As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Southern California @ Illinois (FOX): Body clocks! USC got a late night west coast game last weekend, so naturally they now have to play at 11am central time (aka 9am pacific time). They also get to be the team that plays a team that just got the brakes beat off them, so they should win, but if they don’t win by, you know, 53, it’s going to look bad.
• Notre Dame @ Arkansas (ABC): Jokes aside about Notre Dame’s 1-2 start, they should get back to .500 here.
• Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest (ESPN): Okay, so there’s a couple of ways to approach the Temple game. Ultimately, we took care of business. There definitely was a bit of concern in that second quarter, where we didn’t seem to keep momentum up after a hot 21-0 start. The offense especially struggled, and nothing seemed to work.
  While this isn’t our first true road game, Wake will be a different environment in that there is likely to not be a lot of energy. Sometimes that can throw teams off. It’ll be up to us. We have a bye week after this and it will make a world of difference to go in taking care of business.
• Louisville @ Pittsburgh (ESPN2): I don’t think there’s much to see here, unless Louisville fails to hold serve.
• Central Florida @ Kansas State (FS1): I hate to say it, but K-State might be… bad. I think we may need to figure out what happens to teams that lose the Ireland game, considering what happened to FSU last year seems to have spread to the Wildcats.
• Cincinnati @ Kansas (TNT): It’s Week 5, which hey, is still the first half of the season. So it’s still reasonable to say “well, both of these teams have losses, but they weren’t bad losses” as a way to indicate that we don’t really know much about the teams themselves. We’ll learn slightly more here. I like KU.
• Rutgers @ Minnesota (BTN): I like I like Rutgers here.
• South Alabama @ North Texas (ESPNU): If UNT is serious about this playoff bid thing, they really need to make a strong statement against a clearly inferior team.
• Bowling Green @ Ohio (CBSS): Parker Navarro should continue to show why he’s the best QB in the MAC.
• Duke @ Syracuse (ACCN): I still don’t believe in Duke, so I like the Orange here.

12:45: Utah State @ Vanderbilt (SECN): Vandy exacted some revenge on Georgia Southern last week, and I gotta say, I don’t anticipate that they’ll have any issues here.

1:00: Eastern Michigan @ Central Michigan (ESPN+)

1:30: Georgia Southern @ James Madison (ESPN+)

3:00: Arkansas State @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Utah @ West Virginia (FOX): Utah definitively got beat by Texas Tech last week, but they’re still going to be better than WVU.
• Ohio State @ Washington (CBS): I expect the Huskies to be feisty here but ultimately the Buckeyes should win comfortably.
• Louisiana State @ Mississippi (“Magnolia Bowl”; ABC): I’m not even going to talk about the dumb storyline involving one of Lane Kiffin’s daughters here, but I do believe the part where he’s going to try to run it up on the Tigers.
• Auburn @ Texas A&M (ESPN): Much like Duke, I don’t really believe in Auburn either. I like the Aggies here.
• Baylor @ Oklahoma State (ESPN2): Well, the Pokes finally fired Mike Gundy. He’d been their coach since 2005, and last Monday was the 18 year anniversary of the “I’m a man! I’m 40!” rant. But, well, you can be all-time school legend, but you can’t lose to Tulsa at home for the first time since my parents were born. Suffice it to say, Baylor by a lot here.
• California-Los Angeles @ Northwestern (BTN): Tune in for the views of the lake, tune away quickly to avoid watching too much of this game. Eugh. Northwestern I guess?
• Rice @ Navy (CBSS): What Rice is doing on offense is cool, but if there’s a team that should know how to stop it, it’s Navy.
• California @ Boston College (ACCN): Okay, so Cal beat Minnesota two weeks ago and then goes to San Diego and loses by 34? You tell me if that makes any sense. Fortunately for them, the body clock aspects of this game should be mitigated by BC being bad, like, “losing to Stanford” levels of bad.
• Indiana @ Iowa (Peacock)
• Lindenwood @ Miami (ESPN+)
• San Diego State @ Northern Illinois (ESPN+)
• Connecticut @ Buffalo (ESPN+)
• Akron @ Toledo (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Hawaii @ Air Force (FS1): This is actually a rivalry game, of sorts, there’s a trophy and everything. Air Force looks likely to keep it.
• Tulane @ Tulsa (ESPNU): Tulane has hit some speedbumps this year, but Tulsa should help them right the ship.
• New Mexico State @ New Mexico (“Rio Grande Rivalry”; MWN)

4:15: Tennessee @ Mississippi State (SEC): Miss State is better than anyone thought… but that probably won’t matter much against the Vols.

6:00:

• Middle Tennessee State @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)
• Liberty @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)

6:30: Rhode Island @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Arizona @ Iowa State (ESPN): Speaking of teams we don’t know a lot about, look at this two. They’re both probably good! But someone has to lose, and I suspect that’ll be Arizona.
• Memphis @ Florida Atlantic (ESPN2): Tigers will be fine here.
• Virginia Tech @ North Carolina State (The CW): Speaking of terrible teams with interim coaches, the Wolfpack should be able to feast here.
• Western Kentucky @ Missouri State (ESPN+)
• Jacksonville State @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Alabama @ Georgia (ABC): While this doesn’t have the hype of recent editions, this still figures to be a knock-down, drag-out game that I wish somehow both teams could lose. Unfortunately, Georgia probably is just that much better than Bama right now, and so I have will reluctantly pick them the team from Athens. (To be clear, I would also call picking Bama here “unfortunate”.)
• Oregon @ Pennsylvania State (NBC): What if it finally happens? What if James Franklin finally wins the big one? And those questions, folks, are why I have the Ducks all the way here.
• Appalachian State @ Boise State (FS1): App isn’t really particularly good or fun this year, so Boise all the way in what a couple years ago would’ve been an awesome inter-sectional matchup.
• Massachusetts @ Missouri (ESPNU): Mizzou can name their score here while remaining as much of a darkhorse as any SEC team can be.
• Washington State @ Colorado State (CBSS): It’s rough hours at Wazzu right now, but hey at least they kept the Apple Cup a game in the first half. I still like them here.
• San Jose State @ Stanford (“Bill Walsh Legacy Game”; ACCN): Okay, so Stanford is still one of the worst teams in the Power 5, as reflected in the line of this game (with the Cardinal as 2.5 point favorites). I think they’ll be fine here though.

7:45: Kentucky @ South Carolina (SECN): These are two of the worst teams in the SEC, it’d appear, so in a similar vein to other situations above where I have no idea who’s going to win, just that I don’t think either of these teams is good. Not much was expected of Kentucky this season, but the Gamecocks 31-7 faceplant against Vanderbilt raised some eyebrows. Kentucky has been game in all of their games, and so I actually like them slightly here.

8:00: Marshall @ Louisiana (ESPN+)

9:00: Louisiana Tech @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN+)

10:15: Brigham Young @ Colorado (ESPN): And finally, the nightcap… which, um, Colorado is kind of finally the team we sort of expected they’d be under Deion. Their line play is still bad, which is just catnip to the Cougars. (Though do Mormons give their cats catnip? Like, it’s basically a recreational drug for cats… anyway.) They should easily prevail here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Maryland @ Wisconsin (NBC): It isn’t just that the Badgers lost to Alabama last week, it’s more that they  didn’t look like they really belonged on the same field. I like the Terps here.
• Texas Tech @ Utah (FOX): Here’s a potential Big 12 championship game preview for ya. Utah’s running game and defense will be the first tests of college football’s most expensive linemen. Will the experience of the Utes on all sides win out? I like them just a tad, since this is in Salt Lake. But a Texas Tech win will certify them as being the real deal.
• Arkansas @ Memphis (ABC): I don’t think this version of Memphis can get this done here.
• Syracuse @ Clemson (ESPN): Okay, so Clemson has lost two very close games and the sky is falling. I’ll admit, of course, that I was extremely satisfied with how they lost last weekend. It’s also true the Orange have gotten their goat in the past. I think Clemson will figure some things out here, though.
• Southern Methodist @ Texas Christian (ESPN2): It’s the last time, for a while, that the Iron Skillet will be contested. All of those reasons are, well, dumb as heck, so we won’t rehash all that here. For our purposes here, I’ll take TCU, as I just think SMU isn’t that good this year.
• Nevada-Las Vegas @ Miami (ESPNU): It’s gotta be UNLV here, right?
• Bowling Green @ Louisville (ACCN): Cards will be fine.
• North Texas @ Army (CBSS): UNT definitely seems to have the talent and chutzpah to go up to West Point and win, they just need to do it.
• Wofford @ Virginia Tech (ACCNX)
• South Carolina State @ South Florida (ESPN+)

12:45: Alabama-Birmingham @ Tennessee (SEC): Tennessee will bury Dilfer.

1:00: Wagner @ Central Michigan (ESPN+)

3:00: Oregon State @ Oregon (“Civil War”; BTN): It’s fundamentally wrong this game is on BTN. I suspect the Ducks will turn the Beavs into a smoking crater, but this is still a rivalry and I hope the parties involved can figure out how to keep it going.

3:30:

• Purdue @ Notre Dame (NBC): I’m pretty confident Notre Dame will finally win a game.
• Auburn @ Oklahoma (ABC): I like the Sooners here.
• Michigan @ Nebraska (CBS): If Nebraska is finally going to turn a corner, beating a somewhat down Michigan would be a good start. I’m not sure they can.
• North Carolina @ Central Florida (FOX): This game may be worth watching just to see the look in Bill Belichick’s eyes when he realizes he’s down multiple score in a stadium named the “Bounce House”.
• Tulane @ Mississippi (ESPN): I’m not sure this version of the Green Wave will be able to pull this off, but I think they can keep it close.
• James Madison @ Liberty (ESPNU): Liberty is bad now, folks.
• Ball State @ Connecticut (CBSS): UConn, I guess?
• Kent State @ Florida State (ACCN): FSU will name their score here.
• Toledo @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)
• Louisiana @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)
• Gardner-Webb @ Ohio (ESPN+)
• Troy @ Buffalo (ESPN+)

4:00: North Carolina State @ Duke (ESPN2): I don’t think Duke is, like, good at all? I’ll take the Pack here.

4:15: Northern Illinois @ Mississippi State (SEC): The Bulldogs need to take care of business here if they’re going to show they’re for real.

4:30: Temple @ Georgia Tech (The CW): Okay, last week was fun. But it’s back to business. And taking care of business. There’s still a lot of the season to go, and being one of the most talked about teams this past week was awesome but you need to slough off things like “going to Charlotte” and “Haynes King for Heisman”.

5:00: Idaho @ San Jose State (MWN)

6:00:

• West Virginia @ Kansas (FS1): LIGHTNING ROUND! ‘Neers!
• Arkansas State @ Kennesaw State (ESPN)
• Delaware @ Florida International (ESPN+)
• Duquense @ Akron (ESPN+)

7:00:

• South Carolina @ Missouri (ESPN): Tigers!
• Boise State @ Air Force (CBSS): Falcons!
• Maine @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)
• Murray State @ Jacksonville State (ESPN+)
• Nevada @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)
• Tennessee-Martin @ Missouri State (ESPN+)
• Coastal Carolina @ South Alabama (ESPN+)
• Marshall @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Washington @ Washington State (“Apple Cup”; CBS): I don’t think Wazzu stands much of a chance here, but I think they’ll probably put on a better show than their fellow Pac-2 mates.
• Florida @ Miami (ABC): Canes!
• Illinois @ Indiana (NBC): Illini!
• Arizona State @ Baylor (FOX): Bears?
• Brigham Young @ East Carolina (ESPN2): Mormons?
• Georgia State @ Vanderbilt (ESPNU): While losing to Georgia State and then beating Alabama last year was pretty funny, I’d recommend the Dores to win this time.
• Stanford @ Virginia (ACCN): Cavaliers!
• Southern Mississippi @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)

7:45: Southeastern Louisiana @ Louisiana State (SEC)

8:00:

• McNeese State @ Utah State (MWN)
• Sam Houston State @ Texas (ESPN+)
• Nicholls State @ Texas State (ESPN+)

9:00: Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN+)

9:30: Texas-San Antonio @ Colorado State (FS1): Road Runners?

10:15: Wyoming @ Colorado (ESPN): Buffs.

10:30: California @ San Diego State (CBSS): Bears!

11:00: Michigan State @ Southern California (FOX): Trojans

11:59: Fresno State @ Hawaii (Spectrum)

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Oregon @ Northwestern (FOX): Come for the lakeside views, stay for… uh, well, if you’re a Northwestern fan that’s probably about it.
• Wisconsin @ Alabama (ABC): Okay, so like I said last week, I’m old enough to remember when it wasn’t a given that Alabama would always be competing for national titles. That said, this game will stave off the darkness for another week.
• Clemson @ Georgia Tech (ESPN): Whoo boy. A lot of 2025 narratives are going to established or dis-established by the time this game is over. Both teams are 2-0 and, at least on paper, this is our best chance to beat Clemson since 2014. (Even in that game, we probably lose if we don’t knock out Dashaun Watson early.) One thing you can safely ignore is anything about Haynes King’s “injury”, y’all, if this game was last week he would’ve been fine.
  As for the game itself, for the first time in years I’m giving ourselves a chance in this one. I’m hoping for the best.
• Oklahoma @ Temple (ESPN2): It’s a bit of a trek for many, but I’d think this one is mostly going to be OU fans in the link. I wonder if the Sooner Schooner made the trip?
• Houston Christian @ Nebraska (FS1)
• Central Michigan @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan all the way here.
• Memphis @ Troy (ESPNU): Once again, I don’t really have a lot of time this weekend. So… LIGHTNING ROUND! Tigers!
• William & Mary @ Virginia (ACCN)
• Buffalo @ Kent State (CBSS): Bulls?
• Towson @ Maryland (Peacock)
• Samford @ Baylor (ESPN+)

12:45: South Alabama @ Auburn (SEC): Tigers!

2:00: New Hampshire @ Ball State (ESPN+)

3:00: Connecticut @ Delaware (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Georgia @ Tennessee (ABC): My brain says Georgia will win, my heart says Rocky Top all the way.
• Oregon State @ Texas Tech (FOX): This is the closest thing the Red Raiders have had to a test at this point, and while the Beavers aren’t good this year if TTU is anything short of what’s been advertised it’ll be exposed here.
• Southern California @ Purdue (CBS): Trojans!
• Pittsburgh @ West Virginia (“Backyard Brawl”; ESPN): The Brawl is taking a couple years off after this, but resumes in 2029 and will be played through at least 2036. That’s a good thing. As for the game, I don’t WVU is very, er, good, but maybe RichRod and company can recreate some magic (that being the whole point of bringing him back and all). I’ll still take Pitt though.
• Villanova @ Pennsylvania State (FS1)
• Youngstown State @ Michigan State (BTN)
• Norfolk State @ Rutgers (BTN)
• Washington State @ North Texas (ESPNU): Cougs!
• Richmond @ North Carolina (ACCN)
• Southern Methodist @ Missouri State (CBSS): Ponies!
• Morgan State @ Toledo (ESPN+)
• Northwestern State @ Cincinnati (ESPN+)
• Incarnate Word @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Iowa State @ Arkansas State (ESPN2): Cyclones!
• Louisiana @ Missouri (ESPN+)

4:15: Texas-El Paso @ Texas (SEC): Longhorns!

4:30: South Florida @ Miami (The CW): So USF upset Florida last week, which makes this game possibly the biggest game in the history of the ACC on the CW. Look, it’s going to be Canes all the way in this one, but USF will certainly be game if Miami pulls, you know, a Miami.

5:00:

• Middle Tennessee State @ Nevada (MWN)
• Liberty @ Bowling Green (ESPN+)

6:00:

• Alcorn State @ Mississippi State (ESPN+)
• Monmouth @ Charlotte (ESPN+)
• Eastern Kentucky @ Marshall (ESPN+)
• Florida Atlantic @ Florida International (“Shula Bowl”; ESPN+)
• Monmouth @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Arkansas @ Mississippi (ESPN): The Fighting’ Kiffins figure to have their way with this one.
• Western Michigan @ Illinois (FS1): Illni!
• Old Dominion @ Virginia Tech (ACCN): Okay, VPI should win this game, but the fact I have to type “should” says a lot about how hot Brent Pry’s seat is right now.
• Ohio @ Ohio State (Peacock)
• Murray State @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• Jacksonville State @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)
• Appalachian State @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)
• Prairie View A&M @ Rice (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Florida @ Louisiana State (ABC): For whatever reason (okay, it’s not really a surprise) there’s a lot of Gators in the college football outlets I follow. I can safely say that the vibes are bad. And it doesn’t figure to get better at the hands of the Tigers.
• Texas A&M @ Notre Dame (NBC): I don’t have a lot of insight into this one but it is in South Bend, so I’ll take the Irish.
• Massachusetts @ Iowa (BTN): Hawkeyes!
• Eastern Michigan @ Kentucky (ESPNU): Cayuts?
• East Carolina @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
• New Mexico State @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)

7:45: Vanderbilt @ South Carolina (SEC): Dores?

8:00:

• Duke @ Tulane (ESPN2): Green Wave!
• Utah @ Wyoming (CBSS): Utes.
• Navy @ Tulsa (ESPN+)
• Abilene Christian @ Texas Christian (ESPN+)

8:30: Akron @ Alabama-Birmingham (ESPN+)

9:45: Air Force @ Utah State (FS1): Falcons?

10:00: Southern @ Fresno State (MWN)

10:30:

• Minnesota @ California (ESPN): Bears?
• Texas State @ Arizona State (TNT): Sun Devils!
• Boston College @ Stanford (ACCN): Eagles!

11:59: Portland State @ Hawaii (Spectrum)

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Iowa @ Iowa State (“¡El Assico!”; FOX): This particular edition features a lot of questions for both teams. On a basic level, I have no idea who’s going to win. That said, it can’t be especially common that its the Cyclones coming in ranked, right? And it’s in Ames. Let’s go with the ‘clones here.
• San Jose State @ Texas (ABC): Texas, by a lot.
• Illinois @ Duke (ESPN): I just don’t really believe in Duke. Going with the Illini.
• Virginia @ North Carolina State (ESPN2): Obligatory: this is not a conference game. With that out of the way, let’s also talk about both of these teams being a little bit on the struggle bus this season. I don’t know who is on the bus more, but I generally assume that’s UVA, so I’ll stick with that here.
• Baylor @ Southern Methodist (The CW): I like the Bears here.
• Kent State @ Texas Tech (TNT): Texas Tech.
• Kennesaw State @ Indiana (FS1): Hoosier.
• Florida International @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State.
• Northwestern State @ Minnesota (BTN)
• Central Michigan @ Pittsburgh (EPSNU): Pitt.
• East Texas A&M @ Florida State (ACCN)
• Liberty @ Jacksonville State (CBSS): Oh this one is probably worth talking about it, but then that means I have to think about Liberty more than I’d prefer. Let’s go Cocks.
• Connecticut @ Syracuse (ACCNX): ‘Cuse.

12:45: Utah State @ Texas A&M (SEC): Aggies. Er, the Texas ones.

2:00:

• Western Carolina @ Wake Forest (ACCNX)
• Howard @ Temple (ESPN+)

3:00: Idaho State @ New Mexico (MWN)

3:30:

• Mississippi @ Kentucky (ABC): There’s no university where Kentucky wins, this, right? I’m not sure there’s more of a “fall from grace” or “stayed too long” story in college football right now that’s worse than what’s going with Mark Stoops and Kentucky.
• Delaware @ Colorado (FOX): Fortunately for Deion, his clock management skills will not be in question in this game, as well as the arguably bigger issue of somehow losing a game that his team had a +3 turnover margin in.
• Oklahoma State @ Oregon (CBS): Apparently there was a bit of a spat between the coaches involved here, but the main thing I saw is that Mike Gundy lifted his shirt during his press conference? Things seem great in Stillwater. Ducks romp here.
• Kansas @ Missouri (“Border War”; ESPN2): Though it’d still be more morally correct for this to be in November, this game is back on the schedule for a bit and I’m here for it. As for who’s going to win, uh, no clue! At least in this case, I think that’ll make it fun. I’ll take the Tigers.
• Fresno State @ Oregon State (The CW): I’m having a hard time judging this one and I’m not sure where to land on it. I think I like the Beavers at home? This could be a secretly fun one to watch.
• Grambling State @ Ohio State (BTN)
• Troy @ Clemson (ACCN): Tigers. Oh, also, the rest of this is going to be a lightning round (with some exceptions). Next!
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Navy (CBSS): Navy! Like, by a lot.
• Miami @ Rutgers (Peacock)
• Gardner-Webb @ Georgia Tech (ACCNX): Okay, so last week was an excellent start. It’s always good to overcome a -3 turnover margin against a P4 team. That said, we also obviously have some things to clean up. And frankly, if Haynes King is still taking hits in the second half of this game something has gone drastically wrong. I love running the quarterback, and I enjoy his toughness, but we have to figure out how he can take less hits in a 12+ game season.
• East Tennessee State @ Tennessee (ESPN+)
• Austin Peay @ Georgia (ESPN+)
• Saint Francis @ Buffalo (ESPN+)
• Texas State @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)
• Bowling Green @ Cincinnati (ESPN+)
• Bryant @ Massachusetts (ESPN+)
• Lindenwood @ Appalachian State (ESPN+)
• North Texas @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Middle Tennessee State @ Wisconsin (FS1): Wisky!
• West Virginia @ Ohio (ESPNU): ‘Neers!

4:15: South Florida @ Florida (SEC): Florida?

5:00:

• Sacramento State @ Nevada (MWN)
• Arkansas State @ Arkansas (@Little Rock, AR; ESPN+): Just a quick note that this is the first ever meeting between these two teams.
• Jackson State @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)

6:00:

• Texas Southern @ California (ACCNX)
• North Carolina Central @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)
• Missouri State @ Marshall (ESPN+)
• California Polytechnic @ Utah (ESPN+)
• Florida A&M @ Florida Atlantic (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Army @ Kansas State (ESPN): K-State!
• Northern Colorado @ Colorado State (MWN)
• Bethune-Cookman @ Miami (ACCNX)
• South Carolina State @ South Carolina (ESPN+)
• Houston @ Rice (ESPN+)
• North Carolina A&T @ Central Florida (ESPN+)
• Tulane @ South Alabama (ESPN+)
• Western Kentucky @ Toledo (ESPN+)
• Memphis @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• Long Island @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)
• North Carolina @ Charlotte (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Michigan @ Oklahoma (ABC): This is probably the game of the day, but I’m coming down on the side of “Brent Venenables will know how to confuse a freshman QB”.
• Boston College @ Michigan State (NBC): Sparty.
• Arizona State @ Mississippi State (ESPN2): I’m considering Arizona State here.
• Georgia Southern @ Southern California (FS1): USC.
• Southern Illinois @ Purdue (BTN)
• Akron @ Nebraska (BTN): Huskers.
• Ball State @ Auburn (ESPNU): Tigers.
• Vanderbilt @ Virginia Tech (ACCN): Vandy?
• Louisiana Tech @ Louisiana State (ESPN+)
• Charleston Southern @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)

7:45: Louisiana-Monroe @ Alabama (SEC): Jokes aside, uh, Bama? Probably? My point is that I have been saying for years that I remember when Bama was bad, and that it isn’t Manifest Destiny for the Tide to be national title contenders. I remember when they lost to ULM the last time. Will this time? No. But the point remains the fact we even have to discuss this means that DeBoer needs to figure out how to right the ship, and quick. (Note: I don’t mind this turmoil at all.)

8:00:

• California-Los Angeles @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): UCLA?
• McNeese @ Louisiana (ESPN+)

9:00:

• Tennessee-Martin @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN+)
• Tulsa @ New Mexico State (ESPN+)

10:00: Weber State @ Arizona (ESPN+)

10:15:

• Stanford @ Brigham Young (ESPN): BYU!
• San Diego State @ Washington State (The CW): Wazzu?

11:00: California-Davis @ Washington (BTN)

Midnight: Sam Houston State @ Hawaii (Spectrum)

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday

Noon:

• Syracuse vs. Tennessee (@Atlanta, GA; ABC): This game is first on the list, but that’s more of a reflection of “ABC” coming first in alphabetical order than the importance of this game. The Vols should roll.
• Texas @ Ohio State (FOX): Whoa nellie! In what almost has to be the biggest Week 1 game in the recent history of college football (in that, you wouldn’t be crazy to pencil these teams in for the playoff final) both teams actually enter with a lot of questions. The hype, of course, centers around new Texas starter Arch Manning. (You may have heard of him and his famous uncles and grandfather.) Ohio State also has a new quarterback: Julian Sayin. (I will try to refrain from “sayin'” jokes. Promise.) Unlike the Longhorns, Ohio State has a proven quantity in Jeremiah Smith, and at any rate the Buckeyes seem to produce wide receivers as though they grow on the trees in central Ohio.
  So any rate, who’s going to win this game? I don’t know, y’all. This should be a hell of a game, I can say that for sure. I’ll take the Buckeyes at home.
• Mississippi State @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN): Remember that thing last winter were Marshall didn’t have a coach and enough players to field a team for a bowl game? Yeah, so a lot of them wound up in Hattiesburg, and the visiting Bulldogs are going to see what they’re made of. I mean, Marshall was pretty good last year, but I Miss State isn’t the sort of bad that really makes me think they’re going to drop this.
• Ball State @ Purdue (BTN): Meanwhile, I would definitely take Marshall, er, Southern Miss over Purdue, which a team that will be contending with Stanford for most of this season for the title of “worst team in the Power 4”. Fortunately for the Boilermakers, they get Ball State week 1, so their fate is somewhat spared.
• Florida Atlantic @ Maryland (BTN): The Terps should be fine here.
• Northwestern @ Tulane (ESPNU): Oh, right, add Northwestern to that list with Purdue and Stanford. I completely favor Tulane here.
• Duquense @ Pittsburgh (ACCN)
• Virginia Military @ Navy (CBSS)
• Merrimack @ Kent State (ESPN+)

12:45: Toledo @ Kentucky (SEC): Hugh Freeze’s seat is pretty hot, but it’s not looking good for ol’ Mark Stoops in Lexington. They should still win this one, but Toledo is consistently the MAC’s friskiest (and most talented) team and could well give them more than just a scare.

2:00:

• Fordham @ Boston College (ACCNX/ESPN+)
• Robert Morris @ West Virginia (ESPN+)

2:30: Old Dominion @ Indiana (FS1)

3:00: Eastern Kentucky @ Louisville (ACCN)

3:30:

• Nevada @ Pennsylvania State (CBS): My grand prediction for the 2025 regular season is that James Franklin will finally get over the hump and beat Ohio State, and then drop one of their remaining regular season games in November. Suffice it to say, the Nittany Lions have nothing to worry about here.
• South Dakota @ Iowa State (FOX)
• Alabama @ Florida State (ABC): Florida State is probably going to win more games this year, heck, I’ll say that they’ll even get above 0.500. But… they’re not going to win this one.
• Marshall @ Georgia (ESPN): This is certainly a way to ease into the season.
• Bucknell @ Air Force (CBSS)
• Holy Cross @ Northern Illinois (ESPN+)
• Temple @ Massachusetts (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Montana State @ Oregon (BTN): Hey, remember that thing Oregon did last season where they let Idaho hang out for an uncomfortably long time? Well, it could happen again here.
• Maine @ Liberty (ESPN+)

4:30: Tennessee-Chattanooga @ Memphis (ESPN+)

6:00:

• UAlbany @ Iowa (FS1)
• Coastal Carolina @ Virginia (ACCN): I mean, UVA should be a heavy favorite here, but, woof. I can’t predict the upset but I wouldn’t be surprised.
• Illinois State @ Oklahoma (ESPN+)
• Weber State @ James Madison (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Texas-San Antonio @ Texas A&M (ESPN): You know UTSA will be up for this one, but I don’t think it’ll matter much.
• Long Island @ Florida (ESPN+)
• Charleston Southern @ Vanderbilt (ESPN+)
• Southeast Missouri State @ Arkansas State (ESPN+)
• Morgan State @ South Alabama (ESPN+)
• Nicholls State @ Troy (ESPN+)
• Austin Peay @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
• North Alabama @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)
• North Dakota @ Kansas State (ESPN+)

7:30:

• New Mexico @ Michigan (NBC): Michigan has a ton of questions, but not a lot will be asked of them here.
• Louisiana State @ Clemson (ABC): One of the other huge games of the day. For LSU, the question is whether Brian Kelly will finally figure it out. For Clemson, the question is whether Dabo has finally put together a competitive roster in the post-NIL world. For my money, I think the latter is more likely.
• Missouri State @ Southern California (BTN)
• Texas-El Paso @ Utah State (CBSS): What the heck, let’s go Miners.
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Texas Tech (ESPN+)
• Southeastern Louisiana @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)

7:45: Georgia State @ Mississippi (SEC): This will be a walk over for the Fightin’ Kiffins.

8:00:

• Portland State @ Brigham Young (ESPN+)
• Rice @ Louisiana (ESPN+)
• Lamar @ North Texas (ESPN+)
• Eastern Michigan @ Texas State (ESPN+)
• Abilene Christian @ Tulsa (ESPN+)

9:00:

• East Texas A&M @ Southern Methodist (ACCN)
• Bryant @ New Mexico State (ESPN+)

9:30: Georgia Southern @ Fresno State (FS1): We love to see this sort of intersectional game, that’s what the early part of the season is about. I like Fresno here.

10:00:

• Idaho @ Washington State (The CW)
• Northern Arizona @ Arizona State (ESPN+)
• California-Davis @ Utah Tech (ESPN+)

10:30:

• California @ Oregon State (ESPN): Cal lost all of their running backs, and then some, to the portal. Oregon State has had a year to recover, so I like them in one of the two Pac-12 After Dark revivals here.
• Hawaii @ Arizona (TNT): Hawaii beat Stanford last week, yeah, but Zona all the way here.

11:00:

• Utah @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): There are a ton of question marks for both teams (hey, what else is new in Week 1?) but I tend to prefer the “Kyle Whittingham’s Last Ride” narrative, so let’s go with that.
• Colorado State @ Washington (BTN): The Huskies shouldn’t have any issues with this one.

Sunday

3:00: South Carolina vs. Virginia Tech (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): There’s questions a-plenty here, but they’re all almost of the Hokies. Such as: will Brent Pry still be the coach in November? Not a great start.

7:30: Notre Dame @ Miami (ABC): I’m bullish on the Irish this year, and while I’d prefer Mario save the annual Clock Commander incident for later in the season, well, there’s no time like the present.

Monday

8:00: Texas Christian @ North Carolina (ESPN): And finally, we get to… whatever the heck is going on here. I won’t be the first person to note that TCU seems to have a knack for gimmick openers (as they were also Coach Prime’s first matchup). Unlike that time, though, I don’t think they lose this one. I just have a feeling something is going to wrong for Belichick that just would never happen in the NFL and he, and his staff of mostly lackeys, won’t know what to do.