As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Oklahoma vs. Texas (@Dallas, TX; ABC): Well, things are looking really, really bad for Texas at this point, but I guess if it’s some consolation it’s not unknown for this game to feature wacky shenanigans. The thing about that, though, is that you can’t exactly bet on that.
• Indiana @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN): Though part of the reason that Indiana almost pulled off a stunning upset of the Buckeyes last weekend has to due with Ohio State’s issues on offense, they still appear to be a more solid team than Penn State.
• Baylor @ Kansas (FS1): Kansas lost to Memphis 55-23. Uh-oh.
• Illinois @ Iowa (ESPN2): Illinois fired their coach a week before the season started. Iowa has been stagnant under Kirk Ferentz’s unassailable contract for the past several seasons. Naturally, these teams are a combined 9-1. That said, Illinois still got blown out by UNC and they squeaked by Nebraska last weekend, which gives me more confidence in Iowa.
• Tulane @ Temple (ESNPU): It feels odd to predict Temple dominating, nay, blowing someone out, but here we are.
• New Mexico State @ Mississippi (SEC): Dear Aggies: Get money, get paid, y’all.
• Duke @ Army (CBSS): This one doesn’t look good for the Black Knights.
• Maryland @ Ohio State (BTN): So as it turns out, maybe having two quarterbacks is worse than having none? Ohio State is currently one of the least efficient offenses in the country, a fact which definitely contributed to their near-upset at Indiana. That said, the Terps offer a wonderful chance for them to get things back on track.

12:30: Virginia @ Pittsburgh (ACC): UVA was last seem getting beaten 56-14 by Boise State two weeks ago, so I’m going to go with Pitt.

3:00: Wake Forest @ Boston College (ACC/RSN): BC put up some good numbers early in the season, but against anyone with a pulse on defense they have completely faltered. I’m going with Wake here.

3:30:

• Georgia @ Tennessee (CBS): Tennessee can’t keep finding excruciating ways to lose, can they? And not to get too Bill Simmons on you, but UGA had a stomach-punch game of their own last weekend, mostly in the sense that soon after the second half started they were pretty much out of it, and wrecking their shot a national title. I think Georgia’s going to win, but I’m sure 38-10 sounds relative pleasurable to Vols fans right now.
• Navy @ Notre Dame (NBC): While this looks good a good edition of Navy, it’s hard to see Notre Dame losing here.
• Georgia Tech @ Clemson (ABC/ESPN2): So, yeah, as it turns out, having to replace all your skill position players (other than the QB) is kind of a problem? (In fairness, injuries have not helped at all.) As I said going into the season, I was generally weary of all the preseason hype and expectations, and this weariness has been borne out in the worst possible way. The rest of the schedule is brutal, starting here. It’ll be… interesting to see how this team responds to the now significantly lower expectations.
• Wisconsin @ Nebraska (ESPN2/ABC): Most of the Internet college football types were somewhat, I wouldn’t say surprised by the Pellini firing, but I’d say it wasn’t exactly a lauded move. This was especially true after Nebraska poached Mike Reilly, who isn’t a bad coach or anything, but it just seemed like a lateral move, except that Reilly probably swears a lot less. While Wisconsin is having a bit of a crisis of their own (realize that these are the two teams that just lose to Iowa and Illinois), the Badgers still figure to have the upper hand here.
• Louisiana State @ South Carolina (@Baton Rouge, LA; ESPN): I applaud LSU’s classiness and general level of support of South Carolina due to the floods in South Carolina, given that a truly neutral venue was unable to be found in time. I’d still expect LSU to win here, though.
• Minnesota @ Purdue (ESPNU): The Gophers are solid, but their offense is “somewhat” lacking. But, hey, if there’s a team they can score some points against…
• Syracuse @ South Florida (CBSS): USF is pretty awful, so the ‘Cuse should figure to take this one.
• Northwestern @ Michigan (BTN): I’m sure the Big Ten is somewhat regretting a few things involving their TV rights at the moment, or at least I am because I don’t get the Big Ten Network in HD. That said, both these teams feature solid offenses and really stingy defenses. I’m not well versed in Big Ten lore, but I would hazard a guess that this is the biggest Northwestern-Michigan game ever. I’m giving a slight edge to Michigan, but on my pick ’em I have Northwestern covering the 7.5.

3:45: Connecticut @ Central Florida (ESPNEWS): UCF is really, really, incredibly bad. I don’t know if I’d be shocked if they won this game, but I’d be at least vaguely surprised.

4:00:

• Oregon State @ Arizona (FS1): One of these two loss teams is slightly better than the other, and it’s a fair guess that team (Arizona, by the way) will be trying very, very hard to get a win after losing 111-47 to UCLA and Stanford.
• Troy @ Mississippi State (SEC): Troy is vaguely better than New Mexico State, so I guess there’s some slight increase in dignity for the Bulldogs compared to their rivals?

6:00: Washington State @ Oregon (Pac12): Like I said last week, Oregon isn’t terrible or anything, they’re just not great anymore. What would really be a shock, though, is if they bungle things against Wazzou.

7:00:

• Arkansas @ Alabama (ESPN): Okay, Razorbacks, you finally got a win, but you got one against the most self-destructive team in the country. If there’s anything even this slightly diminished edition of Alabama doesn’t do, though, it’s beat themselves.
• Oklahoma State @ West Virginia (ESPN2): Oklahoma State gets a chance to prove they’re actually kind of a decent. It’s a late game in Morgantown, so we know how that can go, but for now, I’m sticking with the Cowboys.
• Boise State @ Colorado State (CBSS): Boise looks like they’re back, y’all.

7:30:

• Texas Christian @ Kansas State (FOX): So one of my cousins is playing for K-State, maybe they’ll let him play quarterback? Otherwise, if there’s anyone who has the wizardy to win with offensive linemen lining up behind the offensive line, it’s Bill Synder, but… yeah, things look kind of grim here.
• East Carolina @ Brigham Young (ESPNU): This would be easier if either of these teams was more like what I initially thought before looking them up, but alas. It looks like both these teams are solid with some tough losses. With it being in Utah, though, I’m giving the edge to BYU.
• Florida @ Missouri (SEC): Is Florida back? It’s not like they were gone for very long, though. That said, while this 5-0 vs. 4-1, that 4-1 is somewhat deceiving, considering whom Mizzou has beat and their eight point loss to Kentucky. I’m going with the Gators here. (By the way, while we’re here, this past Tuesday was the 25th anniversary of the Fifth Down game.)

8:00:

• Miami @ Florida State (ABC): I guess there’s some unrest vis-a-vis Al Golden down in Miami? I don’t think he’s doing that bad, but they’re probably going to lose this game, which will almost certainly be very bad for his continued job security.
• Michigan State @ Rutgers (BTN): I’m currently operating under the assumption that Sparty’s narrow, three point win over Purdue was a bit of a fluke and they’ll have a much easier time with the Scarlet Knights.

10:00:

• California @ Utah (ESPN): As it turns out, this is the Utes’s first game since their 62-20 drubbing of Oregon two weeks ago. Cal, in the meantime, eked out some narrow wins over Washington and Wazzou, which while exciting do not inspire confidence against the Utes. This is the game of the day, though, and I’d recommend finding a way to watch it, provided you’re not watching USA-Mexico like I’m going to be.
• Colorado @ Arizona State (Pac12): Getting blown out by USC and then soundly beating UCLA isn’t exactly a recommended way to be a contender, but hey, whatever works. The Sun Devils shouldn’t have much trouble with the Buffs, either way.

10:15: Wyoming @ Air Force (ESPN2): The Falcons aren’t good, but fortunately for them, Wyoming is very, very bad.

10:30: Utah State @ Fresno State (CBSS): Through four games, Utah State has managed to score only 76 points. Through five games, Fresno State has scored 109 points. So that’s pretty similar. The difference? Utah State has only given up 82 points. Fresno, 201 points. Yeah, uh, giving up 40 points a game is… not good. Yes, they did give up 73 to Ole Miss, but they also gave up 45 and 49 to Utah and San Jose State. I’m pretty okay with say Fresno State isn’t very good at defense. So I’m go with the Aggies.

As usual, times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Texas @ Texas Christian (ABC): Texas is better this year, no doubt, but it’s hard to see their offense improving enough to keep up with TCU.
• Iowa @ Wisconsin (ESPN): Wisconsin all the way here.
• Purdue @ Michigan State (ESPN2): Another easy to call Big Ten game; Sparty should prevail.
• West Virginia @ Oklahoma (FS1): It’s funny that Oklahoma, of all teams, should be the team that has to prove themselves to the Baylors and TCUs of the world, but welcome to the Big 12 in 2015. West Virginia presents some issues, but it should be the Sooners in the end.
• Army @ Pennsylvania State (ESPNU): Penn State isn’t very good, but Army is worse.
• Central Florida @ Tulane (ESPNEWS): UCF is 0-4. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy, I tell ya. Nonetheless, Tulane is pretty bad, so there’s a good chance the Knights will get their first win here.
• South Carolina @ Missouri (SEC): While I’m sure most will be focused on how not-good South Carolina is this year, it’s worth pointing out that Mizzou won the SEC East last year and they have scorelines like “Mizzou 9, UConn 6” and “Kentucky 21, Mizzou 13”. Of course, the Gamecocks also lost to Kentucky, so we’re not exactly dealing with powerhouses here. I’m going to go with South Carolina, because they seem to have some semblance of an offense now. Maybe?
• Houston @ Tulsa (CBSS): Going with the Cougs here.
• Michigan @ Maryland (BTN): This game actually displaced the Minnesota-Northwestern game as a result of getting moved up due to the hurricane. Either way, UMD is terrible, so it should be another successful stop on the Michigan Comeback Tour.
• Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (ACC/RSN): So, wait, Virginia Tech lost to ECU again? When will they learn? Either way, they did score 28 points, which is more than the James Connor-less Panthers have mustered against FBS competition this year.

12:30: Louisville @ North Carolina State (ACC): Well, the Wolfpack are 4-0 but have played absolutely no one, while Louisville is 1-3 but with losses to Auburn, Clemson, and Houston. I view this as essentially a tossup, but I’m going to go with NCSU.

3:30:

• Alabama @ Georgia (CBS): The fun part about this is not only are the Tide underdogs, but the last time they weren’t favored in a game was the 2009 game against… Georgia. That said, this is still pretty much a “meteor game” for me, but I’m still going with the Alabama until I’m sure they’re not good. Then again, that’s what I said about Oregon last week, and look where that got me…
• Baylor vs. Texas Tech (@Arlington, TX; ABC/ESPN2):This game should be a lot of fun. I think Baylor will prevail in the end, but TTU looks better this year and they may be able to keep up.
• Ohio State @ Indiana (ABC/ESPN2): I guess Gameday just hasn’t been to Bloomington before? Buckeyes should dominate.
• Florida State @ Wake Forest (ESPN): FSU all the way.
• North Carolina @ Georgia Tech (ESPNU): So… yeah. 2-2 is not quite how I imagined this season starting. But it’s almost like all the things I’ve been afraid of have come true, except that the defense appears to be kind of okay to good. If nothing else, perhaps this game being a shootout again will mean the offense will have gelled a bit. The most galling thing I remember from last week was a pass play in the second half from deep in our own territory. The pass wound up incomplete, but Justin Thomas was hurried once again. At first blush, A5 and I thought it was a busted screen play, based on where the defensive line ended up in relation our offensive line. I rewinded my DVR and discovered no, the blocking was just that bad that it looked like it was a screen. Ridiculous. It was emblematic of the offensive line’s effort the whole game. If we were getting any sort of perimeter blocking, the situation might be better, but the injuries and talent loss at the skill positions really has come back to bite us. That said, in terms of pure defensive talent, this will be a bit of a respite for us. Which, again, will perhaps give the offense a chance to gel. We’ll see.
• Air Force @ Navy (CBSS): It’s leg one of the Command-in-Chief’s trophy, and honestly, I have to go with the Falcons.
• Boston College @ Duke (ACC/RSN): Duke’s path to the Coastal is clear, since they dodge both Florida State and Clemson. Step one starts here. They should win.

4:00:

• Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (FS1): I have to say, going to three overtimes with Louisiana Tech isn’t a good look if you’re the K-States of the world. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State appears to be on the verge of relevance in the Big 12 with a 4-0 start. I think they complete the first step here.
• East Carolina @ Southern Methodist (ESPNEWS): ECU isn’t great, but they’re better than SMU.
• San Jose State @ Auburn (SEC): Auburn is… not good this year, but man, they have absolutely no business losing to San Jose State. If they do, I will drive to Spartan Stadium and help tear down the goalposts myself.
• Washington State @ California (Pac12): With a win over Washington last week, and the apparent toppling of Oregon’s dynasty, this is the Bears’s chance to seize the Pac-12 North. But with Utah, UCLA, USC, and Oregon following, they cannot afford to overlook a maybe-not-as-terrible-as-loss-to-Portland-State-might-indicate Washington State team.
• Nebraska @ Illinois (BTN): They’re still going to lose to Nebraska, but I could see Illinois going to a bowl this year. Which, yeah, I would not have called a little over a month ago.

7:00:

• Mississippi @ Florida (ESPN): Well, the Rebels haven’t made it look easy at all, but they are the odds-on favorite now for the SEC West. Florida’s an improved outfit this year, but I’m not sure they’re improved enough to win here.
• Arkansas @ Tennessee (ESPN2): This one is Tennessee’s to win, if they can figure out how to not lose.
• Eastern Michigan @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): Oof, uh, LSU.
• Vanderbilt @ Middle Tennessee State (CBSS): I feel pretty good about saying that MTSU has a pretty good, and maybe even likely, chance of winning here.

7:30:

• Arizona State @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): The Sun Devils got exposed, burned (if you will) by Southern Cal last weekend. Their cross-town rivals will now to look to top that 42-14 beatdown. I’m not sure they will, but they’ll almost certainly still win.
• Mississippi State @ Texas A&M (SEC): I don’t think either one of these teams is especially good, so, um, let’s go with the home team I guess?

8:00: Notre Dame @ Clemson (ABC): I think Clemson is good, but I think that Notre Dame is pretty-to-really good. Hard to not like the Irish in this one, but that said, it’ll be interesting to see what effect the monsoon-esque conditions will have on the game.

10:00: Oregon @ Colorado (ESPN): It’s the end of a dynasty, yes, and Oregon looked, really, really bad against Utah. But, Colorado is still, well, Colorado. I think Oregon will demolish them and imbue their base with, perhaps, false hope.

10:15: Hawaii @ Boise State (ESPN2): Boise still looks pretty solid, and Hawaii still looks pretty terrible.

10:30:

• Fresno State @ San Diego State (CBSS): Both these teams are pretty terrible, but, looks, I have a commitment to you to list every FBS vs. FBS game that’s on national television, so… here we are. Considering Fresno is fresh off getting pounded by San Jose State, I’m going to go with the Aztecs.
• Arizona @ Stanford (Pac12): In this edition of Pac-12 After Dark, Arizona just lost badly in their first real game of the year, while the Cardinal have, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, rallied from their showing against Northwestern and have been pretty respectable the past few weeks. I’m expecting that trend to continue here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Brigham Young @ Michigan (ABC): Don’t look, but, despite losing their starting quarterback BYU might actually be kind of good? Losing by a point to UCLA definitely isn’t the worst possible result. I like the Stormin’ Mormons in a slight upset here.
• Louisiana State @ Syracuse (ESPN): This one does not figure to go well for the Orange.
• Georgia Tech @ Duke (ESPN2): Well, Tech sure picked a good time to play one of their worst games of the past few years, huh? Oh, wait, no, it was terrible. Especially the offense, which Notre Dame’s talented defense took completely apart. We didn’t help ourselves, either. Perimeter blocking was especially bad, and it hasn’t really been good even when we were pounding Alcorn State and Tulane.
  As for this game, Duke themselves are also coming off a disappointing loss where they only managed to score 10 against Northwestern. Essentially, this is a clash of two teams looking to get on the rebound, which means this one may be decided by who get back up to speed more quickly.
• Central Florida @ South Carolina (ESPNU): The season is on the brink of disaster for the Gamecocks, but they’re still doing better than UCF, which lost to Furman last week. Furman! Going with South Carolina here.
• Southern Mississippi @ Nebraska (ESPNEWS): Nebraska should be able to wash out the taste of their loss to Miami last weekend with this one.
• Navy @ Connecticut (CBSS): UConn managed to hold Mizzou to nine points last weekend and lose. I don’t think this bodes especially well for their changes against Navy.
• Central Michigan @ Michigan State (BTN): The Chippewas look to go 0-3 against Power 5 teams.

12:30: Indiana @ Wake Forest (ACC): Uh, Indiana I guess?

3:00: Maryland @ West Virginia (FS1): The Mountaineers have already had their bye weeks, so we don’t really know what to glean from their beatdowns of Georgia Southern and Liberty. Maryland, meanwhile, owns a win over a FCS team, a win over a bad FBS team, and a beatdown by a MAC team. In my estimation, this is essentially a coinflip, but I’m still going with WVU.

3:30:

• Tennessee @ Florida (CBS): Florida still appears to have too many issues on offense, while that seems to be the least of the Vols’s issues, so I’m going with them.
• Massachusetts @ Notre Dame (NBC): The 30-22 score flatters Georgia Tech immensely, as most of last week’s game was a beatdown. Notre Dame’s offense still has some question marks, though. UMass is not talented enough to make them play in any meaningful way, though.
• Western Michigan @ Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2): Michigan State only beat these guys by 13, so I’m sure that’ll give the Buckeyes something to aim for as they try to fix what ailed them last weekend.
• Virginia Tech @ East Carolina (ESPN2/ABC): This doesn’t seem to be the interesting, feisty edition of ECU this year, which means VPI should have a relatively easy go of it.
• Oklahoma State @ Texas (ESPN): I saw the Texas comeback fall just a bit short thanks to a missed PAT last week and it may be one of the most heartbreaking things I’ve ever seen in football. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State is ranked for some reason? They haven’t really played anyone, but Texas hasn’t really beat anyone. Tentatively going with the Cowboys to round up the Longhorns.
• North Texas @ Iowa (ESPNU): I wish there some way I could pick the Mean Green here, but I just can’t.
• Miami @ Western Kentucky (CBSS): Difficult to favor the MAC side in this one, as the Hilltoppers have looked much better so far.
• San Diego State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State still isn’t good or anything, but SDSU so far this year has been demonstrably worse.

4:00:

• Middle Tennessee @ Illinois (ESPNEWS): Illinois is probably going to win, but it would be fun if they didn’t. Well, for most of us, at least.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Alabama (SEC): Look, I mean, UL-Monroe is going to Tuscaloose to get paid, but nonetheless they probably would not have preferred to visit a more ticked-off-than-usual Crimson Tide.

4:45: Texas Christian @ Texas Tech (FOX): Texas Tech is definitely better than they were last year. Are they 75 points better? Probably not.

5:00: California @ Washington (Pac12): We all knew Cal could score, but the questions that surround their defense still seem to be there after allowing Texas’s almost-rally last weekend. Nonetheless, a conference win would be a huge building block for the Bears, and I think they’ll get it.

7:00:

• Texas A&M vs. Arkansas (@Arlington, TX; ESPN): Arkansas is going to get pounded here, y’all, and spread coaches everywhere are going to be more than happy to watch Bert Bret Bielema continue to eat crow.
• Vanderbilt @ Mississippi (ESPNU): I’m reasonably sure that the 47-7 win over Austin Peay will make up about 50% of Vandy’s win this year (if not 100%) and will definitely be their largest margin of victory. Ole Miss may inflict their largest margin of defeat.
• Colorado State @ Texas-San Antonio (CBSS): I’m going to go on a limb and say that the Rams are the only team to lose two overtime games so far this year. UTSA is 0-3, but those three losses were to Arizona, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State. I mean, I’m still going with the Rams, but the Roadrunners probably(?) aren’t that bad.

7:30:

• Mississippi State @ Auburn (ESPN2): It’s the battle of two SEC West teams that already have losses to LSU! Of course, the Tigers look to be in real trouble after struggling with Jacksonville “Not That Jacksonville” State and getting pounded by Leonard Fournette and his comrades. Going with Miss State here.
• Missouri @ Kentucky (SEC): I’m going to pick Kentucky. Mizzou has failed to look cohesive on offense at all this year, including last week’s debacle of a win over UConn.

8:00:

• California-Los Angeles @ Arizona (ABC): Here’s the data I have for this game. Arizona has played absolutely no one, but beat them very convincingly. UCLA has taken two bad teams to task and scraped by a pretty solid team (BYU). The takeaway? Um… I figure it’s a wash. I’m picking the Bruins.
• North Carolina State @ South Alabama (ESPNEWS): The Wolfpack should finish riding their extremely soft non-conference schedule to 4-0 with this game.
• Hawaii @ Wisconsin (BTN): Presumably this sets up a Badger trip to Hawaii in the future? Either way, it’s a win in both the present and future.

8:30: Utah @ Oregon (FOX): The Utes have been pretty stead so far this season, but it’ll still be awhile before I can convince myself to pick against Oregon, despite the Michigan State result.

10:30:

• Southern California @ Arizona State (ESPN): The Sun Devils haven’t seemed terribly inclined to score a lot of points so far this year, which means I don’t like their odds against the Trojans.
• Fresno State @ San Jose State (CBSS): Well, it’s Silicon Valley versus the Central Valley. Both teams are 1-2 mainly due to losing games that, well, you’d expect them to lose. Neither has also demonstrated much in the way losing well, either, so my non-existent coin here is going with State. Er, San Jose State.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Air Force @ Michigan State (ABC): Air Force has gotten off to a decent start this season, but let’s face it, the main thing to watch here is to see if the Spartans avoid a major letdown after their huge win last weekend.
• Connecticut @ Missouri (ESPN): Mizzou is not exactly 2-0 in convincing fashion, but the Huskies are a much, much less convincing 2-0.
• Illinois @ North Carolina (ESPN2): This one’s hard to call. For all the pre-season turmoil with the Illni, they’re still 2-0, albeit against inferior teams. This is finally not Carolina’s year, but all we know so far is that they have a close loss to an inferior South Carolina team. This one’s a toss-up in my mind, but I’m going to go with UNC.
• Tulsa @ Oklahoma (FS1): You can’t win. Even when the SEC is down, people won’t shut up about them. Like, neither of these teams is even in the confernce, but here I am bringing it up thanks to the Sooners’ win last weekend. This win will be much less talked-about.
• South Florida @ Maryland (ESPNU): Maryland is, like, so bad you guys. But Bowling Green is actually kinda good? So it’s not completely inexcusable, which is how I’ve talked myself into taking Maryland here.
• Nevada @ Texas A&M (SEC): The Fightin’ Chris Aults didn’t have much luck last weekend against Arizona, and they don’t figure to here either.
• Wake Forest @ Army (CBSS):
• Nevada-Las Vegas @ Michigan (BTN): New and Improved Michigan (NOW with Harbuagh!)(TM) doesn’t figure to lose this one.

12:30:

• Northwestern @ Duke (ACC): Cutcliffe is gonna Cutcliffe, whereas the Wildcats offense is kinda… well, not good.
• Central Michigan @ Syracuse (ACC/RSN): I think the Orange got this one.

2:00: Georgia State @ Oregon (Pac12): I always say I only do the punctual “Oregon” type previews when I’m doing FCS vs. FBS games in Week 1, but man if “Sun Belt patsy at pissed off national power” doesn’t merit it…

3:30:

• Georgia Tech @ Notre Dame (NBC): Hoo boy. First, let’s start with the part where we’re favorites. No one knows anything about us! Sure, we demolished two awful teams in our first two games, but that’s not always indicative of anything, after all, we got off to a lousy start last year before finishing off one of the best seasons in school history. Of course, Notre Dame needed a last-minute touchdown to beat UVA, but still, Virginia’s better than any of teams we’ve played. Who’s to talk?
  It’s hard to fully state how nervous I am for this game, here in September. It’s not a conference game, which takes a bit of the edge off, but still. I don’t think I should elaborate further on that. As for the game, I think it’ll be slow going at first, because we simply haven’t played anyone that can physically go to toe-to-toe with us. This is our first real test, and it’s a hell of a test.
• Nebraska @ Miami (ABC/ESPN2): I really wish I could claim credit for “hey, the 80’s called, they want their Game of the Week back” but alas. At any rate, Miami’s looked pretty dangerous so far, so I’ll go with them to keep it going.
• Northern Illinois @ Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2): I’m not sure there’s actually any opponent for whom Ohio State’s starting quarterback matters, much less this one.
• Texas-San Antonio @ Oklahoma State (FS1): I think the Cowboys have this.
• Virginia Tech @ Purdue (ESPNU): VPI isn’t great this year or anything, but Purdue is… bad.
• East Carolina @ Navy (CBSS): Fun fact #1: this is a conference game! Fun fact #2: this is Navy’s first ever conference game! Fun fact #3: they’re probably going to win!
• Troy @ Wisconsin (BTN): Wisconsin looks likely to even up their record against teams from the state of Alabama.

4:00: Western Kentucky @ Indiana (ESPNEWS): I… think I like the Hoisers in this one?

5:00: Utah State @ Washington (Pac12): Much more certain about the Huskies, though.

6:00: South Carolina @ Georgia (ESPN): I want to believe. I want to believe that Steve Spurrier has some sort of juju that allows him to always (or mostly) prevail over the university of Georgia. I want to believe that even though his team has looked really bad and doesn’t seem to have a quarterback that he will some how, some way find a way to shock the dogs in Athens again. I want to believe… but I just can’t.

7:00:

• Texas Tech @ Arkansas (ESPN2): Let us take one last moment to savor, once again, the sweet, sweet schadenfraude of Arkanasa’s head coach complaining about Ohio State’s schedule and then losing to Toledo. Especially since they’re probably going to run all over Texas Tech.
• Colorado vs. Colorado State (@Denver, CO; CBSS): Early season rivalry games are lame (it is known), but hey, at least this one’s at a neutral site. And what the heck, let’s go with the Rams, that’ll be more fun at least.

7:30

• California @ Texas (FOX): The Bears can score points, the Longhorns cannot. Seems easy enough.
• Florida @ Kentucky (SEC): A lot of people are saying this is the year that Kentucky breaks their decades-long streak against the Gators. But man, it’d be a lot easier for me to call it that way without the weight of history, you know?

8:00:

• Stanford @ Southern California (ABC): Stanford has still shown the lack of having any sort of red zone offense whatsoever (which is really an indictment of the offense), which makes it impossible for me to pick them.
• Iowa State @ Toledo (ESPNEWS): The Cyclones just lost by two touchdowns to Iowa (did Hawkeye fans even know the numbers on the scoreboard went that high?), so what the heck, let’s pick Toledo. Rockets for darkhorse Group of Five pick, how about it?
• Southern Methodist @ Texas Christian (FSN): SMU already has a big loss to Baylor, so naturally TCU is going to look to win by at least 36 points.
• Pittsburgh @ Iowa (BTN): Two bland, milquetoast football teams that taste, well, bland and milquetoast together. Uh, Iowa I guess.
• San Jose State @ Oregon State (Pac12): Well, you lost by 28 to Michigan, but hey, here’s to chance to wash that out.

9:15: Mississippi @ Alabama (ESPN): I feel pretty good about saying that Nick Saban is going to hold the Rebels to under 70 for the first time. Outside of that, um, it’s a tossup for me. Going with the Tide.

10:30:

• Brigham Young @ California-Los Angeles (FS1): UCLA should add a third solid win to their resume here.
• Utah @ Fresno State (CBSS): I don’t have a good feeling about this… for Fresno, at least.

This week, I’ve resumed my usual policy of only listing FBS vs. FBS games. As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
8:00: Miami @ Florida Atlantic (FS1): The Schnell is going to do the coin toss for this one, which is extremely fitting. After that, though, things figure out to downhill for the Owls.

9:00: Utah State @ Utah (ESPN2): Wacky things can always happen in this edition of the various Beehive State rivalries, but I’m going to go with the Utes.

Saturday
11:30: South Florida @ Florida State (ESPN): ‘Noles.

Noon:

• Oregon State @ Michigan (ABC): In this early edition of Pacific Northwest versus Midwest, this may be a useful barometer for both teams. Michigan had a respectable loss to their Pac-12 foe, Utah, last weekend, while Oregon State sort of sputtered and only beat Weber State 26-7. Perhaps it’ll be just right that Harbaugh gets his first win back at Michigan in the Big House.
• Buffalo @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN2/ESPNU): Penn State suffered an ignoble loss to Temple last weekend, and starting quarterback Christian Hackenberg took a beating. It figures that he, and his team, will have more success against the Bulls, though.
• Miami @ Wisconsin (ESPN2/ESPNU): The Badgers get a visit from everyone’s confusingly named MAC team. Fun fact: the University of Miami has played Miami University three times, in 1945, 1946, and 1987. The ‘U’ has won all three.
• Kansas State @ Texas-San Antonio (FS1): K-State takes a visit to the Alamodome. I got nothin’ else besides that.
• Army @ Connecticut (CBSS): Oof. UConn at least beat the FCS team they played last week, though.
• Houston @ Louisville (ACC/RSN): Louisville figures to recover from their tough, and confusing, loss to Auburn last weekend.
• Bowling Green @ Maryland (BTN):

12:30: Wake Forest @ Syracuse (ACC): I don’t have to watch this! You can’t make me! And why are there intra-conference matchups in Week 2? Both pounded their FCS foes last week, so it’s hard to glean anything useful from that. Let’s pretend that I flipped a coin and that as a result I picked Syracuse.

3:30:

• Georgia @ Vanderbilt (CBS): About the only watchlist Vandy is on this year is whether or not they will win any games.
• Notre Dame @ Virginia (ABC): While not as hapless as the above Commodores, there don’t figure to be a lot of wins on the schedule for the Cavs.
• Fresno State @ Mississippi (ESPN2): Ah, if only this were the Fresno State from 10 years ago or so. Alas, this one will be a near walkover for the Rebs.
• Washington State @ Rutgers (ESPNU): Folks are already starting to write the obituaries for the Mike Leach area at Wazzou, and it’s hard to disagree. After losing to Portland State last week, it’s hard to see them beating Rutgers.
• Minnesota @ Colorado State (CBSS): Minnesota gave TCU all they wanted last weekend, something they may also do against Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. They can really solidify themselves as a threat by sweeping the rest of their non-conference schedule. This game will prove the most difficult, but they should win.
• Tulane @ Georgia Tech (ACC/RSN): My first Georgia Tech home game in nine years was a cakewalk. At some point late in the first half, I looked up the lyrics to Cal’s “Stanford Jonah” (which has a very similar tune to GT’s “Up With the White and Gold”) but I never got comfortable enough with them to give them a real shot. At any rate, Tulane should provide stiffer resistance. How much is an open question, though. Tulane got pounded 37-7 by Duke last week, which does not provide much hope for the Green Wave.
• Hawaii @ Ohio State (BTN): So if you haven’t heard, Hawaii is now the “Rainbow Warriors” again after a brief haitus. As such, they’re also bringing back some wonderfully retro uniforms. As for the actual game, well, I still think those unis are going to be cool.

4:00: Middle Tennessee State @ Alabama (SEC): The Blue Raiders will hop on TN-840 (or maybe get on I-24 first), drive down I-65 south, and then get on I-20/59 toward Tuscaloosa, get beat really bad, and then go back they way they came.

4:30: Iowa @ Iowa State (FOX): Both teams scored 31 points against their FCS opponents last week. As for this game, it’s basically a coinflip. Usually it’s more hilarious when Iowa State wins and then wins like one other game all year, so I’ll go with that.

5:00: San Diego State @ California (Pac12): The Pac-12 will be more interesting if the Golden Bears are back. They can definitely score points, but the real question for this season is if they have any sort of defense. Even if they don’t, they should have little trouble with the Aztecs.

6:00: Oklahoma @ Tennessee (ESPN): I’ll buy that Tennessee is better, but I don’t buy that they’re that much better than the Sooners. And if the Vols do win here, it’ll be all ESS-EEE-CEE all the time for the rest of the season. So I’m going with the Sooners.

7:00:

• East Carolina @ Florida (ESPN2): The Gators scored 61 points last week. 61! Two digit numbers were not often associated with the Gators offense recently. That figures to be different for the remainder of the season. East Carolina doesn’t figure to prevent them from doing so.
• Ball State @ Texas A&M (ESPNU): Only beating VMI by 12 does not inspire much confidence about Ball State’s chances here.
• Arizona @ Nevada (CBSS): ‘Zona escaped a grisly fate after getting off to a slow start against UT-San Antonio last week. The game in Reno doesn’t figure to give them much trouble, but still.

7:30: Kentucky @ South Carolina (SEC): Hey, Kentucky is still bad, right? Yep, they are. Okay, good. Makes this a lot easier.

8:00:

• Oregon @ Michigan State (ABC): One of the marquee games of the season, both the Ducks and Spartans will face off in a wonderful, early-season test of strength-versus-strength. Last year’s edition featured a 46-27 Oregon win, but the return trip figures to be more difficult, what with a first-year starter at QB and all. That said, I’m going with the Ducks until proven otherwise.
• Temple @ Cincinnati (ESPNEWS): Temple just beat Penn State for the first time since 1941 and made them looking bad while doing so. Good on you, Owls! That said, I probably wouldn’t get too excited, but a win versus Cincy might convince me it wasn’t a fluke. For now, though, I’m sticking with the Bearcats.
• South Alabama @ Nebraska (BTN): If I were South Alabama, I would milk having USA as my acronym for all it’s worth. Remind the folks up in Lincoln that “if you beat us, you’re actually beating AMERICA”. Maybe it’ll work for a quarter or two?
• Idaho @ Southern California (Pac12): Idaho will probably be really hoping to get back to the Kibbie Dome sooner rather than later.

9:15: Louisiana State @ Mississippi State (ESPN): Oh hey, an early season SEC clash! I really think that the Big Ten has the right idea when it comes to in-conference games in September: don’t have them. Alas, we’re stuck with trying to say anything meaningful about a game that really counts for both these teams in the second week of the season. LSU’s game last week got canceled due to weather, so we really have zero information coming into this game. And the Tigers will also get Auburn at home next week! Madness. Anyway, I guess I’ll have another chance to rant about that next week. For now, I’m taking the Tigers on the road, apropos of nothing.

10:15:

• Boise State @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): These former Mountain West foes face off, fresh off wins over Power 5 teams. Unfortunately, BYU lost its all-everything starting QB in the miracle win at Nebraska, so I’m going to have to go with Boise.
• San Jose State @ Air Force (ESPNU): Both sides pounded a FCS school last weekend, so my early season coin flip is going with… Air Force.

10:30:

• Central Florida @ Stanford (FS1): While I think Stanford will beat UCF, they really, really need to figure out how make their offense work or this season will not end well for either them or David Shaw.
• California-Los Angeles @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): Many a Los Angeles resident has made a weekend trek to Vegas. UCLA’s odds of a win are a lot better than most of their compatriots, though.