As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Washington @ Iowa (FOX): Okay, we’re going to try to do a proper post this week. Starting with this doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement. UDub did beat Better Iowa (read: Michigan) last week, but with this game in Iowa I’m less sure about it. I’ll still take the Huskies though.
• South Carolina @ Alabama (ABC): Bama’s loss to Vandy was shocking, which is sort of an understatement. Vandy hadn’t won that game in my entire life, and I’m getting old! At any rate, in the Saban years this game would not even remotely well for South Carolina, and suffice it to say I’m going to guess that’ll be the case here.
• Clemson @ Wake Forest (ESPN): Clemson has seemed more-or-less fine-to-good since week one, and Wake is… kind of bad!
• Missouri @ Massachusetts (ESPN2): This is a bizarre road game, to say the least, but Mizzou will presumably get back on track.
• Georgia Tech @ North Carolina (The CW): It is kind of funny we play both Carolina and Duke in consecutive weeks. At any rate, this is kind of… a big deal for us? We definitely saw some positive signs in the Duke game, and if there’s a team we should really be able to get the rushing attack going again against it’s the UNC defense. Naturally, as a Georgia Tech fan I want to see us put 100 up on that Geoff Collins defense.
• Wisconsin @ Rutgers (BTN): Rutgers, I guess? It feels weird to favor them in a Big Ten game, but here we are.
• Toledo @ Buffalo (ESPNU): Toledo should roll.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Army (CBSS): Army will be 6-0 after this.
• Ball State @ Kent State (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Pennsylvania State @ Southern California (CBS): It feels like USC should turn a corner any week now, but Penn State and company probably are not the optimal team to do that against.
• Purdue @ Illinois (FS1): Illinois rolls.
• Texas vs. Oklahoma (“Red River Shootout” @ Dallas, TX; ABC): It’s Red River time, y’all. This game is more or less impossible to predict. I mean, I may be cursing myself by calling this out instead of just saying that Texas should roll here, but this is one of the few rivalries were you really can throw out the records. (And it’s not like either of these teams is really ever terrible.) So who will I predict here? Texas, obviously. Who do I actually think will win? Who knows!
• Stanford @ Notre Dame (NBC): Stanford is turbo-bad.
• California @ Pittsburgh (ESPN): Like almost everyone else outside of south Florida, I was bummed that Cal couldn’t see it out last weekend after an actually awesome gameday atmosphere in Berkeley. Suffice it to say there’s a lot Cal fans in my life and I have never heard that many of them actually talking about Cal football this week, and that was despite the fact they lost! Either way, they’ll have Pitt’s… offense? to worry about this week. I still kind of like Cal here.
• Cincinnati @ Central Florida (ESPN2): Neither of the teams really has the juice, but UCF is just a little better.
• San Jose State @ Colorado State (truTV): Despite everything, I still like Colorado State is turbo-bad.
• Louisville @ Virginia (ACCN): Did you know Virginia is 4-1? Because I didn’t! The Cardinals have suffered two straight losses that definitely took their pre-season hopes down a few notches. I think UVA will be a decent get-right game for them.
• San Diego State @ Wyoming (CBSS): Wyoming won their first game of the season last week by beating a bad Air Force team. SDSU has underachieved a bit, but they’ll probably be fine here.
• Akron @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)
• Old Dominion @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• Northern Illinois @ Bowling Green (ESPN+)
• Memphis vs. South Florida (@Orlando, FL; ESPN+)

4:00:

• Ohio @ Central Michigan (ESPNU): Call it a hunch, but I like CMU here.
• Arizona @ Brigham Young (FOX): Don’t look, but BYU is 5-0 and has their ranking up in the mid-teens. Arizona’s having a decent year, but there’s not a lot to suggest they’re going to be able to prevail in Provo.

4:15: Mississippi State @ Georgia (SEC): If you’re looking for two consecutive weeks of crazy SEC upsets… well, this probably isn’t the place to look.

5:00: Southern Mississippi @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Washington State @ Fresno State (FS1): It’s a bit of a bummer that Wazzu took the loss to Boise, but Ashton Jeanty might just be that good. That said, the Cougs should be able to handle a somewhat mediocre (by their own standards!) Fresno team.
• Florida @ Tennessee (ESPN): Look, Florida shouldn’t win this game, but Arkansas definitely put a blueprint out there for teams to be able to handle Tennessee’s offense with their freshman QB.
• North Texas @ Florida Atlantic (ESPN2): UNT has been feasting on terrible AAC teams all season, and I don’t see any reason for that to stop here.
• Air Force @ New Mexico (truTV): I can’t say I’d recommend watching this one. New Mexico at least (technically) has a FBS win, so I’ll take them.
• Arkansas State @ Texas State (ESPN+)
• Texas-San Antonio @ Rice (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Mississippi @ Louisiana State (“Magnolia Bowl”; ABC): I think LSU’s defense is just too suspect to keep up with the Rebels.
• Ohio State @ Oregon (NBC): The proverbial Game of the Century of the Week, this game will have it all. Oregon’s offense, after taking the first two weeks off, is alive and well with three consecutive multi-score victories. Ohio State has been so good this season that I’ve really had no reason to watch them to this point. So far the only team that has multiple scores on them is Marshall, and the Herd were still on the wrong side of a 49-14 blowout. Suffice it to say, that’ll probably change this week, but it’s still hard to see the Buckeyes losing this one.
• Oregon State @ Nevada (CBSS): The Beavers will be fine in Reno.
• Appalachian State @ Louisiana (ESPN+)

7:45: Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (SEC): Okay, so which Vandy is real: the one that couldn’t get it done against Georgia State or the one that contained, and beat, Alabama? Their QB said it best: “this means nothing if we don’t beat Kentucky”. The Wildcats so far have a pretty mixed resume themselves (though it doesn’t have any loss to Sun Belt teams), but they certainly would be, and are, favored against the Dores.

8:00:

• Iowa State @ West Virginia (FOX): The “get Matt Campbell hired somewhere else, finally” season figures to continue for the Cyclones.
• Marshall @ Georgia Southern (ESPNU): This game is basically a coin flip, but it might be a very fun coin flip. I’d keep an eye on it. I like the Herd here.
• Syracuse @ North Carolina State (ACCN): Syracuse isn’t very good, but they still have one of the two or three best quarterbacks in the ACC in Kyle McCord. They should be fine in Raleigh.

9:00: Minnesota @ California-Los Angeles (BTN): Minnesota isn’t great or anything, but UCLA is kind of straight up bad this year.

10:15: Kansas State @ Colorado (ESPN): Okay Buffs, you’ve thrown off the Haters. But K-State may be the ultimate Haters team, as they’re a very physical, scrappy bunch that will have no issues hitting Shaddeur Sanders over and over again. I’ll predict the Buffs to lose, yet again, but I feel pretty good about this week. If the Buffs win this one, I’m going to need to re-evaluate some things.

11:00: Boise State @ Hawaii (CBSS): Speaking of Ashton Jeanty, the only question in this game is when in the first half he’ll reach 100 yards rushing. My bet? Probably around 10 minutes into the first quarter.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Missouri @ Texas A&M (ABC): Okay, y’all, we’re going to be level with you here. For the first time all season, we’re not going to have time to do the post: sometimes real life just gets in the way. So, with limited exceptions, we’re going to have to lean on our favorite crutch: the LIGHTNING ROUND! Anyway! Mizzou!
• California-Los Angeles @ Pennsylvania State (FOX): Penn State!
• Navy @ Air Force (CBS): Navy!
• Southern Methodist @ Louisville (ESPN): Toothed Birds!
• Pittsburgh @ North Carolina (ESPN2): Provided they don’t get reverse-superweapon’d, Pitt!
• Wake Forest @ North Carolina State (The CW): Wolfpack!
• Purdue @ Wisconsin (BTN): Wisky!
• Army @ Tulsa (ESPNU): Army!
• Boston College @ Virginia (ACCN): BC!
• Massachusetts @ Northern Illinois (CBSS): NIU

2:00: Western Michigan @ Ball State (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Auburn @ Georgia (“The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry”; ABC): Ugh, UGA.
• Iowa @ Ohio State (CBS): Buckeyes!
• Mississippi @ South Carolina (ESPN): Kentucky laid down the blueprint last weekend, so: Gamecocks!
• East Carolina @ Charlotte (ESPNU): ECU.
• Temple @ Connecticut (CBSS): Huskies!
• Virginia Tech @ Stanford (ACCN): Cardinal?
• Miami @ Toledo (ESPN+)
• Bowling Green @ Akron (ESPN+)
• Appalachian State @ Marshall (“The Old Mountain Feud”; ESPN+): Hurricane Helene has left a level of destruction in Appalchia (the home of both of these schools) that we’re still not fully aware of, over a week later. I will update and comment on this post when I have a chance to research appropriate organizations that you can donate to help.
• North Dakota @ North Dakota State (ESPN+)

4:00:

• West Virginia @ Oklahoma State (ESPN2): Pokes!
• Rutgers @ Nebraska (FS1): Huskers!

4:15: Alabama @ Vanderbilt (SEC): Tide.

6:30: Colorado State @ Oregon State (The CW): Chainsaws!

7:00:

• Clemson @ Florida State (ESPN): Tigers.
• Utah State @ Boise State (FS2): Broncos!
• James Madison @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPNU): Dukes?
• Louisiana @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)
• South Alabama @ Arkansas State (ESPN+)
• Old Dominion @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Tennessee @ Arkansas (ABC): Vols!
• Baylor @ Iowa State (FOX): Clones!
• Michigan @ Washington (NBC): Wolverines?
• Nevada @ San Jose State (truTV): Silicon Valley Spartans, probably.
• Southern California @ Minnesota (BTN): Trojans!

7:45: Central Florida @ Florida (SEC): LOL, er, Gators?

8:00:

• Kansas @ Arizona State (ESPN2): Sun Devils!
• Hawaii @ San Diego State (CBSS): Aztecs?
• Duke @ Georgia Tech (ACCN): For starters, we love the true night game at Bobby Dodd. That said, I like our chances here, but seriously for a team whose coach when viral for saying that the key to their success was to “RUN THE BALL”, they haven’t really been good at it against anyone other than Florida State. We have really got to get someone other than Haynes King going in the ground game to have a chance here.

10:30: Miami @ California (ESPN): Canes.

11:00: Texas Tech @ Arizona (FOX): Cats?

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Minnesota @ Michigan (FOX): Naturally, I looked over the Little Brown Jug matchup because, well, I really don’t like the Gophers chances in this one.
• Kentucky @ Mississippi (ABC): I think we’re still not going to know a lot about Ole Miss after this one.
• Oklahoma State @ Kansas State (ESPN): It’s still kind of weird to think of the Big 12 as a stalwart defensive league, but that’s kind of where we are now. K-State found out about going to Provo the hard way last weekend, but I suspect they can figure it out back in the Little Apple.
• Navy @ Alabama-Birmingham (ESPN2): I have no idea if Navy is any good this year, but then again UAB is sure doing a great job of making it seem like maybe since killing the program from the outside didn’t work the first time doing it from the inside (by appointment the wildly under-qualified Trent Dilfrer has had coach) is sure starting to seem plausible.
• Brigham Young @ Baylor (FS1): Speaking of those BYU Cougars, I’m betting they’ll also figure out how to do it on the road.
• Northern Illinois @ North Carolina State (The CW): So… can NIU pull it off twice? A win here probably puts them in the driver’s seat for the playoff, especially with conference-mate Toledo having taken a loss. I don’t think I can create call it, but the disarray in Raleigh may be enough at this point to make it happen.
• Maryland @ Indiana (BTN): It is the official stance of ASimSports that we support #9Windiana.
• Buffalo @ Connecticut (CBSS): The Bulls, probably?
• Western Kentucky @ Boston College (ACCN): There’s some chatter that like WKU can do this, sure, but I actually rate this BC squad pretty highly.
• Holy Cross @ Syracuse (ACCNX)
• Nebraska @ Purdue (Peacock): Purdue is just awful, Nebraska by plenty.

1:30: Ball State @ James Madison (ESPN+)

3:00: Texas State vs. Sam Houston State (@Houston, TX; ESPN+)

3:30:

• Oklahoma @ Auburn (ABC): Look, I still think OU has trouble scoring, but Auburn is just broken at this point.
• Colorado @ Central Florida (FOX): Yeah, Colorado got super-away-with-it against Baylor last weekend. I don’t seem them repeating that trick.
• Wisconsin @ Southern California (CBS): USC continues their tour of the Midwest by hopping across Lake Michigan to Madison, where I suspect they will have a much better time.
• Arkansas vs. Texas A&M (@Arlington, TX; ESPN): This is the final year of this rivalry being a neutral site  game, which thank goodness. That said, weirdness also generally pervades this game. While I don’t think Arkansas is very good, and I’m not predicting them to win, I won’t be surprised by it either.
• Fresno State @ Nevada-Las Vegas (FS1): Okay, people smarter and more plugged in than me are all over what’s going on with UNLV’s NIL situation. Which is also why I think it’s completely insane that they’re still favored here. I have the Bulldogs all the way.
• Georgia Southern @ Georgia State (“Modern Day Hate”; ESPNU): Suffice it to say, I really like State to win the rights to “GSU” this year.
• Louisiana @ Wake Forest (ACCN): The Cajuns are game enough to win this one, and I think they will.
• San Diego State @ Central Michigan (CBSS): This is a weird one, but neither of these teams is especially, well, good. This certainly not one to keep an eye on. I’m going with CMU at home.
• Louisville @ Notre Dame (Peacock): Ah, so this is the week Louisville stops getting away with it. Carry on then.
• Western Michigan @ Marshall (ESPN+)
• Liberty @ Appalachian State (ESPN+)
• Texas Christian @ Kansas (@Kansas City, MO; ESPN+)
• Eastern Michigan @ Kent State (ESPN+)
• Akron @ Ohio (ESPN+)
• Massachusetts @ Miami (ESPN+)

4:00:

• North Carolina @ Duke (ESPN2): Basketball rivalry jokes aside, there’s just no way UNC wins this, right? That defense is the garbage fire any GT fan gleefully predicted when it was announced they hired Geoff Collins. Without the offensive talent from last year, and Duke’s ability to put up points against non-UNC defenses, it just doesn’t bode well for the Heels.
• Texas-San Antonio @ East Carolina (ESPN+)

4:15: Mississippi State @ Texas (SEC): Texas. Next!

5:00: Old Dominion @ Bowling Green (ESPN+)

6:00:

• Tennessee-Martin @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)
• Louisiana Tech @ Florida International (ESPN+)
• Wagner @ Florida Atlantic (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Stanford @ Clemson (ESPN): Clemson. Next!
• Iowa State @ Houston (FS1): Cyclones. Next!
• Ohio State @ Michigan State (Peacock): Buckeyes. Next!
• Tulsa @ North Texas (ESPN+)
• Charlotte @ Rice (ESPN+)
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Troy (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Georgia @ Alabama (ABC): Okay, can’t skip over this one. The last two regular season meetings between these teams were in 2020 and 2015. You probably recall that Georgia beat Bama in the 2021 title game. But did you know UGA’s last win before that was in Nick Saban’s first loss as Alabama coach in 2007? Seriously, Georgia is 2-8 in their last 10. (And yet, unlike Ryan Day, there’s seemingly no heat on Kirby. Huh.) So far the DeBoer era at Bama is off to a sizzling start, while UGA’s just mostly been present since their opening weekend demolition of Clemson. These two titans will roll into Tuscaloosa Saturday night, and I have a suspicion UGA will be 1-9 in their last 10 against Bama afterward.
• Illinois @ Pennsylvania State (NBC): I think the line on this game is insane, at Penn State by 17.5. I don’t think Penn State is bad or anything, but Illinois has some Dudes. I still like Penn State straight up, but if this comes down to James Frankling managing a close game late, watch out y’all.
• Middle Tennessee State @ Memphis (ESPNU): Tigers. Next!

7:45: South Alabama @ Louisiana State (SEC): Tigers. Next!

8:00:

• Cincinnati @ Texas Tech (ESPN2): Red Raiders. Next!
• Air Force @ Wyoming (CBSS): Not exactly a banner day on the CBS Sports Network. Air Force? Next!
• Florida State @ Southern Methodist (ACCN): SMU could definitely do this, especially in the “FSU may not be especially interested” aspect. Still, when I finally actually predicted FSU would lose, they didn’t. So I’ll take the Noles here.
• New Mexico @ New Mexico State (“Battle of I-25”; ESPN+)

10:00: Washington State @ Boise State (FS1): This game has the potential to be awesome. Boise gave Oregon all they wanted, and presumptive-People’s Heiesman favorite Johnny Matier helps Wazzu. Occasionally, this results in Apple Cup wins, other times it requires a furious comeback to beat San Jose State in double overtime. I like the Cougs, but anything could happen here.

10:15: Arizona @ Utah (ESPN): Zona is good and fun this season, but they just lost to a physical K-State team 31-7, and it’s hard to see this one going much differently.

11:00: Oregon @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): Yeah, the Ducks seem to have skipped through the “find out” phase and straight into doing what they’re supposed to. Given the mess that UCLA right now, I suspect that this won’t do much to alter that.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Marshall @ Ohio State (FOX): Unlike last week, there’s no real bangers here in the early window. This might be a good Saturday to sleep in, for those of us out west. At any rate, the Buckeyes will easily dispatch the Herd. Next!
• North Carolina State @ Clemson (ABC): Okay, this one requires some thought. These are teams both at the risk of seeing what should have been a promising season begin to careen off the tracks. Clemson, especially, continues to be on the lookout for signs of progress back toward the sport’s elite after a sluggish start. I like the Tigers at home, mostly because I still think they have more at their disposal than NCSU.
• Florida @ Mississippi State (ESPN): No one is making you watch this game. Seriously. The Gators are bad, yeah, but Miss State just got absolutely trucked by a MAC team last week. (Toledo is good, but seriously, there’s no reason for any SEC team to lose 41-17 to a team from the MAC.) So I’m reluctantly taking Florida here.
• Kansas @ West Virginia (ESPN2): Kansas’s hopes for a really good season came crashing down with their loss to UNLV last weekend, which also makes it seem like their chances against WVU aren’t great.
• Houston @ Cincinnati (FS1): Meanwhile, there’s some signs of life for the Cougars after their opening week loss to UNLV. I’ll take them here.
• Charlotte @ Indiana (BTN): #9Windiana
• Villanova @ Maryland (BTN)
• Tulane @ Louisiana (ESPNU): Tulane has two straight losses going in to this… to ranked P4 competition. I’ll take them on the road against the Cajuns.
• James Madison @ North Carolina (ACCN): We still don’t know anything about UNC, and we still won’t after this one.
• Rice @ Army (CBSS): Rice doesn’t currently have any wins over FBS competition, and they still won’t after their trip to West Point.

12:45: Ohio @ Kentucky (SEC): Kentucky all the way here.

1:00: Ball State @ Central Michigan (ESPN+)

2:00:

• Saint Francis @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)
• Virginia @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
• Utah State @ Temple (ESPN+)
• Arkansas State @ Iowa State (ESPN+)

3:00: Southern Mississippi @ Jacksonville State (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Miami @ Notre Dame (NBC): Notre Dame visited their frustrations at losing to a MAC team by pounding Purdue 66-7 last weekend. Expect more of the same here.
• California-Los Angeles @ Louisiana State (ABC): A west coast school going to Baton Rouge should be more interesting than this, but unfortunately UCLA just has no juice right now.
• Southern California @ Michigan (CBS): A west coast coast school going to Ann Arbor should be more interesting than this, but unfortunately Michigan just has no juice right now.
• Arkansas @ Auburn (ESPN): Several observers noted that Arkansas’s collapse against Oklahoma State last week was so bad that it was almost like the assistants and the team were trying to get Sam Pittman fired. On the Plains, meanwhile, Hugh Freeze did manage to beat a team from New Mexico, but spirits are still down. This figures to be about as unwatchable as Miss State-Florida. I’ll pick the Hogs, I guess.
• Georgia Tech @ Louisville (ESPN2): Okay, so we had ourselves a bit of a romp against VMI. Honestly, after the Geoff years I still don’t take it for granted we’re going to dispose of bad FCS team the way we’re supposed to, so it was still enjoyable to see. Louisville is yet another team that has looked great against less-than-great competition. I hope we can do our part to give them their first real test. For our part, we still haven’t really been able to run the ball consistently since the FSU game. It’ll be key to get that back on track.
• Arizona State @ Texas Tech (FS1): Unlike some of the other games this week that feature two teams that probably aren’t very good, this one figures to the fun kind of not very good. There figures be plenty of points. In the end, I probably like TTU slightly better, but this is a toss up in my mind.
• Kent State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): We need Penn State to get into conference play ASAP, because this will again tell us basically nothing about that.
• Memphis @ Navy (CBSS): This Memphis team might be pretty good, y’all. Naturally, going into Annapolis is not always a guarantee of success, but suffice it to say Memphis has enough talent to overcome the option.
• Rutgers @ Virginia Tech (ACCN): I’ll take VPI in this one, but you could tell me basically anything about it afterward and I’d probably believe you.
• Youngstown State @ Pittsburgh (ACCNX)
• Central Connecticut @ Massachusetts (ESPN+)
• Houston Christian @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)
• Buffalo @ Norther Illinois (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Utah @ Oklahoma State (FOX): Now we’re getting some where. Utah’s starting QB might actually play, which is a fairly novel concept for Cam Rising. The Pokes have been rolling, but if the Utes can bring in a functional offense to go with their punch-you-in-the-mouth defense, then I like their chances. A lot.
• Duke @ Middle Tennessee (ESPNU): This is a weird road game for the Blue Devils, but they shouldn’t really have any issues due to it.

4:15: Vanderbilt @ Missouri (SEC): I still don’t think Mizzou is, like, that good, but Vandy has no chance here.

5:00:

• Texas Christian @ Southern Methodist (The CW): So the Battle for the Iron Skillet is endangered. The folks over in Fort Worth need to make this happen. Also, this game figures to be pretty close. I’ll give the Ponies a slight edge here.
• Texas-El Paso @ Colorado State (truTV): These teams are both pretty bad. I guess I’ll take the Rams, but this is another in the unwatchable pile.

6:00:

• Monmouth @ Florida International (ESPN+)
• East Carolina @ Liberty (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Miami @ South Florida (ESPN): So USF did the thing against Bama… for a bit, and then it got away from them. I’d say the best case for the Bulls here is to do about the same thing.
• California @ Florida State (ESPN2): So now that’s is plainly obvious that FSU just does not have a quarterback (otherwise why is DJ still starting?), I suspect everyone and their brother will be picking Cal here. Including me. Which is probably why FSU will win, but I’m going down with the ship here.
• Northwestern @ Washington (FS1): I doubt it’ll help much, but the Huskies should get back in the win column after some truly bizarre play calling to wrap up an Apple Cup loss.
• Florida Atlantic @ Connecticut (CBSS): Well, FAU has technically beat an FBS team, which is more than the Huskies can say.
• Wyoming @ North Texas (ESPN+)
• Florida A&M @ Troy (ESPN+)
• Tulsa @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)
• New Mexico State @ Sam Houston State (ESPN+)
• Toledo @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Tennessee @ Oklahoma (ABC): And this is your game of the day, folks. You have points versus a coach in Brent Venables who very much does not want to allow points. Unfortunately for him, my suspicion is the Vols offense will just be too much to overcome.
• Iowa @ Minnesota (NBC): About the best thing going for this game is that there’s a bronze pig on the line. Otherwise, this figures to be a typical Iowa win.
• Akron @ South Carolina (ESPNU): Well, South Carolina probably won’t have any blown calls to complain about in this one.
• Bowling Green @ Texas A&M (ESPN+)

7:45: Georgia Southern @ Mississippi (SEC): Next weekend we may finally learn something about Ole Miss, or at least they’ll play a team capable of scoring 10 points on them.

8:00:

• Baylor @ Colorado (FOX): Well Buffs, you beat your rival. Congrats! Your reward is now you get to play a team that has clearly better line talent than you again, and the Bears especially will be trying to hit Shaddeur every chance they get. I’m sure they’ll score a couple of times, but it figures to be a long, painful night in Boulder.
• Michigan State @ Boston College (ACCN): I’m still adjusting to this idea that BC is good, but that’s the scenario here, whereas the Spartans are still kind of untested. Cautiously taking BC here.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas (ESPN+)

8:30:

• Purdue @ Oregon State (The CW): It got sort of out of hand for the Beavers in the second half against Oregon last week, but fortunately for them Purdue is not anything like Oregon. I like State here.
• Fresno State @ New Mexico (truTV): Fresno may be going for the New Mexico sweep. They beat NMSU 48-0 last week, and I’m not sure I’d expect the Lobos to do any better.

9:45: Portland State @ Boise State (FS1)

10:30: Kansas State @ Brigham Young (ESPN): This figures to be physical and close for the first half, and it will definitely be “Big 12 After Dark” as hell. But the thing is that K-State can actually move the ball, which will doom BYU in the second half

Midnight: Northern Iowa @ Hawaii (Team1Sports)

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Alabama @ Wisconsin (FOX): I’m hardly new to to this observation, but get ready for a very front-loaded day of games. We start off early in Madison, Wisconsin, where the main issue for Alabama fans will likely be misguided attempts to out-drink the locals. Otherwise, barring something surprising from the Badger offense, I think the Tide have this.
• Louisiana State @ South Carolina (ABC): South Carolina may not be terrible, but I have a hard time entertaining them keeping a lid on LSU.
• Memphis @ Florida State (ESPN): Okay, so while I don’t expect Memphis to win this game, I sort of expect them to? The Tigers aren’t appreciably worse than the two teams FSU has already lost to. The main thing is just that I’m assuming maybe FSU has figured some things out, especially on defense.
• Oklahoma State @ Tulsa (ESPN2): I think this is going to be mostly Pokes.
• North Texas @ Texas Tech (FS1): In another plains-state game with non-traditional rivals, this figures to be a bit closer, but it’s still at home for Tech.
• Arkansas State @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan gets-right in a game where their lack of top-tier offensive playmakers (i.e., all the guys who got them the title last season) won’t matter at all.
• Cincinnati @ Miami (“Battle for the Bell”; ESPNU): Did you know… this is a long-standing rivalry game? And yeah, Cincy has dominated as of late, but guess what, Miami won last year, and it’s back up in their stadium. Plus, the Bearcats blew a three-touchdown lead to Pitt last week. Factor all that in, and it’s not hard to see the Redhawks doing it again.
• Louisiana Tech @ North Carolina State (ACCN): NC State will be fine in this one.
• Central Michigan @ Illinois (Peacock)

12:45: Boston College @ Missouri (SEC): So… this is the only ranked vs. ranked match of the day, an observation that usually is then followed by “wait, how is Missouri ranked sixth?” Who can say, really. If BC can keep it close they’ve got a chance, but while I don’t agree with Mizzou being ranked 6th, I can definitely buy they have a significantly better idea of what they’re doing on offense than say, oh, Florida State.

1:00: Massachusetts @ Buffalo (CBSS): If Buffalo doesn’t roll here there are severe problems there.

2:00: Coastal Carolina @ Temple (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Texas A&M @ Florida (ABC): I know why this is on national broadcast television, but I’m not sure I know why. TAMU I guess?
• Oregon @ Oregon State (“Civil War”; FOX): And so, weird Week 3 Rivalry Saturday begins in earnest. You had better believe Corvallis is going to be rocking in this one, and for good reason. The Beavers, despite a major exodus after last season, have had a good start to the year. Oregon is 2-0, but that comes with some major caveats in a pair of games the Ducks could have easily lost. And this is their biggest challenge yet. On paper, the Beavers stand no chance. But on the field with 50,000 jilted fans in the stands, it’s easy to see how it could go south quick for them. I like the Beavers here.
• Notre Dame @ Purdue (CBS): Meanwhile, Notre Dame suffered what will likely go down as the biggest upset for the year: losing to Northern Illinois. That said, unlike the scenario I described above and even despite that, unlike Oregon, the Irish actually lost… I’m still going to pick them.
• Tulane @ Oklahoma (ESPN): Yes, I’m aware Oklahoma isn’t in the Big 12 anymore, but for starters Tulane absolutely should have beaten Kansas State last weekend. And unlike K-State, Oklahoma has some severe issues on offense right now. Sure, the defense is good, but I can definitely see how Tulane scores early and keeps it close into the 4th quarter. After that, anything goes. I’ll take the Wave.
• West Virginia @ Pittsburgh (“Backyard Brawl”; ESPN2): This is about as evenly matched of a Backyard Brawl as there’s maybe ever been. I want this to be a good game so bad after last year’s opening weekend banger, but something tells me Pitt just keeps the Cincy vibes rolling and just paves over the ‘Neers.
• Prairie View A&M @ Michigan State (BTN)
• Nevada @ Minnesota (BTN): Gophers.
• Ball State @ Miami (ACCN): Canes.
• Virginia Military @ Georgia Tech (ACCNX): Well, we finally got got last weekend. Think maybe there’s a few programs though that are trying to figure how Kyle McCord wound up at Syracuse instead of, say, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma… maybe he’ll get that NIL bag after this season. Any rate, as far the Jackets go, there were definitely some issues that cropped with the first good offense they had to play against, and boy howdy the rushing attack picked an incredibly bad time to vanish into thin air. At any rate, this is a good week to figure some things out.
• Washington State vs. Washington (“Apple Cup” @ Seattle, WA; Peacock): I’ll join the chorus of commentators pointing out that the neutral site is good, actually. Yes, they played in Seattle last season, but that was at Husky Stadium. Playing at Lumen Field means this thing is going to be 50/50, and I can tell you from first hand experience, it’s going to be 50/50. This could be a legit cool Apple Cup. That said, though, I’m not as confident about the Cougs as I am the Beavers.
• Morgan State @ Ohio (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Troy @ Iowa (FS1): You’ll probably want to take the under in this one, which also means Iowa is going to win.
• Appalachian State @ East Carolina (ESPNU): There’s probably some in-state beef here, and I’m not sure I have much of a read on this one. If ECU is actually turning a corner, this would be a great time to do it. Otherwise, I like App.

4:15: Alabama-Birmingham @ Arkansas (SEC): Yeah, so UAB got vaporized by Louisiana-Monroe last week. I don’t think they stand much of a chance here.

4:30: Utah @ Utah State (“Battle of the Brothers”; CBSS): Utah has some severe issues on offense without Cam Rising, but… the Aggies lost by like 60 to USC last week, I think the Utes will be fine.

6:00:

• Connecticut @ Duke (ACCNX)
• North Carolina Central @ North Carolina (ACCNX)
• Florida International @ Florida Atlantic (“Shula Bowl”; ESPN+)
• Gardner-Webb @ Charlotte (ESPN+)
• Colgate @ Akron (ESPN+)
• Texas-El Paso @ Liberty (ESPN+)
• South Carolina State @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)
• Virginia Tech @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)

6:30:

• Mississippi @ Wake Forest (CW): Lane will presumably name his own score in Winston-Salem.
• Bethune-Cookman @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Texas-San Antonio @ Texas (ESPN): The fallout from last week’s loss to Texas State is that I can’t really come up with a plausible way UTSA stands a chance in this game.
• Kennesaw State @ San Jose State (truTV): This is your reminder that Kennesaw State is now FBS, and they also terrible.
• Vanderbilt @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• South Florida @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)
• Western Kentucky @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
• Jacksonville State @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Georgia @ Kentucky (ABC): Georgia. Next!
• Colorado @ Colorado State (“Rocky Mountain Showdown”; CBS): Colorado has two awesome skill players. Otherwise, they absolutely cannot block or beat blocks. They are terrible, and they’re going to lose this game, and it’s going to be hilarious.
• Central Florida @ Texas Christian (FOX): We’re going to find out a lot about these teams, provided anyone can keep their eyes off what’s going in Fort Collins. UCF has played no one, but at least blown them out, while TCU has a close win over Stanford. I’ll flip a weighted coin to account for TCU being at home and take the Frogs.
• Indiana @ California-Los Angeles (NBC): Well, Indiana can at least play offense, so provided they aren’t distract by the sun setting over the San Gabriels around the start of the fourth quarter, I like the Hoosiers in their first (sigh) conference game.
• New Mexico @ Auburn (ESPN2): I would love to believe that Hugh Freeze is forever destined to lose to teams from New Mexico (after losing to their cousins from Los Cruces two years in a row) but there’s nothing about the Lobos’ losses (including to a (good) FCS team) that says that it’s going to happen.
• Air Force @ Baylor (FS1): Baylor will be fine in this one.
• Northern Iowa @ Nebraska (BTN)
• Eastern Illinois @ Northwestern (BTN)
• Toledo @ Mississippi State (ESPNU): I’d love to predict another big MAC upset this week, but teams that only beat UMass by two scores don’t exactly scream “rolling into cowbell territory and winning” to me.

7:45: Kent State @ Tennessee (SEC): Kent lost to something called “St Francis PA” last week. This does not bode well for their chances in Knoxville. The Vols may put up a 100-spot.

8:00:

• Maryland @ Virginia (ACCN): Of course Maryland is on the ACC Network, why wouldn’t they be? “Jokes” aside, we don’t have to worry about September Maryland this year, it seems. It’s probably for the best. I don’t anticipate their trip to Charlottesville changing that either.
• Rice @ Houston (ESPN+)

9:00: Brigham Young @ Wyoming (CBSS): There are plenty of years were this game would’ve been extremely compelling. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be one of them. I’ll give a slight edge to BYU.

10:30:

• San Diego State @ California (ESPN): Cal can score. San Diego State amply demonstrated last week that they cannot. I think this one is pretty open and shut.
• New Mexico State @ Fresno State (truTV): New Mexico State may have a pulse this year, which was not a given considering they lost their coach and quarterback. But it’s hard to see them prevailing against Fresno.