And Fun Shane…ok that one doesn’t have as good a ring to it. But BeamerBall 2.0 is a lot of fun to watch.
9. Arkansas at Ole Miss (Week 6, 7:30, specialty pack) – Could Sam Pittman be the most lovable coach in the game right now? Perhaps. He still feels like a bit of an underdog and you always root for the underdog, right? Wait…I’m getting something here….a message…ah, OK. Lane Kiffin doesn’t agree.
10. Minnesota at Iowa (Week 8, 3:30, FOX) – Row The Boat vs. Single-Digit Scoring. I am intrigued, I’m not going to lie. Plus we will see the best new tradition in all of not just college football but sports in general, the Iowa Wave.
11. Duke at North Carolina (Week 11, 8:00, specialty pack) – The Eastern version of the Victory Bell could be important once again. Both teams look like they could slot in anywhere from three to six in the ACC this year (with no divisions thank god). So a win here and maybe an upset or two somewhere else and one of these programs will duke it out for a conference championship.
12. Ole Miss at Tulane (Week 2, 3:30, specialty pack) – The game time is confirmed. I assume it heads to the specialty pack. Too bad because TSN would be smart to pick up this game. The Green Wave, who have to be considered to have the best odds to make it back as the best Group of Five team, hosting Ole Miss in what will be stiflingly hot weather in New Orleans…yeah I like Tulane’s chances but I still think it will be a close one.

Best Group of Five Games

Next up is our friends from the Group of Five. Three of them got invited to sit up at the adult table so overall this group is a tiny bit weaker. That just means other teams will have opportunities that they may not have had before. So let’s look at the best Group of Five games this season. And no, the Ole Miss-Tulane game above doesn’t count. This is full G5-on-G5 violence, bruh.

1. UTSA at Tulane (Week 13, 7:00, specialty pack) – As per usual, the American Conference should make up the bulk of this list. The defending Group of Five champion (and Cotton Bowl champion), Tulane is the favourite to do it again. UTSA is in its first season in the American but already could be the team to knock the Green Wave off their perch. Huge game where I have to favour Tulane only because it’s in New Orleans not the Alamodome where the Roadrunners have a huge home advantage.
2. Air Force at Boise State (Week 13, Friday, 4:00, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – Not having FS1 will deprive Canadians of a lot of good Mountain West action. This should be the conference’s game of the year and the winner probably goes to the Mountain West Championship. Being on the Smurf Turf, I would give the Broncos the slight edge here.
3. South Alabama at Tulane (Week 1, 8:00, specialty pack) – This game is set for ESPNU on opening Saturday and, I can almost guarantee, will head to the specialty pack. The Jaguars (Jag-you-ares) came out of nowhere last season to almost win the Sun Belt. They are the favourites to win the conference and if they can pull the mini-upset here, could feasibly run the table. I guess I could say the same thing about Tulane.
4. Boise State at Fresno State (Week 10, 10:00, CBS Sports Network, confirmed) – Hey it’s CBSSN’s first foray onto any of these lists. CBSSN is a nice palette cleanser really. It shows games you never would have normally watched. Plus it shows most of UConn’s games. I am liking CBSSN having the CFL. Yes it’s just a simulcast of TSN’s showing but it works. Kind of wish they would come up with at least their own play-by-play and analysis and just use the TSN visuals.
5. Tulane at Memphis (Week 7, Friday, 7:00, TSN2) – It’s the time of year when the American and ACC split most of the Thursday and Friday night games on ESPN and their dysfunctional family of networks. TSN tends to show more Friday night games because they can put it on TSN2 and not have it interfere with the CFL’s Friday Night Football. Anyway, yes, it’s the Green Wave again. Bored yet? They might be that good. Maybe even legit Top 12 good if everything falls right.
6. Boise State at San Diego State (Week 4, Friday, 10:30, CBS Sports Network, confirmed) – And here comes Boise State again. I mean I want to say there aren’t two obvious frontrunners in the G5 but there are. Both the Broncos and Tulane should be in it to the end to see who gets that single spot.
7. South Alabama at Troy (Week 10, Thursday, 7:30, specialty pack) – Hey it’s not Tulane, Boise State, the American or the Mountain West! Let’s give the Sun Belt a lot of respect. They have become the third-best Group of Five conference and it’s a pretty wide gap between them and the two conferences below them, the MAC and Conference USA. The Battle for the Belt (so good to have a wrestling title belt as the rivalry trophy) should be for the de facto Sun Belt West title unless Louisiana or maybe Southern Miss has something to say about it.
8. Boise State at Memphis (Week 5, 3:30, specialty pack) – This might end up on ESPN or ESPN2 depending on how both teams are doing at this point. I could see it happening because ESPN made a point to trade with CBS for this BSU road game.
9. Tulane at East Carolina (Week 10, 3:30, specialty pack) – I figured East Carolina would have to find someone to replace Holton Ahlers and his 245 passes per game. Instead they plan to completely turn to the running game and grind teams into the turf. If this somehow works, Georgia Tech fans are gonna be real mad.
10. WKU at Troy (Week 4, 3:30, ESPN+) – First Conference USA appearance and it heads to ESPN+. I have that this year for the first time so I am going to have a lot of fun and totally destroy my remote control this season with that. Kind of wish it even got to ESPNU so that the specialty packs could pick it up. I still think WKU and MTSU were foolish not to take the MAC’s potential invite as they are stuck now in arguably the worst FBS conference with not much in the way of rivalries.
11. San Diego State at Air Force (Week 5, 8:00, CBS Sports Network, confirmed) – OK two teams that aren’t quite fitting the mold of the top G5 teams. Nice. And, if things go according to plan, we should see a bazillion yards rushing and the game might be over by 10:00.
12. Eastern Michigan at Toledo (Week 11, Wednesday, 7:00, specialty pack) – Finally we end this list with a MACtion game since I have to. MACtion is awesome. We also have Fun Belt now and whatever the American conference calls their weeknight games. Oh and Conference USA is doing pretty much all weeknight games in October. Crazy! Anyway, this could very well be the two best MAC teams so let’s call this the de facto MAC West championship.

Best Group of Five vs. Power Five Games

Let’s bring back this section because these games are the ones many college football fans feast on. What is better than watching your hated rival lose to a Group of Five team? Not much. And I have always said, Group of Five teams, at least the better ones, should get their shot at Power Five teams to see what they are worth. If it wasn’t for that happening, very few teams would have moved up and the Power Five may have already separated from the rest of college football by now.

1. Ole Miss at Tulane (Week 2, 3:30, specialty pack) – This was already discussed above but it is the biggest G5 vs. P5 game of the season and hosted by the Group of Five team which is a rarity but happening more often these days which is nice to see.
2. UTSA at Tennessee (Week 4, 7:30, specialty pack) – The Roadrunners meep their way up the food chain to the American Conference this season and are already a contender for the league title (and perhaps a NY6 spot). The Vols will be really good this season but a UTSA win her would be massive for the program and for the college football season as a whole.
3. Boise State at Washington (Week 1, 3:30, ABC/TSN2) – Everything is confirmed except for if the game will appear on TSN. I believe it will but we won’t know for like another two months. Ridiculous. Washington is looking to ride their Heisman contender quarterback all the way, hopefully, to the College Football Playoff so a slip-up here would almost derail that entire plan.
4. WKU at Ohio State (Week 3, 4:00, FOX, confirmed) – Look, are the Hilltoppers going to win this? No. All we can hope for is for WKU to put a scare into tOSU. If, somehow, they ended up with the upset, it would be the biggest upset in the history of college football and you wouldn’t be able to convince me otherwise.
5. Troy at Kansas State (Week 2, Noon, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – OK now this one has intrigue written all over it. Troy is one of a handful of teams that has legit New Year’s Six aspirations out of the Group of Five. Kansas State is the defending Big XII champions but have a few question marks. This feels ripe for an upset.
6. SMU at TCU (Week 4, Noon, specialty pack) – The Battle for the Iron Skillet. This might be the best one yet if the Mustangs are as good as some say they will be. Not the favourite in the American so they will have to show out in games like this to catch voters’ eyes. This could be a good litmus test to see how far TCU has fallen from last year’s national runner-up team.
7. San Diego State at Oregon State (Week 3, 3:30, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – This could be a tasty affair if the Aztecs step up and prove they could be eventually Pac-12 worthy in football. Otherwise, you might hear a lot of chainsaws going in this one since Oregon State is definitely a dark horse contender this season.
8. SMU at Oklahoma (Week 2, 6:00, ESPN+, confirmed) – Ouch. Seeing this relegated to ESPN+ surprises me a bit but the Sooners are not the team they had been for the past few decades. The Sooners are going to try and come out of the gate swinging but don’t be surprised if the Stangs give them some trouble in this one.
9. UCF at Boise State (Week 2, 7:00, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – Last year this would have been in the previous section. Now the Knights are in the Big XII but they may still be an underdog on this one. If I were a betting man I would put my money on the Broncos here as they are hoping to run the table and get back to where they believe they belong: as the top dog among the Group of Five.
10. East Carolina at Michigan (Week 1, Noon, Peacock, confirmed) – The debut of Peacock on these lists. I am sure at some point it will be available for Canadians but we aren’t quite there yet. Yeah I don’t think this will be really close but you never know. I wonder if ECU can run on this Michigan offense. If they can, the entire Big Ten will be watching tape of this game all season to see if they can replicate it.
11. UCLA at San Diego State (Week 2, 7:30, CBS, confirmed) – Nice to see the Mountain West appearing on CBS. The week before this we get Texas Tech/Wyoming and here we get a very interesting matchup that could easily lead to an upset, if SDSU has things going by the second week of the season.
12. UTSA at Houston (Week 1, 7:00, FOX Sports One, confirmed) – The Cougs have stepped up to the Big XII conference. Good for them. Problem is they start their first season back on the top tier of college football against one of the best Group of Five teams. The only thing helping Houston is that the game is in Houston and not San Antonio. I am sure Drunk Uncle Dana will be about seven Red Bulls in by the time this one starts.

Worst Power Five Games

Didn’t think I’d forget this section, right? These are the games that you can probably avoid, unless they are close. They fill conference networks (and really are the reason those networks exist but I will not complain about that) and even sometimes creep onto FOX or an ESPN2 or ESPNU. Sad but true. Spoiler alert: I will still watch most of these games.

1. Northwestern at Rutgers (Week 1, Sunday, Noon, CBS, confirmed) – What a way to show off the new Big Ten on CBS with a game between *checks notes* uh….Northwestern and Rutgers? My God that is not good at all. Who the hell is picking these games at CBS? The only thing I can think happened was that it was the last game remaining…like picking the last kid in dodgeball. Well, nothing else will be on at that time at least in a college football sense so guess what ol’ Bossman will be watching?
2. Stanford at Colorado (Week 7, Friday, 10:00, TSN2) – This is confirmed for ESPN2 but who knows if TSN will pick it up or not. Look I understand there is a lot of hype with Deion Sanders now coaching at Colorado. And that’s a good thing for that program. But they will struggle to be bowl-eligible this season. Now Stanford….that’s a different story. They are back to the days before Jim Harbaugh and then David Shaw resurrected this program. They may just be the worst Power Five team at this point. What a fall from grace.
3. Virginia Tech at Virginia (Week 13, Noon, specialty pack) – What happened last year at Virginia was tragic. Three players gunned down late in the season. UVA rightfully cancelled their final two games, including the Commonwealth Cup game against VaTech. Now they are back but this will not be an easy season for the Hoos, both on the field and emotionally. The Hokies are as bad as I have ever seen them be. Then again, I only mostly saw them as a Frank Beamer team. Beamerball, this is not. Look, I hate putting this game here but these two teams might be god-awful this season.
4. Rutgers at Indiana (Week 8, Noon, Big Ten Network) – Rutgers is, unfortunately, back to being Rutgers. And Indiana without Michael Penix Jr…well we found out they were bad. Both coaches will be on the hot seat with Tom Allen in the much hotter seat for sure. The loser might not win a Big Ten game this season.
5. Virginia at Boston College (Week 5, Noon, specialty pack) – As for non-Virginia teams in the ACC who probably won’t be going bowling, BC comes to mind. I can’t see them finding the magic formula especially with a young, relatively untested quarterback manning the ship.
6. California at Stanford (Week 12, 9:00, Pac-12 Network) – Ah, the worst of the conference networks. What a shitshow it is. Anyway, The Big Game will be anything but big this season as I already mentioned how bad Stanford will be and I don’t know how many people outside the Cal football program care about Cal football. A shame, really.
7. Colorado at Arizona State (Week 6, 9:00, Pac-12 Network) – Remember when ASU was the laughing stock of the Pac-12 for like a second? Everyone thought their ship was going to come crashing down. Well it did but other teams flew past them into the basement. That doesn’t mean this is some kind of comeback story, though. They still aren’t good and will be fighting for bowl eligibility. Wins in games like this are a must for that to happen.
8. Georgia Tech at Virginia (Week 10, 3:30, specialty pack) – It feels kind of weird watching Georgia Tech play football when they aren’t running the Paul Johnson option offense. You know, I’m starting to think they never should have changed from that. Made them unique and helped them win just as often as they lost.
9. Virginia Tech at Rutgers (Week 3, 3:30, Big Ten Network, confirmed) – Hey let’s dip into some non-con action now. I would ask who the hell scheduled a game like this but it was probably scheduled back when the Hokies played their first season in the ACC.
10. Arizona at Stanford (Week 4, 7:00, FOX Sports One) – I have to be honest: Jedd Fisch has already exceeded my expectations for a) his coaching in Tucson and b) a guy named Jedd. This team is on the brink of getting back to postseason play for the first time in years. I will put the over/under on fans attending this game at 14,000.
11. Arizona State at California (Week 5, 9:30, Pac-12 Network) – I am still on the record saying that there should be a pure sports-style Netflix or Amazon Prime out there. One where you can add or subtract whatever channels you want based on sport, country, etc. Would it be the death knell to cable? No but it would be quite the flesh wound. By the way, this game has some pretty good Pac-12 After Dark vibes to it and could get wacky because both teams are just not that good.
12. Northwestern at Nebraska (Week 8, 2:30, Peacock) – I would be remiss if I didn’t include Nebraska somewhere on this list. They’ve fooled and many others over the past few years. So until they prove it, I will not take the bait. Nope, no more. I refuse to drink the Husker Koolaid.

Alright, done and dusted. A reminder that tomorrow is the end of the fiscal year for pretty much all the FBS schools. There are rumours that something on the realignment (oh god that word) front could happen by the end of the night or the very next day. Last year it was USC and UCLA to the Big Ten. Can’t see anything as big as that but you never know.

Well, I would like to wish everyone a great Canada Day weekend and Fourth of July celebration. We are less than two months away folks. Nice to be talking college football again.

Iiiiiiiiiiit’s…TIME! For another Thanksgiving* FOOTBALLGASMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

*of course I mean American Thanksgiving but you already knew that….right?

Just because it’s Thanksgiving south of the border doesn’t mean we can’t have turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and peas and sweet potatoes and stuffing and pumpkin pie and…oh man I’m getting hungry. I think it’s a good way to support our ‘Murican friends on Turkey Day, don’t you think?

One sad thing is that everyday college football ends tonight. Tomorrow there are no games. I think there should be one. When I become commissioner of college football, I will do that. For all of you. There’s still college football on American Thanksgiving Day along with the usual NFL fare and then things ramp the fuck up starting Black Friday. I am so ready. Let’s get to the schedules and again it will be in the normal Thanksgiving style that I use….with a bit of a twist this year. Again, I am using AP Poll rankings because this blog post will come out a few hours before the next College Football Playoff Rankings come out.

Tuesday

Bowling Green (+6.5) at Ohio

7:00 PM

The week starts with the MAC East Division title game. If the Bobcats win, they head to Detroit. If the Falcons win, as of right now, they also head to Detroit. What is planned for Buffalo with their cancelled game against Akron is anyone’s guess. Predicted score: Ohio 38 Bowling Green 28.

Thursday

Mississippi State (+2.5) at #20 Ole Miss

7:00 PM

There is no chance this game could be important. It would have been if the Rebs could have beat Arkansas last week. Instead they were run out of the building. There may also be the distraction of Lane Kiffin possibly being named head coach of Auburn soon. Oh, and if you’ve noticed, I’m including the spread and a predicted score for each game. Predicted score: Ole Miss 41 Mississippi State 24.

Friday

#19 Tulane (+2) at #24 Cincinnati

Noon

I’m glad that ABC has made sure to have the AAC appear a few times on the main network during a season. Otherwise, this would have gone to, at best, ESPN if not lower. Huge game. Winner goes into the catbird seat for the Cotton Bowl spot. The loser could still go to the AAC Championship Game with a UCF loss later on. Predicted score: Cincinnati 43 Tulane 27.

Utah State (+16.5) at Boise State

Noon

I’m sure CBS was hoping for a much bigger game here. USU is already bowl-eligible and Boise has clinched their spot in the Mountain West Championship. That’ll be a pass for me, dawg. Predicted score: Boise State 34 Utah State 27.

Central Michigan (-2) at Eastern Michigan

Noon

Speaking of games that mean nothing, here’s another one. CMU is not going bowling. EMU is. Predicted score: Eastern Michigan 35 Central Michigan 27.

Baylor (+8.5) at #23 Texas

Noon

This could mean big things for Texas. They have to take care of business on their own end and beat the Bears here. If they do, they can then watch Kansas State-Kansas and hope the Wildcats lose for them to get a Big XII Championship opportunity. Predicted score: Texas 41 Baylor 39.

Toledo (-7.5) at Western Michigan

Noon

Nothing really to see here. Toledo is going to Ford Field for the MAC Championship and WMU is home for the holidays. Predicted score: Toledo 30 Western Michigan 19.

NC State (+6.5) at #17 North Carolina

3:30 PM

The Tar Heels will use this as a tune-up for their game against Clemson the following weekend. Beating the Tigers is the only probably way for UNC to get to the Orange Bowl. Predicted score: NC State 30 North Carolina 29.

Arkansas (-3) at Missouri

3:30 PM

Mizzou needs a win here to go bowling. Arkansas is already in…barely. Could be fun. Predicted score: Arkansas 26 Missouri 24.

New Mexico (+7.5) at Colorado State

3:30 PM

Arguably the two worst teams in the Mountain West here. There are better options on at the same time. Predicted score: Colorado State 18 New Mexico 12.

Nebraska (+10.5) at Iowa

4:00 PM

I do find it a bit funny that this seems to get relegated more and more to the Big Ten Network. Anyway, a win here and the offensively challenged Hawkeyes get a trip to Indianapolis. Lose and there are ways in which they still go to the Big Ten Championship and other ways where they don’t. I went over that in the previous post and flat-out refuse to go into it here. Predicted score: Iowa 32 Nebraska 17.

#18 UCLA (-10) at California

4:30 PM

The Bruins played themselves out of a potential Pac-12 Championship berth so they are playing for the extremely slim possibility of going to a New Year’s Six bowl. And it is EXTREMELY slim. Predicted score: UCLA 45 California 27.

Florida (+9.5) at #16 Florida State

7:30 PM

Does this game mean much in the grand scheme of things? Not really. The Noles would need a lot to happen to get into the NY6 and the Gators are bowl-eligible. Does this game mean much to fans of either team? Abso-fucking-lutely. Predicted score: Florida State 33 Florida 14.

Saturday Early

South Carolina (+14.5) at #8 Clemson

Noon

With so many options, this is one of them. Could the Cocks shock the Tigers? Yeah I guess. I can’t see it happening though. Clemson does need to win here, though, to keep any small College Football Playoff possibilities alive. Predicted score: Clemson 43 South Carolina 24.

Rutgers (+14) at Maryland

Noon

Rutgers is out, Maryland is in. I think we will see a fair amount of these types of games for this week. Predicted score: Maryland 38 Rutgers 24.

WKU (-7) at Florida Atlantic

Noon

The Owls are fighting for their bowl lives here. The Hilltoppers need a win (and a North Texas loss) to play for the Conference USA Championship. For once, there are some good stakes from the noon CBSSN game. Predicted score: WKU 38 Florida Atlantic 31.

Georgia Tech (+35.5) at #1 Georgia

Noon

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. There actually is quite a bit of importance to this one. Georgia cannot slip up if they want to go into conference championship week as the number one team in the land. Tech needs a victory to go bowling which would be an absolutely remarkable turnaround from the dreadful Geoff Collins era. Predicted score: Georgia 52 Georgia Tech 20.

West Virginia (+8.5) at Oklahoma State

Noon

No. I mean why? To see if Neal Brown gets fired after the game ends, Herm Edwards-style? Predicted score: Oklahoma State 30 West Virginia 28.

Coastal Carolina (+13.5) at James Madison

Noon

This seems like a huge spread in favour of JMU considering how good the Chanticleers have been this season. I guess it does show what kind of home field advantage the Dukes have. Unfortunately, thanks to stupid NCAA rules, JMU can’t go to a bowl game because they had the audacity to be good in their first year at the FBS level. Stupid. CCU needs a win and a LOT of help to be considered in the Cotton Bowl conversation. Predicted score: Coastal Carolina 24 James Madison 18.

#3 Michigan (+7.5) at #2 Ohio State

Noon

The Game. The biggest one in a few years. Winner almost guarantees themselves a spot in the College Football Playoff. The loser isn’t out either if things go their way. High, HIGH stakes here in a game where Gus Johnson might lose his voice. Predicted score: Ohio State 38 Michigan 37.

Saturday Afternoon

Southern vs. Grambling (in New Orleans)

2:00 PM

Prairie View A&M had a chance to wrap up the SWAC West Division title and were stunned by lowly Mississippi Valley State. This means that Southern can now sneak in and win the division and a date with Jackson State in the SWAC Championship if they beat Grambling. Predicted score (I couldn’t find any gambling lines for this game): Southern 40 Grambling 24.

#25 Louisville (+3.5) at Kentucky

3:00 PM

And odd start time here, especially by SEC Network standards. Both teams are bowling. Neither team can get to the New Year’s Six. People will watch if this game stays close but otherwise there is no reason to. Predicted score: Kentucky 33 Louisville 26.

#9 Oregon (-3) at #21 Oregon State

3:30 PM

Look, Oregon State is a good team. No, I’m not lying. No wonder the spread is so low. Could be very loud in Corvallis for this one. The Ducks need a win here to get to the Pac-12 Championship and keep their CFP hopes alive. Oregon State is going for their ninth victory of the season, their highest win total since 2012. Predicted score: Oregon 41 Oregon State 40.

Illinois (-14) at Northwestern

3:30 PM

We will know by now whether this game actually means anything to Illinois. I could see Bret Bielema getting a nice, fat extension in the offseason. As of right now, I have no idea whether this game or the other BTN game on at this time will be shown on the specialty pack. The specialty pack schedules show neither at this point which is always a bad sign. Hopefully this gets rectified by Saturday. Predicted score: Illinois 41 Northwestern 21.

UPDATE #2: This is now showing on the specialty pack guide.

Purdue (-10.5) at Indiana

3:30 PM

The Old Oaken Bucket. Again, we will know by start time whether Purdue has a shot at the Big Ten West or not. I have this game in the BTN slot that Canadians would get. Who the hell knows what will happen though. Predicted score: Purdue 30 Indiana 15.

Auburn (+22) at #7 Alabama

3:30 PM

Alabama doesn’t really have a chance at the College Football Playoff, do they? I mean I don’t think so but I know ESPN’s love for the Bama brand. Oh and do you want some laughs? Auburn needs a win here to be bowl-eligible AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Barely got that out before laughing. Predicted score: Alabama 41 Auburn 17.

UAB (-17.5) at Louisiana Tech

3:30 PM

The Blazers are having a down year. At least a down for year for this program since they were resurrected. They can get in to a bowl game with a win here. Predicted score: UAB 35 Louisiana Tech 18.

Minnesota (+3.5) at Wisconsin

3:30 PM

Look there’s nothing much going on here. Neither team really has a legit shot at the Big Ten West title. And they are both going bowling. Meh. Predicted score: Wisconsin 30 Minnesota 26.

Wake Forest (-3.5) at Duke

3:30 PM

Duke has been a massive surprise this season. They have been seriously competitive all season and Mike Elko is going to get a bit of Coach of the Year consideration (even though he won’t win). This game doesn’t mean anything as both teams are comfortably bowl-eligible. Predicted score: Wake Forest 38 Duke 26.

UPDATE #3: This still isn’t showing on the specialty pack guide although it should in the next 24 hours.

Virginia at Virginia Tech

3:30 PM

cancelled

The Commonwealth Cup game between UVA and VT has been cancelled. I am not surprised by this decision and it was made a lot easier by the fact that neither team would be going to a bowl game this year anyway. I put forth an idea on Twitter of maybe having the game during Army-Navy week (before the game perhaps) and have the ticket money go to the families or charity or something like that. Don’t think that would go through as I have a feeling the Virginia football program just needs this season to end so they can continue their mourning.

Memphis (+4.5) at SMU

3:30 PM

Both teams are 6-5. This means very little in the grand scheme of things. Predicted score: SMU 31 Memphis 25.

UPDATE #4: This isn’t showing on the specialty pack guide. I am sure the UVA-VT cancellation has to be adjusted before this will show up.

Troy (-13.5) at Arkansas State

3:30 PM

This is an odd one. This game was moved here during the shuffle caused by the Hoos-Hokies cancellation. Non-cable users in the U.S. can get this game on ESPN+ as an ESPNU game. I have a feeling this might be enough to screw things up on the specialty pack end of things meaning this game would show up nowhere here. We shall see. Predicted score: Troy 36 Arkansas State 13.

UPDATE #5: Well I am right that at this point the specialty pack is not showing this game. I have a feeling that will change by Thursday afternoon but I will keep you all updated.

Iowa State (+10) at #4 TCU

4:00 PM

The Horned Frogs cannot falter here. They are closing in on a dream season and the last thing they need is a struggle against the Cyclones. I could see ISU keeping this one close in what could be Matt Campbell’s final game as head coach of the Clones. Predicted score: TCU 34 Iowa State 24.

#14 Utah (-29.5) at Colorado

4:00 PM

Utah doesn’t have a shot at the Pac-12 Championship so this means little to them. Colorado is horrendously awful so I am sure they want this season to end quickly. Predicted score: Utah 42 Colorado 10.

Saturday Primetime

#5 LSU (-10) at Texas A&M

7:00 PM

LSU cannot look ahead to Georgia despite the fact that the Aggies might very well be the worst team in the SEC this year. Never thought I would say that about a Jimbo Fisher-coached team but they are awful. Predicted score: LSU 39 Texas A&M 23.

#22 UCF (-19.5) at USF

7:00 PM

The Knights should mop the floor with USF. They need to, otherwise they unbelievably won’t go to the AAC Championship and destroyed their Cotton Bowl chances in a matter of one week. Predicted score: UCF 48 USF 14.

#15 Notre Dame (+5.5) at #6 USC

7:30 PM

Notre Dame looked dead to rights earlier in the season. Now, if they win here, they probably lock up an Orange Bowl bid. Incredible. USC, on the other hand, has already clinched a spot in the Pac-12 title game and have to win here to keep their CFP hopes alive. ABC was smart to put this in primetime. Predicted score: USC 43 Notre Dame 40.

Tulsa (+12) at Houston

7:30 PM

Nothing to play for here. Unless it’s close, don’t bother. Predicted score: Houston 31 Tulsa 26.

#10 Tennessee (-14) at Vanderbilt

7:30 PM

This is actually a big game for both teams. Crazy, right? The Dores win here and they go bowling which would be huge for this program that has struggled since James Franklin left. The Vols need to keep up with the rest of the teams above them if they want any hope of getting into the College Football Playoff, as much of a long shot as it is. And both teams will want to destroy the chances of the other. Too bad for Vandy that I have a feeling Tennessee will show up VERY angry. Predicted score: Tennessee 49 Vanderbilt 13.

Pittsburgh (-6.5) at Miami

8:00 PM

A Miami win gets the Canes bowl-eligible. It’s shocking how far this team has fallen. Good call shitcanning Manny Diaz for no reason other than to nab Mario Cristobal, right? Some of these programs just overthink these kinds of things, usually to their detriment. Predicted score: Miami 22 Pittsburgh 15.

Kansas (+12) at #12 Kansas State

8:00 PM

OK sure the primetime slate doesn’t have some of the pizazz as the earlier games of the day (minus the ND-USC game) but a lot of these games still have importance. KSU wins here and they head to JerryWorld for the first time for the Big XII Championship. Kansas can stop that from happening. And it could happen. Kansas is actually pretty good. Predicted score: Kansas State 36 Kansas 30.

Saturday Late Night

Air Force (-1.5) at San Diego State

9:00 PM

SDSU and the AFA squandered any chances of promising seasons early on in the season. Both teams are still having decent years but they are being overshadowed by a few other teams who have just been that much better when it counted. Predicted score: San Diego State 23 Air Force 17.

SE Missouri State at Montana

10:00 PM

How about this? FCS Playoffs on ESPN2? Sure. But the first round of the playoffs? This has not happened since they expanded to 24 teams in 2013. Should be a nice change of pace. And it should be seriously cold up in Missoula. Predicted score: Montana 38 SE Missouri State 36.

UPDATE #6: For some reason, this isn’t appearing on the specialty pack guide. I’m sure it will soon enough but being an FCS game I am a bit worried it won’t end up appearing at all.

#13 Washington (-2) at Washington State

10:30 PM

If Oregon loses to Oregon State earlier in the day, this game becomes massive. The Huskies can then clinch a Pac-12 Championship Game spot with a win here in the Apple Cup. Otherwise, this game isn’t really that important. I mean I will watch it. Hell, I will also watch the BYU-Stanford game that starts half an hour after this. Why? Because that’s what I do. I honestly can’t totally figure it out anymore. Predicted score: Washington State 24 Washington 14.

UPDATE: I have updated the rankings to match the CFP Rankings.

Holy shit that’s a lot of football! No complaints though since we know what it will be like in a few months. I will be on Twitter often but not all the time as even I need sleep/pass out. As I mentioned about TSN last week, their coverage is much reduced this year for the final week of the college football regular season. I wouldn’t look too much into this as the World Cup takes up most of the early window and that’s where TSN usually had three or four games alone. Does it suck for college football fans who don’t have the specialty pack? Absolutely. But I guess if you are a college football fan, buying a specialty pack would be the least you would do, no?

I will keep this post updated when need be. It wouldn’t surprise me if there were some specialty pack updates. I hope TSN is set but I don’t trust them fully. Anyway, have a great rest of the week and enjoy the games everyone!

I’m not the only one hoping for chaos (and the Week 11 College Football TV Schedule)

Let’s be honest: many of us want chaos in our college football. It makes things exciting, no? Not saying we haven’t seen a bit of it already. Alabama has lost two times already. TWO! Clemson got absolutely waxed by Notre Dame. Texas A&M is fucking terrible!

But we want more. We are insatiable for chaos. And why? We know The Committee will do Committee things and rank teams in an odd way and then try to justify it. I’m sure if Ohio State lost they would drop maybe three spots because it feels like The Committee wants them in the College Football Playoff. I get they have to look at a whole season of work but it’s the same shit every year. I still think the first rankings should be no earlier than before the final regular season week but I know that will never happen. If it did, what would ESPN talk about?

OK enough of that. It’s time for this week’s schedule and the continuation of FOOTBALL EVERY DAY!

Tuesday

		US	Canada
Eastern Michigan at Akron	7:00 PM
Ohio at Miami-OH	7:30 PM
Ball State at Toledo	8:00 PM

More Tuesday night MACtion! Toledo can essentially clinch the MAC West if they can beat the Cardinals here.

UPDATE: As per reader Gordo, it looks like the Ball State-Toledo game isn’t on the specialty pack.

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Kent State at Bowling Green	7:00 PM
Buffalo at Central Michigan	7:00 PM
Northern Illinois at Western Michigan	7:00 PM

Still MACtion but maybe not as MACtiony as the previous night’s MACtion.

UPDATE #2: Ugh, both ESPN games aren’t appearing on the specialty pack. Not a good start to MACtion this week for specialty pack subscribers.

Thursday

		US	Canada
Tulsa at Memphis	7:30 PM
Georgia Southern at Louisiana	7:30 PM

Woof. Well it’s technically college football so I will watch.

Friday

		US	Canada
East Carolina at Cincinnati	8:00 PM
Fresno State at UNLV	10:30 PM

Cincinnati has a fairly meaningful game here if they want to keep in the American Conference/Cotton Bowl hunt. And, interestingly enough, the late game also could be big as both Fresno State and UNLV still have division title aspirations. Yes, UNLV.

Oh, you may have noticed I have not included FOX Sports One listings here. I decided to stop that practice since, really, unless you have a specific setup you can’t get the games here. Doesn’t help that I missed listing the late night FS1 game last week so I am already getting into the habit of forgetting them in these posts.

UPDATE #3: Good lord this is ridiculous. On the TSN website it still shows ECU-Cincy. Every other guide I am looking at, it says that TSN2 will now be showing, get this, Women’s Aussie Rules football. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Anyway, it looks like it is appearing on the specialty pack instead so at least it’s probably been moved there (unless the specialty packs fuck that up as well). Stupid TSN. Thanks to readers Gordo and Mike pointing out that they couldn’t see the game on their guide.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#20 Notre Dame vs. Navy (in Baltimore)	Noon
Pittsburgh at Virginia	Noon
Rutgers at Michigan State	Noon
Missouri at #5 Tennessee	Noon
#19 Liberty at UConn	Noon
#7 LSU at Arkansas	Noon
Purdue at #21 Illinois	Noon
SMU at USF	Noon
Indiana at #2 Ohio State	Noon
Vanderbilt at Kentucky	Noon

One of UConn’s final two chances at bowl eligibility comes here. Unfortunately, it’s against a ranked Liberty team. This may still end up being one of the best games CBS Sports Network has had all year. As for the main network, it’s their doubleheader that includes a Noon game. It means they only get the fourth choice of games out of the SEC for the early affair. Can’t give whoever the #2 guy at CBS is a good game!

Notre Dame may still have an outside shot at the New Year’s Six. It would take a lot of chaos but we know how The Committee feels about them so they win their last three and win them big (a tall order for sure) they could sneak in. That has to start in this neutral-site affair against the Middies.

So normally I peruse ESPN to get rankings for the teams for the posts. Normally this isn’t an issue but late in the season it becomes one. According to the schedule currently on the site, it lists Tennessee at #1. We know that isn’t the case but they use the College Football Playoff rankings rather than the AP poll once it comes out. And the CFP poll doesn’t get revealed until Tuesday night, after the week of games starts. So I will be using the AP poll for the rest of the regular season. So if you see the rankings here don’t jive with what they look like on Saturday, there’s your answer.

UPDATE #4: TSN has switched from LSU-Arkansas to Purdue-Illinois. Why? Because fuck you, that’s why.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Nebraska at #3 Michigan	3:30 PM
Boston College at #17 NC State	3:30 PM
Northwestern at Minnesota	3:30 PM
#10 Alabama at #11 Ole Miss	3:30 PM
New Mexico at Air Force	3:30 PM
Louisville at #12 Clemson	3:30 PM
#22 UCF at #16 Tulane	3:30 PM
Iowa State at Oklahoma State	3:30 PM
Maryland at #14 Penn State	3:30 PM
Army at Troy	3:30 PM
Arizona State at Washington State	3:30 PM
South Carolina at Florida	4:00 PM

There was a time when TSN really started ramping up the amount of games they would show around this time of the year. Not so. Sure, they have a quadrupleheader on TSN2 but that’s it. Nothing else. I just think they have contracts with way too many sports that college football gets lost in the shuffle.

Anyway, this could be a huge week for Bama haters because if they lose this one to Ole Miss it would be catastrophic. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tulane is on ESPN2 during the regular season in a big matchup for the first time in…well I’m sure it’s a long time. Win and they take a stranglehold of one spot in the AAC Championship.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Wyoming at Colorado State	7:00 PM
#1 Georgia at Mississippi State	7:00 PM
#24 Washington at #6 Oregon	7:00 PM
#4 TCU at #18 Texas	7:30 PM
#15 North Carolina at Wake Forest	7:30 PM
Southern Miss at Coastal Carolina	7:30 PM
Texas A&M at Auburn	7:30 PM
#25 Florida State at Syracuse	8:00 PM

TCU and Oregon aren’t just playing for themselves but could be playing for their conference’s CFP hopes as well, especially in the case of TCU since past them, there really isn’t a contender at all. UGA needs to avoid a letdown after that huge win over Tennessee so their pass defense better be ready for Will Rogers to throw the ball about 80 times. Finally, surprising UNC can pretty much punch their ticket to Charlotte and a date with Clemson if they can win in Winston-Salem.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
California at Oregon State	9:00 PM
Boise State at Nevada	10:30 PM
Stanford at #13 Utah	10:30 PM
Arizona at #9 UCLA	10:30 PM

FOX QUADRUPLEHEADER ALERT! For the second time this season we get a FOX quadruplehader of college football. Love that FOX is upping their game this season. Two important Pac-12 games, one important Mountain West game and a game involving California. There you go.

Big Games O’ The Week

Alabama at Ole Miss (3:30, CBS) – This is an SEC West elimination match. Tell someone that two months ago and they’d laugh in your face. Bama might be in panic mode as another loss probably leaves them out of the NY6 which would be massive. Both teams are chasing LSU but need some help from the Tigers in the form of the Tigers shitting the bed at some point down the stretch.

TCU at Texas (7:30, ABC) – I mentioned this above but the Big XII’s CFP chances really do ride on TCU winning this game (and winning out, really). If the Longhorns win this, and they are talented enough to do so, you can kiss the conference’s chances goodbye.

North Carolina at Wake Forest (7:30, specialty pack) – One of the stories that seems to be ignored this season is what Mack Brown and the Tar Heels are doing. 8-1, in complete control of the ACC Coastal, and with a good shot at the New Year’s Six if they win their last three regular season games. No one is talking about them! A win here and they basically clinch the division. Wake is just playing for a better bowl game now.

UCF at Tulane (3:30, specialty pack) – The Green Wave on the other hand are not being ignored. Many pushed for College Gameday to go to New Orleans (which I think would have been a good idea). All the other two-loss teams in the Group of Five are watching this game closely this weekend (that being Cincinnati, UTSA, San Jose State, Troy and South Alabama) along with one-loss Coastal Carolina. A Tulane loss here brings those teams back into the fold to have at least a sliver of hope to go to the Cotton Bowl. If Tulane wins and goes to 9-1 it’s pretty much game over for most of those teams (unless they lay an egg in their final two games). For the Knights, a win here may actually put them in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five NY6 spot. A lot at stake. Yeah, I think they should have sent Gameday to Nawlins.

Washington at Oregon (7:00, FOX) – In all the hoopla surrounding the Battle for Los Angeles between Pac-12 turncoats UCLA and USC, some have forgotten that the Ducks are right there with those two teams. Win out and they have a legitimate shot at the College Football Playoff. They cannot sleep on the Huskies though. They’ve been better than advertised and Kalen Deboer just wins everywhere he goes. Could be a low-key great game.

Maryland at Penn State (3:30, FOX) – The Terps are finally playing as well as their recruiting classes said they would. Mike Locksley is finally making things work in the DMV. Saying that, these are the kinds of games Maryland has to win and has never been able to do since joining the Big Ten. A statement win is needed. And what a statement it would be since the Nittany Lions have a relatively good chance at a New Year’s Six bowl if they can run the table the rest of the way.

Psycho Game of the Week

SMU at USF (Noon, specialty pack) – First of all, I will not call this the Sickos Game of the Week. Do I enjoy the Sickos Committee Twitter account? Absolutely. But Sickos content is their thing. I won’t steal it. Besides, I think it makes just as much sense to call you a psycho for watching this abomination. USF just fired Jeff Scott, though, so they should come out and give the Mustangs all sorts of problems. Seriously this is an easy one to avoid.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Missouri at Tennessee (Noon, CBS) – I am not making the same mistake I did last week. I picked Ohio State to mop the floor with Northwestern and they barely beat the Wildcats. Sure, there was bad weather but come on, the Buckeyes played like shit. So even though I think they will beat Indiana to a pulp, I am going with another Noon game. I think the Vols are going to come into this game angry and wanting to prove a point. Poor Mizzou is going to take this one on the chin.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

Look, are these picks of the same quality as The Committee’s rankings for the College Football Playoff? Eh, it’s debatable.

• Miami-OH (+2.5) over Ohio (and the outright win!)
• Kent State (-2.5) over Bowling Green
• Liberty (-14.5) over UConn
• Rutgers (+10) over Michigan State (RU will cover the spread but won’t win)
• Virginia Tech (+9.5) over Duke (Duke will win, however)
• Kentucky (-18) over Vanderbilt
• Army (+9) over Troy (The Black Knights cover but don’t win)
• Air Force (-22) over New Mexico
• Clemson (-7) over Louisville
• Ole Miss (+11.5) over Alabama (Bama will win outright)
• Wyoming (-8.5) over Colorado State
• Wake Forest (-3.5) over North Carolina
• Stanford (+24) over Utah (Utes will win relatively easily)

There you go! I will keep a watch on potential specialty pack changes but I don’t foresee any. It gets a bit difficult having to do the schedule so early but I make due…I think. Have a great rest of the week everyone and enjoy the games!

All Aboard the Coaching Carousel! (and the Week 6 College Football TV Schedule)

The fun-time coaching carousel has been filling up a bit earlier this year. None of us are used to this many coaches being shitcanned this early on. We are just into October and many of the good horses (or the one cool love seat thing that seems to be on every carousel) are going fast. And the tickets are EXPENSIVE.

This week it started with Karl Dorrell getting fired at Colorado which is no surprise because Colorado is easily the worst Power Five team out there. No team is close to their ineptitude so far this season. But the real bombshell came later the same day when Paul Chryst, he of the 67-26 record, seven straight winning seasons before this year, six bowl victories, and two New Year’s Six triumphs, was fired by Wisconsin. I knew he might be in a bit of trouble but that was shocking. And his buyout? Remember I talked about the tickets on this carousel being expensive? Yeah, his cost is around $11 million. My god. These buyout clauses are just completely absurd now and mean nothing to these schools anymore.

Anyway, this actually may be strategic on Wisky’s part. Jim Leonhard is the interim head coach and the prevailing sentiment is that they want to see what he can do over the final seven games of the season. If he can turn the ship around, there’s a good chance he will be named the permanent replacement. If not, well he had more than half a season and that would be enough of a barometer to know they have to send a Brinks truck to Lance Leipold’s house as soon as possible after the season ends.

I know, the coaching carousel is interesting. I wouldn’t call it fun. That would be a bit morbid. But enough of that; it’s schedule time and it starts on Wednesday this week and it’s not MACtion!

Wednesday

		US	Canada
SMU at UCF	7:00 PM

Tonight, we only have the one game. Technically this is a Week 5 game but the Mustangs and Knights both have this week as a bye week so you can all it a Week 6 game if you want. This is rescheduled because of Hurricane Ian.

Friday

		US	Canada
Harvard at Cornell	7:00 PM
Nebraska at Rutgers	7:00 PM
Houston at Memphis	7:30 PM
Colorado State at Nevada	10:00 PM
UNLV at San Jose State	10:30 PM

Is the highlight here the Nebraska-Rutgers game? Sure, I guess. The Huskers could be in the first in the Big Ten West for about 17 hours if they win this one. Speaking of that game, it’s the first of a doubleheader with three-hour fucking windows. Stupid FS1. I hope the early game goes to 16 overtimes now.

Dana Holgorsen might be on the hot seat if the Cougs don’t beat Memphis, Jay Norvell is hating life in Fort Collins and UNLV continues to try to look like a contender in the Mountain West! Makes up for the night before where there is no college football. It’s like they don’t want to compete with the NFL anymore. I mean it’s not a bad idea.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
Texas vs. Oklahoma (in Dallas)	Noon
Louisville at Virginia	Noon
Purdue at Maryland	Noon
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan	Noon
#8 Tennessee at #25 LSU	Noon
Missouri at Florida	Noon
#4 Michigan at Indiana	Noon
#17 TCU at #19 Kansas	Noon
Arkansas at #23 Mississippi State	Noon

A couple of good ones here with UT-LSU and Gameday going to Lawrence before TCU plays Kansas. It’s too bad they decided to go to that football hotbed of Bloomington, Indiana for Big Noon Saturday rather than Kansas. What the hell was FOX thinking? Oh that’s right…they’re hard for the Big Ten.

How about the Red River Shootout having both teams come in unranked? I’m sure if I went to ESPN’s website it would tell me the last time this happened but I have a feeling it was a looooooooooooooooooong time ago. We also have a couple potential sneaky-good games with Arkansas-MSU and Purdue-Maryland. So a relatively loaded start to the day.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh	3:30 PM
Wisconsin at Northwestern	3:30 PM
Auburn at #2 Georgia	3:30 PM
Tulsa at Navy	3:30 PM
East Carolina at Tulane	3:30 PM
#11 Utah at #18 UCLA	3:30 PM
Texas Tech at #7 Oklahoma State	3:30 PM
#3 Ohio State at Michigan State	4:00 PM
North Carolina at Miami	4:00 PM
#21 Washington at Arizona State	4:00 PM
#9 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt	4:00 PM

For some reason the ABC afternoon game starts at 4:00. I don’t remember the last time that has happened. I mean it all comes out in the wash anyway but it’s odd this has happened this weekend for no rhyme or reason. CBS was hoping Auburn would have won last week to set up the AU-UGA game with both teams ranked. Alas, it was not to be and I have this feeling this will be an absolute drubbing.

I find it odd that Utah-UCLA, a game between two very good teams, is the FOX afternoon game which is basically the third best game most of the time in the FOX tripleheader. I would have thought it was heading to ABC in primetime. Again, the Pac-12 seems to be getting shafted and if things don’t change, we may have to get used to less coverage from that conference in this area.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Wyoming at New Mexico	7:00 PM
Air Force at Utah State	7:00 PM
James Madison at Arkansas State	7:00 PM
#5 Clemson at Boston College	7:30 PM
Iowa at Illinois	7:30 PM
#20 Kansas State at Iowa State	7:30 PM
Washington State at #6 USC	7:30 PM
#16 BYU vs. Notre Dame (in Las Vegas)	7:30 PM
South Carolina at #13 Kentucky	7:30 PM
Florida State at #14 NC State	8:00 PM
Texas A&M at #1 Alabama	8:00 PM

Not as big as the early sked but still pretty darn good. This is the one primetime game the SEC on CBS has and it’s….well, not as good as CBS had hoped for. The Aggies have been a major disappointment and the Tide are dominant. This could be over by 10:00.

BYU has a massive game in Vegas. A must-win for them. Lose this and it’s pretty much the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve. Win and they stay alive for a New Year’s Six spot. Clemson-BC is a special game in Boston as it’s the Red Bandana Game. It’s in honour of Welles Crowther, a former BC lacrosse player who headed a rescue effort on 9/11 and got a lot of people rescued. He was known for wearing a red bandana and that’s what one of the people who were saved that day saw from the guy heading up the building when everyone was escaping down. Good to see this game in a huge national spotlight.

Finally, James Madison has a national game. Sure it’s the NFL Network but the Dukes are undefeated in their first FBS season. They really need to get rid of that archaic rule that says teams can’t qualify for a bowl game in their first season in FBS, transitioning up from FCS.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
#12 Oregon at Arizona	9:00 PM
Fresno State at Boise State	9:45 PM
Hawaii at San Diego State	10:30 PM
Oregon State at Stanford	11:00 PM

This is….not a good late night schedule. Which means something wacky is coming our way. That’s the way it works in college football. I don’t make the rules.

TSN has their first quadrupleheader of the season which is always nice to see, especially for the non-specialty pack people. And let’s discuss the ESPN schedule this week. Early game. VERY late game. Nothing in between. What are they showing? Ah, that’s right. They have the Wild Card games in baseball this season. So as long as the second Wild Card game doesn’t go too far into extra innings, the Beavers-Cardinal game will start precisely at…11:00 eastern. This is almost as crazy as the Hawaii Test.

Big Games O’ The Week

Utah at UCLA (3:30, FOX) – Ya know, some people are going to bristle at this choice for top game of the week. Here are the facts: Utah is ranked #11 and is still the favourite to win the Pac-12 South. UCLA is ranked #18 and is undefeated. The winner here faces USC later in the season for the de facto Pac-12 South championship and, potentially a New Year’s Six or, dare I say it, College Football Playoff spot. So yeah, this is huge.

Tennessee at LSU (Noon, TSN3/TSN5) – Are the Vols for real (I refuse to ask if they are back…aw shit, I just did)? This is a big chance for them to prove it as the Tigers have started to claw their way back after a seriously shaky start under new head coach Jim Bob Brian Kelly. Tennessee can move up towards the Top 4 with a win here and an eventual showdown with Georgia. Maybe, LSU could put a scare in some teams…even…Bama? Wouldn’t that be something…that Saban would hate.

TCU at Kansas (Noon, FOX Sports One) – In your wildest imagination, did you think this could be one of the games of the week when this season started? No. No one did. Even TCU and Kansas fans thought that would be ridiculous. But here we are. Early October. Ranked TCU. Ranked Kansas. College Gameday in Lawrence. Its put up or shut up time for both teams. And man, if the Jayhawks pull this one out, they will be safely in the Top 15 and looking at heights that haven’t been seen around those parts since the magical 2007 season.

Florida State at NC State (8:00, specialty pack) – I’m sure many feel this is a game the Wolfpack will easily win to get back on track. This isn’t the Noles of the past five or six years though. These guys can play. I have a feeling this could very close. The ACC Network with a bit of a coup getting this one at this point of the season.

Washington State at USC (7:30, FOX) – A tiny bit surprised this didn’t end up on either ABC or ESPN but FOX gets a good primetime game here that actually will match up well with CBS’s offering. USC is on a roll and it feels like nothing will stop them. That’s why this is such a speed bump game for the Trojans. Win here and their game against Utah is probably one of the Games of the Year the following week.

Psycho Game of the Week

Wisconsin at Northwestern (3:30, Big Ten Network) – Another game where, at the start of the season, I never would have thought it would end up in this particular spot in the blog post. Northwestern is thankful that Colorado exists and Wisconsin has been a shell of its former self. Should be a fun one! And by fun, I mean horribly painful to watch.

Hubba Bubba Blowout of the Week

Auburn at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – I have a feeling that this is going to get really bad, really fast for the Tigers. I also have a feeling that Bryan Harsin will not be fired after this one since everyone expects Auburn to get boatraced Between The Hedges.

Fun-Time Stats of the Week

• Rutgers has lost all five of their meetings with Nebraska but every game the margin of victory has decreased. Last time they met, they only lost by 7.
• Washington has lost the last seven times they traveled to Tempe to face Arizona State.
• New Mexico has more wins over Wyoming than any other Mountain West team. They have beat the Cowboys 36 times.

The Degenerate Portion of Our Show

I made some picks last week. Some were good. I picked Illinois to cover the spread against Wisconsin. As for the rest don’t bother since I was horrible. Let’s just move on to this week’s picks that people should only use at Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

• Nebraska (-3) over Rutgers
• UNLV (+7) over San Jose State (SJSU will win in a close one)
• Eastern Michigan (+5) over Western Michigan (WMU will win the battle for Directional Michigan though)
• Oklahoma (+7) over Texas (and the outright victory)
• Tennessee (-3) over LSU
• Wisconsin (-10) over Northwestern
• UCLA (+4.5) over Utah (but the Utes will win a very close affair)
• Michigan State (+26.5) over Ohio State (but tOSU will win by approximately three touchdowns just to make it feel close for gamblers)
• James Madison (-11.5) over Arkansas State
• Wyoming (-3.5) over New Mexico
• Iowa (+3.5) over Illinois (and the outright win)
• Washington State (+13) over USC (Trojans win)
• Oregon (-13) over Arizona

Alright we have the rare October Wednesday night game that doesn’t involve Sun Belt teams, nothing tomorrow night and then things really get into action on Friday. And it’s Thanksgiving this weekend! So enjoy the games and enjoy the turkey (or ham, if you don’t like turkey).

Group of Five Conference Predictions. All of them.

“Oh god, not again. Look the last post was…”

“HERE ARE THE PREDICTIONS FOR EVERY SINGLE DAMN GROUP OF FIVE TEAM! PLUS THE INDEPENDENTS!!!!!!!”

That’s right! Back at it again with the predictions. Remember what I said…less is more. Meaning less posts. Not less information.

Annnnnyway, this means I will be putting all my predictions for the G-5 conference standings right here. Hell, I’ll include the Independents as well as a treat since they don’t really belong anywhere and some of them know it. So let’s get started!

We begin with what is still the best Group of Five conference in the land. And next year…looks like they still will probably be in that spot despite all the realignment. Here are my predicted standings followed by musings and other nonsense:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Houston	8	0	12	0
	UCF	7	1	11	1
	Cincinnati	7	1	10	2
	Memphis	5	3	8	4
	SMU	5	3	8	4
	Tulsa	3	5	5	7
	East Carolina	3	5	5	7
	USF	3	5	4	8
	Navy	2	6	3	9
	Tulane	1	7	4	8
	Temple	0	8	2	10

Musings and Other Nonsense

• Remember what Cincinnati was like last year?  That is Houston this season…almost.  They almost have too easy of a schedule and now that we know what the ceiling is (for now) for the Group of Five, that could come back to haunt them.  Realistically, their opening contest of the season could be their most difficult.  They travel to the Alamodome to face the Roadrunners of UTSA in a great Group of Five battle.  Win that one and I can’t see how they don’t run the table.
• UCF and Cincinnati will tie for second but the Bearcats’ lone loss, I believe, will be to the Knights.  It seems since the American went to no divisions, at least two of the top few teams don’t play each other in a season.  One of the few perils of having no divisions in a big conference, I guess.  I don’t mind though since I hate divisions (if you didn’t already know).
• Memphis should see a lot of improvement.  As should USF.  For the Bulls it won’t be enough to be bowl-eligible but anything is better than what they have seen the past few years.
• I think Tulsa and East Carolina will slip below .500.  Both teams don’t exactly have nice schedules and it could cost them down the stretch when they need victories and they have to play some of the better teams in the conference.
• Conference Championship prediction: Houston 41 UCF 13.  I can’t see it being close to be perfectly honest.  Uncle Dana is going to be so hopped up on Red Bull his head might explode.

Hey, number two ain’t bad.

The Mountain West is still firmly in the number two spot among Group of Five conferences and were left alone during this round of realignment. Will they do something in the near future to bolster their ranks? There is always rumblings of them bringing in some Dakota schools or Montana/Montana State (or both) or even bringing UTEP and perhaps…ugh….New Mexico State along for the ride. But for now, it’s status quo. Well…almost.

		Conference		Overall
	Mountain	W	L	W	L
	Air Force	7	1	10	2
	Boise State	7	1	10	2
	Colorado State	4	4	6	6
	Utah State	4	4	6	6
	Wyoming	3	5	5	7
	New Mexico	1	7	3	9
	West
	Fresno State	7	1	9	3
	San Diego State	6	2	9	3
	San Jose State	3	5	6	6
	UNLV	3	5	5	7
	Nevada	2	6	5	7
	Hawaii	1	7	3	10

Status Quo?

• Yes…for a few more months.  Then…no divisions!  Fuck yeah!  So now we might finally get two teams from what were the same division playing each other for the right to win the Mountain West title and, perhaps, the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Six.  Glad to see the conference doing it and look forward to the rest of the conferences abolishing their shitty divisions.  I’m Bossman and I approve this message (of hating divisions).
• I think it’s finally time we see Air Force truly soar.  The Falcons are the most complete team in the entire conference.  Yes, I get that they run the option but they are actually somewhat dangerous in the passing game.  And their defense should be pretty tough to beat this season.  I think they can pull out that one victory they need, over Boise State, to clinch the division.
• Remember my last place prediction for Fresno State last season?  Ah, good times.  I’m not falling for that again.  I think they have enough to outlast perennial contender SDSU for the West Division crown.  Now watch Hawaii win it and make me look like an idiot again.
• Speaking of the Fighting Rainbow Warriors, I do have them sinking to the bottom of the West Division.  The program is a bit of a gongshow at this point.  They’re basically the Arizona Coyotes of the Mountain West, playing in a smallish high school stadium for another few years until Aloha Stadium is renovated or a new stadium is built or something.  They can’t keep recruits on the island anymore and being on that island is becoming very difficult for the football program as a whole.  I hope it turns around again and not just for a single season but this will not be that year (despite what I said in the previous point).
• Conference Championship prediction: Air Force 38 Fresno State 14.  Air Force will finally win their first Mountain West title.  They haven’t won a conference championship since the WAC so it’s a long time coming for Troy Calhoun’s squad.

Look, I know Notre Dame doesn’t belong here but it’s not my fault they are an Independent still and they are grouped with a few teams that barely qualify as FCS programs. Let’s just get to the standings before I start swearing too much.

		Overall
		W	L
	Notre Dame	10	2
	Army	10	2
	BYU	9	3
	Liberty	8	4
	New Mexico State	2	10
	UConn	2	10
	UMass	1	11

No Profanity Notes

• • No profanity?  Let’s see how long this lasts.
  • Let’s start with the kings of the group: the Fighting Irish.  The question is always “Will they make the College Football Playoff this season?”  I honestly can’t see it this season.  Their schedule is brutal with trips to Columbus and the LA Coliseum along with home dates against Clemson and BYU.  I have them losing two of those four and it wouldn’t shock me if they dropped all four of those.  They always have a shot at the New Year’s Six and I see them sneaking in but it won’t be easy.
  • I have, yet again, got Army winning ten games.  They are a good team with a breeze of a schedule.  One year, they might enter that Army-Navy Game at 11-0 and at least will have some people wondering if they deserve that one spot in the NY6.
  • BYU is finally joining a conference again.  The Cougs are headed for the Big XII next year so this is their final season as an Independent.  And once again they are hoping to do enough to get into the Top 20 and make the College Football Playoff Committee really take a hard look at what they’ve done.  Their schedule is, once again, quite difficult.  Not Notre Dame difficult but not easy at all.  They won’t come out of it unscathed and I don’t think they have enough in the tank to be ranked.  Expect another trip to a mediocre bowl game…but at least the Provo faithful can be done with that after this year.
  • Hey, speaking of teams leaving the Independent world, it’s the fighting Hugh Freezes of Liberty.  They head to whatever the hell Conference USA is going to be next season.  I can’t see this being the end goal for them as they have a lot of resources to move up even more.  I know most people hate to hear that but it’s the truth.  This year, expect them in another low-level bowl before next year when they will have a chance to win one of Conference USA’s bowl slots to go to…yet another low-level bowl.
  • And yet another team moving to a conference.  The Aggies join Liberty in going to Conference USA.  Someone invited them to a party!  Yay for them!  They are still light years away from competing in any sense and when other teams from FCS join them there (like Sam Houston State) they will be blown by in no time flat.  It’s not easy recruiting for Las Cruces but something has to change there.
  • Just a reminder…UConn has their own contract with CBS Sports Network.  Say that again in your head.  Yeah I don’t get it either.  I mean if it was football AND basketball then sure, it makes a ton of sense since UConn basketball is a huge brand.  But just UConn football.  CBS can’t be making any money off this deal.  Anyway, you can watch them get their ass kicked (at least at home) if you so choose.
  • I don’t know what UMass will be able to do with three teams leaving the Independent ranks for conferences next season.  It means we will be back down to four teams for next season.  Sure, they can get their ass kicked by Notre Dame and Army, if they choose to play the Huskies.  They can be competitive with UConn.  Other than that?  It’s two FCS opponents and find at least seven other FBS teams to play them.  Not an easy task.  Honestly, unless the American wants to take them on at some point (which I can’t see happening), it may be best for them to head back to FCS.  I’ve said it before and I’m not wavering from that.
  • See?  Didn’t swear!  I am fuuuuuuuuuuny and smart.  Yeah.  Phew!  That was a close one.

One of the winners of realignment is the Sun Belt. Four new members! Good additions to a conference that has solidified itself as the number three conference in the Group of Five. Now let’s get to some of these sunny predictions and I will discuss some of the changes going on here:

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Marshall	8	0	11	1
	Coastal Carolina	7	1	10	2
	Appalachian State	6	2	9	3
	Georgia State	5	3	6	6
	Old Dominion	3	5	3	9
	Georgia Southern	2	6	4	8
	James Madison	2	6	3	8
	West
	Louisiana	7	1	10	2
	Troy	5	3	6	6
	South Alabama	4	4	6	6
	Southern Miss	4	4	5	7
	Texas State	2	6	4	8
	Arkansas State	1	7	3	9
	ULM	0	8	1	11

Sunny Predictions (see what I did there)

• I’m going to say it again…this conference, like all conferences, need to go to no divisions.  One year it will bite them in the ass.  Guaranteed.  And they better hope it’s not the year when they have a legitimate shot to put a team in the New Year’s Six.
• It won’t be the normal cakewalk for Louisiana to win the West Division this season.  Saying that, it’s not like they have real good competition like the East.  The best bet to dethrone the Ragin’ Cajuns are Troy and South Alabama and they have a ways to go to be considered conference title contenders.  So chances are, we will see this team, yet again, in the Sun Belt title game.
• Coastal and App State can’t be happy to have Marshall in their division now.  The Thundering Herd are a very dangerous team and I believe they have enough to sneak up the middle in their first year of Sun Belt competition and take the East crown.  And yes, I know I have James Madison at 3-8 or 11 games played.  That’s how many they’re playing.  I guess they couldn’t get another non-conference game quickly enough so don’t think I am having issues with counting.
• Conference Championship prediction: Marshall 33 Louisiana 30.  Louisiana will not repeat as champ.  I think Marshall is going to make good on their move to a new conference by winning the Sun Belt.

I’m not going to put them last. I could. This conference has just irritated me for a long time. They have had the worst TV contracts in recent memory for an FBS conference, constantly allow the better schools to leave and backfill with worse options and had the audacity to turn down the Sun Belt when discussion of making geographically better conferences came up. Stupidity. Alright, let’s just get to the conference standings before I blow a gasket:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	UTSA	8	0	9	3
	WKU	6	2	9	4
	UAB	6	2	9	3
	UTEP	6	2	8	4
	Florida Atlantic	4	4	6	6
	Louisiana Tech	4	4	5	7
	North Texas	4	4	5	7
	Middle Tennessee	3	5	5	7
	Charlotte	3	5	4	8
	FIU	0	8	3	9
	Rice	0	8	1	11

Alright Let’s Just Get This Over With

• No divisions so at least that’s a plus even though it happened because teams left.
• Many are discounting UTSA but I think they have it in them to run the table in the conference this season, something they didn’t do last year during their glorious run to a C-USA title.  Second place, on the other hand, I see being a complete dogfight.  WKU, UAB and UTEP are all good teams and because of scheduling quirks, I have the Hilltoppers getting the opportunity to travel to San Antonio for the conference championship.
• It is going to be a long season for Rice and FIU, two programs who honestly really don’t understand success in the first place so maybe it won’t hit them so hard.
• Conference Championship prediction: UTSA 45 WKU 38.  I think this may actually end up being one of the more fun conference championship games.  Both teams can score and even without Bailey Zappe, I’m sure WKU will be tossing the ball all over the field.

And finally….IT’S MACTION TIME, BABY! I know we don’t get much MACtion before late October but I always look forward to it. And yes, the attendance figures for these games, for the most part, aren’t exactly stellar. But to be able to watch these games when I would have had absolutely no opportunity to otherwise? Love it! Here are your 2022 MAC predicted standings:

		Conference		Overall
	East	W	L	W	L
	Miami-OH	7	1	8	4
	Kent State	5	3	6	6
	Ohio	3	5	4	8
	Buffalo	3	5	5	7
	Bowling Green	1	7	2	10
	Akron	0	8	1	11
	West
	Northern Illinois	7	1	9	3
	Toledo	7	1	9	3
	Central Michigan	6	2	9	3
	Western Michigan	5	3	6	6
	Eastern Michigan	3	5	5	7
	Ball State	1	7	3	9

MACtion Magic

• Look I’m going to level with you.  The MAC East is a terrible division.  Realistically, none of the teams deserve to be in the MAC Championship and I am sure I could make a case for none of them to go bowling either.  Alas, the rules state otherwise.  The Redhawks should be the best of a not-that-good bunch with Kent State giving them a bit of a run.
• The West, on the other hand, will be a lot of fun.  Three good teams at the top with very little to separate them.  The schedule favours Northern Illinois to pull out a squeaker to win the West but you could put them, Toledo or CMU in the conference championship and they would all make sense and you could make strong arguments for them.
• Ball State.  Bowling Green.  Akron.  All bad.
• Conference Championship prediction: Miami-OH 27 Northern Illinois 26.  Because of course this is the way it would work out in this crazy conference.

We made it! The Group of Five is done! Who out of this group will make it to the New Year’s Six? Seriously? You couldn’t figure it out from all the info I gave you? Well, I will be doing bowl predictions later this month so no need to worry if you can’t put this puzzle together.

Next up is the Power Five. When will that happen? Who fucking knows?!!!! Have a great rest of the week everybody!

Week 7 College Football TV Schedule with no real intro

Yep, I got nothing.  Nothing really happened that was huge…I mean compared to the NFL which is a complete shitshow.  So why don’t we just get to the damn schedule?  Sounds like a plan.  Let’s go.

Thursday​

		US	Canada
Navy at Memphis	7:30 PM
Georgia Southern at South Alabama	7:30 PM

Two games.  Neither game really being big as none of these teams are near the top of their conference or division.  I mean the Thursday Night Football matchup is Tampa Bay against Philadelphia so we kind of know that will be a blowout so maybe one of these games can be close and give us something fun to watch.

Friday

		US	Canada
Marshall at North Texas	7:00 PM
Clemson at Syracuse	7:00 PM
Montana State at Weber State	10:00 PM
#24 San Diego State at San Jose State	10:30 PM
California at #9 Oregon	10:30 PM

Five games, one in the FCS on this night.  SDSU has a date with Nevada later in the year and need a win to keep pace.  Oregon trying desperately to keep the Pac-12’s almost non-existent playoff hopes alive.  I’m very curious as to why ESPN is all of a sudden showing Big Sky games.  They already have the MEAC, SWAC and Ivy League, all leagues that don’t go to the FCS playoffs.  Going this route is something different and I, for one, welcome it.  If it’s anything like the Montana-Eastern Washington game two weeks ago, then buckle up.

Saturday Early​​

		US	Canada
UCF at #3 Cincinnati	Noon
Rutgers at Northwestern	Noon
Auburn at #17 Arkansas	Noon
Yale at UConn	Noon
#20 Florida at LSU	Noon
Nebraska at Minnesota	Noon
Tulsa at USF	Noon
#12 Oklahoma State at #25 Texas	Noon
#21 Texas A&M at Missouri	Noon
Duke at Virginia	12:30 PM

OK not the sexiest lineup per se but it has some decent quality.  CBS gets their one Noon game of the season and actually didn’t get too bad a pick with the Tigers and Razorbacks.  Remember that when CBS has a Noon SEC game, they get the top SEC pick for their afternoon game and then ESPN gets the next two choices.  THEN CBS gets to select their Noon SEC game.  Other than that, UCF and the Gus Bus try to derail the Bearcat Express, Oklahoma State hopes to continue their unexpected undefeated run against the Longhorns and Yale and UConn face off in yet another game where CBS regrets ever signing the Huskies to a broadcast contract.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Purdue at #2 Iowa	3:30 PM
Miami at North Carolina	3:30 PM
#11 Kentucky at #1 Georgia	3:30 PM
#19 BYU at Baylor	3:30 PM
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech	3:30 PM
Kent State at Western Michigan	3:30 PM
Vanderbilt at South Carolina	4:00 PM

The afternoon shows that many times quality is much better than quantity.  We shall see if the craziness continues in Athens.  TSN has really not stepped up yet and it has nothing to do with the CFL for the most part.  I’ve mentioned it before but it feels like they are going slightly backwards with their college football coverage (and then will wonder why college football fans go different routes that aren’t TSN to get their college football fix).  Anyway, Purdue gets a rare ABC spot (which should result in them getting obliterated) and the specialty pack picks up the rest of the games.  Brutal.

Saturday Primetime​

		US	Canada
Utah State at UNLV	7:00 PM
#5 Alabama at Mississippi State	7:00 PM
TCU at #4 Oklahoma	7:30 PM
#22 NC State at Boston College	7:30 PM
Iowa State at Kansas State	7:30 PM
Stanford at Washington State	7:30 PM
#13 Ole Miss at Tennessee	7:30 PM
Army at Wisconsin	8:00 PM
UCLA at Washington	8:30 PM

Technically this is a primetime schedule.  Nothing impressive but if you don’t have quality get some quantity (I know what I said in the last section).  Again, no TSN games but at least FOX, BTN and CBSSN are back in this timeslot.  Got to hope there is at least one close game or one upset here or it’s looking pretty grim going into the late night portion of our schedule.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
#18 Arizona State at Utah	10:00 PM
Hawaii at Nevada	10:30 PM

Only two games but both of them could end up being pretty good.  Hawaii could make it so San Diego State is clearly in the driver’s seat if they can beat the Wolf Pack in Reno.  And Utah isn’t as bad as their record indicates and could cause all sorts of problems for the Sun Devils, especially with their rowdy student section.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Kentucky at Georgia (3:30, CBS) – Easily the biggest game of the week, if not a great candidate for Game of the Year.  I know, even with Kentucky involved!  An expected Bulldog victory would put them in the driver’s seat in the SEC East with, realistically, a win in the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party the only thing standing between them and a trip to Atlanta.  If the Wildcats win then ho boy, the insanity meter gets ratcheted up a whole lot more (and also puts Bama back in the mix to get back to #1).  I’m hoping, for Brad Nessler’s sake, it’s a good game.

Oklahoma State at Texas (Noon, FOX) – OK so there is a bit of a drop off after the Game of the Week.  But, the Pokes are seriously good and we could be heading for the best Bedlam in a long time if they can keep this up.  Texas helped the cause by losing an absolute heartbreaker in the Red River Shootout on Saturday.  I have this feeling that if Okie State wins this, it’s basically a foregone conclusion that we will have a Bedlam rematch at JerryWorld in December.  We almost need the Longhorns to pull something out here to keep things exciting in the Big XII.

UCF at Cincinnati (Noon, ABC) – Look I will be honest: the quality of this game all depends on which Knights team shows up.  We’ve seen the quite good Knights where the team is rolling along and the Gus Bus is humming.  And we’ve seen the horrible Knights where the Gus Bus has serious mechanical problems and/or is on fire.  Here’s hoping we get the former.  You could say this is the last true hurdle to the Bearcats running the table until the AAC Championship as they don’t have Houston on their schedule.

BYU at Baylor (3:30, specialty pack) – BYU losing last week means they are locked into the Independence Bowl unless a bunch of crazy shit happens.  Don’t want to say they have nothing to play for but they have a lot less to play for now.  Baylor, on the other hand, could be the surprise team of the season if they keep winning as Dave Aranda is doing a miraculous job in Waco.  The Cougs need to win big and the Bears just need to win.  Could be the sneaky good game of the week.

NC State at Boston College (7:30, specialty pack) – The ACC Network kind of lucked out in getting this game.  Both teams are somehow contending in the ACC Atlantic division since Clemson is not the Clemson of the past decade.  The Wolfpack are obviously in better shape here since they actually beat the Tigers whereas the Eagles lost (albeit with a backup quarterback).  With a relatively weak primetime schedule, this game could shine.

Honourable mention: Auburn at Arkansas (Noon, CBS); Alabama at Mississippi State (7:00, specialty pack); TCU at Oklahoma (7:30, ABC)

You wanna bet?

Before the season I said Alabama would lose one game and I thought, at the time, it would be Texas A&M.  Then I chickened out last week and had Bama beating the Aggies.  Should have gone with my gut!  Other than that (and picking LSU over Kentucky) it was a pretty good week.  Wonder if I can replicate it….I hope I didn’t just jinx myself.  Here we go:

Baylor over BYU (an upset!)

NC State over Boston College

Oklahoma over TCU

Texas over Oklahoma State (another upset!)

Cincinnati over UCF

Georgia over Kentucky

Alabama over Mississippi State

Auburn over Arkansas

Marshall over North Texas

Utah over Arizona State (slight upset)

UNLV over Utah State (to get their first win of the season)

Going to be honest: I feel like I put less than my best effort into this post.  It’s been a rough time for me lately and I try to push through it.  Part of that is doing this blog as it gets my mind off of everything I’m going through for a few hours.  Part of my therapy so to speak.  So as much as there is work involved in doing these posts on a near-daily basis these days, it’s also cathartic and something I enjoy doing.  Everyone needs a hobby or something they do outside of work and this is the one real thing I’m doing these days.  I’m sure I will get back to doing a better job soon enough (hey, there’s an NFL post tomorrow).  Anyway, take some time for yourself and watch some college football these next few nights.  You deserve it!  Have a great week!

Week 1 College Football Recap – Can we call this the greatest Week 1 ever?

“AH don’t think so” – what Mack Brown probably said.

Honestly, I do not have a dog in this hunt.  I don’t have a favourite team that I only root for and the rest of the teams can eat shit.  I just love watching college football.  Saying all that, I had selected (not too long ago and you know that since you are a faithful reader) North Carolina to go to the College Football Playoff.  I had the Tar Heels overcoming Clemson in the ACC Championship to get in.  I was dead serious about it.  So of course their O-line goes and plays like shit and Mack looked hungover most of the night and the Heels lost to a game Virginia Tech team.  The Hokies played well…on defense.  But the Heels were supposed to win this one relatively easily and they laid an egg.  I’ve had this happen before.  Years ago I picked Michigan State to get to the CFP and they were horrible all season.  Another year I picked LSU and Wisconsin upset them in Lambeau of all places to start the season.  It happens.  UNC may still get to the playoff.  Run the table and they are probably there but man it looks bad (not to mention the Sam Howell-for-Heisman takes getting a creamy dump all over them).

Enough of the bad (and it’s not even really that bad).  Let’s look at the fact that college football is back!  It feels like a real season after last year’s COVID-stained debacle.  And I have to ask the question: is this the greatest Week 1 in college football history?  Let’s recap and put the pieces together.

• The game of the week was a war of attrition.  It was a slugfest from the opening bell and both Georgia and Clemson weren’t going to give an inch.  The defenses were on point all night.  The only touchdown was a pick six by UGA.  Both quarterbacks, D.J. Uiagalelei and J.T. Daniels, struggled as the defense pressured them all game.  In the end, the Dawg defense held out and look like a serious national title contender.  Not saying Clemson is done, especially after North Carolina’s loss the night before, but it’s a rough start and the offense does not look in sync at all.  It was, in the end, a close game with two contenders and a lot of fun to watch.
• How about those Washington Huskies?  Woof.  The 20th ranked possible Pac-12 favourites lost to Montana.  Montana.  And the score was 13-7.  Are you fucking kidding me?  The hype over the first game back at Husky Stadium was palpable and the team goes out and shits the bed.  An unreal start for poor Jimmy Lake who will have to turn things around fast or he will be on a most-unexpected hot seat soon enough.
• But hey, it’s not like Oregon played awesome.  They could not put Fresno State away.  The Bulldogs are obviously better than I (and many others) thought they were but the Ducks are considered the team that could bring the Pac-12 back to the CFP dance.  Instead, they looked mediocre for most of the game and pulled the game out at the end.  Not good either.  Pac-12 North struggling to start the year.  Don’t even get me started on Stanford and Washington State.
• Wisconsin and Penn State, for three quarters, was a gongshow.  Neither team seemed to want to win.  The kickers didn’t want to help matters either.  Wisconsin was inside the PSU 10, three separate times and came away with no points.  The Nittany Lions were hardly better on offense.  It felt like a classic Big Ten three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust matchup.  PSU’s defense held up and it was again, at least for the fourth quarter, a really fun game to watch that came down to the wire.  And honestly, it was nice to see Jump Around at Camp Randall once again.  Almost brought tears to my eyes.
• How about them Jayhawks?  OK look it was only South Dakota and they barely squeaked out a win.  But at least they weren’t like five other FBS teams who fell to FCS squads, including Vanderbilt getting pasted by East Tennessee State and Colorado State getting hammered by South Dakota State’s potent offense.  Also, you can say, for now, that Lance Leipold is undefeated in Lawrence.  Good times.
• Yes, Alabama beat Miami up pretty good.  Not that that was unexpected.  The way they did it, combined with the way other top teams handled their opening contests says something that was a bit unexpected, though.  That Bama is still heads above the field until we see otherwise.  Bryce Young looked great in his first start.  The rest of the Tide offense did their thing and the defense was all over D’Eriq King and the Canes all day.  Even the turnover chain didn’t feel great for Canes fans after a turnover was overturned and they had to put the chain back in the box.  Nothing went right for The U yesterday.
• Hey, maybe Chip Kelly has finally figured it out in Westwood.  UCLA looked damn good in their upset victory of LSU and should hit the rankings this week.  Maybe, just maybe, the Bruins could sneak through and win the Pac-12 South.  Wouldn’t that be a coup for this program.
• I am hereby starting a petition.  All Duke’s Mayo Bowls/Classics/Kickoffs/Whatevers need to finish with the following: the winning coach getting a big bucket of mayo dumped on them.  It is only fitting and would provide some excitement.  This also means we will see Bret Bielema beg to be in every Duke’s Mayo game from here until he stops coaching.
• At one point it looked like the Gus Bus had gone off the rails already in Orlando.  Then UCF came back and pulled out the victory over Boise State in a huge Group of Five opener.  Now Gus Malzahn is hailed as a great coach and maybe the guy who will bring the Knights back to glory.  This guy’s blood pressure either goes up and down every few minutes or is so stationary that it’s statistically impossible since I don’t know how one man can go through the roller-coaster stuff he’s gone through as a coach.
• I honestly wondered if Tulane would get blown out by Oklahoma.  Man, was I ever wrong.  The Green Wave, who couldn’t host the game in New Orleans due to the effects of Hurricane Ida, made things VERY difficult for the Sooners.  After recovering an onside kick late, they had a chance to win the game and couldn’t get it done.  What it did do is two things though: show us that Tulane might be a darkhorse contender in the American conference and that the Sooners defense is brutal which seems to be the same story every year.  This team will never win a national championship if they can’t shore up that side of the ball.
• The Labour Day ACC game was pretty bad…well for one team it was.  I mean Ole Miss played really well but Louisville is awful.  I don’t think Scott Satterfield is long for coaching in the ACC.  Is Bobby Petrino available?
• Who picked Iowa to win the Big Ten West?  That’s right, this guy….I’m pointing at myself.  The Hawkeyes looked like the northern version of Alabama as they beat the tar out of Indiana.  Sure the Hoosiers may have been a tad overrated going into this season but this was a joke from the word go.  Maybe Iowa can now get some national respect going forward this season (until they lose a game to a team they should have easily beat).
• Finally, the Sunday night game was an unreal one.  Jack Coan proved that Brian Kelly was right in having faith in him as their new starting quarterback.  And Florida State?  Well, they may finally be looking like the Florida State we all know for the first time truly since the Jameis Winston days.  Also a great tribute to Bobby Bowden at halftime and it’s always great to see the Doak rockin’ like it was in the 90s.  And how can I forget McKenzie Milton.  What a return from a guy who wasn’t even supposed to be walking ever again after that brutal leg injury almost three years ago.  Almost brought the Noles to victory in his comeback when he came in late in the game.  And let’s not talk about Brian Kelly’s callback to John McKay of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the postgame interview.

So let’s go back to the question I posed earlier.  Is this the greatest Week 1 in college football history?  I’m not sure.  We have to be careful here.  After not having a big start to last season, this felt amazing.  And yes there were quite a few important games right out of the gate and also a fair share of upsets and FCS wins over FBS teams.  But is it the very best?  I’ll say it’s one of the best.  Definitely the best since I started this blog almost a decade ago.  And a great start to the season where many are hoping that we don’t get into any kind of COVID madness.  We are still slowly getting back to normality (and have a ways to go) and some cannot afford a step back in any situation.

I will not do a Top 25 after Week 1.  This is what I’ve been doing.  I wish college football waited a while but they won’t.

Now I can hopefully get back into the swing of things.  We can get back to the normal college football schedule/NFL schedule/college football recap/rinse and repeat deal that seems to work.  The world is getting back to normal, including in my little portion of the globe.

I sincerely hope you had fun watching the games during Week 1.  I know I did.  I kind of needed it in a way.  Sounds weird to some that I need that but I did especially with my life (along with many other lives) being so topsy-turvy for about a year-and-a-half now.  Enjoy the rest of your week.

We got the Week Zero appetizer. Now it’s time for the Week 1 Main Course!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Yes we have made it to what is really the official start of the college football season.  You can count Week Zero if you want, and I do, but let’s be honest: it’s merely a tiny appetizer to what’s ahead.  Like getting a platter of nachos before your meal except there are only four nacho chips on the platter with a tiny bit of melted cheese, a splatter of salsa and no jalapenos.  Week One…now that’s where it’s at.  A meatier schedule that really immerses us (finally) in what college football is all about.  It gets me back into doing sweet fuck all most Saturdays (if I can help it).  Great times.

So let’s get right down to brass tacks.  Here is the glorious Week 1 schedule (in high def).

Wednesday

		US	Canada
Jacksonville State at UAB	7:30 PM

Wednesday?  WEDNESDAY!  Man this is great.  Now we have SIX nights of college football during Week 1.  Just awesome.  I mean this game probably won’t be that good but at least it will be at UAB’s new stadium and not at Legion Field which looked like it was going to collapse at any moment.

UPDATE #2: This game is not in Birmingham.  I wonder if their new stadium isn’t ready yet.  Instead it is in Montgomery, site of the legendary Camellia Bowl.

UPDATE #3: Maybe I should have waited.  Thanks to Pete Thamel on Twitter, UAB’s new stadium opens in October.

Thursday​

		US	Canada
Temple at Rutgers	6:30 PM
Boise State at UCF	7:00 PM
USF at NC State	7:30 PM
East Carolina vs. Appalachian State (in Charlotte)	7:30 PM
Weber State at #24 Utah	7:30 PM
#4 Ohio State at Minnesota	8:00 PM
Bowling Green at Tennessee	8:00 PM
Southern Utah at #25 Arizona State	10:30 PM

Pretty big time Group of Five start with Boise State heading to Orlando to face the Knights of UCF.  And FOX has an opening week Thursday game!  Noice!  Nice to see them jump into the pool.  Not like it’s a super competitive matchup but it’s put them in the weekday night game and that’s hugely important.  A couple of things I have to mention before you get too far into reading this.  I am still not quite sure that you can get the Pac-12 Network on DAZN here in Canada.  You’re supposed to be able to get the P12N games on there but looking at the site, that might not be the case.  I will have to dig further.  The other thing is that the specialty packs are, well, there.  I don’t see anything there in terms of a schedule yet but I assume these games will end up there as they normally do.

UPDATE #4: Temple-Rutgers has been moved to Saturday at Noon because of the weather issues in and around New York City and will still be able to be seen on BTN.

UPDATE #5: Thanks to reader Dan, we now know that the Pac-12 Network is not on DAZN.  But it’s free (for now) on their YouTube page.  Nice!

Friday

		US	Canada
#10 North Carolina at Virginia Tech	6:00 PM
Old Dominion at Wake Forest	7:00 PM
Duke at Charlotte	7:00 PM
Michigan State at Northwestern	9:00 PM
Northern Colorado at Colorado	9:00 PM

OK this is better than Thursday night…but not by much.  North Carolina starts what could be their biggest campaign ever with a tough one in Blacksburg.  We get a nice TSN doubleheader with ESPN’s stupid three-hour windows.  They just never learn.  Also, if you are a glutton for punishment, check out Duke face Charlotte.  I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the 49ers (not the San Francisco kind) beat Dook in what would be considered an upset but not a huge one.

Saturday Early

		US	Canada
#2 Oklahoma at Tulane (in Norman)	Noon
Colgate at Boston College	Noon
Fordham at Nebraska	Noon
Holy Cross at UConn	Noon
Western Michigan at Michigan	Noon
Army at Georgia State	Noon
#19 Penn State at #12 Wisconsin	Noon
ULM at Kentucky	Noon

A lot of games here.  PSU-Wisky is a pretty massive game to start is off on Week 1.  The winner here has the inside track on what could be a special Big Ten season (if they can beat Ohio State).  We shall see if OU-Tulane will be played in New Orleans as the people of that area are dealing with Hurricane Ida as we speak.  UPDATE: No.  No it won’t be.  It will be in Norman.  And will Scott Frost be fired?  If they somehow lose to Fordham then Frost might be fired during the post-game interview on the field.

Saturday Afternoon

		US	Canada
Fresno State at #11 Oregon	2:00 PM
#1 Alabama vs. #14 Miami (in Atlanta)	3:30 PM
#17 Indiana at #18 Iowa	3:30 PM
Marshall at Navy	3:30 PM
West Virginia at Maryland	3:30 PM
UMass at Pittsburgh	4:00 PM
Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State	4:00 PM
Central Michigan at Missouri	4:00 PM
#23 Louisiana at #21 Texas	4:30 PM
San Jose State at #15 USC	5:00 PM

Whoa now THIS is impressive for Week 1.  Bama-Miami, if close, could be an amazing game.  Indy-Iowa is a massive get for the Big Ten Network.  The best game of the weekend could be FOX’s afternoon affair as the Ragin Cajuns look to pull off….I’m going to call it a VERY minor upset if they beat the Longhorns and only because it’s in Austin.  Louisiana is that good and will be part of the Group of Five story all season.  Don’t sleep on the Spartans heading to LA to play USC (if you get Pac-12 Network), WVU-Maryland could be quite close if Tagovailoa Dos can carry the Terps and LaTech heading to CLANGAland could be sneaky good.  A lot of channel surfing/stream switching in this timeslot for sure.

Saturday Primetime

		US	Canada
Syracuse at Ohio	7:00 PM
Texas Tech vs. Houston (in NRG Stadium)	7:00 PM
#5 Georgia vs. #3 Clemson (in Charlotte)	7:30 PM
Northern Illinois at Georgia Tech	7:30 PM
UTSA at Illinois	7:30 PM
William & Mary at Virginia	7:30 PM
Florida Atlantic at #13 Florida	7:30 PM
Kent State at #6 Texas A&M	8:00 PM
Montana at #20 Washington	8:00 PM
#16 LSU at UCLA	8:30 PM

One game, obviously, is going to carry most of the hype.  UGA-Clemson is a Game of the Year candidate but make no mistake about it: the loser is not out of the College Football Playoff picture by a longshot.  The loser of this one could run the table and be as high as the #2 seed going into the CFP.  UCLA showed that it will not be a pushover and that LSU should be ready for the Bruins.  Sure it would be an upset if UCLA won but not a huge one and if they can pull it off, Chip Kelly might finally strike fear into the rest of the Pac-12 South.  Glad to see most of the networks showing games in primetime unlike 2019 (I won’t discuss 2020 because that’s not fair).  It means we get that good game on FOX.  It means TTU-UH could be a lot of fun to watch and we get to see it.  It means we get to see if Florida Atlantic and Kent State can follow up a good year with another good year.  By this point we will all be on college football overload but I have faith we can all get through it and plow into the late night sked.

Saturday Late Night

		US	Canada
New Mexico State at San Diego State	10:30 PM
BYU vs. Arizona (in Las Vegas)	10:30 PM
Utah State at Washington State	11:00 PM

OK so it kind of falls off a cliff here.  Can’t win ’em all.  Here’s hoping at least one of these games is close since, on paper, none of them look to be.

Sunday

		US	Canada
Jackson State vs. Florida A&M (in Miami)	3:00 PM
Grambling vs. Tennessee State (in Canton)	4:00 PM
Fort Valley State vs. Tuskegee (in Montgomery)	7:00 PM
#9 Notre Dame at Florida State	7:30 PM

A lot of FCS action on the Sunday before Labour Day.  Smart work by the HBCU schools to do this as it should get a lot of eyeballs on their games.  I wonder if we will get the game in Canton here since the NFL Network can be a bit funny with their schedule when it comes to what Canadians get to watch.  It feels like Florida State could cause the Irish some problems.  Let’s all hope so or else it’s an early bedtime for everyone.

Monday

		US	Canada
Ole Miss at Louisville	8:00 PM

This may not look great but Ole Miss should be quite a good team this year.  I mean at least their offense should be fun to watch with Lane Kiffin as the head coach.  I’m glad the CFL (and TSN) ditched the stupid idea of putting the Labour Day Classic (Eastern edition) in primetime.  Fucking dumb.  Ti-Cats-Argos should be on at 1 and Eskimos Elks-Stamps on at around 4:30 or so.  That’s tradition so keep it that way because there’s no reason not to.

Games to set your eyeballs on

Georgia vs. Clemson (in Charlotte) (7:30, ABC/TSN2) – This is one of the Game of the Year candidates and is a relatively easy choice for Week 1 Game of the Week.  Could it be a national championship preview?  Some think so.  Not me, but I know some do.  This is where we get to see if D.J. Uiagalelei wasn’t a flash in the pan after his two games last season.  We get to see if J.T. Daniels (what is it with initialed quarterback first names?) is the real deal and a potential Heisman candidate.  We also get to see two of the whitest, southernest coaches around.  Now this is college football at it’s finest.

Penn State at Wisconsin (Noon, FOX) – BIG NOON SATURDAY gets a damn good game to start their season.  I am somewhat positive this is where Gus and Joel will be but it’s not a guarantee with another great FOX game right afterwards (and another great one after that).  This is probably going to be somewhat underhyped but is extremely important in the Big Ten scheme of things as if Ohio State trips up at some point this season, one of these two teams could be the one sneaking past into the top spot.  After years of crap Week 1s, FOX really has hit it out of the park this year.  I don’t expect this all season but at least it’s a good start.

Indiana at Iowa (3:30, BTN) – I’m not lying.  BTN.  The Big Ten Network.  Every year this network gets one game that would easily be on either FOX or ESPN and somehow they nab it.  The good thing about the way the Big Ten Network contract is structured because every team has to show up at least twice with one game being a conference game.  This could be the closest game of the day and we shall see if the Hoosiers are still climbing or if Iowa will somehow Ferentz their way to a victory to open their season.

Louisiana at Texas (4:30, FOX) – I’m serious when I said above this would not be much of an upset if Louisiana won.  The Ragin Cajuns are a serious contender for the single Group of Five New Year’s Six spot (although don’t be surprised if two or even three teams really push the envelope this season).  And we all know what opening weekend Texas games are like.  Really wild and completely wacky doesn’t quite cover it.

LSU at UCLA (8:30, FOX) – Yeah, all three FOX tripleheader games in the GOTW section.  First time ever?  I would check but I’m lazy so I’m going to say no, it has never happened before.  If the Bruins’ performance in Week Zero is any indication as to what this team could be like, this game will be a ton of fun.  Then again they were playing a Hawaii team that looked like it wasn’t ready to start the game at all.  The Tigers lost their starting quarterback before the season began so it could be an interesting journey for Ed Orgeron’s team this season (plus we may see Coach Eaux on the hot seat amazingly enough if things go south).

Honourable mention: North Carolina at Virginia Tech (Friday, 6:00, TSN2); Notre Dame at Florida State (Sunday, 7:30, ABC); San Jose State at USC (5:00, DAZN)

Some gambling fun and games

Oh man, this fuckery again.  OK look I don’t pick against the spread, just straight up win or loss.  I also advise you never to copy these picks.  Yes I may be fully correct once but after like 100 misses you’d lose a lot of money.  Let’s go:

Notre Dame over Florida State

Texas over Louisiana (but it will be close)

Clemson over Georgia

Alabama over Miami

North Carolina over Virginia Tech

LSU over UCLA

USC over San Jose State

Indiana over Iowa (slight upset?)

Duke over Charlotte

UCF over Boise State

Tennessee over Bowling Green (I might regret this)

SIX straight days of college football starts tonight!  I believe I am ready to go.  College football gives you Week Zero to get a bit acclimated and then BAM!  It’s go time!  I’m struggling with specialty pack information as I haven’t seen this little information in years on it.  Saying that, it’s pretty easy to outline what games will probably appear on them.  As for the Pac-12 Network/DAZN situation, I am looking into it and hoping to get an answer before the first potential P12N game in Canada this year Thursday night.  I will definitely hit the Twitter machine and try to stay in my lane (college football, NFL and a little general sports sprinkled in) and not venture into Politicsland or Vaccineville, two places no one should ever go to when dealing with Twitter.

As per usual on this blog, we will soon get into the CFB schedule/NFL schedule/watch some damn football/recap/rinse/repeat carousel.  No NFL recaps since a) I really barely have time to do this blog so doing NFL recaps would be tough and b) there are plenty of places to find those recaps out there and they aren’t hard to find.  I’m glad to be back.  Glad to have all of you back.  It’s going to be a fun season.  I can feel it.  Have a great week everyone and enjoy Week 1!

Could this be the year?

There are many that are coming just short of begging for one of the many Group of Five teams to have their chance in the College Football Playoff.  Could this be the year it happens?  Luke Fickell’s Cincinnati Bearcats are, arguably, the best American Conference team possibly ever.  And to some they don’t get near the respect they deserve.  Last year, the Bearcats got as high as #6 in the AP Poll and #7 in the CFP Rankings.  It’s tough to move much higher than that if you haven’t got the schedule to back it up.  The only other way for it to happen is for all the Power Five teams to drop off so a G-5 team can sneak in.  That will change soon with the proposed 12-team playoff.  Then, the best Group of Five conference champion will be guaranteed at least one spot in the mix.  I know some are angry at that as well.  I think in the end, you can’t please everyone.

Alright let’s get to the predictions to see if anyone pulls away from the rest of the crowd.  I will follow that with some Massive Conference Footprint Points:

		Conference		Overall
		W	L	W	L
	Cincinnati	8	0	11	1
	Houston	6	2	9	3
	UCF	6	2	10	2
	Memphis	6	2	9	3
	Tulsa	4	4	6	6
	SMU	4	4	7	5
	East Carolina	3	5	5	7
	Tulane	3	5	4	8
	Navy	2	6	3	9
	Temple	1	7	2	10
	USF	1	7	2	10

Massive Conference Footprint Points

• Cincinnati is really good.  Like seriously good.  They will probably have a good shot at getting back to the New Year’s Six.  Their schedule is not easy though.  The state of Indiana is pretty much where their season will come down to.  They start in Bloomington in Week 3 against Indiana and then travel to South Bend in Week 5 to play Notre Dame.  I can’t see them winning both.  But if they do, watch out since they have to get consideration for the College Football Playoff if they also run the rest of the table.
• No divisions now which is great.  I can’t stand divisions.  This way the top two teams will be in the championship game.  And this year I have Houston of all teams making it.  I know I might get some flack for it (if people cared that much) but the Cougs should be improved and have the schedule to kind of sneak up the middle and grab that second spot.  The reward?  An ass-kicking in the AAC Championship.
• Houston will just beat out UCF and Memphis for that spot.  The Cougs don’t play the Knights this season which is a huge advantage for Houston.  I believe that if they had played that UCF passes Houston in the standings but the schedule is set this way and there isn’t much that can be done about that.  I have Houston beating Memphis late in the season, at home, to secure the #2 spot in the conference.
• East Carolina will improve a lot this year.  To the point where they are on the precipice of bowl season for the first time in a long time.  Mike Houston is doing great work in Greenville and is very close to putting the Pirates back in contention to win this conference.
• I have a feeling Tulane slips back under .500 and mostly due to their schedule.  The schedule maker wasn’t exactly kind to the Green Wave this season and it’s going to be a struggle for them to do anything of note.
• Cincinnati should easily beat Houston and move on, probably to the New Year’s Six.  With one predicted loss, their dream of getting into the College Football Playoff will go up in smoke.
• I have the AAC getting six of their teams into bowl games.  Just over half of the conference.  This is…acceptable I guess.  With some of the bowls having general Group of Five spots to fill them, the idea of conferences desperately trying to claim all their tie-ins is becoming of less and less importance.  And next year with probably less bowl games the idea of these tie-ins might change again.

We are almost at the halfway mark of the conference predictions.  Next up is the conference that joins MACtion and giving all of us that sweet, sweet midweek football, the Sun Belt.  39 days away and counting.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!