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.

A quick note on the week one guide: contrary to my usual policy, I do list FCS vs. FBS matchups because there’s so darn many of them, but as you’ll see below I dispense with them quickly.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday
Noon:

• Stanford @ Northwestern (ESPN): I think this will be closer than many think, but still hard to see how Northwestern comes through here.
• Richmond @ Maryland (ESPNU): Maryland.
• Norfolk State @ Rutgers (ESPNEWS): Rutgers.
• South Dakota State @ Kansas (FSN): Kan–er, wait. Going with South Dakota State here.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Georgia (SEC): I’m trying to give better than one-word responses for games between two FBS teams, but, well, even for games like this hard to see any other outcome than the obvious.
• Tennessee-Martin @ Mississippi (SEC): Ole Miss.
• Colgate @ Navy (CBSS): Navy.
• Illinois State @ Iowa (BTN): Iowa.

12:30: Wofford @ Clemson (ACC): Clemson.

2:00: Portland State @ Washington State (Pac12): Wazzou.

3:30:

• Louisville vs. Auburn (@Atlanta, GA; CBS): I think this game is probably more intriguing on paper than otherwise, but if there’s any point in the season when you want to attempt to stop the Malzahn Death Machine, it’s in Week 1.
• Virginia @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): UVA should offer slightly more resistance than a punching bag. Slightly.
• Brigham Young @ Nebraska (ABC): This game may wind up being the most interesting in this time slot. Nebraska will debut Bill Riley, yet I think I’ve missed the previews of the transition to the new coach. Do the Cornhuskers still have the talent advantage to prevail over the Stormin’ Mormons? I’m thinking they do.
• Pennsylvania State @ Temple (ESPN): The last time Temple beat Penn State, the attack on Pearl Harbor had not yet happened. Thanks to the magic of ties, the Owls have not-lost more recently, in 1950. Other than that, this series has been mostly pain. It does not look to change.
• Texas-El Paso @ Arkansas (ESPNU): “So… you’re saying there’s a chance?”
• Sam Houston State @ Texas Tech (FSN): Texas Tech.
• Florida Atlantic @ Tulsa (CBSS): These teams were both terrible last year and there’s not much reason to think it’ll be different this year. But, hey, it’s football, and it’s on TV! Also rolling with Tulsa.

4:00:

• Southern Illinois @ Indiana (ESPNEWS): Indiana.
• Bowling Green @ Tennessee (@Nashville, TN; SEC): It took me forever to figure out if this was a Tennessee home game or not, more in the de jure sense (i.e., how ticket sales are split and other contractual stuff), and not in the de facto sense, which it most definitely is. Vols should roll in front of a partisan crowd.
• Southeast Missouri @ Missouri (SEC): Mizzou.

5:00: Grambling @ California (Pac12): Cal.

7:00:

• Arizona State vs. Texas A&M (@Houston, TX; ESPN): I still remain bummed that “A&M” does not actually stand for anything. This one could go either way, depending mostly on if A&M’s secondary has gotten any less flammable in the off-season. I’m betting it has.
• Louisiana-Lafayette @ Kentucky (ESPNU): I think Kentucky can win this one? Probably?

7:30:

• Texas @ Notre Dame (NBC): It felt like several times last season that the Longhorns were just this close to figuring it out. Well, Week 1 will likely do them no favors try to get a handle on this season early. I like the Domers here.
• Georgia Southern @ West Virginia (FSN): I think the Mountaineers are going to win, but man, strangers things have happened at night in Morgantown.
• New Mexico State @ Florida (SEC): Florida will win, but boy howdy I suspect many Gator fans will be watching with bated breath that there will be some sort sign, any sign, that this team has an offense.
• McNeese State @ Louisiana State (SEC): LSU.
• Nevada-Las Vegas @ Northern Illinois (CBSS): Again, the chances of MACtion this early do not seem strong.

8:00:

• Alabama vs. Wisconsin (@Arlington, TX; ABC): Look, Alabama is going to win. That out of the way, that doesn’t make the matchup any less intriguing. Of course, this is kind of offense that Nick Saban’s defenses have been the best at stopping over the years, so it doesn’t seem like it’ll be the best preparation for the SEC foes that have given him the most trouble. On the flip side, Wisconsin executes their bruising style better than almost anyone else, which means we’re going to see a game of strength-versus-strength. Alabama’s questions at quarterback and the secondary are also potential areas of concern, but I don’t think Wisconsin is the team that will be able to expose them well enough.
• Texas State @ Florida State (ESPNEWS): Remember, when you have as much talent as Florida State does, it’s not rebuilding, it’s reloading. I personally think the predictions of their demise may be a bit premature, but it won’t matter in this game anyway.
• Eastern Washington @ Oregon (Pac12): Oregon.

10:00:  Mississippi State @ Southern Mississippi (FS1): A rare trip to Hattiesburg for either of the (relatively) blue-chip programs in Mississippi, I’m not sure that USM has quite recovered from the Dark Years to go toe-to-toe with SEC foes again, but it’s a sure bet the crowd will be trying to turn back the clock.

11:00: Arkansas State @ Southern California (Pac12): Even if I were on the West Coast right now I probably wouldn’t stay up to watch this one.

Sunday
3:00: Purdue @ Marshall (FS1): Marshall, just ’cause.

3:30: South Carolina State vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (@Orlando, FL; ESPN): There’s not much else on on Sunday afternoon, and it’s interesting to see the FCS get into the neutral-site game. And, again, your alternative is watching Purdue.

Monday
8:00: Ohio State @ Virginia Tech (ESPN): A year ago, the ESPN write-up for VPI’s victory raised questions about Urban’s direction and whether VPI was a darkhorse national title contender. Whoops. At any rate, don’t expect a repeat this time around. Wacky stuff can happen in Blacksburgh at night, but I don’t expect lightning to strike two years in a row.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday
8:00: Chattanooga @ New Hampshire (Division I Football Championship Subdivision Quarterfinal; ESPN2): I like to do these games, because, hey, playoff football on TV, but I don’t know enough about the teams in question to really even give you a good breakdown, much less make picks. So I’ll let you know that the Mocs (that is, UT-Chattanooga) are 10-3 on the year and are a primarily run-oriented team, ranking 24th in the FCS in rushing. They have the 21st best scoring offense and 11th best scoring defense. The Wildcats are much more of a passing attack, ranking 13th in the FCS, but they’ll be going against one of the pass defenses in the nation. Should be a good one.

Saturday
Noon: Coastal Carolina @ North Dakota State (Division I Football Championship Subdivision Quarterfinal; ESPN): The Bison (I think you can figure out which one is which) are of course semi-famous at this point for basically being the 11th member of the Big 12, having beaten Iowa State this year after beating Kansas State last year. They did suffer a lost to Northen Iowa, but they still boast one of the best defenses in the country and are playing at home. The Chanticleers boast a pretty balanced offense, but their defense is pretty average, which may get them into trouble.

3:00: Army vs. Navy (@Baltimore, MD; CBS): One of these days, I’ll get to make this post and Army will actually have a chance. But again, it’s hard to fathom just how they’ll be able to win here. Army is 4-7, so if one result had gone their way they could be playing for a bowl game. The tempting thing would be to say “oh, they shouldn’t have lost to Yale”. And that’s true, because while the win wouldn’t have counted for them (they also played FCS Fordham) the loss still does. This isn’t exactly a powerhouse edition of Navy, though, and both these teams lost to Western Kentucky over the course of the season. But again, based on everything else, I just can’t pick the USMA here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Michigan @ Ohio State (ABC): It’s hard to see Michigan really doing anything to win this game. Their offense is simply too bad, and Ohio State is firing on all cylinders right now.
• South Carolina @ Clemson (ESPN): This pick is basically conditional on Deshaun Watson’s status. If he plays, and preferably, starts, then I think Clemson can snap their losing streak. Otherwise, the Gamecocks should prevail.
• Kentucky @ Louisville (ESPN2): Louisville’s had a good run so far this season. Up in Lexington, the good times were rolling, including two SEC wins and a narrow overtime loss to Florida, up until they got dismantled 41-3 by LSU back in mid-October. They’ve lost five straight since then, and none of them where close. Louisville will probably make it six.
• West Virginia @ Iowa State (FS1): Really the only surprising result for the Fightin’ Holgos in their current three game losing streak was the semi-bizarre loss to Texas. Other than that, they gave TCU and K-State way more than either wanted. They should get off the schnide against Iowa State.
• Illinois @ Northwestern (ESPNU): In a battle for bowl eligibility, there can only be one winner. And that winner will probably not be Illinois.
• Cincinnati @ Temple (ESPNEWS): Temple’s surprised me before, but it’s hard to see how they stack up against Cincy.
• North Texas @ Texas-San Antonio (FSN): Absolutely no clue. I was going to go North Texas but F+ says UTSA has a 76% chance of winning, so…
• Rice @ Louisiana Tech (CBSS): This is the vastly more interesting C-USA West fight than the one above, as the winner gets the right to face Marshall. That winner seems much more likely to be LaTech.
• Georgia Tech @ Georgia (SEC): To Hell With Georgia.
• Purdue @ Indiana (BTN): With two in-state teams with identical 3-8 records and 5+ game losing streaks, this is basically a tossup to me. Purdue, I guess?

12:30:

• North Carolina State @ North Carolina (ACC): UNC’s offense figures to just be too much for NC State.
• Syracuse @ Boston College (ACC/RSN): I think BC is a pretty solid team, and they figure to handle the ‘Cuse pretty easily.

1:00: Utah @ Colorado (Pac12): The Pac-12’s newest members face off, but as I’ve mentioned before, their trajectories since joining the conference are vastly different. This Colorado team, despite being 0-8, isn’t as awful as it’s been, but they’re still pretty bad. The Utes should win easily.

3:30:

• Notre Dame @ Southern California (FOX): Notre Dame has been exposed a bit in their current three-game losing streak. While Southern Cal isn’t great or anything, they do have the talent to compete and I don’t think Notre Dame is good enough at this point to punish them for their lack of depth. I have the Trojans as a slight favorite.
• Mississippi State @ Mississippi (CBS): Speaking of collapses, what happened to Ole Miss last weekend? Well, for starters, they managed to turn the ball over six times, which is a pretty good way to ensure that you’ll lose 30-0. Miss State still only has the one blemish on their record, while the Rebels are playing only for pride now with three losses. This Egg Bowl doesn’t look as appetizing as did two weeks ago, that’s for sure. At any rate, I have the Bulldogs in this one.
• Michigan State @ Pennsylvania State (ABC/ESPN2): One team not suffering a post-big-loss hangover is Michigan State. Since losing to Ohio State, they’ve pounded Maryland and Rutgers into a fine dust. They figure to do the same against Penn State.
• Baylor vs. Texas Tech (@Arlington, TX; ABC/ESPN2): I’d say it’s getting weird at Texas Tech vis-a-vis the situation with their former defensive coordinator, but weird stuff happens there a lot, so let’s say it’s getting downright ugly. Baylor should win easily.
• Florida @ Florida State (ESPN): It’s tempting to say that Florida will get up for this rivalry game the same way they did against Georgia, but let’s face it: that one game is the only time all year Florida has displayed any sort of offensive competence. (Well, and against Eastern Kentucky last week, but that doesn’t count.) Florida’s defense is good enough to keep it close, but FSU will probably keep doing what they’ve been doing.
• Rutgers @ Maryland (ESPNU): Maryland, probably.
• San Jose State @ San Diego State (CBSS): I don’t have any good reason to pick San Jose State here, so I won’t. I do bet that Boise wishes any of the teams on this side of the MWC table were better going into next week’s title game, though.
• Minnesota @ Wisconsin (BTN): It’s hard to see how Minnesota is going to be able to stand up to Wisconsin’s brutal rushing attack.

4:00:

• Kansas @ Kansas State (FS1): It’s hard to see how Kansas will put up a fight against K-State at all.
• Connecticut @ Memphis (ESPNEWS): Given that they’re favored to lose to Memphis, that Fiesta Bowl must seem like a distant memory to Husky fans.
• Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (SEC): I continue to lack an explanation for how awful Vandy is this year, so I’ll just stick to picking against them.

4:30: Brigham Young @ California (Pac12): I’ve been calling for Cal to win this one in the bowl predictions, mostly because that makes things slightly easier. In reality, this one projects to be pretty close. I’ll stick my guns and lean toward Cal.

7:00:

• Pittsburgh @ Miami (ESPN2): Dear Miami: what the hell happened against Virginia last weekend? Obviously you’re still favorites and still my pick in this one, but seriously.
• Wake Forest @ Duke (ESPNU): At least what happened to Duke last week is somewhat explainable, and trust me, I’m quite happy it happened. Duke’s been sliding a bit, but a game against Wake Forest is a decent way to right the ship, as it were.

7:45: Auburn @ Alabama (ESPN): Barring another crazy special teams play, as hilarious as it was, it’s difficult to see Auburn getting a win here. Auburn’s defense just isn’t good enough to provide the resistance to Alabama’s offense that they need to have a chance.

8:00: Oregon @ Oregon State (ABC): Weird things can always happen in this Civil War, but believe me that doesn’t really project to be the case this year.

10:15: Utah State @ Boise State (ESPN2): Boise has improved as the season’s gone on. Utah State has been putting on a pretty brave show for most the season in light of what happened to their all-everything quaterback, but the dream figures to end on the blue turf.

10:30:

• Washington @ Washington State (FS1): It’s been a rough second year for Mike Leach out in Spokane, and UDub doesn’t figure to make it any less so.
• Nevada @ Nevada-Las Vegas (ESPNU): It’s not often you can say a 6-5 team is obviously better than another, but when your opponent is 2-10, this is one of those times. Nevada.