As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday, August 26
10:00: Hawaii vs. California (@Sydney, Australia; ESPN): It’s the first game of American football that counts for anything since last February, and really, that’s all that really needs to be said about this game.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon: Northern Iowa @ North Dakota State (NCAA Division I Quaterfinal; ESPN): It’ll be 34 degrees at kickoff in Fargo, but no matter, since the Bison (pronounced: bizon) play in the FARGODOME. At any rate, these two Missouri Valley opponents met back in October and the Bison rallied then to win 31-28. What will happen here? Tune to find out, because it’ll probably be more competitive than the only other televised game today.

3:00: Army vs. Navy (@Philadelphia, PA; CBS): Army is 2-9. Their only victories on the season are over an equally awful Eastern Michigan squad and Bucknell, which went 4-6 otherwise in FCS play. Navy, meanwhile, finished 9-2 with a pretty legitimate shot to play for a conference title game. I have to think hard questions are being asked up in West Point about what it would take for the USMA to field a competitive football team again. Surely people who have paid closer attention than I have are asking: how are Navy and Air Force (who played for the Mountain West title) succeeding where Army has failed? After all, the Black Knights were in Conference USA from 1998 through 2004, and they weren’t challenging for any conference titles then. The last time Army had consecutive seasons where they finished .500 or better were 1988 though 1990. Since then, they’ve done so three times, most recently in 2010. The last time they beat Air Force was 2012, Navy, 2001. Suffice it to say, I’m not giving the Cadets much of a chance here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
8:00: Northern Illinois vs. Bowling Green (Mid-American Conference Championship @ Detroit, MI; ESPN2): This is NIU’s sixth straight appearance in the game, and the third straight year we’ve had the same matchup. Bowling Green won 47-27 two years ago, and last year was a blowout the other way. This year, I’m expecting a slim, but sold, Bowling Green victory.

Saturday
Noon:

• Temple @ Houston (American Athletic Conference Championship; ABC): The winner of this game is probably still in line for that Group of Five bid, but Temple probably dodged a bullet with Toledo’s loss to Western Michigan last week. Either way, I still like Houston a ton here.
• Texas @ Baylor (ESPN): It’ll be raining again for the Bears Saturday, but mercifully it the temperatures will be around 30-35 degrees warmer. I suspect they will complete more than zero passes in the second half in this one and get a comfortable victory over the Longhorns.
• Southern Mississippi @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA Championship; ESPN2): These were far away the best teams in Conference USA this year, and it’s been a hell of a turnaround for the Golden Eagles especially. However, it looks like the buck will stop here, as the Hilltoppers have simply been ultra-dominant in conference this year.

4:00: Florida vs. Alabama (Southeastern Conference Championship @ Atlanta, GA; CBS): With Treon Harris, the Gators maybe stand a chance, without, it’s somewhere between “zero” and “none”.

4:30: West Virginia @ Kansas State (FS1): While the Mountaineers aren’t great or anything, K-State has simply been too dysfunction on offense too often this season. Then again, it won’t take much magic for them to get a win, but I’m not betting on it.

7:30: Air Force @ San Diego State (Mountain West Conference Championship; ESPN2): The Aztecs have outscored their conference opponents by 199 points this season, so I’m going with them.

7:45: Stanford vs. Southern California (Pacific-12 Conference Championship @ Santa Clara, CA; ESPN): Without traffic, this game is taking place about a 10 minute drive from my house. Of course, the game’s also at 4:45 local time here, so it’s not like it’d interfere with anything, but still. That aside, I would say this is a pretty lackluster matchup for the Pac-12. Sure, there’s names here, but these two have five losses between them and there’s only the Rose Bowl at stake (unless things get wacky). (Also, somewhere, somehow, old-school Pac-8 and Big Ten fans just cringed at the notion of “just the Rose Bowl”.) Oregon sullied both these teams with Vernon Adams’s late season resurgence, but the Ducks really did a number on the Trojans. Meanwhile, Stanford just pulled a rabbit in the form of a last-second victory over mutual rival Notre Dame out of their hat. I like the Cardinal a little more here.

8:00:

• Clemson vs. North Carolina (Atlantic Coast Conference Championship @ Charlotte, NC; ABC): Even if the Tar Heels had beaten South Carolina back in September, they would still occupy that Iowa “not as good as their record” space. Simply put, this isn’t really an even matchup, and the Tigers should roll.
• Iowa vs. Michigan State (Big Ten Conference Championship @ Indianapolis, IN; FOX): I don’t know what the over/under is for this game, but take the under. Let me put it this way: this game puts perhaps the most uninspiring major conference undefeated team ever in Iowa versus a team with, granted, only one loss but led for zero seconds in their signature wins. (I’d say 9 times out of 10, Ohio State wins that game, but Michigan-Michigan State was a coin flip.) None of that matters now, of course, they’re here, and they’re going to play each other for a spot in the playoff. Both these teams can score when the mood strikes them, but in contests against teams with defenses of similar caliber of their own the games have been tight, gritty, gray sky, three yards and a cloud of dust Big Ten football. I’m going with Sparty to win, say, 12-9 or something like that.

It’s the last full weekend of the year. Ready?

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Ohio State @ Michigan (ABC): Ohio State looks suddenly more vulnerable after the loss to Michigan State, where their offense was thoroughly dominated. However, I would think it unwise to bet those mistakes will be repeated again. Going with the Buckeyes.
• Clemson @ South Carolina (ESPN): The Tigers look to make it two in a row against their in-state rivals, and considering all the turmoil in Columbia that seems very likely.
• Georgia @ Georgia Tech (ESPN2): To Hell With Georgia.
• Iowa State @ West Virginia (FS1): Iowa State fired Paul Rhodes, which doesn’t really solve the fundamental problem of them being Iowa State. West Virginia should roll.
• Virginia Tech @ Virginia (ESPNU): Okay, I think I got a little overenthusiastic last week, but this time, they should be able to win one for the Beamer.
• Southern Methodist @ Memphis (ESPNEWS): Memphis is on the AAC West sidelines now, but they’re still have an extremely successful season. Will they be able to retain their coach? Either way, they’ll steamroll the Ponies.
• Louisville @ Kentucky (SEC): Considering all the alternatives available, I have a hard time conceiving of a reason to watch this, but hey, it’s football, and it’ll all be gone too soon. Also, Louisville should roll.
• Cincinnati @ East Carolina (CBSS): I’ve pretty much given up trying to figure out what Cincinnati will do week-to-week in the AAC, considering that I still get hung up thinking they should be the best team in the conference. I’m still pretty sure they’re better than ECU, though. Kinda.
• Indiana @ Purdue (BTN): Indiana should be able to cap-off a successful, by Indiana standards, with a win here.

12:30:

• Duke @ Wake Forest (ACC): Duke has lost four straight since beating Virginia Tech, including a rather disappointing loss to Virginia last weekend. (Yes, Duke can have disappointing losses now.) Either way, they should still be able to beat Wake.
• Boston College @ Syracuse (ACC/RSN): ‘Sup Big East? Anyway, BC’s offense is so bad that I can’t realistically predict them to win anything since they seem completely in capable of scoring points. I’ll bet if they win this one it’s because of multiple defensive scores.

2:30: Colorado @ Utah (Pac12): In a battle of the Pac-12’s neophytes, it’s still amazing how far ahead Utah is of Colorado now. Even though the Utes had a bit of a slide at the end of the year, eliminating them from Pac-12 South contention, they’re still favorites here.

3:30:

• Alabama @ Auburn (CBS): Auburn apparently just needs to be rebooted every few years. Check back in for a competitive Iron Bowl in a year or two.
• California-Los Angeles @ Southern California (ABC/ESPN2): The battle of the fancy uniforms (both teams wear their “home” jerseys in this game, because LA I guess?) is also the battle for the Pac-12 South this year. Both teams could have their seasons reasonably described as “uneven”. USC is fresh off a pasting by a suddenly resurgent Oregon, while UCLA got a crucial win in Salt Lake City to eliminate Utah from contention, but lost to Wazzou two weeks ago. So this one’s pretty much a toss-up in my mind. I’m giving the Bruins a slight edge.
• North Carolina @ North Carolina State (ABC/ESPN2): I’m not entirely sure who Wolfpack fans think is their greatest rival. Nonetheless, UNC should have this one unless their concentration slips.
• Pennsylvania State @ Michigan State (ESPN): I don’t… think Sparty will have a letdown after their huge win over Ohio State. Probably.
• Northwestern vs. Illinois (@Chicago, IL; ESPNU): While Illinois is still better this year than they have any right to be, I like the Wildcats here.
• Brigham Young @ Utah State (CBSS): BYU should be able to handle this.
• Wisconsin @ Minnesota (BTN): Hey Wisconsin, didn’t see you sneaking up there, which is pretty humorous when you consider the typical build of their linemen. Regardless, this battle for the Axe may be close, but it’ll be the Badgers’ in the end.

4:00:

• Kansas State @ Kansas (FS1): While it’s not K-State’s year, a blowout over KU should act as a nice salve.
• Vanderbilt @ Tennessee (SEC): Vandy and Mizzou are having a content to see who can field the most awful offense in the SEC, and currently Missouri is “winning” by eight points. It’ll be a close race to the end.

7:00: Connecticut @ Temple (ESPNU): Way mess things up, Huskies. I suspect as a result of last week’s upset over Houston they’ll get pasted here.

7:15: Mississippi @ Mississippi State (ESPN2): After mostly disappointing seasons, these two teams enter their final game in a high note. I’m thinking they’re about even, so I’m giving an edge to the home Bulldogs.

7:30:

• Notre Dame @ Stanford (FOX): I have no idea who is going to win this game. I’ve watched a lot of both these teams this year and I think that the Cardinal are more than capable of handing Notre Dame their second loss. This game is right up there with Bedlam for game of the day, and I would advise to find some way of watching both at once. As for the winner here, I’m going with the Domers, by a smidge.
• Florida State @ Florida (ESPN): Florida sure looks bad without their quarterback, huh? That said, I think they’re still capable of beating FSU like 12-10, but if FSU scores 17 or more I don’t think the Gators will be able to match.
• Texas A&M @ Louisiana State (SEC): LSU is going to win this game, and then Les Miles is going to get fired. The world is dumb.

8:00: Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State (ABC): Bedlam. After a weirdly long Sooner winning streak, these teams are 2-2 against each other with two of those games going to overtime. This rivalry has always struck me as more fun and weird than most, and under the lights in Stillwater with everything on the line I’m sure we’ll have both. I’m leaning toward the Sooners, but I have zero confidence in that pick.

9:00: Colorado State @ Fresno State (CBSS): This is not, as far as I know, a rivalry, but will put to rest an unfun season for Fresno State.

10:00: Arizona State @ California (FS1): Arizona State beat Arizona, Cal lost to Stanford. Will there be a hangover here from last weekend, and if so, in which direction? Hard to say. Going with the Sun Devils.

10:15: Air Force @ New Mexico (ESPNU): Hope you like the option in this one. I like the Falcons here.

10:45: Nevada @ San Diego State (ESPN2): And finally, the end. I hope by the time you get here, you’re decompressing from however you enjoyed (or didn’t) your rivalry game and are treating the last full day of college football appropriately. Have fun, stay safe, and the Aztecs probably have this one.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Michigan @ Pennsylvania State (ABC): Both these teams sport excellent defenses, but Michigan, unlike Penn State, has some semblance of a pulse on offense.
• North Carolina @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): Carolina’s rampage through the ACC Coast figures to carry them all the way to Charlotte, which it would with a win here.
• Purdue @ Iowa (ESPN2): Speaking of continuing unabated through the weak division of your conference…
• Iowa State @ Kansas State (FS1): Honestly, I’m going with Iowa State in this one. K-State’s six-game losing streak is just bad at this point. Iowa State has a win over Texas a competitive loss to Oklahoma State in the meantime.
• Memphis @ Temple (ESPNU): With both these teams taking defeats, the luster has worn off a bit of these two, but it may still be the best game in this time slot.
• Illinois @ Minnesota (ESPNEWS): The Illinois “playing with house money” season continues, as I’m giving them a slight edge here.
• Florida Atlantic @ Florida (SEC): So… this one is mostly a matter of how early the Gators feel comfortable pulling their starters.
• Rutgers @ Army (CBSS): If Army has any shot of getting another win against a FBS team this year, this is probably their best chance. So why not?
• Indiana @ Maryland (BTN): At a party last weekend, my Ohio State buddy assured me that Indiana isn’t as terrible this year as they have been in the recent past. And hey, he’s right. Sure, they’ve lost six straight games, but only two of them were by more than one score (a 26 point loss to Sparty and a 26 point loss to… Penn State, of all teams). But they were game against the Buckeyes, Hawkeyes, and Wolverine(-eyes?), and they can score points. Which is a long way of saying, I’m guessing they’re going to vent some frustration on Maryland and Purdue here in the next couple of weeks.

12:30

• Syracuse @ North Carolina State (ACC): NC State has six wins and their best win this year is probably… this game, if they win it. Which they probably well. Let me put this way, if GT played their out-of-conference schedule, we’d be bowling.
• Georgia Tech @ Miami (ACC): Speaking of… us, well, this season is pretty much a disaster at this point. I’m not sure what else to say about it. I think it hit me how terrible the injury situation has been when, in the middle of the Virginia Tech game last week, I realized there were guys on defense making plays whose names I’d never heard, and I was watching the tenth game of the season. That is not normally when you want guys to be getting their first starts/snaps!
  As for this game, I have no idea how it will go. Given the state of these two teams, there may well be a few… dozen fans in the stands Saturday afternoon. I’m not sure what else to say.

3:30:

• Louisiana State @ Mississippi (CBS): Speaking of matchups that have lost their luster, this looked like it could be a battle of the SEC West of Alabama fell from their perch, but instead it was their contenders who faltered. In the battle or best runner-up, then, who will prevail? Eh, probably LSU, the Arkansas thing feels like a fluke.
• Michigan State @ Ohio State (ABC): Ohio State is a large favorite here and I’m not entirely sure why. Their loss was shocking, but still. I had the Buckeyes the whole in this one anyway, but I still figure the game will be relatively close.
• California-Los Angeles @ Utah (FOX): Hard to get a read on either of these teams at this point. Which one’s better? Beats me. Utah in a coinflip.
• Southern California @ Oregon (ESPN): When you’re Oregon, a three-loss season is a bit of a calamity, but they’re rallied and reeled off four straight, including last week’s upset of Stanford. Now, we get a retro-but-not-really matchup between Oregon and Southern Cal. I’m going with the Trojans, mostly because they seem to play some defense?
• Wake Forest @ Clemson (ESPN2): Clemson rolls.
• Arizona @ Arizona State (FS1): It’s the battle for the Territorial Cup! And it’s a bit anticlimatic, in a way, as I don’t think the season has gone the way either school wanted. The Sun Devils could still drop these last two and miss a bowl. I think they’ll make it, though.
• Houston @ Connecticut (ESPNU): UConn beat Tulane last weekend, that’s not news. What is? They won 7-3. Yeah. Cougars roll.
• Buffalo @ Akron (CBSS): They play MAC games on Saturdays? These two are actually perfectly in the middle of the MAC East standings, so it could be close. I’ve got Buffalo here, though.
• Northwestern @ Wisconsin (BTN): The teams that were supposed to be competing for the Big Ten West are… not thanks to our glorious, fearless Hawkeye leaders. And so the Wildcats and Badgers got relegated to the Big Ten Network, which I still don’t get in HD for some reason. Anyway! Who’s going to win? I’m going with Wisconsin, they’re just a better team.

3:45: Louisville @ Pittsburgh (ESPNEWS): Yeah Louisville, I see you there, just sort of hanging around behind Clemson and FSU in the Atlantic. And they’ll still be there, even after they lose to Pitt.

4:00: Idaho @ Auburn (SEC): I think Auburn’s got this one. Hopefully no one gets the copycat idea to punch their eagle.

6:00: Washington @ Oregon State (Pac12): Speaking of disappointing seasons, oof. The Beavers are just bad. UDub rolls.

7:00:

• Navy @ Tulsa (CBSS): Everyone in Annapolis is wondering why Army had such a bad time with this conference thing. After a win in Tulsa, they’re going to roll into undefeated Houston next week for a huge game with a C-USA West title on the line. Good times!
• Mississippi State @ Arkansas (ESPN): The even weirder thing about Arkansas’s rampage through the SEC West has been that they beat Mississippi and LSU on the road. Seriously, they won two straight against the two best not-Alabama teams in the conference away from home. Will they revert to form now that they’re back in the cozy confines of Fayetteville? Hard to pick against them here.
• Georgia Southern @ Georgia (ESPNU): As much as I’d love to see it, I don’t think the Eagles stand much of a chance here.

7:15: Tennessee @ Missouri (ESPN2): In six conference games, Mizzou has score 62 points. 62! There’s teams with more points in a game than that! That’s… not good! Tennessee rolls.

7:30:

• Baylor @ Oklahoma State (FOX): Okay, well, who ya got? Here’s what we know. There’s going to be lots of points and something crazy will happen. It’s in Stillwater, which means that the crazy could really go either way. I’m going with Baylor, because that will create the maximum amount of chaos.
• Charlotte @ Kentucky (SEC): Kentucky rolls.
• Texas A&M @ Vanderbilt (SEC): TAMU rolls. (Still mad the “A&M” doesn’t stand for anything, though).
• Boston College vs. Notre Dame (@Boston, MA; NBCSN): Being played at Fenway Park for some reason. Domers roll.

8:00:

• Texas Christian @ Oklahoma (ABC): Again: maximum chaos dictates that Oklahoma wins. Is there any loss that will prove to be more weird than that loss to Texas?
• Tulane @ Southern Methodist (ESPNEWS): With the two Big 12 games overlapping, I’m guessing the viewership for two AAC also-rans will be pretty abysmal. Going with SMU, because, hey, chaos. Let’s stay on message here. (Also, for all their other issues, they can actually score.)

10:30:

• California @ Stanford (ESPN): It’s the Big Game! Nice and late over here, too. And talk about a legacy of chaos! Despite the Oregon loss, though, I think Stanford is just the better team. However, in this rivalry, more than any other, it goes with saying: crazier things happened.
• San Diego State @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS):

10:45: Colorado @ Washington State (ESPN2): It would really be chaotic if somehow Wazzou dropped this, but… yeah, okay, probably not.