Author Archives: ASimPerson

Bowl Predictions 2016: Week 4

I’m going to avoid any snarky remarks about being better at this than some notable professionals in the predictions business and cut right to the chase.

I’ve always liked ESPN’s Bubble Watch feature for the NCAA tournament, and in some ways, this is a similar exercise. So let’s go conference-by-conference and assess their chances. The full predictions, as usual, are here.

ACC
Win and they’re in the CFP:

  • Clemson (6-0 ACC, 9-0 overall): Clemson closes with Pitt, Wake Forest, and South Carolina. They would have to lose to both Pitt and Wake Forest to miss out on the ACC Championship Game, which would also deny them a chance at the playoff. If they win out, they’re in.

CFP bubble:

  • Louisville (6-1, 8-1): they close with Wake Forest, Houston, and a potential SEC East champion Kentucky. They figure to win all three, but Clemson has to lose twice for them to have any shot at the ACCCG and, therefore, the playoff. They do, however, figure to take the ACC’s spot in the Orange Bowl, so it’s not all bad.

Bowling: Florida State, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, North Carolina

Work left to do:

  • Miami (2-3, 5-4): The Canes finally got out of their post-FSU funk by demolishing Pitt 51-28. They figure to win out against Virginia, NC State, and Duke.
  • Pittsburgh (2-3, 5-4): Pitt just needs to win one out of Clemson, Duke, and Syracuse, and, well, 7-5 looks pretty likely.
  • Georgia Tech (2-3, 5-4): we just need to win one of Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia. I’m not sure how good I feel about it, but I currently have us in.
  • Syracuse (2-3, 4-5): the Orange have to win two out of NC State, Florida State, and Pitt. I think they’ll be lucky to win one.
  • North Carolina State (1-4, 4-5): their loss to Boston College really hurt their chances a few weeks back. I like them against Syracuse, but they close with Miami and North Carolina.
  • Boston College (1-5, 4-5): I should probably rank BC higher, because they might have the best chances of the 4-5 teams. Yeah, they’ll lose to FSU, but then they get UConn and Wake Forest. That said, Wake is improved this year BC still has trouble generating offense. If they win in Winston-Salem, it’ll be an upset.
  • Duke (0-5, 3-6): not dead yet, but that figures to no longer be the case after a visit from the Tar Heels Saturday.

Big 12
CFP bubble:

  • Oklahoma (6-0, 7-2): figures to be the Big 12’s Sugar Bowl rep. Too many things have to happen in front of them to make it into the actual playoff.
  • Oklahoma State (5-1, 7-2): I’m currently projecting the Big 12 to only get one team into the CFP-controlled bowls. Provided neither lose before then, the Bedlam winner figures to make it into the Sugar Bowl.
  • West Virginia (4-1, 7-1): it’s a long shot for the Mountaineers to make it to a CFP-controlled bowl. If they beat Oklahoma in Morgantown, they would then need the Sooners to turn around and win Bedlam in order for them to win as Big 12 champs.

Bowling: Baylor

Work left to do:

  • Texas Christian (3-3, 5-4): I like the Horned Frogs the best out of the group we’re about to go over, but that mostly just means I like them to go 5-4 in-conference and not 4-5. But that’ll be enough.
  • Kansas State (3-3, 5-4): K-State figures to make it to 6-6 since they get to play Kansas. Anything beyond that is a reach.
  • Texas (3-3, 5-4): See above, but they do also play TCU at home.
  • Texas Tech (2-4, 4-5): the Red Raiders need two, and they’ll probably have to go through Iowa State and Baylor to do it. I think they can, but it’ll be a close thing.

Big Ten
Win and they’re in the CFP:

  • Michigan (6-0, 9-0): they’ll get two more warmups, but then they’ll have two tough games in quick succession. First, they’re going to Columbus this year. If they get past the Buckeyes, they’ll probably get to play Wisconsin again in the Big Ten Championship Game. They beat the Badgers 14-7 at home the first time around.
  • Ohio State (5-1, 8-1): if they beat Michigan, then they’ll also have the same Badger issue. Either way, the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game is going to the Rose Bowl.

CFP bubble:

  • Pennsylvania State (5-1, 7-2): since the Nittany Lions don’t figure to lose again, I have them as slight favorites to get a 3rd spot for the Big Ten in one of the CFP-controlled bowls. 
  • Wisconsin (4-2, 7-2): of the three teams atop the West division, I like the Badgers the best to win out and clinch the division (since they beat the other two contenders). That said, it’s an open question how the Committee would treat a 10-3 BTNCG loser against a 10-2 Penn State. I mean, after all, that means all three of Wisconsin’s losses were to some combination of Michigan and Ohio State. It may depend on if and how they lose. Of course, the ultimate chaos scenario is if they win the BTNCG…
  • Nebraska (4-2, 7-2): to even be in this discussion, Nebraska needs Wisconsin to lose to one of Illinois, Purdue, and Minnesota, and then for us to have selective amnesia about that time they lost 62-3 to Ohio State, and then for them to upset those selfsame Buckeyes or Michigan in the BTNCG. Yeah… 

Bowling: Minnesota

Work left the to do:

  • Iowa (3-3, 5-4): Iowa gets to play Illinois, which bodes well for them getting to 6 wins. Which is totally what they’re paying Kirk Ferentz some unholy sum of money for, right?
  • Indiana (3-3, 5-4): they Hoosiers only need to win one more, but it’s going to come down to the end, since they get to play Penn State and Michigan before finishing with Purdue.
  • Maryland (2-4, 5-4): that’s right, the Terps! They fails a similar predicament, though, with Ohio State and Nebraska lined up before Rutgers.
  • Northwestern (3-3, 4-5): by far the easiest schedule, but they need to win two of Purdue, Minnesota, and Illinois.
  • Illinois (2-4, 3-6): at trip to Madison this weekend should end their hopes.
  • Purdue (1-5, 3-6): the Boilermakers would have to win out against Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Yeah, that’s not happening.

Pac-12
Win and they’re in the CFP:

  • Washington (6-0, 9-0): their bonafides will continue to improve with a visit from an improving USC team this weekend, but the real drama figures to be in Pullman. Sadly, I see that game has already been scheduled for 12:30 PM Pacific time. 

CFP bubble:

  • Colorado (5-1, 7-2): I don’t think they can make the playoff, per se, but the Pac-12 championship loser figures to make the Rose Bowl (or the winner if they’re not Washington, for that matter). 
  • Utah (4-2, 7-2): see above.
  • Washington State (6-0, 7-2): they can get to the Rose Bowl as Pac-12 champs, but that’s about it.

Bowling: Southern California, Stanford

Work left to do:

  • Arizona State (2-4, 5-4): if they can survive playing Utah and at Washington, they’ll be playing in Tuscon for a bowl bid.
  • California (2-4, 4-5): it’s not impossible for the Bears, but they need to win two out of Washington State, Stanford, and UCLA. Which, again, it’s not impossible, but it does feel unlikely.
  • Oregon (1-5, 3-6): the Ducks have to win out against an improving Stanford and then two straight road games against Utah and Oregon State. The odds of winning all three figure to slim.
  • California-Los Angeles (1-5, 3-6): they have to win out against Oregon State, Southern Cal, and Cal. This doesn’t bode well.

SEC
Win and they’re in the CFP:

  • Alabama (6-0, 9-0): considering the current state of the SEC East, the only game of any importance left on their schedule is the Iron Bowl. Considering the stakes, can we get it moved back to Legion Field one more time?
  • Auburn (6-1, 7-2): yeah, a two-loss SEC champ figures to crack the top four. Such is life.

CFP bubble:

  • Texas A&M (4-2, 7-2): remember, one of Auburn’s two losses is to TAMU, but by blowing it against Miss State they also likely blew any chance of being able to win the SEC. They’re still in a good spot to get a Sugar Bowl bid, though.

Bowling: Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas

Work left to do:

  • Louisiana State (3-2, 5-3): as it turns out, Alabama is pretty good! But the Tigers get to close out with a fading Arkansas team, and if that doesn’t get them to 6, well, they were originally going to play Presbyterian, which, is that really that different from an SEC East team at this point?
  • Kentucky (4-3, 5-4): the Wildcats have only one more conference game, and that’s at Tennessee. I’d say that’s a toss-up at this point, but either way, they’ll beat Austin Peay and then lose badly to Lamar Jackson and company. So their ceiling is pretty solidly set at 7 wins.
  • Georgia (3-4, 5-4): Georgia figure to be in good shape to get to 7-5, which is what they got Kirby Smart for, right?
  • South Carolina (3-4, 5-4): seriously, where does the tradition of SEC teams parking a FCS team the weekend before Thanksgiving come from? Either way, it’ll get the Gamecocks bowling.
  • Mississippi (1-4, 4-5): well, the Rebels are down a Chad Kelly against Texas A&M this weekend. That’s not good! But then they get to play Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
  • Vanderbilt (1-4, 4-5): Vandy closes with Mizzou, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I figure they’ll only win one of those, but thanks to their APR scores and general lack of enough teams that will be bowl eligible, I figure they’ll go bowling at 5-7.
  • Mississippi State (2-3, 4-5): the odds of Miss State also pulling off upsets against two of Alabama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss are pretty slim. But there’s a chance!

I’ll cover the Group of Five, but in brief.

American
Bowling: Temple, South Florida, Navy, Houston, Tulsa, Memphis

Work left to do: Central Florida (3-2, 5-4), Cincinnati (1-4, 4-5), Southern Methodist (2-3, 4-5), East Carolina (1-4, 3-6), Tulane (0-5, 3-6)

Conference USA
Bowling: Western Kentucky, Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee State, Louisiana Tech

Work left to do: Texas-San Antonio (4-2, 5-4), Southern Mississippi (3-2, 5-4), North Texas (2-3, 4-5), Charlotte (3-2, 4-5), Texas-El Paso (1-4, 3-6)

Independents
Work left to do: Brigham Young (5-4), Army (5-4), Notre Dame (3-6)

Mid-American
CFP Bubble:

  • Western Michigan (6-0, 10-0): the Broncos currently lead… the Broncos of Boise State in the CFP Poll by one spot. I don’t think Western Michigan is truly safe for the Group of Five spot unless they win out and Boise either loses again or doesn’t make the Mountain West title game.

Bowling: Ohio, Toledo, Eastern Michigan

Work left to do: Akron (3-3, 5-5), Central Michigan (2-4, 5-5), Miami (4-2, 4-6), Ball State (1-5, 4-6), Northern Illinois (3-2, 3-6)

Mountain West
CFP Bubble:

  • Boise State (4-1, 8-1): Boise figures to be heavy favorites in their remaining games, but they need Wyoming to lose twice to make the Mountain West title game. The Cowboys do have a game against San Diego State, but they’d still need to drop the ball against UNLV or New Mexico for Boise to have a shot. If Boise makes the MWC title game and beats San Diego State, though, that still figures to give them a better resume than Western Michigan. 

Bowling: Wyoming, New Mexico, Air Force, San Diego State

Work left to do: Colorado State (3-3, 5-4), Hawaii (3-3, 4-6), Nevada-Las Vegas (2-3, 3-6), Utah State (1-5, 3-6), Nevada (1-4, 3-6)

Sun Belt
Bowling:  Appalachian State (5-0, 7-2), Troy (4-0, 7-1)

Work left to do: Arkansas State (4-0, 4-4), Idaho (3-2, 6-4), Georgia Southern (3-2, 4-5), South Alabama (1-5, 4-5), Louisiana-Lafayette (2-3, 3-5), Louisiana-Monroe (2-3, 3-6), New Mexico State (1-3, 2-6), Texas State (0-4, 2-6)

Overall, I was three teams short this week, but that includes a 5-7 Vanderbilt. If this threat continues to linger, we should start seeing some stories Thanksgiving week about what will happen. Until then…

This Weekend in College Football: Week 10

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Notre Dame vs. Navy (@Jacksonville, FL; CBS): I don’t think Ken Niumatalolo is really looking to leave the Naval Academy, but I’d like to think that a win here could catapult him to a major conference team. C’mon, Purdue, pick up the phone.
  • Wisconsin @ Northwestern (ABC): To me, the most agonizing about thing about this game was worrying that Wisconsin could conceivably win easily and shut out Northwestern without covering.
  • Vanderbilt @ Auburn (ESPN): College football, more than any other sport I can think of, can really see a team change its character over the course of 12 games, and perhaps no other team exemplifies that more than these Auburn Tigers. Seriously. I don’t see anything other than the Commodores being incinerated here.
  • Louisville @ Boston College (ESPN2): Boston College won an ACC game last weekend! Yay! Enjoy it while it lasts, which isn’t much longer.
  • Texas @ Texas Tech (FS1): The Longhorns defense isn’t very good, but at least it exists.
  • Georgia Southern @ Mississippi (ESPNU): This Southern team isn’t enough to make Ole Miss worry this year.
  • Michigan State @ Illinois (ESPNEWS): Uh, don’t watch this. I’m not really sure I want to know the answer to this question. I guess I’ll go with Sparty, though.
  • Texas A&M @ Mississippi State (SEC): This Miss State team is proving that Dak Prescott may have been the greatest college football player to ever live.
  • Indiana @ Rutgers (BTN): Indiana.
  • Air Force @ Army (CBSS): I think Army is improved, I just don’t see this as a win for them. If they do pull it off, though, they’ll probably go bowling.

12:30:

  • Pittsburgh @ Miami (ACC): Is this the game where the Hurricanes can finally get their mojo back? Really, both of these teams have been disappointing this year, especially after promising starts for each. I’m going with the ‘Canes once again, but probably not much longer if they drop this.
  • Georgia Tech @ North Carolina (ACC): This Georgia Tech defense would fit in in the Pac-12. Most of the issues I have with them just come down to coaching, which has to make me think that Ted Roof is on the way out. Unfortunately, Mitch Trubisky and company have the tools more than almost any other team in the ACC not named “Clemson” or “Louisville” to really feast on our defense. The best case scenario seems to be the shootouts that have peppered this series as of late, so as is often the case in these games, I hope we get the ball last.

3:00: Virginia @ Wake Forest (ACC/RSN): There has to be some sort of prophecy about Wake Forest being okay once every ten years or something.

3:30:

  • Texas Christian @ Baylor (FOX): Thank you, Texas. TCU.
  • Florida @ Arkansas (CBS): Yeah, it’d be pretty fitting for one of the SEC East frontrunners to go get clobbered on the road against an SEC West team.
  • Oklahoma State @ Kansas State (ABC/ESPN2): I just don’t see K-State being able to keep up here.
  • Syracuse @ Clemson (ABC/ESPN2): See above, except replace “K-State” with “Syracuse”.
  • Maryland @ Michigan (ESPN): Okay, so, Maryland is, like, kinda okay this year? Look for them to lose by 20 or so instead of 30+.
  • Virginia Tech @ Duke (ESPNU): Boy howdy, this 3:30 slate is kind of bleak, isn’t it? This might be the most exciting game on this list, and even I’m pegging VPI has prohibitive favorites.
  • Oregon State @ Stanford (FS1): I think Stanford can notch a Pac-12 win here? Maybe?
  • Purdue @ Minnesota (BTN): Seriously Boilermakers, run the option. Of course, the AD you just hired sort of didn’t get along with our coach, so maybe he’ll have a prejudice against option coaches? Then again, I suspect not a lot of people get along with Paul Johnson. Oh, and yeah, Gophers.
  • Brigham Young @ Cincinnati (CBSS): Tubs, you should’ve got while the gettin’ was good. Stormin’ Mormons roll.

4:00:

  • Memphis @ Southern Methodist (ESPNEWS): Okay, SMU, good job on beating Houston and (maybe?) costing Tom Herman the Texas job. Wait, no, the other thing. I have Memphis here.
  • Missouri @ South Carolina (SEC): I feel like if I were making a “list of unwatchable major conference football games”, this one would probably be near the top of the list. Uh, Gamecocks?
  • Arizona @ Washington State (Pac12): While I’m sure it’d be wonderful to see two 8-0 in the Pac-12 squads roll into the Apple Cup, I don’t see it. I think Wazzou is going to pick up a random loss on the way, so why not here?

5:30: Florida International @ Western Kentucky (beIN): Oof. Hilltopers going to score some points, y’all.

7:00:

  • Oregon @ Southern California (ESPN): USC has an upright quarterback among other things, which against this Oregon team is more than enough.
  • Kansas @ West Virginia (ESPN2): The flames will rise from the couches after taking a brief break due.
  • Florida State @ North Carolina State (ESPNU): I’m not going to hold losing to Boston College against NC State all that much because, hey, that happens sometimes. While I think they can offer some resistance to FSU, ultimately they’re just too much to overcome.
  • Hawaii @ San Diego State (CBSS): Other than their (inexplicable) loss to the country’s best worst team (South Alabama), the Aztecs have looked good this year. Hawaii’s not as awful as past editions, but this game in particular figures to be too tough for them.

7:30:

  • Georgia @ Kentucky (SEC): It would make my day if this is season where Georgia loses to both Vanderbilt and Kentucky, but, well, I just can’t predict it.
  • Iowa @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): It seems about right that Penn State would drop this game coming off the big win over Ohio State.

8:00:

  • Nebraska @ Ohio State (ABC): Speaking of the Buckeyes, at some point their offense has to get back on track, right? I like the odds of it happening here.
  • Alabama @ Louisiana State (CBS): Okay, so it took a large man with a very heavy Cajun accent to drag LSU’s offense out of the stone age, and lo and behold, they look, well, like we all expected a properly functioning LSU offense to look. Go figure! Seriously, LSU, this is was the job DACOACHO was made for. If he doesn’t get this, I hope he gets the Arkansas job or something where he’ll play LSU every year just to spite them. That said… this Alabama team is, like, really good. I just can’t bring myself to pick against them.
  • East Carolina @ Tulsa (ESPNEWS): The Alabama-LSU game is on CBS, so it’ll probably just be getting to the half when this game is starting the 4th quarter. Then again, Tulsa is pretty pass-happy, so maybe… the third quarter.

10:15:

  • Utah State @ Wyoming (ESPN2): The Aggies aren’t that good this year, so if you’re asking if Wyoming can make it two in a row, I say “why not?”
  • Nevada @ New Mexico (ESPNU): Did you know Bob Davie is still the head coach of New Mexico? Yeah, really! I might watch this just for that. (I also like the Lobos here.)

10:30: Washington @ California (ESPN): And finally, we get to #pac12afterdark. This one goes either one of two ways. One way is UDub comes out pissed at getting ranked 5th by the Committee and completely goes off on the Golden Bears and wins, like, 51-7. The other is that Washington starts to show some cracks, and the Bears keep it close until a few bounces go against them in the 4th quarter and the Huskies wind up winning by 10 or 14, which is a win but satisfies no one. Either way, I’m going with them.

Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed.

Bowl Predictions 2016: Week 3

The latest predictions are now available (subject to change for anything completely unexpected on Tuesday).

At any rate, things are still pretty sketchy. Even for the CFP-controlled bowls, where I had to put in a 3-loss Auburn for lack of any other teams. Fortunately, second-half Auburn is looking like a pretty good team, but still, it doesn’t feel quite right to have a 3-loss team in these (supposedly) marquee matchups.

I’ll just hit some other thoughts in bullet points below:

  • Boise’s loss at Wyoming on Saturday may not put them out entirely. After all, they’ve still got a win over the probable Pac-12 North runner-up Washington State, which is still a better win than any of Western Michigan’s. Also, I think most would agree the Mountain West is stronger than the MAC. It will really depend on how the Committee ranks them going forward. Boise still has a pretty good chance to win their division, which would also let them face a pretty good San Diego State team in the Mountain West championship game. A win against the Aztecs would probably be better than any of Western Michigan’s wins except maybe the one over Northwestern.
  • I’m still short five teams. I even included a 6-6 Army team (with two wins over FCS teams) and a 5-7 Vanderbilt team (top-5 APR), so I’m really short seven. That’s really the entire potential pool of teams according to the rules. I’m not really sure what will happen if that comes to pass. Last year I still was missing five teams as late as Week 7, but things nevertheless worked out.
  • Suffice it to say, I think there are too many bowls. I’d guess the one likeliest to fold after this year is the Arizona Bowl, which still doesn’t have a real TV deal. Most of the other bowl games that you’d like are likely to fold are probably owned by ESPN. Given ESPN’s own troubles in terms of subscriber losses, that may spell doom for these games, but I’d guess not. Bowl games aren’t very expensive to put on, and there’s not much else going on during the holidays. If I had to hazard another guess, I’d go with the Cure Bowl, which was a game that took forever for the organizers to put together (it was on the “potential new bowl game” lists for years) and has a TV deal with the CBS Sports Network. I think 38 is more reasonable, but as a person who likes bowl games I’d say the ideal number is 30-35.
  • January 1st is a Sunday this year, so the traditional New Year’s Day bowls are split between New Year’s Eve and January 2nd. Nonetheless, putting 3 SEC teams in the CFP-controlled bowls really exposes the SEC’s weak underbelly this year, by which I mean there’s probably going to be 3 SEC East teams in New Year’s Day bowl games.
  • And yes, I did slot Georgia Tech over Miami because even though no one actually involved with the game would want it, I’m sure the Powers That Be (TM) would like the storylines around a Georgia Tech-Navy matchup.

That’s that for now. Hopefully we’ll know more next week!

This Weekend in College Football: Week 9

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • West Virginia @ Oklahoma State (FOX): How real are the Mountaineers? We’re about to find out, on this way where we’ve got a lot of road favorites. But they’re favorites for a reason.
  • Pennsylvania State @ Purdue (ABC/ESPN2): So Penn State did beat Ohio State last week, but of all teams to worry about a let-down against, Purdue isn’t one of them.
  • Louisville @ Virginia (ABC/ESPN2): Yeah, looks like Lamar Jackson is fully functional again. UVA doesn’t stand a chance.
  • Michigan @ Michigan State (ESPN): Speaking of not standing a chance, well, Michigan fans: stop reading now. So yeah, you think Harbaugh forgot what happened last year? Yeah, me neither.
  • Central Florida @ Houston (ESPNU): What, uh, happened to Houston? Navy, okay, sure, the Midshipmen look good this year. But SMU? Really guys? So, I’m still going to pick the Cougs here, but y’all are on notice.
  • Kansas State @ Iowa State (FSN): A fact I totally knew and did not just read 5 minutes ago: these two teams first met 100 years ago! I like K-State in the centennial.
  • Kentucky @ Missouri (SEC): Uh, Kentucky? Sure, why not.
  • Connecticut @ East Carolina (ESPNEWS): I have no idea. Seriously, stick to WVU-OSU if you want a good game, and Louisville-UVA or Michigan-Michigan State if you like watching car safety test videos.
  • Minnesota @ Illinois (BTN): Minnesota.
  • Duke @ Georgia Tech (ACC/RSN): Okay, so coming off the bye week, we have some work to do for the rest of the season. This is a good of a place as any to start, by which I mean, I’m trying to process the part where we’ve lost two straight to Duke. Then again, Duke’s been on a bit of a run themselves these past few years until, well, this year.
    On the balance so far, this Tech team has been tough to watch. Our blocking and line play is bad the second year in a row. However bad you think the defense looks, from everything I’ve read it’s actually worse. I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a new defensive coordinator next year. I’m personally not ready to call for Paul Johnson’s head (and given our athletic department’s budget, I don’t think it’s likely regardless), but I’d like to see some improvement against the back half of our schedule.
  • Kent State @ Central Michigan (CBSS): Some Saturday MACTION for you, if you so desire. I like Cental Michigan here.

12:30: Boston College @ North Carolina State (ACC): Boston College still lacks any sort of offense, so…

3:30:

  • Baylor @ Texas (ABC): Baylor.
  • Miami @ Notre Dame (NBC): After the past few weeks, whatever shine was remaining on this game has completely clouded up. I still like Miami, though.
  • Georgia vs. Florida (@Jacksonville, FL; CBS): Well, this game will probably be nice and bludgeon-y, but I still expect Florida to win.
  • Northwestern @ Ohio State (ESPN): Ohio State.
  • Texas Tech @ Texas Christian (ESPN2): My favorite reaction to last week’s Texas Tech-Oklahoma game:
    Having watched that absurd TTech/Oklahoma game, Kliff Kingsbury should really consider onside kicking every time for the rest of the year.

    — Chris B. Brown (@smartfootball) October 24, 2016

    Going with TCU.

  • Washington @ Utah (FS1): East Coast-types: watch this one, seriously. I think Washington is going to win, but all the same, you need to see the Huskies.
  • Maryland @ Indiana (ESPNU): The Terps are 5-2 out of what feels like nowhere. I’m not ready to give up on the Hoosiers, though.
  • Cincinnati @ Temple (CBSS): I am giving up on Cincy, though. Ugh.
  • Army @ Wake Forest (ACC/RSN): One of Army’s last winnable games. They’ll need to pick up an upset on the way to make a bowl.

4:00: Southern Methodist @ Tulane (ESPNEWS): Now this game has “let down” written all over it.

5:00: Arizona State @ Oregon (Pac12): In two weeks, Oregon will be mathematically eliminated from bowl eligibility. Book it.

7:00:

  • Nebraska @ Wisconsin (ESPN): Nebraska is undefeated and Wisconsin is 5-2. But you need to consider that Nebraska would also have a loss or two if their two Big Ten East opponents this year had been Ohio State and Michigan. I think the Badgers are seriously good, and Nebraska doesn’t have the firepower to overcome that defense.
  • Kansas @ Oklahoma (FS1): Oklahoma.
  • Boise State @ Wyoming (CBSS): Boise.

7:15:

  • Tennessee @ South Carolina (ESPN2): The Vols should be able to make some hay, back in the cozy confines of the SEC East.
  • Auburn @ Mississippi (SEC): So… did Auburn get good when no one was looking, or what? Last week’s 56-3 pasting of Arkansas just came out of pretty much nowhere, and if Gus has this thing fully cranked up, well, it doesn’t look good for Ole Miss.

7:30: New Mexico State @ Texas A&M (ESPNU): TAMU. (Still annoyed that the “A&M” part doesn’t stand for anything.)

8:00:

  • Clemson @ Florida State (ABC): I think this will be a good game, but Florida State this year just has too many flaws and, well, Clemson has to look like Clemson again at some point this season, right?
  • Tulsa @ Memphis (ESPNEWS): Maybe Tulsa was on to something about Houston a few weeks ago, when they only lost by 7. I like them here to win outright.

10:30: Nevada-Las Vegas @ San Jose State (CBSS): This is sure a football game on TV, yep. Uh, UNLV?

10:45: Washington State @ Oregon State (ESPN2): I have the feeling, just a gut feeling, that Washington St will trip up again before the end of the season. Where? Well, probably not here, but with the Cougs anything is possible, man.

11:00: Stanford @ Arizona (FS1): A reprieve for Stanford’s slide awaits in the desert.