Welcome back! This is my weekly guide to each weekend’s slate of televised college football. In general, I list any game that is being televised on a national network, as well as several games that are on regional networks for the ACC and SEC. In addition, CBS Sports Network (CBSS) games are listed if they involve two Division I-A/FCS teams. Also, Georgia Tech games are always listed, regardless of video platform. Massive thanks go out once again to Matt Sarzyniak, for his meticulous listings of all college football on all media platforms everywhere.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday
7:00: South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (ESPN): The season opens with question marks galore for the Gamecocks, but I have my doubt that even a James Franklin-amplified Vanderbilt can take them.

7:30:

• Texas Agricultural and Mechanical vs. Louisiana Tech (@Shreveport, LA; ESPNU): This game actually got postponed to October due to Hurricane Isaac. Alas.
• California-Los Angeles @ Rice (CBSS): Remember that one time, a few years ago, when Rice was kind of good? That was kind of weird, wasn’t it? Well, it’s fortunately not an issue anymore, at least if you’re a Bruins fan.

10:15: Washington State @ Brigham Young (ESPN): Given the fiasco of Mike Leach’s firing at Texas Tech, it seems a little weird that his first game back as a college coach will be on ESPN. Now the question is whether he has managed to transform Wazzou in just one offseason to a somewhat competent outfit, because they will need to be to beat BYU. I’ll take my chances with Leach.

11:00: Minnesota @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): Hey, it’s football, it’s on TV, and is probably one of the few games Minnesota will have a chance to win this year.

Friday
7:30: North Carolina State vs. Tennessee (@Atlanta, GA; ESPNU): This is the appetizer to the Clemson-Auburn game. Like most appetizers, it may offer some excitement but will hopefully not overshadow your main course. It’s hard to get a read on either of these teams (a phrase I am really trying not to overuse in this preview). While NC State was mostly mediocre last season, Tennessee was ravaged by injuries to just about everyone. That said, the Volunteers still seem to be a team with more questions than answers, so I’m going with the Wolfpack.

8:00: Boise State @ Michigan State (ESPN): I’m having a hard time bucking the main thing I’ve learned about Boise going into this season: they’re replacing, like, everyone on offense. Usually not good for an opening road game against a Big Ten school. I’ll take Sparty.

Saturday
9:00 AM: Notre Dame vs. Navy (@Dublin, Ireland; CBS): So they’ve done this a few times, so I guess having a game that kicks off at 6AM on the West Coast seems like a good idea to someone. Anyway, in this series, there’s no reason to really favor Navy over Notre Dame, but there’s plenty of reasons to root for the Midshipmen regardless.

Noon:

• Marshall @ West Virginia (FX): It’s a rivalry game, which will provide an amount of intrigue that will last probably about as long as WVU’s first two drives on offense.
• Ohio @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN): Boy howdy some stuff sure did happen at Penn State during the offseason. I’m not really sure what else to even say, other than that they’ll probably win this game.
• Northwestern @ Syracuse (ESPN2): Northwestern should feel right at home. Oh, sure, they’ll be in the Carrier Dome, but they’re on at noon and on ESPN2, which as I was musing recently is pretty much the near-Northwestern-upset-power-hour. Beating the ‘Cuse probably won’t be much of an upset, though.
• Western Michigan @ Illinois (ESPNU): Playing a MAC team should be nothing new for Tim Beckman, and being at the controls of even Illinois must seem like a huge upgrade.
• Miami @ Ohio State (BTN): It’s on BTN because, well, it’s the Miami in Ohio. Anyway, start the clock on your brand new Urban Meyer, Buckeye fans, because he’s the supergiant of football coaches: burns brightly for a short period of time and then ends in a fiery explosion.
• Buffalo @ Georgia (SEC): Remember that one time Buffalo was good and Turner Gill parlayed that into the Kansas job? Yeah, times have changed. Or, more accurately, gone back to normal.

12:30: Elon @ North Carolina (ACC): I struggled to list these games because I just really have nothing to say about Elon or Richmond. I’m still trying to figure out how Julius Peppers’s transcript from UNC was leaked online, though. I’m pretty sure at any rate that violates at least a law or two, right?

3:00: Richmond @ Virginia (ACC): Fun fact: Richmond are the Spiders, making them one of the few college animal mascots that isn’t a mammal or a bird. Remember, though, that spiders are technically not insects, they’re arachnids.

3:30:

• Miami @ Boston College (ABC/ESPN2): Well, BC fans, Doug Flutie is not walking through that door. Miami should roll.
• Southern Mississippi @ Nebraska (ABC/ESPN2): Southern Miss should be a pretty solid team this year, by all accounts, but Nebraska should be solid-er, I guess?
• Bowling Green @ Florida (ESPN): The fact that Florida is treating the game as a tryout to determine their quarterback either says something about the state of their quarterbacks or about how worried they are about their opponent. Or, most likely, a little of both.
• Iowa vs. Northern Illinois (@Chicago, IL; ESPNU): Schools from the Midwest are okay with playing games in Chicago for the same reason schools from the South are okay with games in Atlanta: a lot of their grads migrate there because that’s where the jobs are. Expect this to basically be an Iowa home game.
• Northern Iowa @ Wisconsin (BTN): One of these days, Wisconsin will need to develop their own quarterbacks. Saturday will not be that day.

4:00: Colorado State vs. Colorado (@Denver, CO; FX): Note to the lunatic fringe of Georgia Tech fans who want the Georgia game moved to this week: games like this and WVU-Marshall are the sorts of rivalries played on opening weekend. I’d like to think we’re better than this. Buffs should roll.

7:00:

• Clemson vs. Auburn (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): Tigers-Tigers! For a game with names like this I should really have something to say about it, but it’s been a quiet offseason for both these teams other than the big pieces they’ve lost: Micheal Dyer and Sammy Watkins. Presumably the latter is a large part of why Clemson is ranked coming into this game as well. That said, Clemson won’t have a new quarterback, unlike Auburn, which should give them a slight edge.
• North Texas @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): It looks like this game will be played, which means UNT will get their beatdown and subsequent paycheck sooner rather than later.
• Jackson State @ Mississippi State (SEC/FSN): Even I’m not sure why I listed this game.

7:30: Hawaii @ Southern California (FOX): Yes, nationally televised beatdowns of Hawaii. This is what I needed. (In the off-chance there are any FOX executives reading this: that was not a sincere statement.)

8:00:

• Alabama vs. Michigan (@Arlington, TX; ABC): This is the big one. Well, I guess. The thing is, unless Denard Robinson is just so utterly fast and unpredictable that the straight-laced Alabama defense can’t account for him, I’m not really sure how the Wolverines have a chance.
• Rutgers @ Tulane (CBSS): Tulane had to relocate to Birmingham to practice this week. Fortunately for Rutgers, it looks like the New Orleans airport will be back up and running on or by Friday, still giving them enough time to get into town as normal. As if the Green Wave wasn’t at enough of a disadvantage already anyway.
• Indiana State @ Indiana (BTN): You only need to know two things about Indiana State: they are the Sycamores and Larry Bird played for them (in basketball).

10:30:

• Arkansas State @ Oregon (ESPN): I can safely say this about this game: points will be scored. I’m still pretty confident Oregon will score more points than Arkansas State, mind you. I’m just saying that this could be a very high scoring game. The over/under is set at 110 right now. I would probably take the over. This could easily be a 84-49 final or something like that.
• Oklahoma @ Texas-El Paso (FSN): I almost wish I could watch this game. Oh, Oklahoma will almost certainly win. But still, if anything weird is going to happen on this day, my money would be inside the hill that surround the Sun Bowl in the dark of night. So, yeah, either this is the expected Sooner blowout or a very crazy UTEP win (as though there’s any other kind).
• Toledo @ Arizona (ESPNU): Holy Toledo! That’s all I got. Though, there is a halfway decent chance Arizona is still bad enough to lose this game. Probably not, though.

Sunday
3:30: Kentucky @ Louisville (ESPN): Here’s another opening weekend rivalry game. I guess this is more of a measure of who is going to be less awful this year. Wait, this just in: Louisville is ranked? (No, seriously, I just noticed that.) And is apparently favored to win the Big East? (For what that’s worth, anyway.) I guess I’ll have to go with them then.

6:30: Southern Methodist @ Baylor (FSN): Baylor: probably still better than SMU.

Monday
8:00: Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): Yeah, wow, let’s just, you know, have our most important conference game in the first week of the season. I’m so mad about this I used bold text right there just to demonstrate it. Despite that, the timing may actually favor us. VPI will be breaking in an entirely new offensive line and offensive backfield, as well as several positions on defense. Georgia Tech returns one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country, looks to finally have the makings of a decent defense, and has a legitimate offensive star in a-back Orwin Smith. On the flip side, Tech’s (and remember: on this site Tech is always the one in Atlanta) starting an entirely new wide receiver corps and still has shaky special teams. Also, the Hokies still have Paul Bunyan-esque quarterback Logan Thomas, who, at 30 feet tall, needs merely to take the snap and fall over to gain a first down. (Well, at least, that’s what it seemed like last year.) In addition, the game will be at night and in Blacksburg with all the attendant issues that brings. (The last time the Jackets went up to Blacksburg at night was the night everything went wrong when Josh Nesbitt broke his arm trying tackle a guy running back an interception.) Also, if you haven’t heard this already, since the ACC has had divisions, the winner of the Coastal division has always been the winner of this game, and VPI holds a 5-2 advantage in that regard (with Tech’s wins coming at Blacksburg in 2006 and in Atlanta in 2009). So chances are, this one will be fun, unless you’re me, in which case I’ll be losing my mind either way.

Programming note: I wanted to get a post analyzing this year’s batch of rule changes in, but I only found the exact rule changes a few weeks ago after I started doing the OOC scheduling series and never got around to it. I’ll try to do that in the next couple of weeks.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday
8:00: West Virginia @ South Florida (ESPN): The very last edition of Thursday night college football comes to you from “beautiful” Tampa, where “South” Florida will attempt to not lose to the Mountaineers. After starting 4-0, the Bulls have gone 1-6, so I can’t say I really like their odds. Also, if WVU wins, they will probably get the Big East’s BCS bowl bid if Cincinnati also wins.

Friday
7:00: Ohio vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship @ Detroit, MI; ESPN2): Unlike the other conference title game on this night, these two teams actually are the best teams in their league. Both teams can score, but the Bobcats seem to actually play defense sometimes, so I’ll take them. I will say that I think this game will probably be close, unlike…

8:00: California-Los Angeles @ Oregon (Pac-12 Championship; FOX): This game. The only question is not if Oregon will win, but by how many touchdowns. By the way, UCLA did in fact get a waiver to go a bowl game at 6-7. Bruins fans: get your Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl tickets now!

Saturday
Noon:

• Southern Mississippi @ Houston (C-USA Championship; ABC): Southern Miss may arguably be the best team Houston has seen all season, which is one of the reasons why the Cougars haven’t been getting a lot of national attention. A win here does seal a BCS bowl bid for them, though, along with a large payday for the rest of Conference USA. Fortunately for the conscience of everyone involved, I really don’t think they’ll have that many issues, as the game will probably play out a lot like their game against Tulsa: a slow start and then pulling away in the second half.
• Connecticut @ Cincinnati (ESPN): So it turns out the Big East can potentially end in a 3-way tie, among Louisville, Cincinnati, and West Virginia. Louisville is in the clubhouse with a 5-2 league record. If Cincy wins this game and WVU loses tonight, then Cincy wins the league outright due a head-to-head tiebraker. If Cincy loses this game, then Louisville wins the league outright by either having the best record (WVU loss) or due to their head-to-head tiebreaker over WVU. If there is a 3-way tie, then it will go to the BCS, and right now that benefits Cincy. In any case, I think Cincy is going to win this game.
• Syracuse @ Pittsburgh (ESPN2): Do you want to see two 5-6 Big East teams attempt to sneak into a bowl game? Probably not, but in case you do, Pitt should win this game. The Orange have lost 4 straight after a 5-2 start and don’t look to be getting any better.

12:30: Iowa State @ Kansas State (FSN): You what they say, “You don’t just walk in to Bill Synder Family Memorial Stadium and expect to win.” This applies to the Cyclones especially, as no one else has succeeded in beating the Wildcats at home this year expect for Oklahoma.

2:30: Nevada-Las Vegas @ Texas Christian (Versus): UNLV is awful. TCU should clinch the MWC title easily.

3:30: Texas @ Baylor (ABC): Texas basically McGuyver’ed a victory in College Station last week. Texas’s offense hasn’t shown enough ability to score against the other generous defenses of the Big 12, though, and while their defense is competent I don’t think it’ll be enough to prevent Robert Griffin III from doing his thing. If Texas had any offense at all, this would be a shootout, but instead I really like the Bears’ chances.

4:00: Louisiana State vs. Georgia (SEC Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): Georgia’s good and all, but their best win of the year may, technically speaking, be over Georgia Tech. LSU is the best team in the land and should clear this hurdle, and probably easily.

7:30: Brigham Young @ Hawaii (ESPN2): BYU visits Hawaii! Why? Because they can! They should also get a victory for their efforts, though Hawaii does need the win to get bowl eligible.

8:00:

• Wisconsin vs. Michigan State (Big Ten Championship @ Indianapolis, IN; FOX): Here’s one rematch I can’t say I mind too much. I think even the first time I liked the Badgers, and I’ll stick by that here. Both of these teams are “pretty good” but not “great” and this should be a close, fun game once again.
• Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State (ABC): Oh, what could have been. The mind still reels trying to comprehend how Texas Tech beat Oklahoma in Norman. I mean, at least OSU had the decency to get upset on the road. Anyway, this is still Bedlam and it’s still in Stillwater. I always think “hey, this matchup is always pretty crazy!” but this ignores the historical reality. Anyway, we also know both of these teams can score, but Oklahoma can sort of/kind of actually play defense sometimes. That said, I’ve liked these Cowboys all season to win this game, and I’m not changing my mind now.
• Virginia Tech vs. Clemson (ACC Championship @ Charlotte, NC; ESPN): Clemson has lost of its last four, with, as I’ve grown fond of saying, that one win being a last second FG to beat Wake Forest. This Clemson team shouldn’t have any business needing last second field goals to beat Wake Forest, but here we are. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, easily beat Wake Forest and just finished routing their cross-state rival while Clemson lost to theirs, continuing to look lost on offense. What I’m saying is this: I really like the Hokies to prevail in this rematch.
• Fresno State @ San Diego State (CBSS): SDSU likes to score points, and Fresno State doesn’t like to play defense. Blowout, ahoy!

Check back in starting Saturday night for bowl predictions.

So this is my quick look at each weekend’s games. Note that this does not usually include Thursday and Friday games, as there are only a few games. (Since this is week one, I am listing all applicable games from Thursday to Monday, however.) My source for schedules is mostly Matt Sarz’s website which is one of the most comprehensives sites of its kind around.

Regardless of what is one TV, I will only list contests involving Division I-A teams on national networks, with exceptions for ACC and SEC teams (since I care about them). Also, Georgia Tech is always listed, even if the game is not on TV. When a game is listed as being on two or more networks, the network showing the game in most of the country will be listed first, followed by the other networks in order. For instance, a common listing is “ABC/ESPN2”, which means the game will primarily be shown on ABC stations nationwide, but if it is not on ABC in a particular area, it will be on ESPN2. Many ACC and SEC games are shown on regional syndication under the banners of the “ACC Network” and “SEC Network”. I will list these games as “ACC” and “SEC” respectively, and these games are almost always available on espn3.com. For Big Ten Network games, these are listed as “BTN” and only the game being shown on most systems nationwide will be listed. Games listed as “FSN” will be shown on most or all Fox Sports Net affiliates nationally, including states owned by Comcast that are known as “Comcast Sports Net”. “CBSS” refers to the cable channel formerly known as “CBS College Sports”.

As for colleges, I use no nicknames or shortenings other than “Tech”, even for those certain other Techs that are actually full-fledged universities. This season I am referring to the “University of Miami” and “Miami University” as “Miami”. Yes, this seems contradictory when I type out “Agricultural and Mechanical” instead of “A&M”.

I also make some statements and attempt to predict the outcome of each game. Which is why I always lead off with:

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Thursday
6:00: Murray State @ Louisville (ESPNU): This is in 20 minutes, but I feel pretty confident that the outcome of this isn’t really in doubt. That said, watch it anyway because it’s REAL ACTUAL LIVE FOOTBALL.

7:30: Western Carolina @ Georgia Tech (ESPN3): My other unwritten/written rule is that I don’t predict the outcome of GT games. For this one, I just hope we have the backups in for the second half.

8:00:

• Nevada-Las Vegas @ Wisconsin (ESPN): This is the first “real” game on the list, as in it features two DI-A teams. That said, this is still an exhibition for Wisconsin to break in Russell Wilson and get the denizens of Madison used to this “forward pass” thing they’ve heard so much about.
• Mississippi State @ Memphis (FSN): The only thing in doubt about this game is when Dan Mullen will call off his dogs.

9:15: Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky (@Nashville, TN; ESPNU): I think I said this twice during the schedule preview, but why on Earth are two teams from Kentucky playing a game in Tennessee? Well, I guess if I really cared that much I would just look it up. Anyway, Wildcats should roll, but it may be worth tuning in to see if Western Kentucky’s mascot/nightmare fuel is present.

Friday
7:30: Youngstown State @ Michigan State (BTN): Sparty rolls.

8:00: Texas Christian @ Baylor (ESPN): It’ll be up to Robert Griffin to keep the Bears competitive in this contest. Nonetheless, Baylor’s lack of a defense should doom them in the end, though this could be an entertaining shootout.

Saturday
Noon:

• Akron @ Ohio State (ESPN): This is not one of the games the Buckeyes are worried about.
• Utah State @ Auburn (ESPN2): Auburn may be completely rebuilding this year, but the Aggies shouldn’t give them any issues.
• Miami @ Missouri (FSN): For as many times as I mentioned Miami University in my schedule preview, maybe I should see which mid-major teams have the most brutal OOC schedules somedays. Have to pay the bills somehow, I suppose.
• Northwestern @ Boston College (ESPNU): By all rights, BC should win this game. But Northwestern actually attempts to play offensive football, which I think will give them an edge on this day.
• Kent State @ Alabama (SEC): Somewhat appropriately, the Tide rolls in this game.
• Indiana State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): I was hoping the one game featuring two DI-A teams (MTSU @ Purdue) would be featured, but alas. A walk-over for Penn State.

12:30: Appalachian State @ Virginia Tech (ACC): I wish I were kidding when I said this may be Virginia Tech’s toughest OOC game. Hokes get to 1-0 with ease.

3:30:

• South Florida @ Notre Dame (NBC): With easily the most hype they’ve had coming into a season in years, we’ll get an early taste if it’s deserved or not. Touchdown Jesus should be pleased, though.
• Minnesota @ Southern California (ABC/ESPN2): AGH SO LITTLE TIME RUNNING OUT OF FUNNY (WELL KIND OF FUNNY, THROW ME A BONE HERE) THINGS TO SAY. Oh, yeah, Trojans roll.
• Western Michigan @ Michigan (ESPN2/ABC): Hail to the victors, etc., etc.
• California-Los Angeles @ Houston (FSN): If I recall correctly, UCLA’s defense was pretty abysmal last year. I don’t remember how many yards Case Keenum needs for the record, but, well, he might have a shot here. Unless it’s like 2000, in which case probably not. (Um, no pun intended there.)
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Florida State (ESPNU): FSU rolls.
• Delaware @ Navy (CBSS): Navy rolls, and since they run the ball, this is somewhat more literal.
• Tennessee-Chattanooga @ Nebraska (BTN): UTC is known as the “Mocs”. I’ve been there a few times. That’s really all I got.
• James Madison @ North Carolina (ACC): UNC ought to win this.

4:45: Brigham Young @ Mississippi (ESPN): The Right Reverend Houston Nutt takes on the Stormin’ Mormons in what should be a decent game. Ole Miss is probably the weakest team in the SEC West this year, and I think BYU could well win this.

7:00:

• Florida Atlantic @ Florida (ESPNU): Howard Schnellenberger’s suspenders probably won’t be enough for the Owls to overtake the Gators in this one.
• East Carolina vs. South Carolina (@Charlotte, NC; SEC): Remember, East Carolina is not, in fact, a state, and refers to Eastern North Carolina. Marcus Lattimore rolls.

7:30: Elon @ Vanderbilt (SEC): I think even Vandy can feel good about this one.

8:00:

• Oregon vs. Louisiana State (@Arlington, TX; ABC): This is the game of the day. Two teams who could still be in the top 10 at the end of the year matching up at a neutral site in a huge game. Will Oregon’s fast pace offensive juggernaut prevail, or will the Les Miles Effect be fully in… effect for this game? It’s hard to say. But even though they do play defense, LSU’s inability to move the ball (even before their starting QB got suspended) doesn’t bode well for their chances.
• Boise State vs. Georgia (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): Kellen Moore and co. enter into what will probably be a very biased neutral site. For the sake of all that is good and right with the world, the Broncos must prevail.
• Tulsa @ Oklahoma (FX): Yes, you probably get FX. Flip over when the other games are in a commercial break. But hey, at least Tulsa gets to play both OU and OSU this year.

10:00: Louisiana Tech @ Southern Mississippi (FSN): I think it kind of sucks that Central Time zone schools have to play these late starts so networks can fill these awkward late night timeslots. Doesn’t affect me though, but still. Also USM should win.

10:15: Colorado @ Hawaii (ESPN2): Now this is real late night football. Every kickoff at 10 PM Eastern or later should feature a Pac-12 or WAC team, I think. Colorado should win this, but there is a rather distinct possibility they won’t.

Sunday
3:30: Marshall @ West Virginia (ESPN): This is technically a rivalry game. It’s a rather lopsided rivalry, but still one nonetheless.

7:30: Southern Methodist @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (FSN): I wish I could come up with a logical reason for TAMU to leave the Big 12. I really can’t, though. Which makes the whole thing harder to understand. SMU is hoping to take their spot I would guess, but they will probably get stomped here.

Monday
8:00: Miami @ Maryland (ESPN): Even with their depleted roster, Miami’s backups are still probably better than Maryland’s current starters. Year 1 of the Randy Edsall era probably won’t get off to a very pretty start.

And there’s week one! Hopefully next week I’ll finally get a chance to talk about college football’s rule changes. Until then…