Category Archives: college football

This Weekend in College Football: Week 6

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Ohio State @ Maryland (ABC): At least judging from results, both these teams really above even. Which means we have to go deeper, and that’s where it starts to fall apart for the Terps.
  • Texas Agricultural and Mechanical @ Mississippi State (ESPN): While Miss State was able to prevail against LSU last weekend, I thought (and still presently think) TAMU was better anyway, struggles with Arkansas aside. It’s fair to say the Bulldogs haven’t seen anything like what TAMU is going throw at them (in some cases, literally) and I’m not sure they can keep up.
  • Purdue @ Illinois (ESPN2): Illinois is… bad but Purdue is just so inept that it’s basically impossible to pick them.
  • Iowa State @ Oklahoma State (FS1): Iowa State is still terrible, so at least some things are constant.
  • Southern Methodist @ East Carolina (ESPNU): SMU has been one of the worst teams in football so far this year, while ECU has lived up to their darkhorse billing. I don’t think it’s going to end well for the ‘stangs.
  • Marshall @ Old Dominion (FSN): I thought ODU was pretty alright, but they lost to MTSU last week, so I’m going to go with Marshall getting to 5-0.
  • Ball State @ Army (CBSS): Army, when you lose games to Yale, I’m going to have a hard time picking you even against 1-3 MAC teams. That’s just the way it is. I’m sorry.
  • Florida @ Tennessee (SEC): Given all the vitriol, you probably wouldn’t think that Florida is 2-1 with that one loss coming to Alabama, but yeah it’s hard to disagree with the idea that Will Muschamp isn’t going to last the season. Meanwhile, the conventional wisdom is that the Volunteers look leagues better this year, even if it’s not reflected in the results. Well, here’s your chance Vols, now reach out and grab it.

12:30: Virginia Tech @ North Carolina (ACC): When it comes to the ACC Coastal, no one is ever truly out of it, at least not in the first week of October. So both these teams have chances to recover from exceedingly disappointing starts. That said, UNC has looked downright bad so far, while VPI has at least been competitive in their two losses. Going with the Hokies.

2:30: North Texas @ Indiana (BTN): Ah, Indiana. One week you’re beating Missouri, the next you’re losing decisively to Maryland. What do I do with you? I’ll still pick you to beat North Texas, I just wish I could feel better about it.

3:30:

  • Stanford @ Notre Dame (NBC): Stanford is awful in the red zone, but the reality of this game is that I don’t think either offense is going to factor much into it. I actually have the Cardinal in this one.
  • Alabama @ Mississippi (CBS): This is likely the biggest game in Oxford in… a long time. Nonetheless, it’s hard to see how Ole Miss stacks up against the Alabama machine, especially now that it has a legitimately threatening offense. If Ole Miss is going to prevail, though, it’ll be against the seemingly-suspect Alabama secondary.
  • Oklahoma @ Texas Christian (FOX): Boy howdy, lots of undefeated teams playing each other this weekend, but that’s the magic of conference play. Not that either of these teams has a feather in their cap, per se. TCU is only allowing 7 points per game, but they’ve only played three games and one of those was against SMU. The Sooners seem more legit overall, but I guess we’ll find out out for sure.
  • Baylor @ Texas (ABC): I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self that he’d pick Baylor in a game at Texas and not really even think twice about it.
  • Wake Forest @ Florida State (ABC): Florida State has found ways to make it interesting against Wake in the past, but as usual no sane person would ever call it.
  • Wisconsin @ Northwestern (ESPN2): About the only chance for Northwestern here is to build up a big lead early and try to force Wisconsin out of their ground-and-pound game plan. This seems… unlikely.
  • North Carolina State @ Clemson (ESPNU): Both these teams have relatively fresh close losses to Florida State possibly on their minds. NC State and the antics of Jacoby Brissett electrified many last weekend, while Clemson had many opportunities and let them slip away. Overall, I still think Clemson is the better team, and they will need to play like to salvage their season.
  • Navy @ Air Force (CBSS): Air Force posted a solid win over Boise State last week, which signaled two things. One, Boise is probably coming back down to Earth. Two, Air Force is pretty good again, while Navy has struggled at times this year, most recently posting a loss to Western Kentucky. Air Force are definitely my favorites right now to win the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.

4:00:

  • Kansas @ West Virginia (FSN): I keep having to remember that Charlie Weis was the head coach at Kansas, and just when I realized that, they fire him! Thanks for nothing, Jayhawks. Also, WVU wins in a walkover.
  • Vanderbilt @ Georgia (SEC): Todd Gurley has 610 yards rushing on the season. Vanderbilt has 510. This does not bode well for the Commodores.
  • Oregon State @ Colorado (Pac12): There’s nothing that really makes me sure that Oregon State has an edge over the Buffs, but… it’s just that I’m not going to call Colorado to win anything until proven otherwise.

7:00:

  • Louisiana State @ Auburn (ESPN): The yearly edition of Tigers vs. Tigers is back. I think the Auburn offense is still just too good for LSU to keep up, especially after the issues they showed against Miss State a couple weekends ago.
  • Texas Tech @ Kansas State (ESPNU): K-State’s offense is potent enough to exploit the truly awful Red Raiders defense.
  • Memphis @ Cincinnati (CBSS): So Cincy went out for their first real game last week and got shellacked by Ohio State. Meanwhile, Memphis is 2-2, with the expected result against Ole Miss and a surprisingly game loss to UCLA. Nonetheless, still difficult to pick them here, so going with Cincy.
  • Michigan @ Rutgers (BTN): I almost have to think the Wolverines are relieved this game isn’t taking place in Ann Arbor. It’s a bit late to weigh in on this now, but the handling of what happened in game last weekend and afterward is nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. On the field, the Michigan offense is as well. Rutgers isn’t good or anything, but they’re certainly going to be more into this game than Michigan probably is.

7:30:

  • Arizona State @ Southern California (FOX): That loss to Boston College will probably continue to be a bit of an albatross for USC. Arizona State just got pasted last week by UCLA, but I’m not sure they’re really that bad? Still going to pick USC, but I don’t feel at all good about it.
  • Miami @ Georgia Tech (ESPN2): It would be wonderful if we could flash back to 2008 for a second, eh?

    I picked that spot because it shows a good job of the kind of holes we had that night. Of course, since then, Tech has dropped every contest to Miami, usually due to just plain superior talent. Can we prevail this year? I honestly have no idea. Miami certainly was able to leverage their talent against Duke, and Duke Johnson is as advertised. Meanwhile, Tech finally had a decent game against VPI, but I wouldn’t exactly want to play against FSU or Alabama or someone right now, either.
  • South Carolina @ Kentucky (SEC): Kentucky may be just what South Carolina needs right now.
  • Pittsburgh @ Virginia (ACC/RSN): Going into the year, I thought for sure I wouldn’t pick UVA in any game. Yet it’s Pitt with the inexplicable loss to Akron, so here we are.

8:00:

  • Nebraska @ Michigan State (ABC): The best two teams in the Big Ten face off, and it’s not really even close. Against their schedules so far, both these teams have dominated on both sides of the ball (with the exception of Sparty’s loss to Oregon), so this is will be a real test for both. I’m going with Sparty, but that’s mostly just a guess.
  • Nevada-Las Vegas @ San Jose State (ESPNEWS): Both these teams are bad, but SJSU has been slightly less bad.

10:30:

  • Utah @ California-Los Angeles (ESPN): So the Utes followed up their triumph against Michigan with… a loss to Washington State. Whoops. At any rate, this game could be close, but I expect UCLA to pull it out.
  • Boise State @ Nevada (CBSS): I think I actually like Nevada here? Maybe?
  • California @ Washington State (Pac12): I HOPE YOU LIKE POINTS. Saturday night, Pullman, anything could happen. Well, anything involving offense, anyway. A perfect nightcap, if you ask me. Going with Wazzou here.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 5

Week 5 is also a week of discovery, as lots of teams face real competition for the first time, or have a chance to show than an earlier slip-up was just that. Also, this will be the first week with “proper” previews this season, as I’m fully back from my vacation.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Tennessee @ Georgia (ESPN): It’s hard to see how the currently formed Volunteers can win this one.
  • Wyoming @ Michigan State (ESPN2): Wyoming is 3-1… but… yeah. Sparty all the way here.
  • South Florida @ Wisconsin (ESPNU): USF allowed 315 years rushing to NC State. This does not bode well for their defense against the Badgers.
  • Tulane @ Rutgers (ESPNEWS): Rutgers should, and I emphasize should, be able to take care of Tulane.
  • Texas-El Paso @ Kansas State (FSN): Weird things can always happen against UTEP, but this would be super weird.
  • Texas Christian @ Southern Methodist (CBSS): It doesn’t look to be getting any better for SMU’s season of utter disarray.
  • Northwestern @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): We’ll find a lot about both these teams so far. For whatever reason, James Franklin seems to have drained whatever talent and wherewithal Vanderbilt had under his tenure and transported it wholesale to State College, though. So I guess I’ll take Penn State.
  • Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (SEC): Speaking of Vandy, Kentucky should be able to get some revenge for the last few years here.

12:30:

  • Western Michigan @ Virginia Tech (ACC): VPI gets a good chance to recover here against the Broncos.
  • Colorado State @ Boston College (ACC/RSN): I’m not sure how good or bad these teams are, so I guess I’m going with BC by default.

3:30

  • Arkansas vs. Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (@Arlington, TX; CBS): I saw a tweet earlier this week that Arkansas’s starting offensive line averages 328 pounds per man. Suffice it to say, they’re in the top 10 in rushing offense. However, TAMU is plenty good in rushing and is 4th in passing. What TAMU hasn’t faced so far in their very soft out-of-conference schedule is any sort of legitimate offense, either on the air or the ground, so while I think they’ll still win comfortably it will be their first test.
  • Florida State @ North Carolina State  (ABC/ESPN2): So it turns out Florida State is a much better team with their best player, huh? The Wolfpack will probably pick up their first loss here.
  • Minnesota @ Michigan (ABC/ESPN2): Boy howdy, things sure look bad up in Ann Arbor after last week’s moribund loss to Utah. (“Moribund” may still be putting it generously.) That said, at least on paper, Minnesota still has no business in this game. In their one game against legitimate competition, they lost 30-7 to TCU. This might be a low-scoring, ugly game. I’ll take the Gophers.
  • Wake Forest @ Louisville (ESPNU): Louisville.
  • Western Kentucky @ Navy (CBSS): Navy should be able to take care of business here, emphasis on the “should”.

 4:00:

  • Stanford @ Washington (FOX): Washington is 4-0, but again, hasn’t really played anyone. Again, sort of going with Stanford by default here, but my real hunch is that we’ll find out a bit about both these teams here.
  • Texas @ Kansas (FS1): I don’t care how “good” Duke is these days, losing 41-3 is not a sign of a quality football team. Longhorns should roll.
  • Temple @ Connecticut (ESPNEWS): UConn is 122nd in the country in scoring. That’s… not good. It always feels odd picking Temple, but here we are.
  • Louisiana Tech @ Auburn (SEC): Auburn.
  • Colorado @ California (Pac12): Cal, in their quest for their first Pac-12 game in… a while suffered one heck of a punch in the stomach against Arizona last weekend. With 5:21 to go, Cal lead 45-30, and then proceeding to give up 19 points, including a last weekend Hail Mary to seal the loss. Fortunately for them, they have another pretty good chance against a not terribly good Colorado team.

6:00: Cincinnati @ Ohio State (BTN): Cincy took the first two weeks of the season off, meaning that they’re 2-0 and still haven’t played out their OOC schedule. Basically, we know even less about them than all the other teams I’ve been complaining about having a lack of information on. How will they fare against their in-state big brother? I dunno. Probably not?

7:00:

  • Missouri @ South Carolina (ESPN): How do you lose to Indiana? How? South Carolina should probably be able to figure things out here.
  • Boise State @ Air Force (CBSS): I was going to give Air Force more of a chance here, but then I saw they allowed 38 points to Georgia State, so…
  • Duke @ Miami (ESPN2): This was supposed to be the Duke Johnson show for the Hurricanes. It sort of still is, as he averages over 6 yards a carry, but less than 100 yards a game. Duke, meanwhile, is firing on all cylinders offensively, but… they have played absolutely no one. Given what happened last year, I won’t be shocked if the Blue Devils win, but I’m not banking on it.
  • North Carolina @ Clemson (ESPNU): Last week was not a “Clemsonsing”, technically, as they frittered away the win against an otherwise good team, not the Marylands and Wake Forests of the world. They should be able to take care of the Tarheels, who yet again do not appear to be as good as expected.

7:30:

  • New Mexico State @ Louisiana State (SEC): LSU.
  • Memphis @ Mississippi (SEC/FSN): I’m not sure I can cope with the idea that Memphis may not be a raging tire fire this year (see: solid win over MTSU, loss by 7 to UCLA), but I don’t think that will quite translate in being able to hang with Ole Miss.

8:00:

  • Notre Dame vs. Syracuse (@East Rutherford, NJ; ABC): I don’t know if Notre Dame is any good or not, but I feel pretty good about saying that Syracuse isn’t.
  • Baylor @ Iowa State (FOX): Even if Iowa State’s defense wasn’t awful, well, their offense sure as hell isn’t going to be able to keep up.
  • Texas State @ Tulsa (ESPNEWS): Goodness Tulsa has been awful this year. Okay, sure, you expect them to lose to Oklahoma, even if it 52-7. But getting blown out 50-21 by FAU? Oi. I think this might be the first time I’ve picked Texas State to win.
  • Washington State @ Utah (Pac12): Well, Utah will face an offense that at least has some semblance of an idea of how the pass the ball, unlike last week. Wazzou doesn’t do anything else well enough, though, but this may well be the best game in prime time, considering the rest of this slate.

9:00: Illinois @ Nebraska (BTN): Nebraska may be the best team in the Big Ten. (That still feels odd to type.) Illinois, not so much.

10:30:

  • Oregon State @ Southern California (ESPN): USC’s loss to Boston College still feels like a practical joke of some sort, but, well, it isn’t. Still, it’s hard to call this one for the Beavers, especially on the road. Could be some solid late-evening viewing, though.
  • Nevada @ San Jose State (CBSS): Nevada might be halfway decent, which is always a good recipe for making the Mountain West more fun. I think they’ll be able to take the Spartans.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 4

Once again, this is going to be the express edition because a) I am tired and b) I haven’t actually watched like any games in the first three weeks. Expect a proper writeup next week.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): Both these teams have had what one might generously call “up-and-down” seasons so far. After beating Ohio State by two touchdowns, VPI lost to East Carolina. But wait, haven’t I in this column been saying like all summer that ECU is a very common darkhourse? So it’s not like they should’ve been surprised.
    Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has yet to play a coherent game of football. They’ve had excellent halves, sure. But the second half against Georgia Southern was basically a disaster. The first half against Tulane was similarly puzzling. There’s maybe a good team somewhere in that jumble, but with the ACC slate now completely in front of us we really need to figure out it out starting immediately.
  • Bowling Green @ Wisconsin (ESPN2): Wisconsin.
  • Iowa @ Pittsburgh (ESPNU): Pitt.
  • Western Illinois @ Northwestern (ESPNEWS): Northwestern.
  • Old Dominion @ Rice (FSN): Rice.
  • Troy @ Georgia (SEC): Georgia. (Seriously. Troy is super bad this year. They lost to Abilene Christian last week. Abilene Christian is a transitional FCS team. As in, they just moved up. To FCS.)
  • Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State (BTN): Sparty.

12:30:

  • Maryland @ Syracuse (ACC): Not a conference game! Also this one is hard to call. Maryland?
  • Tulane @ Duke (ACC/RSN): Duke.

2:00: Hawaii @ Colorado (Pac12): Colorado.

3:30:

  • Florida @ Alabama (CBS): Alabama.
  • Utah @ Michigan (ABC/ESPN2): Michigan.
  • Texas Agricultural and Mechanical @ Southern Methodist (ABC/ESPN2): TAMU.
  • Virginia @ Brigham Young (ESPN): BYU, though I’m having a hard time dealing with the reality that UVA might not be awful this year.
  • North Carolina @ East Carolina (ESPNU): ECU.
  • Louisville @ Florida International (FS1): Louisville.
  • Central Michigan @ Kansas (FSN): Central Michigan.
  • Rutgers @ Navy (CBSS): Navy?

4:00:

  • Texas State @ Illinois (ESPNEWS): Illinois.
  • Massachusetts @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State.
  • San Jose State @ Minnesota (BTN): Minnesota.
  • Indiana @ Missouri (SEC): Mizzou.

6:00: Georgia State @ Washington (Pac12): UDub.

7:00:

  • Mississippi State @ Louisiana State (ESPN): LSU.
  • Northern Illinois @ Arkansas (ESPNU): Arkansas.
  • Miami @ Cincinnati (CBSS): Ciny.

7:30

  • Oklahoma @ West Virginia (FOX): Oklahoma.
  • South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (SEC): South Carolina. (Seriously, what the hell happened to Vandy?)

8:00

  • Clemson @ Florida State (ABC): FSU? (Downgraded from a ‘.’ with Winston being suspended for the whole game.)
  • Miami @ Nebraska (ESPN2): Nebraska.

10:00: California @ Arizona (Pac12): Cal? (This would be their first conference win since… October 2012. Hard to tell at this point, though. This is the first week of conference play in most leagues, which is at least nice because in a couple weeks we’ll start to have a much more coherent picture of the landscape.)

10:30:

  • Oregon @ Washington State (ESPN): Oregon.
  • San Diego State @ Oregon State (FS1): Oregon State?
  • Louisiana-Lafayette @ Boise State (CBSS): Boise.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 3

Again quick due to lack of time.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Kent State @ Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2): Ohio State.
  • Boise State @ Connecticut (ABC/ESPN2): Boise.
  • East Carolina @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): VPI.
  • Pittsburgh @ Florida International (FS1): Pitt.
  • Indiana @ Bowling Green (ESPNU): Indiana?
  • Syracuse @ Central Michigan (ESPNEWS): Syracuse?
  • Ohio @ Marshall (CBSS): Marshall.
  • West Virginia @ Maryland (BTN): West Virginia?
  • Central Florida @ Missouri (SEC): Mizzou?
  • Massachusetts @ Vanderbilt (FSN): Vandy?
  • Georgia Southern @ Georgia Tech (ACCR): This is a tough one to call. The main fear is that Georgia Southern beat Florida last year (of course, they then lost to NC State the next week). If GT comes out as flat as they have in their first two games, though, then we might be in real trouble.

12:30: Louisville @ Virginia (ACC): Louisville.

2:00: Wyoming @ Oregon (Pac12): Oregon.

3:30:

  • Georgia @ South Carolina (CBS): Georgia.
  • Arkansas @ Texas Tech (ABC): Arkansas?
  • Iowa State @ Iowa (ESPN): Iowa.
  • Arkansas State @ Miami (ESPNU): Miami.
  • Miami @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan.
  • North Carolina State @ South Florida (CBSS): NC State?
  • Kansas @ Duke (ACCR): Duke?

4:00:

  • Illinois @ Washington (FOX): Washington.
  • Minnesota @ Texas Christian (FS1): Minnesota?
  • Mississippi State @ South Alabama (ESPNEWS): Miss State.
  • Louisiana-Lafayette @ Mississippi (SEC): Ole Miss.

5:00: Army @ Stanford (Pac12): Stanford.

6:00: Southern Mississippi @ Alabama (ESPN2): Alabama.

7:00:

  • Louisiana-Monroe @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): LSU.
  • Texas-San Antonio @ Oklahoma State (FSN): Oklahoma State.
  • Wake Forest @ Utah State (CBSS): Utah State?

7:30:

  • Purdue vs. Notre Dame (@Indianapolis, IN; NBC): Notre Dame.
  • Kentucky @ Florida (SEC): Florida.

8:00:

  • Tennessee @ Oklahoma (ABC): Oklahoma.
  • California-Los Angeles vs. Texas (@Arlington, TX; FOX): UCLA?
  • Southern California @ Boston College (ESPN): Southern Cal.
  • Navy @ Texas State (ESPNEWS): Navy.
  • Pennsylvania State @ Rutgers (BTN): Penn State.

9:00: Rice @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPN2): TAMU.

10:00: Arizona State @ Colorado (ESPNU): Arizona State.

10:30: Nebraska @ Fresno State (CBSS): Nebraska.

11:00: Nevada @ Arizona (Pac12): Arizona.

This Weekend in College Football: Week 2

This is going to be quick, as I’ve spent most the past eighteen hours traveling.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Oklahoma @ Tulsa (ABC/ESPN2): Oklahoma.
  • Akron @ Pennsylvania State (ABC/ESPN2): Penn State.
  • Missouri @ Toledo (ESPN): Mizzou.
  • Kansas State @ Iowa State (FS1): Kansas State.
  • Central Michigan @ Purdue (ESPNEWS): Central Michigan?
  • Southern Methodist @ North Texas (FSN): SMU.
  • Buffalo @ Army (CBSS): Buffalo.
  • Western Kentucky @ Illinois (BTN): Illinois?
  • Florida Atlantic @ Alabama (SEC): Alabama.
  • Arkansas State @ Tennessee (SEC): Tennessee.

2:00: Alabama-Birmingham @ Mississippi State (SEC/FSN): Miss State.

3:00: Fresno State @ Utah (Pac12): Utah?

3:30:

  • Southern California @ Stanford (ABC): Stanford?
  • Ball State @ Iowa (ESPN2): Iowa.
  • Ohio @ Kentucky (ESPNU): Kentucky.
  • Maryland @ South Florida (CBSS): Maryland?

4:00:

  • Georgia Tech @ Tulane (ESPNEWS): This is a bit of a tough call. It’s the first home game in over three decades for the Green Wave, who are moving out of the cavernous Superdome and back into a proper stadium. It’s also tough because we didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory last week against Wofford, with a sluggish start that lasted for the entire first half. There’s some questions for this team, and I suspect there will be some answers from this game.
  • Eastern Michigan @ Florida (SEC): Florida.

4:30: Mississippi @ Vanderbilt (@Nashville, TN; ESPN): I figured all week there was some Cinderella metaphor where, with James Franklin leaving representing the clock hitting midnight and turning back into a pumpkin and stuff, but I’m super exhausted so I’m not sure how I was going to really tie it together. Either way, Ole Miss.

6:30: Michigan State @ Oregon (FOX): Oregon?

7:00:

  • San Jose State @ Auburn (ESPN2): Auburn.
  • East Carolina @ South Carolina (ESPNU): South Carolina?
  • Arizona State @ New Mexico (CBSS): Arizona State.

7:30:

  • Michigan @ Notre Dame (NBC): Notre Dame?
  • Brigham Young @ Texas (FS1): Texas.

8:00:

  • Virginia Tech @ Ohio State (ESPN): Ohio State?
  • San Diego State @ North Carolina (ESPNEWS): North Carolina.

10:00: Memphis @ California-Los Angeles (Pac12): UCLA.

10:15:

  • Colorado State @ Boise State (ESPN2): Boise State.
  • Air Force @ Wyoming (ESPNU): Air Force?

10:30: Oregon State @ Hawaii (CBSS): Oregon State.

11:00: Texas Tech @ Texas-El Paso (FS1): Texas Tech?