Monthly Archives: September 2026

This Weekend in College Football: Week 1

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As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday

Noon:

  • East Carolina @ Alabama (ABC): As has been noted in many other spaces, this isn’t the most action-packed Week 1. There’s a lot of games like this with huge point spreads and not much to talk about. I guess it’s a good weekend for me to be at PAX. Also, Bama by a lot.
  • North Texas @ Indiana (FOX): Indiana is still the reigning, undefeated national champion. And they’ll still be undefeated after this one.
  • Oregon State @ Houston (ESPN): This might be the best game in this timeslot? Houston always has expectations, but Oregon State might be able to quash them. I still like the Cougs, but if there’s a single-score game here, it’ll be this one, or…
  • Ohio @ Nebraska (FS1): Well, not this one. (Corn by a lot.)
  • Coastal Carolina @ West Virginia (TNT): Or this one. (Neers by a lot.)
  • Liberty @ James Madison (ESPNU): … but this one! It pains me to recommend watching a Liberty game, but as one of the richest teams on the low end of the “group of” they certainly should have the resources to hang with JMU. I still like the Monarchs, though.
  • New Hampshire @ Syracuse (ACCN)
  • Bryant @ Army (CBSS)
  • Lafayette @ Connecticut (Stream)
  • Tarleton @ Bowling Green (ESPN+)

12:30:

  • Miami @ Pittsburgh (The CW): No, that Miami will be flying back from Palo Alto during this game. Speaking of unusually well resourced G6 teams, the Redhawks are actually not doing bad by any standard, much less for the MAC. Still hard seeing them beat Pitt, but they could certainly make things uncomfortable.
  • Ball State @ Ohio State (BTN): Buckeyes by a lot.

12:45: Kent State @ South Carolina (SEC): Shane Beamer is a coach that has near-universal agreement as being on the proverbial hot seat entering the season. This game will not get him fired.

1:00:

  • Youngstown State @ Kentucky (SEC+)
  • Duquesne @ Air Force (MWN)

2:00:

  • Southeast Missouri State @ Iowa State (ESPN+)
  • Rhode Island @ Temple (ESPN+)

3:00: Tennessee State @ Georgia (SEC+)

3:30:

  • Boston College @ Cincinnati (FOX): BC is in the running to be one of the worse P4 teams this season, and while Cincy probably won’t be very good, they can knock off BC at home.
  • Baylor vs. Auburn (Aflac Kickoff Game @ Atlanta, GA; ABC): It’s a cliche at this point in the season, but these teams have a lot more questions than answers right now. This is a coin flip for me, and I’m going with Auburn.
  • Boise State @ Oregon (CBS): I want to believe that there’s still a reality where Boise can take one of the big boys of the sport to the wire, but… this Oregon team is loaded. Like, one of the 3-5 teams that can plausibly win the national title loaded. But I still believe…
  • Texas State @ Texas (ESPN): This will be a “Good Arch” game.
  • Marshall @ Pennsylvania State (FS1): I really don’t want to talk about Penn State right now, so I won’t. They’ll win this one.
  • Tulane @ Duke (ACCN): This is a game where it’s very plausible that a well resourced G6 team can knock off a P4, and I think it’s actually kind of likely
  • Towson @ Navy (CBSS)
  • Fordham @ North Dakota State (MWN)
  • Furman @ Tennessee (SEC+)
  • Texas-Rio Grande Valley @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)
  • Maine @ Appalachian State (ESPN+)
  • The Citadel @ Charlotte (ESPN+)

3:45: Oklahoma State @ Tulsa (ESPNU): Oklahoma State essentially did a wholesale import of last season’s best offense from Texas State up to Stillwater, and this early (but short) road trip will be the first proof of concept for them.

4:15:

  • Northern Illinois @ Iowa (BTN): Northern Illinois never really fit in the MAC, so they left for… the Mountain West. Sure. It’ll be interesting to see if Iowa does the offense thing again this year, but they’ll win this game regardless.
  • North Alabama @ Arkansas (SEC)

5:00: Alcorn State @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)

6:00:

  • Wyoming @ Colorado State (“Border War”; USA): The rules for whether or not I talk about a particular game are this: 1) It has to be between two FBS opponents and 2) it has to be available on a traditional television network. So there’s going to be some Mountain West games on USA this season, so take note. As for this game, I… didn’t realize or forgot it’s a rivalry game. There’s a trophy (the Bronze Boot) and everything! So this should be fun, but I’m slightly leaning toward the Pokes.
  • Norfolk State @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)

7:00:

  • Missouri State @ Texas A&M (ESPN): Aggies by a lot.
  • Abilene Christian @ Texas State (FS1)
  • Idaho State @ Utah State (CBSS)
  • Austin Peay @ Vanderbilt (SEC+)
  • Sam Houston State @ Troy (ESPN+)
  • Arkansas State @ Memphis (ESPN+)
  • Florida International @ South Florida (ESPN+)
  • Nicholls State @ Kansas State (ESPN+)
  • Southeastern Louisiana @ South Alabama (ESPN+)
  • Houston Christian @ Rice (ESPN+)
  • Eastern Kentucky @ Jacksonville State (ESPN+)
  • Murray State @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
  • Charleston Southern @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)

7:30:

  • Clemson @ Louisiana State (ABC): The game of the day! LSU, of course, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons as of late. Clemson has mostly flown under the radar after not quite meeting their elevated expectations the past couple of years. The chances of a “lil ole Clemson” type game feel very high. It’s fair that LSU is favored for a home night game, but I just can’t shake Clemson just cutting through all the hype and putting a wet blanket on Lane Kiffin’s debut.
  • Western Michigan @ Michigan (NBC): Michigan by a lot.
  • Louisiana-Monroe @ Mississippi State (ESPNU): Miss State, by a medium amount.
  • Virginia Military @ Virginia Tech (ACCN)
  • Northwestern State @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)

7:45: Florida Atlantic @ Florida (SEC): Don’t let the Florida fans fool you, they’ll be fine here.

8:00:

  • South Dakota State @ Northwestern (BTN)
  • Hampton @ Maryland (BTN)
  • Utah Tech @ Brigham Young (ESPN+)
  • Lamar @ Louisiana (ESPN+)

9:00: Mercyhurst @ New Mexico State (ESPN+)

9:30:

  • Portland State @ San Diego State (USA)
  • Northern Arizona @ Arizona (ESPN+)

10:00:

  • Central Michigan @ New Mexico (FS1): Hey, here’s a fun cross-sectional game! I like the Lobos at home, but definitely keep on eye on this one.
  • Nevada-Las Vegas @ Hawaii (The CW): Hawaii probably should’ve beat Stanford last week. They had a late lead and everything, but couldn’t hold on. UNLV comes in with some pretty hefty expectations and should win, but it’s not a given.
  • Mississippi Valley State @ Sacramento State (ESPN+)
  • Morgan State @ Arizona State (ESPN+)

10:30:

  • California-Los Angeles @ California (ESPN): It’s good to see this game back on the schedule, and with a whole new operation in Westwood, I like JKS and company to open with a win in Berkeley.
  • Western Kentucky @ Nevada (CBSS): Probably not as much fun as Western Michigan-New Mexico, but this could still be fun. Unfortunately, I don’t think Nevada is very good, so this should be sorta straightforward for the Hilltoppers.

Sunday

4:00: Washington State @ Washington (“Apple Cup”; NBC): The Apple Cup is back, once again! Unfortunately, I’m not sure I have much hope for Wazzu.

7:30:

  • Louisville vs. Mississippi (Music City Kickoff @ Nashville, TN; ABC): The easy assumption for this game is that Lane took most of the good players to Baton Rouge. But that’s for a reason, and Louisville has the talent to hang with the Rebels for sure. I’ll even pick them here.
  • Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame (@Green Bay, WI; NBC): Luke Fickell is another coach on the preseason hot seat, and I’m not sure this game is going to do much to get him off of it.

Monday

7:30: Southern Methodist @ Florida State (ESPN): Speaking of coaches on the hot seat and bad vibes, Mike Norvell could really use a win here. And similarly to Fickell, I don’t think he’s going to get it. (Though at least the Noles, on paper, stand a chance in this game.)

 

This Week in College Football: Week 1

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As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday

6:00: Massachusetts @ Rutgers (BTN): Rutgers would like to remind you that they are, in fact, still in the Big Ten, and that as such they will absolutely grind UMass into a fine powder.

7:00:

  • Akron @ Wake Forest (ACCN): The gap between the “group of” conferences and the Power 4 is greater than ever, but there are still some teams from the lower rungs of FBS that can still threaten mid-to-bad ACC schools. Akron is not one of them.
  • Merrimack @ Delaware (ESPN+)
  • Albany @ Buffalo (ESPN+)
  • Bethune-Cookman @ Central Florida (ESPN+)
  • West Georgia @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)

8:00:

  • Colorado @ Georgia Tech (ESPN): Believe it or not, it’s Year 4 of the Deion Sanders experience in Boulder. Brent Key is back as well, but uncertainty reigns over this game. At least on the Tech side, there’s a wholesale change on the offense. Gone is the offensive coordinator and several players to Florida, as well as some other starters. In at running back, the “Haynes” moniker is preserved as Justice Haynes is in from Michigan, where he was pretty good. Another famous name is now also in at quarterback: Mendoza, as in Alberto Mendoza, Fernando’s younger brother. There are a slew of questions around whether or not Alberto is actually any good, presumably he would’ve stayed at Indiana if he were that guy. (Oh, and Georgia Godsey is the new coordinator.) It’s presumably going to look different unless Key and Godsey believe that only battering rams can play quarterback at Tech. (Speaking of which, Haynes King made the Panther’s roster as a 3rd-string QB due, at least in part, to the play of the preseason. Nearly brought a tear to my eye seeing that run along with the team storming the field in otherwise meaningless exhibition.)
    Either way, I expect a great atmosphere in Midtown Atlanta for this one with a season where I think we’ll win anywhere from 4 to 10 games.
  • Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Missouri (SEC)
  • Eastern Illinois @ Minnesota (Peacock)

9:00:

  • Alabama-Birmingham @ Illinois (BTN): The Illini may be good this year, but we probably won’t derive a lot of information from this one.
  • Idaho @ Utah (ESPNU)

Friday

6:30: San Jose State @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)

7:00:

  • Indiana State @ Purdue (BTN)
  • North Carolina A&T @ Georgia State (ESPN+)

8:00:

  • Toledo @ Michigan State (FS1): This is the rare “group of” game that might actually tell us something about both teams. Toledo, of course, is always the class of the MAC, though Jason Candle finally got another job (and not for lack of trying). That said, it’s really more about the new coach on Sparty’s sideline: Pat Fitzgerald, most recently of Northwestern. While one of the best coaches Northwestern has ever had, he did exit amid a cloud of scandal (that he was nominally cleared of, for what it’s worth) and an apparent reluctance to adapt to modern college football (he was the coach when the Northwestern players attempted to unionize, and almost certainly doesn’t care for NIL). Michigan State should still win but there’s still no reason for a B1G team to be threatened by a MAC team. Keep an eye on this, though.
  • Long Island @ Kansas (ESPNU)
  • Texas-El Paso @ Oklahoma (SEC+)

9:00:

  • Fresno State @ Southern California (FOX): USC played last week of course, and took care of business against San Jose State. Fresno State will be a step up in competition, but they’ll be fine. Though I wonder if more folks will show up at the Coliseum this time.
  • Miami @ Stanford (ESPN): Stanford needed a furious comeback to top Hawaii down on the farm. I don’t think there’s going to much in the way of a comeback in this one for the Cardinal.