As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Vanderbilt @ Texas (ABC): Vandy finds itself back in the spotlight for a second week in a row, but this time most of the chatter is about their opponent. Will Arch go? Will his top target come back? If Arch is cleared out of concussion protocol, which Arch will show up? I’ll dodge these questions and pick the Dores anyway.
• Army @ Air Force (CBS): This a battle of the two academies that don’t have it this year. I’ll have to go with the Falcons.
• Pennsylvania State @ Ohio State (FOX): We apologize that we penciled this game in as a Game of the Year back in August. Obviously, my pick all the way would’ve been the Buckeyes, so… I guess not much has changed?
• Rutgers @ Illinois (NBC): Illini 100%
• Miami @ Southern Methodist (ESPN): SMU had been undefeated in regular season ACC play, but then the Ponies lost to Wake Forest last weekend and thus sapped any intrigue from this contest. Canes all the way.
• Navy @ North Texas (ESPN2): As implied above, Navy is the spicy academy this year. They’ll have a chance to prove it and noise in the playoff(!) picture with a win here. I don’t think UNT will be able to keep up with the option, but bigger challenges await.
• Central Florida @ Baylor (ESPNU): It’s been a weird season for both of these teams, but Baylor’s coach is on a rapidly warming seat. I’ll take them.
• West Virginia @ Houston (FS1): Cougs.
• Duke @ Clemson (ACCN): Does Clemson have any pride left? Because that’s what it’s about at this point. I think they’re better on paper than Duke so I have to take them, but I don’t feel good about it at all.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Connecticut (CBSS): UAB fired Trent Dilfer, and because it’s the 2025 college football season, they went and beat a pretty good Memphis team. A Memphis team that is, way, way better than UConn. So first time in 2 years, Go Blazers.
• Buffalo @ Bowling Green (ESPN+)

1:00: Arizona State @ Iowa State (TNT): It’s been a tough year for Iowa State, but on the flip side Arizona State is starting… Jeff Sims at QB. Their usual starter is out for the rest of the year, and I think that drastically impacts their chances of winning. I’ll go with the Clones here.

2:00: East Carolina @ Temple (ESPN+)

3:00:

• Louisville @ Virginia Tech (The CW): VPI, like many teams, is playing better after firing their coach, but yeah, this isn’t gonna happen.
• New Mexico @ Nevada-Las Vegas (MWN)

3:30:

• Georgia vs. Florida (“The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” @ Jacksonville, FL; ABC): Florida hopes to be the latest team to benefit from a dead cat bounce after firing their coach. I’d say it’s actually kind of obvious they hope this is the case, because they fired Napier after a win and before a bye week. As much as I’d love to see it, well, I don’t see it being enough to overcome UGA.
• Indiana @ Maryland (CBS): Maryland, the team perhaps most linked to a particular month of the year, is hoping to regain the form they had back in September. I don’t think it’ll matter much the way that the Hoosiers are currently playing, which is very much “name your own score”.
• Texas Tech @ Kansas State (FOX): K-State might be okay, but I don’t think they can deal with Texas Tech’s particular brand of football at the moment.
• Notre Dame @ Boston College (ESPN): There’s nominally a trophy on the line here, but the main thing is that BC is very bad and Notre Dame is very good.
• Fresno State @ Boise State (FS1): Boise looked a little more like, you know, Boise in Mountain West play. I don’t see a lot reasons for that to stop here.
• Pittsburgh @ Stanford (ACCN): Pitt’s playing better under a new QB and Stanford isn’t good. You know how this goes.
• Michigan State @ Minnesota (BTN): Both of these teams are Going Through It right now, but I’d say the Gophers are going through it a bit less.
• Delaware @ Liberty (CBSS): Go Blue Hens.
• New Mexico State @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)
• Louisiana @ South Alabama (ESPN+)
• Old Dominion @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN+)

3:45: Virginia @ California (ESPN2): Cal could do everyone in the ACC a solid and really help out with the tiebreaker situation by giving Virginia a loss. UVA’s also had some Getting Away With It vibes: lost to Louisville by 3, Wazzu by 2, and UNC by 1. Will the rent finally come do? Unfortunately, I think Cal is too inconsistent to do the deed, but they certainly have a shot.

4:00:

• Central Michigan @ Western Michigan (ESPNU): These teams are pretty even on record, but I think CMU is just slightly better.
• Mississippi State @ Arkansas (SEC): Whoever loses this game is going to be miserable. But these are also two of the three 0-fer SEC teams, so someone’s gotta come out of here with a W. I have to say, if the Petrino thing was really going to happen, it would’ve been last week against Auburn, so I’m going with Miss State.
• Oklahoma State @ Kansas (ESPN+)

7:00:

• South Carolina @ Mississippi (ESPN): I don’t think South Carolina is bad, but, well… I don’t think anyone at the top of the SEC is great this season, but the top teams are all very very good. Suffice it to say, I don’t think the Gamecocks have the horses. Or chickens. Or… you get the idea.
• Arizona @ Colorado (FS1): Colorado could win this one, but I’m not sure if they’re really in it. I don’t wanna use the ‘q’ word, but between the poor play and Coach Prime’s health it’s not a great time in Boulder at the moment. I’ll take the Cats.
• Wyoming @ San Diego State (CBSS): Don’t look, bu the Aztecs are 3-0 in the Mountain West, 6-1 overall, and generally putting a lot of teams in a headlock. They beat Fresno 23-0 last week. I expect much the same here.
• Purdue @ Michigan (BTN): Congrats Boilers, it’s not nearly as dire as the pre-season predictions. Which, given that they’re 0-5 in the B1G and 2-6 overall, sort of underscores how low the expectations were. That said, “better than everyone thought!” is rarely enough to beat Michigan.

7:30:

• Oklahoma @ Tennessee (ABC): If there’s one thing Brent Venables knows how to do, it’s how to scheme up a defense that puts a spread, throw it deep and/or quick offense in hell. Suffice it to say, I’m mentioning it here because that’s what the Vols run. I like the Sooners here.
• Washington State @ Oregon State (CBS): Round 1 of the Pac-2 Pac-12 championship commences! I don’t think this is going to be much of a game, though, Oregon State is just… kinda bad.
• Southern California @ Nebraska (NBC): The Huskers are better this year, but USC seems to have figured some things out to sort of occupy that nebulous 2nd/3rd tier of B1G teams. I’ll take the Trohans.
• Georgia Tech @ North Carolina State (ESPN2): GT was very much on the Getting Away With It list after the Wake Forest game. That said, since then we’ve been a little more convincing: taking care of business against a VPI team that fired their coach, holding down and pulling away from a pretty game Duke, and beating the pants off of Syracuse (who, as I type this, are currently losing to previously awful looking Bill Belichick UNC by 17 in the 4th quarter). Now it’s two straight road games starting in Raleigh. I don’t think NC State is very good, but they are certainly one of more talented teams we’ve played in this stretch. Once again, it’s going to be about creating atmosphere and belief where they may not be a lot. In a more real sense, I also think that NC State is good enough to have at least a few punches in them, so there’s a chance we’ll be behind, there’s a chance that we’ll have to re-take a lead, and there’s a chance we could even go down by multiple scores.
  I just want to say that I have genuinely loved they way we’ve been playing this year. It’s been a magical season already. But, much like this team, I don’t really want to look ahead. There’s a lot of football left. Go Jackets.
• Kentucky @ Auburn (SECN): I just posted this question on my College Football Discord server: “random thought after seeing Kentucky and Auburn play each other tomorrow: has a game result ever resulted in both coaches getting fired?” As of this writing, I have gotten one reply: “that one Egg Bowl!” Assuming he meant the (in)famous 2019 game (aka the most Egg Bowl Egg Bowl ever), Matt Luke (or is it Luke Matt, I never remember) was fired, but Joe Moorhead got the win he needed and hung on until after Miss State’s bowl game before he was fired.
  Anyway, the point is that’s how it’s going for both of these teams right now. That said, Mike Stoops is probably the 2nd great coach in the history of Kentucky football, so a mid-season firing is still at least mildly unlikely. Freeze, on the other hand… well fortunately for him they’re probably going to win. Which let that be the nicest thing I ever say about Hugh Freeze.
• Wake Forest @ Florida State (ACCN): When Florida State joined the ACC in 1992, they did not lose a single conference game until 33-28 loss in Charlottesville in 1995. Before then they had won 29 consecutive ACC games. Consider that now FSU is 0-4 in the ACC so far this season, and lost their last 7 ACC games last season. Mike Norvell and the Noles won the ACC in 2023. FSU looked they had turned the corner by beating Alabama in Week 1 (which, like, I’d appreciate if the college football world would stop having collective amnesia about that), but, well, here we are. Life comes at you fast, huh? At any rate, Wake is definitely good enough to beat them, which gives me a sneaking suspicion they may figure it out and get it done.

8:00: Arkansas State @ Troy (ESPNU): I have Troy all the way in this one.

10:15: Cincinnati @ Utah (ESPN): I’ve been going back and forth on this one, but I think right now I’m on “Utah’s physicality is going to cause Cincy problems”, so let’s go with that.

10:30: Hawaii @ San Jose State (CBSS): Hawaii is 6-2! And there’s a very, very good chance they’re about to 7-2.