As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• California-Los Angeles @ Memphis (ABC): BODY CLOCK! Okay, with that out of the way, we’re now two years removed from the Justin Fuente era at Memphis and ultimately I think the Bruins will be too much for the Tigers.
• Oklahoma State @ Pittsburgh (ESPN): Pitt has looked like, well, they’re not the fun, tricksy team from the salad days of #PutPittIn. I like the Pokes here.
• Connecticut @ Virginia (ESPN2): Sometimes I’m given to describe cheap beer as having “certain beer-like properties”. I like to think I’m less of a football snob than beer snob, but it’s hard to think of this game has having anything other than “certain football-like properties”. Uh, UVA here, I guess.
• Northern Illinois @ Nebraska (FS1): Nebraska.
• Kansas @ Ohio (ESPNU): KU already lost to another MAC team, can they make it two? Sure, why not.
• Louisiana-Lafayette @ Texas A&M (SEC): I think TAMU will be okay, at least this weekend.
• Air Force @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan is just going to be too much for the Falcons.
• Iowa State @ Akron (CBSS): I’m still coming to terms with the fact the Iowa State-Iowa game was actually exciting. Hopefully the Cyclones aren’t, because they’ll need to be focused to prevail here.

12:30: Baylor @ Duke (ACC/RSN): Duke, I guess?

3:30:

• Tennessee @ Florida (CBS): Is this going to be a good game? Eh, probably not. Will you watch it anyway? Yeah, probably. In fairness, there’s not much else going for this timeslot. I like the Vols, since they actually play offense.
• Wisconsin @ Brigham Young (ABC): I’ll admit I was definitely thinking about whether or not Wisconsin fans could drink Provo dry. Dry is also a pretty good description of BYU’s offense so far this season, which gives Wisconsin a decided advantage in this road contest.
• Notre Dame @ Boston College (ESPN): Speaking of offensively challenged, Notre Dame should be able to pick off a team worse at moving the ball than they are.
• North Texas @ Iowa (ESPN2): Iowa.
• Southern Methodist @ Texas Christian (ESPNU): This old Southwest Conference matchup may be interesting for a bit, but I’m not sure SMU will be able to keep up with TCU.
• Middle Tennessee State @ Minnesota (BTN): MTSU lost badly to Vandy but beat Syracuse on the road, so maybe they’re good? Minnesota has sailed through their OOC schedule so far, but nonetheless the Gophers will need to not sleepwalk through this one.

4:00: Purdue @ Missouri (SEC): Okay, we’re existing in a universe where in the middle of the afternoon we’re hoping for a Purdue-Minnesota shootout. That’s just the deal now. The thing is, this game may very well deliver. Considering the 3:30 slate, just flip over to this one ASAP. Also, I kinda like the Boilermakers? Picking all these road teams makes me nervous, though.

4:30: Army @ Ohio State (FOX): Buckeyes.

5:30: Oregon State @ Washington State (Pac12): Wazzou. (Seriously, Oregon State is so bad y’all. Of course, it’s Wazzou we’re talking about, so they could blow this after otherwise looking great, but you can’t really predict that, you know?)

7:00:

• Louisiana State @ Mississippi State (ESPN): Here’s a game where the rubber meets the road for these two teams. Will Miss State be any good this year? Will Dacoacho have made acceptable progress only three weeks into his first season? That said, LSU has the edge in talent, and so far the new coaching staff seems better able to take advantage of it. Picking another road team…
• Colorado State @ Alabama (ESPN2): Well, yeah, Bama.
• Oregon @ Wyoming (CBSS): Come for the gloriously ugly uniforms, stay for the potentially compelling football! That said the Ducks seem to, uh, have their ducks in a row again? Yeah.
• Louisiana Tech @ Western Kentucky (Stadium): I think I get Stadium? I’ll need to check. And you may want to actually check this one out, if you can find it. I like LT here.

7:30:

• Kansas State @ Vanderbilt (ESPNU): Speaking of games where we may learn something about the teams, boy howdy we don’t have much to go on for these two. I still like K-State slightly.
• Kentucky @ South Carolina (SEC): I’m not sure I’m prepared for the universe where a Will Muschamp team actually has a good offense, but there’s enough else going on at this timeslot that I hopefully won’t have to think about it. Taking USC here.
• Georgia State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State.

8:00:

• Clemson @ Louisville (ABC): I like Lamar Jackson as much as the next person, and I think he’ll get his shots. But if there’s any defense he’s going to face this year that can contain him, it’s Clemson’s. Clemson’s superiority on the defensive line will just be too much of an issue for Louisville’s line to deal with, and Lamar just won’t be able escape enough.
• Arizona State @ Texas Tech (FSN/RSN): Arizona State looks so bad, y’all. TTU.

8:30: Texas @ Southern California (FOX): The hype should be enough to get USC up for this game, and this Texas team just isn’t fully formed yet. USC all the way.

9:30: Fresno State @ Washington (Pac12): U-Dub.

10:00: San Jose State @ Utah (ESPN2): Utah.

10:30:

• Mississippi @ California (ESPN): Kind of tempted to get some tickets for this one for some prime people watching over in Berkeley. And it’s a night game, too! This one could be fun, but I like Cal here just because Ole Miss is so depleted at this point.
• Stanford @ San Diego State (CBSS): The Aztecs were definitely a trendy mid-major pick, and with good cause! But while USC was just able to straight out-athlete the Cardinal, I don’t think SDSU will be able to do that.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Cincinnati @ Michigan (ABC): It’s a pretty full slate of games for Week 2, so these noon-time games aren’t going to get a lot of love. Unless you’re a fan of one of these teams, I release you to do something else with these three and a half hours. Wolverines.
• Louisville @ North Carolina (ESPN): Losing to Cal is, well, it’s not a good look Tar Heels. Louisville wound up handling Purdue, but it was a bit too close for comfort, but going with the Cardinals is still the pick.
• Iowa @ Iowa State (ESPN2): It’s the best worst rivalry game, at least when the Apple Cup doesn’t hold that title. The way I’d describe this matchups is not much happens, but when something does happen, boy howdy. That said, Iowa looks like they’ve returned to form, but might still be worth watching just in case.
• Northwestern @ Duke (ESPNU): Perhaps more interesting than one might expect, but at the end of the day it’s still Northwestern and Duke. Going with the Cats here.
• Florida Atlantic @ Wisconsin (BTN): Still on here, for now. Apparently FAU plans on remaining in Wisconsin until it is safe to go home, but still: why play? Going with Wisky.
• Buffalo @ Army (CBSS): Army had a pretty fantastic year last year, all told, and this would be a good first step toward following it up. Going with the cadets here.

12:30: Jacksonville State @ Georgia Tech (ACC/RSN): For nearly every season since 2007, I have been in Seattle for PAX. What this generally means is that I don’t really catch Week 1 of college football. I occasionally miss things, but at least my team, Georgia Tech, doesn’t usually play anyone. So naturally this year we play Tennessee on Monday night. Since the moment the game was announced, I’d been planning in my head how I would watch it. “Okay, the Omegathon finale is at 5:00 or 5:30, the game kicks at 5:00, so if I rush to bar immediately afterward…” What wound up happening was that one of my buddies from out here was in town, so we decamped for his aunt and uncle’s place across Lake Washington afterward for dinner. Dinner was delicious, but it didn’t take my mind off the game for long. Fortunately, they had recorded it, but I probably didn’t start watching it until at least 2.5 hours after it’d kicked off. With my phone in airplane mode since 5:00, though, I had no idea what had happened. Naturally, the recording cut off after we scored in the first overtime, so I asked my buddy for the result and got the bad news. I told him I didn’t want to see the last play and that when you miss two field goals and give up two fumbles it’s hard to win, even if you out gain the other team by like 300 yards.
Basically, I really hope the team hasn’t been thinking about this game all week long.

2:00: Texas State @ Colorado (Pac12): Colorado dispensed of a solid Colorado State team with ease, and they should do the same with Texas State.

3:30:

• Pittsburgh @ Pennsylvania State (ABC): It’s good to see at least one rivalry game back in this post-realignment era, but nonetheless it’s hard to see this depleted Pitt offense winning in Happy Valley.
• Texas Christian @ Arkansas (CBS): Speaking of old rivalries, it’s what seems like the annual Southwest Conference Rematch game. Take a second to tune in for the CBS theme music and the realization that it’ll be Brad Nessler instead of Uncle Vernce, and then switch back to Pitt-Penn State or Nebraska-Oregon, ’cause I like TCU here.
• Fresno State @ Alabama (ESPN2): Fresno might be lucky to score.
• Indiana @ Virginia (ESPNU): This is definitely a game that will take place and you can watch. Uh, Indiana?
• Western Michigan @ Michigan State (BTN): Yeah, Michigan State looked competent against Bowl Green, but Western Michigan is a trendy pick due to hanging with a vastly more talented Southern Cal until the fourth quarter. In the interests of making this game interesting, I’ll say that it’ll hold over for a victory this week.
• Tulane @ Navy (CBSS): Navy.

4:30: Nebraska @ Oregon (FOX): Is Oregon back? We’re about to find out… maybe. That’s just the way things work in Week 2, but seriously giving up 36 points to Arkansas State is not a good look. I’ll take the Ducks here.

5:00: Hawaii @ California-Los Angeles (Pac12): It would be hilarious if UCLA needed another epic comeback to beat Hawaii, but… yeah no.

7:00:

• Auburn @ Clemson (ESPN): This game should be fun! However, I’m not sure I’m as high on Auburn as national opinion seems be? Like, I’m not entirely sure where this idea that they’re going to hang with the reigning national champions (at home!) comes from.
• South Carolina @ Missouri (ESPN2): If South Carolina really does have kind of an offense now, then Mizzou is basically boned.

7:30:

• Georgia @ Notre Dame (NBC): There’s just so many other options around this time, maybe you can just watch one of them? Seriously, I can’t endorse this game, which considering how much I hate Georgia should tell you something. Not as bad as UGA playing Alabama, though, so I guess I’ll go with the Domers.
• Oklahoma @ Ohio State (ABC): This game is a coin flip for me, with the a slight edge going to the Buckeyes for playing at home. I think there’ll be enough talent on display here for this game to fun, though.
• Mississippi State @ Louisiana Tech (CBSS): Probably Miss State? I dunno, the whole concept of this game is weird.

8:00:

• Texas-San Antonio @ Baylor (FSN/RSN): Baylor surely can’t lose to what should be a vastly inferior team two weeks in a row, right? Right?
• Western Kentucky @ Illinois (BTN): Western Kentucky has to be favored here, right? If they aren’t, then I’m favoring them.
• Montana @ Washington (Pac12): I don’t normally list these games, but it’ll be on HD on my TV and there is an every-so-slight potential for wackiness here.

8:30: Stanford @ Southern California (FOX): As if there weren’t enough fun matchups in the four hours proceeding this, have fun with this early battle of Pac-12 favorites! The trendy pick is Stanford due to USC’s struggles with Western Michigan, but it’s not like Western Michigan suddenly got awful because their coach left and it was Week 1. I think the Trojans just have too much offensive talent for the Cardinal to cope.

10:00: Minnesota @ Oregon State (FS1): This game may be somewhat, er, offensively challenged. You have my permission to skip this one. Going with the Gophers.

10:15: Utah @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): It’s the Holy War all right, but it doesn’t look like BYU has any sort of offense this year, which may make this an easy one for Utah once they settle into the game a bit.

10:30:

• Boise State @ Washington State (ESPN): Fun fact: Wazzou is closer to Boise than it is to Seattle, so these matchups are usually fun. And indeed, something does feel amiss in that the Cougars actually managed to beat their Week 1 FCS opponent this year, but it’s still tough to pick against them right now.
• Houston @ Arizona (ESPNU): Houston is probably the better team here, seriously.

11:00: San Diego State @ Arizona State (Pac12): Arizona State made it way too close against New Mexico State last week, and the Aztecs are a better team than the Aggies. Going with SDSU here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong:

Saturday
Noon:

• Akron @ Pennsylvania State (ABC): It’s on ABC, sure, but the Zips should give the Nittany Lions little trouble.
• Kent State @ Clemson (ESPN): Again, this is the downside of Week 1. I hope you get Big Ten Network!
• Maryland @ Texas (FS1): This vaguely interesting, but then you remember the talent disparity at work here and go with Texas.
• Bowling Green @ Michigan State (ESPNU): Sparty going 3-9 last year definitely didn’t seem to gain the, er, cachet that Notre Dame going 4-8 did, but still, it was a pretty shocking result for a consistently successful program. At a minimum, though, they should have this one.
• Wyoming @ Iowa (BTN): Okay, so this is a trendy looking game, and I think it has the most potential to be fun out of all the games in this time slot. Will it be, though? Well, if it follows the typical Iowa blueprint, and it probably will, then maybe not so much.

12:20: California @ North Carolina (ACC): As noted in my OOC schedule previews, I enjoy inter-sectional matchups like this imminently. Nonetheless, one of these teams at least enjoys a semblence of a defense, and Cal doesn’t provide a lot of hope that situations gotten better. So I’m going with Carolina here.

3:00: North Carolina State vs. South Carolina (@Charlotte, NC; ESPN): I’m going with the Wolfpack here, mostly because the alternative scenario where the Gamecocks win seems pretty unpalatable.

3:30:

• Michigan vs. Florida (@Arlington, TX; ABC): I saw on the ESPN bottom line earlier today that this it the first time Florida has opened away from home since 1987. Which I knew the Gators didn’t around much, OOC-wise, but that’s kind of ridiculous. Anyway, while the conventional wisdom is that Michigan is a year or two away from contending again, I still like them here, especially when you factor in all of Florida’s suspensions.
• Temple @ Notre Dame (NBC): Temple is actually kinda good now, but even after using this as one last chance to remind you Notre Dame went 4-8 last year, we’ll say that ND can pull this out.
• Texas-El Paso @ Oklahoma (FOX): Not sure how UTEP has a chance here.
• Nevada @ Northwestern (BTN): Nevada used to be decently exciting, but the chance seems to have passed.
• Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical @ Alabama-Birmingham (Stadium): I’m listing this because UAB football is back, y’all. It’s of course a fiasco that it was canned in the first place, but still. Go Blazers!

3:45: Troy @ Boise State (ESPNU): I feel like I should go with Boise all the way here, but still, my gut says Troy. But my brain says Boise, so that’s what I’m going with.

4:00: Kentucky @ Southern Mississippi (CBSS): I don’t think USM is actually that good, but you never know with these kinds of teams. Sticking with UK though.

5:15: Western Michigan @ Southern California (Pac12): This might be fun. Real fun. Or… it might not. Going with USC.

6:15: Appalachian State @ Georgia (ESPN): This would be hilarious, but yeah sticking with UGA.

7:30:

• Louisville vs. Purdue (@Indianapolis, IN; FOX): This is a neutral site game for some reason? Also Purdue will have to prove itself to me, so sticking with UL.
• South Alabama @ Mississippi (ESPNU): See “Appalachian State @ Georgia” above.

8:00:

• Florida State vs. Alabama (@Atlanta, GA; ABC): Hopefully this turns out to be the absolute cracker of a game that it should be. I keep going back and forth on who I like in this game and I think the line (Alabama by 7) is crazy. Does the likely rematch in December hurt this one a bit? Yeah, sure. But this should still be a great game even on its own merits. I’m going with FSU.
• Arkansas State @ Nebraska (BTN): That said, if you wanted to see if anything wacky was going on, the BTN’s got you. Nebraska though.
• Vanderbilt @ Middle Tennessee State (CBSS): Vandy improved last year, but this one feels ike a trap. Going with MTSU.

9:30: Brigham Young vs. Louisiana State (@New Orleans, LA; ESPN): I also find this one hard to pick. I think we’ll find out a lot about both teams, but it’s still looking good for LSU and DaCoachO.

Sunday
7:30:

• Texas A&M @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): I find this game impossible to pick mostly because of these teams recent penchant for underachieving. For now, going with TAMU.
• West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech (@Landover, MD; ABC): By all rights, this one should be a home-and-home, not played at the NFL’s most soulless venue. I really like VPI this year so I’m going with them.

Monday
8:00: Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee (@Atlanta, GA; ESPN): Tennessee is Georgia Tech’s 8th most played opponent, despite this game having not been played since 1987. The Vols also lead the all-time series 24-17-2. Change is afoot for the Jackets, with a new QB and a new B-back core. It could be awesome or it could be really bad, and hopefully Tennessee’s own inexperience at key positions (especially QB) looms larger than ours.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
7:00: Ohio vs. Western Michigan (Mid-American Conference Championship @ Detroit, MI; ESPN2): By any reasonable measure, Western Michigan should win easily. However, I can’t help but think back to the 2013 MAC title game, where an unranked Bowling Green beat an undefeated Northern Illinois 47-27. That said, yeah, you can’t reasonably pick against the Broncos here.

9:00: Washington vs. Colorado (Pac-12 Championship @ Santa Clara, CA; FOX): Strangely, an upset here probably results in overall less intrigue, since Colorado will just slide right into the Rose Bowl. Instead, all the drama is in the Huskies winning. That said, a win here would give Washington a pretty solid victory for the ol’ strength-of-schedule, and they would be a conference champion. Would that be enough to ensure their spot? I think so. And while I think these Buffs are pretty good, I think Washington is just a bit better.

Saturday
Noon:

• Temple @ Navy (American Athletic Conference Championship; ABC): If you like keeping the ball on the ground, this is the game for you. Featuring two of the best rushing attacks in the country, passing will be at a premium. That said, I think the Owls are better matchup for Navy than South Florida would’ve been, and I think they’ll be able to prevail at home.
• Louisiana Tech @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA Championship; ESPN): If you like to see the pigskin spending most of the afternoon in the air, well then good news! Featuring two attacks that absolutely like to fling out it around, consequences be damned, this game figures to be a rollicking good 62-58 kind of time. In that scenario, I like the Hilltoppers.
• Troy @ Georgia Southern (ESPN2): Southern enters this game on a four game losing streak that doesn’t figure to stop there.
• Kansas State @ Texas Christian (FS1): With the two teams otherwise through the rest of the Big 12 schedule, they enter pretty darn close when it comes to most statistical categories, so I figure this a coin flip. In that case, I like K-State’s chances.

12:30: Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma (FOX): It’s Bedlam! And honestly, I don’t figure this one to be especially crazy. Oklahoma has been pretty good this year! While Oklahoma State is 8-1 in conference, they haven’t exactly dominated the way the Sooners have (seriously, as fluky as that Central Michigan loss was, they should’ve also lost to Texas Tech). I’ve got the Sooners all the way here.

3:30: Baylor @ West Virginia (FS1): West Virginia.

4:00: Alabama vs. Florida (Southeastern Conference Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): Seriously, SEC, just move Alabama (and Auburn) to the East and be done with it. Bama should roll.

7:30: Arkansas State @ Texas State (ESPN2): Texas State is basically the Rutgers of the Sun Belt, so the Red Wolves should roll easily.

7:45: San Diego State @ Wyoming (Mountain West Conference Championship; ESPN): the Aztecs ventured up to Laramie two weeks ago and had a chance to tie with the clock expired with an extra point. Instead, they opted for the two point conversion, which failed. Since then, both these teams have fallen backward into the game. SDSU’s position as West champs was never in any doubt, but they lost to Colorado State last week kinda badly (63-31!). Wyoming, meanwhile, is here mainly because Boise State had the courtesy to lose to Air Force the day before they got bowled over by New Mexico. So, basically, I don’t know what to expect here, except that the San Diego State players are probably going to be very, very cold, with the temperature expected to be somewhere around 20 degrees (Fahrenheit!) at kickoff. So good luck with that, and I like Wyoming here.

8:00:

• Clemson vs. Virginia Tech (Atlantic Coast Conference Championship @ Orlando, FL; ABC): Hey, remember that time North Carolina totally recovered an onside kick to have a chance at beating Clemson in the ACC title game last year? All I’m saying is that, for maybe only the third or fourth time all year, the Tigers need to come to play, lest they need to get bailed out again. It’s not a good look.
• Wisconsin vs. Pennsylvania State (Big Ten Championship @ Indianapolis, IN; FOX): So, yeah, this is totally the Big Ten title game we all expected a few weeks ago. Well, okay, it half is, since Wisconsin is pretty good and was a pretty expected pick to win the Big Ten West at that point. Instead, it was the East not holding up its end of the bargain, the circumstances of which we’re all familiar with at this point. So who’s going win this game? I have to say, I’m still skeptical on Penn State. Yes, they beat Ohio State, but (for the umpteenth time) the transitive property does not apply to college football. Also, it wasn’t like the Nittany Lions went out there and dominated the Buckeyes: they were outgained by over 200 yards and needed some special teams luck to win the game. On the balance, the Badgers’ defense was second only to Michigan’s in the Big Ten. They’re a force to be reckoned with, and in a different year Wisconsin would be coming into this undefeated. I like the Badgers here.