For the last month of the season, in addition to the usual weekly column we’ll also examine the Tuesday through Friday action as well.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday

7:00: Toledo @ Northern Illinois (ESPN2): Are you ready for some MACtion? This game will determine the winner of the MAC West! If that’s not going to get you excited about MAC football then I’m not sure what will. Anyway, I like NIU here.

Wednesday

8:00: Miami @ Bowling Green (ESPN2): This game is not for similar stakes, unfortunately. After getting creamed in out-of-conference play, Miami (the one in Ohio) has recovered to run it up to 4-1 in the MAC, which ties them in the loss column with the other MAC East frontrunners. Bowling Green, however, is not so hot, at 2-7 on the year. I like Miami here.

Thursday

7:30: Pittsburgh @ Connecticut (ESPN): Anyone have any idea of what’s going in the Big East? I sure don’t. Pitt is the only undefeated team in conference play but they’ve also only played three conference games. For the sake of my sanity, I’m taking Pitt.

8:00: East Carolina @ Alabama-Birmingham (CBSCS): Of UAB’s three wins this year, two of them have been by one point. ECU has taken care of most of their C-USA brethren by larger margins than that, but, well, they did lose 76-35 last week to Navy. (Fun fact: Navy had only 32 yards more total offense, for a total of 596 yards, but Navy finished with a +3 turnover ratio.) Nonetheless, I’ll still taking the Pirates.

Friday

6:00: Ball State @ Buffalo (ESPNU): Yes, that’s right kids, more MACtion! This time, though, the teams involved are a combined 5-14 on the year. So, um, I can’t really recommend this one. Total guess: Buffalo.

9:00: Boise State @ Idaho (ESPN2): Hey, anyone remember this whole thing from back in July? So you can bet they’ll be especially “nasty and inebriated” up in the Kibbie Dome this year. (Also known as the Cowan Spectrum if there’s a basketball court in it.) Idaho’s unique dome may be the single best reason to tune into this, other than to witness Boise’s impending demolition of them in the same manner you’re not supposed to rubberneck when driving by a car accident.

As usual, the weekend column will probably go up at some absurd hour on Saturday. Until then, enjoy the MACtion!

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday
7:00: Ball State @ Western Michigan (ESPN2): This game has already started, so I’ll just say I was going to pick Western Michigan anyway.

Thursday
8:00: Texas @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPN): Even with their improved play as of late, it’s not really working out terribly well for TAMU (though they will, improbably, make a bowl). Texas should win by at least a few scores.

Friday
11:00:

• Rutgers @ Louisville (ESPN2): So Rutgers inexplicably lost to Syracuse last week. That may faze some people but not me! Rutgers should still win.
• Temple @ Ohio (ESPNU): This is for all the MAC East marbles! Fear the Owl, I say.

12:00: Illinois @ Cincinnati (ABC): I think Cincy can safely handle the Illini, despite them going 2-1 the last three weeks.

2:30: Alabama @ Auburn (CBS): Can you imagine the chaos if Auburn can pull this off? Because I can’t – it’s hard to imagine Bama or Florida even losing a game at this point would make any difference at all, so big are their leads in the BCS. Do I want Auburn to win though? Of course. Will they? Probably not.

3:30:

• Nebraska @ Colorado (ABC): How fired is Dan Hawkins? So fired. They should also probably lose to Nebraska, but it’s the Big 12 North, so you never know.
• Memphis @ Tulsa (CBSCS): Man, what happened to Tulsa? After a 4-1 start it looked like an average year in the C-USA East for them, but since they’ve lost six straight. They haven’t exactly gotten beatdown, either, including close losses to Boise State, UTEP, and that wacky 1-point loss to Houston. Well, okay, they got blown out by ECU, but still. It’s hard to say which team is more moribund, but I’ll take the one that hasn’t fired their coach (hint: Tulsa).

7:00: Pittsburgh @ West Virginia (ESPN2): It’s the backyards brawl! Considering the coaches involved, except rare moments of brilliance with bad clock management and nonsensical trick plays in attempt to break out of their conservative norms. I’ll take the Wannastache.

10:15: Nevada @ Boise State (ESPN2): STAY UP FOR THIS GAME, unless it quickly becomes a blowout in favor of one of the teams. Nevada features not one, not two, but three 1000-yard rushers on the year and Boise has yet to face a significant obstacle in their tear through the WAC. Will a competent opponent faze them? Perhaps, but I’m still taking the Broncos.

Introducing “This Week in College Football”. With the proliferation of conferences desperate for ESPN’s money and exposure, we now have college ball on practically every day of the week. So each week, I’ll write up a short post about this week’s weekday games in the same vein as my weekend column.
As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Wednesday

6:00: Buffalo @ Miami University (ESPNU): This game is going on right now and I can’t see it because I’m at work. Buffalo should win, I guess?

8:00: Central Michigan @ Ball State (ESPN2): I originally made bad jokes involving the MAC and Dan LeFevour. Now you’ll just have to take my word for it. CMU should walk through this.

Thursday

7:30: Colorado @ Oklahoma State (ESPN): Oklahoma State will likely be starting their backup QB. Colorado will likely start a QB. Will it matter? No.

Friday

5:30: Akron @ Bowling Green (ESPNU): Bowling Green needs a win to get to the magical land of bowl eligibility. Akron, well, their mascot is a kangaroo.

9:30: Boise State @ Utah State (ESPN2): Four wins would match Utah State’s highest win total since 2002. Note I didn’t say “five wins”.

Also, I know bowl predictions haven’t been posted yet. They’re up but I haven’t time to do the writeup yet. Patience.

Introducing “This Week in College Football”. With the proliferation of conferences desperate for ESPN’s money and exposure, we now have college ball on practically every day of the week. So each week, I’ll write up a short post about this week’s weekday games in the same vein as my weekend column.
As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday
7:00: Ohio @ Buffalo (ESPN2): Lots of games this week, so let’s kick it off with some MAC-tion. Buffalo no doubt wishes it were last year again, but at 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the MAC, well, it’s not looking good against MAC East front-runner Ohio, who look like they have the best chance to knock off Temple’s lead.

Wednesday
8:00: Toledo @ Central Michigan (ESPN2): Toledo has the 96th ranked pass defense in the country, so I would expect a big day from everyone’s favorite MAC QB, Dan LeFevour.

Thursday
6:00: Ball State @ Northern Illinois (ESPNU): Ball State is terrible, NIU less so.

7:30: South Florida @ Rutgers (ESPN): USF is coming off that huge win against WVU, while Rutgers has been plodding along with winning the games they’re supposed to. New USF B.J. Daniels has played well for a freshman so far, and overall it looks as though these two teams are about even. I think USF’s offense is a little more dynamic, though, and should be able to outscore Rutgers in the end.

Friday
8:00: West Virginia @ Cincinnati (ESPN2): Even with the upset last week, WVU has a big chance to influence the Big East race as well as the national title picture. That said, I’ll take the team that isn’t coached by Bill Stewart.

8:30: Temple @ Akron (ESPNU): Akron was zipping along (pun intended) to a 1-11 season until they sprung (also intended) a huge upset over Kent State last weekend. The Owls, meanwhile, needed a last minute field goal to keep their own streak alive and beat one of the worst teams in the country in Miami (OH). So, Temple should win, but I expect it to be close again.

Introducing “This Week in College Football”. With the proliferation of conferences desperate for ESPN’s money and exposure, we now have college ball on practically every day of the week. So each week, I’ll write up a short post about this week’s weekday games in the same vein as my weekend column.
As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Tuesday
7:00: Bowling Green @ Buffalo (ESPN2): This is probably an elimination game for getting 6-6, in this battle of 3-5 MAC teams. Though both sport negative scoring margins in MAC play, Buffalo has allowed its collegues to outscore them by over a touchdown per game and has one less conference win. I’ll go with BGSU here.

Thursday
7:30:

• Virginia Tech @ East Carolina (ESPN): This ECU team certainly isn’t terrible, but in their other BCS-conference matchups versus WVU and UNC, they lost by a combined 29 points. VPI should be able to take care of business here.
• Eastern Michigan @ Northern Illinois (ESPNU): Northern Illinois sits at 5-3 and needs only a win against the second worst team in major college football to get it. And they should.

Friday
8:00: Boise State @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN2): Well, LaTech almost beat Idaho last weekend but fell a point short. Of course, they also fell two points short of Utah State, which provided the Aggie’s first win over a DI-A team this year. So, uh, I have to say I like Boise here.