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.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Georgia @ Auburn (CBS): It’s the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry once again, but this time around, at least, I’ll be shocked if Auburn wins.
• Ohio State @ Illinois (ABC): Ohio State should roll here, regardless of their QB situation.
• Florida @ South Carolina (ESPN): It’s a bit of a lost season for the Gamecocks, while the Gators look ascendant.
• Maryland @ Michigan State (ESPN2): I can’t conceive of how Maryland would have a chance here…
• Kansas @ Texas Christian (FS1): … much less KU.
• Texas @ West Virginia (ESPNU): I think these are both teams that have had ups-and-downs this season while still trying to find themselves.
• Pittsburgh @ Duke (ESPNEWS): I think these teams are about even, really, but I slightly favor Duke.
• North Texas @ Tennessee (SEC): Tennessee rolls.
• Tulane @ Army (CBSS): Neither of these teams are terrible good, but I’m going with the Green Wave.
• Purdue @ Northwestern (BTN): Northwestern should get a respite here.

12:30:

• North Carolina State @ Florida State (ACC): FSU is still good enough to beat NC State, I’m pretty sure.
• Virginia @ Louisville (ACC/RSN): Despite losing to them, I still don’t think UVA is very good and I wonder how Mike London is still employed. Louisville should win.

3:00: Washington @ Arizona State (Pac12): An early Pac-12 game that’s proving difficult for me to contemplate, but this may be worth keeping an eye on. Ultimately, I like the Sun Devils better.

3:30:

• Alabama @ Mississippi State (CBS): I have the line on this as being Bama by 8, but despite being initially tempted to say Miss State would cover I’m now doubting it. I was in Austin last weekend, and I wound up watching most of the first half at this bar full of LSU fans. Let me tell you, they’re as celebratory of a bunch as you’d be led to believe, but the Tide absolutely owned that second half. They look pretty good.
• Wake Forest @ Notre Dame (NBC): Wake should offer little resistance for the Domers.
• Michigan @ Indiana (ABC/ESPN2): Even if the Wolverines were to have a bad time offensively, I don’t think it will matter much against the Hoosiers.
• Clemson @ Syracuse (ABC/ESPN2): Seriously, what’s up with these 3:30 games? Clemson should roll.
• Kansas State @ Texas Tech (FS1): As should Texas Tech, but K-State figures to be game, at least.
• Miami @ North Carolina (ESPNU): I don’t think Miami is terrible or anything, but the Tarheels look “for realz” as the kids say.
• Nebraska @ Rutgers (BTN): Again, seriously. Maybe just stick to UDub and Arizona State or something. Nebraska should have this one.

4:00: Kentucky @ Vanderbilt (SEC): Ugh. While I think the top of the SEC is pretty good, the bottom is as terrible as the bottom of any other conference in the country. Despite that, Kentucky is still slightly less bad than the ‘dores.

7:00:

• Memphis @ Houston (ESPN2): Honestly, this might be the most intriguing games of the week. I’m going with Houston here, but there’s no shortage of goodness here. Especially if most of the 3:30 games are runawys by the time 7:00 rolls around.
• Western Carolina @ Texas A&M (ESPNU): TAMU rolls.
• Temple @ South Florida (CBSS): Temple should have this one.

7:15: Arkansas @ Louisiana State (ESPN): The battle for the boot is always a good one, and hey, with LSU involved there’s always a potential for wackiness. If I’m honest, though, I don’t thin the Razorbacks have much of a chance.

7:30:

• Oregon @ Stanford (FOX): Against this version of Oregon, Stanford should roll.
• Tulsa @ Cincinnati (ESPNEWS): Cincy seems to be stuck. Somehow, they aren’t one of the top teams in the AAC, but they’re obviously still better than most of the other AAC teams. If I were a Bearcats fan, I’d be kind of bummed that we apparently missed getting on the good side of the conference reshuffle a few years back.
• Brigham Young vs. Missouri (@Kansas City, MO; SEC): Still not convinced Mizzou can score, so going with BYU here,

8:00

• Oklahoma @ Baylor (ABC): For Game of the Week honors, this edges out Memphis and Houston, but not by much. Oklahoma’s only blemish is the bizarre blowout to Texas. Baylor is unbloodied but still somewhat untested. I think they survive this test, but their trials have only just begun.
• Minnesota @ Iowa (BTN): I think Iowa will go undefeated, given their schedule.

10:00: Utah @ Arizona (FS1): Despite that blowout loss to USC, the Utes still lead the Pac-12 South. I don’t see that situation changing.

10:15: New Mexico @ Boise State (ESPNU): I need to watch this to see which triple-option variant Bob Davie runs, if for no other reason. Boise should win.

10:30:

• Wyoming @ San Diego State (CBSS): Aztecs all the way.
• Oregon State @ California (Pac12): Cal should be able to pick themselves back up off the loss to Oregon and recover to at least go .500 against the state this year.

10:45: Washington State @ California-Los Angeles (ESPN): Wazzou may be the best ever team to lose to an FCS team. I recall the dire predictions after the Portland State loss and, at the time, it wasn’t hard to disagree. Since then, the Cougs have seeimingly done the job. I think this game, though, will show the sort of thing they’re up against, and that’s the vastly superior talent of teams like UCLA. I like the Bruins her.e

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh (ABC): This game is vastly more interesting than anyone would’ve predicted back in August, I’d say. That said, having watched both these teams play my team, I’m going with the Domers all the way.
• Vanderbilt @ Florida (ESPN): As James Earl Jones intoned when the Red October purposely steered into the path of that torpedo, “Mother of God”.
• Duke @ North Carolina (ESPN2): This might be the most important edition of this rivalry to ever be played on natural grass. Again, having played (and lost to!) both these teams, I have to go with Carolina.
• Texas Tech @ West Virginia (FS1): It’s not just the top of the Big 12 that’s a puzzle right now, it’s also the middle-to-bottom. That said, Texas Tech has generally acquitted themselves better over the Big 12 schedule and look primed to take this one.
• Pennsylvania State @ Northwestern (ESPNU): Don’t look, but Penn State is 7-2. Actually, go ahead and take a look now because those seven wins are over nobodies and the schedule is horribly backloaded, with the Wildcats being the tip of the spear, followed by Michigan and Michigan State. 7-2 looks like it’s about to become 7-5.
• Central Florida @ Tulsa (ESPNEWS): Central Florida continues their quest to be one of the most historically awful teams ever and look primed to lose to Tulsa.
• Kentucky @ Georgia (SEC): I don’t buy the crisis over in Athens. I just don’t. Lots of teams having down years that are worse than UGA’s, and besides, it’s not like they had a quarterback. Things look to be on the upswing starting here.
• Illinois @ Purdue (BTN): Yeah, so it turns out that Illinois is as bad as we all thought, it just took a while for them to realize it as well. Yeah, that’s right, I’m going to take a 2-6 team over a 4-4 team, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me!
• Akron @ Massachusetts (CBSS): Akron will zip into the end zone early and often in this one.

12:30:

• North Carolina State @ Boston College (ACC): While BC’s defense is legitimately stingy, they’re just screwed if anyone can score, like, 10 points against them. Which NC State probably will.
• Syracuse @ Louisville (ACC): While I don’t think they’re going to win, I think the ‘Cuse have generally exceeded expectations this year.

1:00: Stanford @ Colorado (Pac12): I feel like Stanford’s offense is probably best described through a series of onomatopoeia. Words like “pow!”, “bam!”, etc.

3:00: Virginia @ Miami (ACC/RSN): I refuse to believe Miami will lose this game. I won’t accept it. Though it’s odd that Virginia will play two teams in a row coming off miracle, last-second wins. Perhaps they’ll get two let-downs in a row?

3:30:

• Florida State @ Clemson (ABC): I have zero problems with Clemson being #1 in the meaningless first edition of the college playoff rankings. For starters, they’re meaningless at this point. Also, I think Clemson really is that good. FSU is good, but they have a lot of issues, especially on their offensive line. Unlike us, Clemson’s defensive line doesn’t need to have the game of their lives, they just need to have a normal day at the office and they should be able to shut FSU down.
• Texas Christian @ Oklahoma State (FOX): Oklahoma State is undefeated, but it seems a flimsy sort of undefeated, as though it shouldn’t really count. I’ve got TCU all the way here.
• Arkansas @ Mississippi (CBS): After a two game respite, it’s back to the grind for Bert and company. By which I mean they’re going to lose badly.
• Iowa @ Indiana (ESPN): Iowa is also a puzzling undefeated team, but they remain safe for now.
• Cincinnati @ Houston (ESPN2): Speaking of undefeated teams, this could be a really fun undercard. I like Houston here.
• Arizona State @ Washington State (FS1): I’m going with Wazzou because, well, why the hell not?
• Army @ Air Force (ESPNU): I’m going to go ahead and say that Army does not look like a huge favorite to regain the Command-in-Chief’s trophy this year.
• Utah State @ New Mexico (CBSS): The Lobos are actually not awful this year, but these Aggies are still better.
• Rutgers @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan rolls.

4:00:

• Connecticut @ Temple (ESPNEWS): Temple vs. Memphis is in two weeks, don’t screw it up, Owls.
• South Carolina @ Tennessee (SEC): Two programs, opposite directions. The Vols look good in this one.

4:30: California-Los Angeles @ Oregon State (Pac12): It’s been a frustrating year for Bruin fans, but this game and their next look very winnable, and they still have a pretty good shot at the Pac-12 South title.

7:00:

• Michigan State @ Nebraska (ESPN): Sparty shouldn’t have too many problems in this one.
• Navy @ Memphis (ESPN2): This is probably the highlight of the “bridge” games to the LSU-Alabama game. Navy should figure to give Memphis fits, but the Tigers have the offense to keep up. I suspect Navy will find themselves outmanned in the second half.
• Iowa State @ Oklahoma (ESPNU): The Sooners should continue their quest to play spoiler in the Big 12.

7:30:

• Utah @ Washington (FOX): I still like the Utes well enough to beat UDub, but I’m not sure about the rest of their schedule.
• Auburn @ Texas A&M (SEC): I can’t think of any other team that more epitomizes the “boom” and “bust” cycle of college athletics than Auburn.
• South Florida @ East Carolina (CBSS): ECU should(?) be able to handle this one.

8:00

• Louisiana State @ Alabama (CBS): So this one is tough. That said, I still think Alabama has the defense to stop LSU, and while it’s happened before, I think Alabama has the advantage in a low scoring game at home.
• Minnesota @ Ohio State (ABC): Even without their nominal starter, the Buckeyes should be able to handle this one.

10:30

• Arizona @ Southern California (ESPN): The resurgent Trojans figure to handle this one easily.
• California @ Oregon (ESPN2): This might be the toughest pick of the day. I’m going with Cal based purely on gut.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Syracuse @ Florida State (ABC): I suspect Florida State’s… suspect offensive line will be less of an issue against the ‘Cuse.
• Mississippi @ Auburn (ESPN): Auburn seems to be a solidly boom-bust cycle sort of team, and this year is definitely more on the “bust” side.
• Illinois @ Pennsylvania State (ESPN2): Penn State may have some of the six easiest wins in college football, while the Illini have been better than anyone expected. I’d say this game is a tossup, so I’ll guess in favor of the Nittany Lions.
• Nebraska @ Purdue (ESPNU): Whatever issues the Huskers may have, they won’t be issues against Purdue.
• Central Florida @ Cincinnati (ESPNEWS): Cincy should handle the worst team in major college football.
• South Carolina @ Texas A&M (SEC): I keep thinking that the Gamecocks will figure it out one of these weeks, and it could well be here. Odds are against them, though.
• South Florida @ Navy (CBSS): USF has looked solid this year, but Navy has handled this first year in a conference thing with aplomb. I like them here.
• Rutgers @ Wisconsin (BTN): Wisconsin should be able to handle this one.

12:30: Virginia Tech @ Boston College (ACC): This will almost certainly be the lowest scoring game of the day. Going with VPI since the Hokies seems to have at least a semblance of an offense, though.

3:00:

• Southern California @ California (FOX): Welcome back, USC! Though given their success with their interim coaches the last few years, perhaps their domination of Utah wasn’t that surprising? Either way, it makes this game all that more intriguing. USC can out-talent anyone in the country, including Cal. The main thing with USC is whether they show up, and if they do, I think they have a very good chance to win.
• Colorado @ California-Los Angeles (Pac12): UCLA’s loss to Arizona State is starting to look more baffling than good, but they should ease past the Buffs. Speaking of Colorado, though, who would’ve guessed that Utah would be competitive more quickly?
• Georgia Tech @ Virginia (ACC/RSN): Whoo boy. I’m still not tired of watching the replays of the miracle from last weekend. I celebrated so vigorously that my deltoids were sore the next day. That said, I wish I could see a full replay from the north endzone.
  Anyway, this game. Virginia’s had a schedule every bit as difficult as ours and with arguably worse results. What’s the take away from that? It’s hard to be sure. What is hard for the Jackets is winning in Charlottesville, where we’ve won the all of four times ever. If you enjoy anniversaries that are multiples of five, though, then 25 years ago on Tuesday GT won at then-#1 UVA, a win that put them on the map and primed to be a candidate for #1 themselves at the end of the season. Of course, tying with the sentence before that one, GT would then lose in Charlottesville every other year until 2009. So it’s a bit helter-skelter up there.
  My main worry in this contest is how the team reacts to the win last week. It was awesome. The return is running continuously on loop. Lance Austin is already a legend. Jamal Golden won ACC Defensive Player of the Week for his interception in the end zone, the first thrown by Golson all season. The injuries remain, especially after multiple defensive backs left the game against FSU. So which team shows up? The one that couldn’t block anyone for a month and a half and had horrendous special teams play? Or the one that could rush the passer, seal the outside running lanes, and provide a one-in-lifetime special teams play?

3:30:

• Florida vs. Georgia (@Jacksonville, FL; CBS): In the new, post-Florida-wins-every-year phase of this rivalry, it’s been downright wacky and tough to predict. That said, I feel like I can reasonably pick the Gators here.
• Clemson @ North Carolina State (ABC/ESPN2): Clemson should remain undefeated here.
• Maryland @ Iowa (ABC/ESPN2): As should the Hawkeyes.
• Oklahoma State @ Texas Tech (ESPN): …as should the Cowboys.
• Oklahoma @ Kansas (FS1): This one will likely have the largest margin of victory, though.
• Boise State @ Nevada-Las Vegas (ESPNU): Boy howdy, which of these mid-afternoon to watch is pretty obvious, isn’t it? Boise should roll.
• San Diego State @ Colorado State (CBSS): The Aztecs have smashed through their conference schedule so far with aplomb, a trend which figures to continue here.

4:00: Tulsa @ Southern Methodist (ESPNEWS):I’d love to have more to tell you about this game, but SMU is 1-6, so…

7:00:

• Michigan @ Minnesota (ESPN): It’s been a rough week for the Gophers, after Jerry Kill had to step down for his health. It’s a real bummer, to put it mildly. As for the game, Minnesota’s three losses have all come to teams with functioning defenses, which Michigan has, to say the least.
• Vanderbilt @ Houston (ESPN2): Well, Vandy’s a big underdog in this one. Who am I to disagree?
• Miami @ Duke (ESPNU): Miami is sort of the ACC’s version of USC, a capable team that has issues living up to the expectations created by the talent. With Al Golden gone, will the Hurricanes get a similar result? I don’t feel safe calling that.
• Texas @ Iowa State (FS1): Iowa State just fired their offensive coordinator. While head coaches getting canned in-season is unfortunate but understandable, dismissing and hiring new coordinators in many ways makes less sense (and it certainly happens less often). Suffice it to say, I’m going with the Longhorns here.
• Tulane @ Memphis (CBSS): Three of Memphis’s next four games are against solid to really good teams. This is not one of them.
• Oregon State @ Utah (Pac12): I think the Utes will rebound from their devastating loss last week (it’s not like they’re out of it in the Pac-12 South), but I wouldn’t be shocked if there’s a hangover.

7:30: Tennessee @ Kentucky (SEC): I’m not sure which of these teams to believe in, so I’m going to go with my gut and say Tennessee.

8:00: Notre Dame @ Temple (ABC): It’s cool Temple is undefeated and all, but their “signature win” this year is an eight point win over Cincinnati. Notre Dame has at least 4 better wins. I don’t think this will be close.

10:30:

• Stanford @ Washington State (ESPN): As has been observed elsewhere, Wazzou is essentially having a breakout season that started with a loss to FCS Portland State. While I don’t think they have any shot of beating Stanford, hey, it’s Halloween in Pullman, weird stuff can happen. (Probably not, though.)
• Air Force @ Hawaii (CBSS): Hawaii is kind of awful this year. Did you know Norm Chow is still their head coach? I had to look it up, so I can confirm he is. Huh.

11:00: Arizona @ Washington (FS1): Washington has a bizarre win over Southern Cal to their credit and not much else. Going with the Wildcats here.

To end, a quick shoutout to two of my favorite college football writers, whom I have followed across multiple sites over the years. Holly and Matt, I look forward to seeing where you land.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Clemson @ Miami (ABC): Miami probably isn’t as bad as most people think. Will that be good enough to pull the (according to Vegas, minor) upset over the Tigers? I also suspect that with a noon kick in Miami it’ll probably be mostly Clemson fans, as well. I additionally suspect that Clemson will continue hurtling toward their clash against Florida State in two weeks.
• Iowa State @ Baylor (ESPN): Well, TCU did struggle in the first half before… okay yeah, I can’t do it.
• Northwestern @ Nebraska (ESPN2): So it turns out that Northwestern’s offense is still kind of terrible, but I confess to not know what happened to the defense. Sure, giving up 38 to Michigan kinda-sorta makes sense, but 40 to Iowa? Where did that come from? I don’t feel comfortable about it, but I’m going with Nebraska here.
• Kansas State @ Texas (FS1): Bill Synder has, thus far, been unable to pull off another trick, but as the Big 12’s resident wizard, there could still be some magic left. Also, it fits in with the way things have been going for Texas this year.
• Pittsburgh @ Syracuse (ESPNU): Syracuse is terrible, Pitt should roll.
• Houston @ Central Florida (ESPNEWS): And speaking of rolling… goodness me this could get bad. Real bad.
• Auburn @ Arkansas (SEC): Auburn could well lose this game, but I find it difficult to pick Arkansas nonetheless.
• North Carolina State @ Wake Forest (ACC/RSN): NC State is probably less awful than Wake? It’s close, though.

12:30: Boston College @ Louisville (ACC):
Dear Boston College Eagles,
    You lost a game to Wake Forest 3-0. I cannot, in good conscience, pick you in any of your remaining contests.

Sincerely,
ASimPerson

1:00: Tulane @ Navy (CBSS): While Tulane does have the advantage of having already played a team with a substantially similar offense so far this season, the 55 point margin does not bode well for their chances.

3:30:

• Tennessee @ Alabama (CBS): There’s not a lot of suggest that the Vols, revamped as they may be, are ready for this.
• Indiana @ Michigan State (ABC/ESPN2): A week after the best/worst play in the history of college football, Sparty gets to play a team that just gave up 55 points to Rutgers. Yeah, I don’t think they’re going to need any botched punts in this one.
• Texas Tech @ Oklahoma (ABC/ESPN2): The Sooners vented their frustrations onto K-State last week, pitching a 55-0 shutout. (This is the third time in this post 55 has shown up, what gives? Too bad this isn’t a sport where I could drop 88 a lot.) That said, the Red Raiders can score some points of their own, and there’s little to suggest so far that Oklahoma are as good as TCU or Baylor. I think it’ll be close, but the Sooners will escape.
• Pennsylvania State vs. Maryland (@Baltimore, MD; ESPN): I don’t get the idea that Randy Edsall had beat Ohio State it would’ve saved his job. I mean, really? It’s not like beating Ohio State after losing 45-6 to WVU and 28-0 to Michigan magically shows that everything is A-OK and that the program isn’t a dumpster fire anymore. The situation in College Park seems to bad from the outside that I most agree with EDSBS’s assessment that Maryland was doing Edsall a favor by firing him.
• Kansas @ Oklahoma State (FS1): Yeah, this week is a bit short on interesting matchups, why do you ask? Cowboys roll.
• Duke @ Virginia Tech (ESPNU): It still feels weird to type this, but: Duke should win this one.
• Wisconsin @ Illinois (BTN): While there’s still plenty of time for the Illini to finish 4-8, they still have to be the most surprising team this year, right? I don’t think they’ll beat the Badgers, but still.
• Virginia @ North Carolina (ACC/RSN): I guess the nicest thing you can say about our performance against the Tar Heels is that we’re one of only two teams that scored more than 14 against them so far this season? Seriously, in their four wins they’ve held all their opponents to exactly 14 points. Bizarre. That said, it’s likely that UVA will score somewhere around that amount, while Carolina score more than enough.

4:00:

• Southern Methodist @ South Florida (ESPNEWS): It sounds odd to say this about a 3-3 team, but USF is clearly better than SMU.
• Missouri @ Vanderbilt (SEC): Two terrible offenses and at least one strong defense. I’m predicting Mizzou 12, Vandy 6.
• Washington State @ Arizona (Pac12): Don’t look, but Wazzou is on a nice little run right now. Is it enough to beat Arizona? Probably not.

4:30: Connecticut @ Cincinnati (CBSS): Cincy isn’t great or anything, but UConn is terrible.

7:00:

• Texas A&M @ Mississippi (ESPN): I’m still not buying what TAMU is selling. Going with Ole Miss here.
• Florida State @ Georgia Tech (ESPN2): I may have audibly exhaled before starting on this bit. What else is there to say about this season? Last week, I already talked about the injury and experience situation. I’m not sure what else to say at this point.
• Western Kentucky @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): This is how dire Week 8 is: these teams have the best combined record of any matchup this week. LSU is still going to win, but I’m hoping WKU makes then earn it.

7:30:

• Utah @ Southern California (FOX): Meanwhile, I am buying what the Utes are selling. I currently don’t have them losing again.
• Kentucky @ Mississippi State (SEC): Both these teams only have two losses, but that’s about where the similarities end. The Bulldogs should roll.

8:00: Ohio State @ Rutgers (ABC): Speaking of rolling, with a settled starter at QB, will the Buckeye offense get back on track? Considering they just gave up 52 to Indiana, against Rutgers it was probably a good bet either way.

10:15: Wyoming @ Boise State (ESPN2): Boise got beat bad by Utah State last week, which is to say, I would not want to Wyoming right now.

10:30:

• Washington @ Stanford (ESPN): Losing by 6 to this year’s edition to Oregon is not quite as meaningful as it was in the recent past. Meanwhile, Stanford figures to continue their quest to be the college football equivalent of a steamroller.
• Colorado @ Oregon State (Pac12): I’d say the odds are looking pretty good for the Beavers to pick up their first Pac-12 win of the season.