As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

11:30: Army vs. Air Force (@Arlignton, TX; CBS): So if this is 11:30 AM Eastern, then it’s 10:30 Central. That’s pretty early, but I would imagine that if there’s any group of college students that can deal with waking up early, it’s academy students. That said, I think Army is till the best of the academies this year and I’ll take them here.

Noon:

• Ohio State @ Nebraska (FOX): Nebraska could well still surprise here, but they’ll still lose here.
• Wake Forest @ North Carolina (ABC): This is a non-conference game! Okay, with that out of the way Wake should roll.
• Missouri @ Georgia (ESPN): Speaking of rolling… I think UGA’s best chances to lose now are Auburn and whoever they play in the SEC championship?
• Illinois @ Minnesota (ESPN2): The Golden Gophers are surprisingly decent this year, and Illinois shouldn’t be able to do much to disabuse that notion.
• Kansas State @ Kansas (“Sunflower Showdown”; FS1): It’s a rivalry game, but… K-State should obliterate this edition to the Jayhawks.
• Southern Methodist @ Memphis (ESPNU): Oh, if Memphis was good this year as they’ve been in the past few… but they’re not.
• Liberty @ Mississippi (SEC): Ole Miss by… a lot.
• Louisiana Tech @ Alabama-Birmingham (CBSS): Go Blazers.
• Pittsburgh @ Duke (ACCN): Pitt should be able to take advantage of this opportunity.

12:30: Georgia Tech @ Miami (ACC/RSN): I’ve written a lot about hope this year. I mean, a fair bit of that came during the Braves’s playoff run, which I obviously greatly enjoyed. Regardless, this doesn’t seem like a team that’s getting better, and that’s extremely concerning at this point. I don’t think Tech would make any moves during the season, but this something that will definitely need to some hard questions asked during the offseason.

3:00:

• California @ Arizona (Pac12): It’s late and I’m tired. LIGHTNING ROUND (unless I have something particularly insightful to say). Cal? Big “oof” from noted Cal alum Aaron Rodgers the past few days though, eh? Maybe it turns out that the rest of the Rodgerses were avoiding Aaron instead of the other way around like we all thought.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas State (ESPN+)
• Temple @ East Carolina (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Michigan State @ Purdue (ABC): Sparty? It definitely seems about right that they’d beat Michigan and then drop one to Purdue, but the Boilermakers kinda did that already this year, so could they do it again? Probably not, but it may be worth watching to see.
• Navy @ Notre Dame (NBC): Domers.
• Baylor @ Texas Christian (FOX): Gary Patterson just pulled the “you can’t fire me, I quit!” at TCU, so I’ll take the Bears.
• Auburn @ Texas A&M (CBS): My heart says Auburn’s gonna win this, but my brain says TAMU. Should be worth watching though!
• Oklahoma State @ West Virginia (ESPN): Okie State, probably?
• Tulsa @ Cincinnati (ESPN2): Cincy!
• Pennsylvania State @ Maryland (FS1): Penn State!
• Wisconsin @ Rutgers (BTN): Wisky!
• Colorado State @ Wyoming (CBSS): Wyoming?
• Middle Tennessee State @ Western Kentucky (Stadium)
• Rice @ Charlotte (ESPN+)
• South Alabama @ Troy (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Tulane @ Central Florida (ESPNU): UCF?
• Mississippi State @ Arkansas (SEC): Miss State?
• North Carolina State @ Florida State (ACCN): Wolfpack!

6:00:

• Marshall @ Florida Atlantic (Facebook)
• Coastal Carolina @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Iowa @ Northwestern (BTN): Iowa!
• Louisiana State @ Alabama (ESPN): Bama!
• Tennessee @ Kentucky (ESPN2): This is actually pretty hard. Logic says Kentucky, but keep an eye on this one.
• Boise State @ Fresno State (CBSS): Fresno. This should be more fun but Boise’s just down this year.
• Oregon State @ Colorado (Pac12): Beavers!
• Nevada-Las Vegas @ New Mexico (Stadium)
• Old Dominion @ Florida International (espn3.com)

7:30:

• Indiana @ Michigan (FOX): Michigan should be able to use this as a salve.
• Oregon @ Washington (ABC): Ducks, provided they figure out how to not mess around and just win this thing.
• Texas @ Iowa State (FS1): Texas?
• Houston @ South Florida (ESPNU): Cougars!
• Florida @ South Carolina (SEC): Gators!
• Clemson @ Louisville (ACCN): Clemson?

10:00: San Jose State @ Nevada (FS2): Wolf Pack!

10:15: Texas-San Antonio @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN2): Y’all, this is the hipster game of the week, but for good reason. Sure, UTEP took a loss that week, but still the Roadrunners have to go all the way out to El Paso for game that will start at 8:15 local time. I. Am. Here. For. This. I hope the Sun Bowl is too. I’ll still pick the Roadrunners though.

10:30: Southern California @ Arizona State (ESPN): Uh, Sun Devils, I guess?

11:00: San Diego State @ Hawaii (FS1): Aztecs, but a good wind down either way.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Central Florida @ Cincinnati (ABC): This ordinarily is marquee match over in the AAC, but not this year. CIncy should win easily.
• Auburn @ Arkansas (CBS): The Tigers just aren’t good enough to stand up to the whompin’.
• Oklahoma State @ Texas (FOX): Texas suffered a heartbreaker last week in Red River, but if they don’t let the disappointment carry over this week they should be able to crush Okie State’s party.
• Florida @ Louisiana State (ESPN): This feels like after LSU got lucky last year the Gators will win easily and get Coach O in even more trouble.
• Nebraska @ Minnesota (ESPN2): This feels a tad like an anxiety bowl? The Huskers just want to win a close game for once, and the Gophers seem somewhat stagnant this year. I’m taking Nebraska for some reason.
• Michigan State @ Indiana (FS1): It feels like the year never got started for Indiana, whereas Michigan State seems somewhat ascendant and maybe even… fun? I’ll take Sparty here.
• Tulsa @ South Florida (ESPNU): Tulsa?
• Texas A&M @ Missouri (SEC): Mizzou is… well, those SEC East championships feel like they didn’t even happen. TAMU all the way.
• Rutgers @ Northwestern (BTN): Rut… gers?
• Yale @ Connecticut (CBSS)
• Ohio @ Buffalo (ESPN+)

12:30: Duke @ Virginia (ACC/RSN): We barely beat Duke last weekend and I know UVA isn’t good this year but I can’t in good conscience pick Duke over them.

2:00: Ball State @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)

2:30: Akron @ Miami (ESPN+)

3:00: Troy @ Texas State (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Purdue @ Iowa (ABC): Iowa did well to knock out Penn State’s quarterback last weekend, as that was likely the difference in the game. They don’t need to do any of that to smother Purdue and win this one.
• Kentucky @ Georgia (CBS): I want to believe that Kentucky can keep this fun, but this feels like the Arkansas game all over again. Even down to UGA shutting them out.
• Brigham Young @ Baylor (ESPN): BYU probably picked a bad time to play the ascendant Bears.
• Pittsburgh @ Virginia Tech (ESPN2): The other ACC team that lost to a MAC team looks like possibly the best team in the conference. Great. Awesome. They’ll probably at least beat the Hokies at least.
• Kent State @ Western Michigan (FS2): Kent State looks good? We’ll see if they’re good enough to win a MAC road game after going 0-3 in their paycheck away games though.
• Toledo @ Central Michigan (CBSS): I don’t think the Chippewas will have an issue here.
• Miami @ North Carolina (ACCN): Here’s a disappointment bowl! UNC’s best win so far is over UVA or Duke. Miami’s list even more dire, so I guess I’ll go with the Tarheels.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Southern Mississippi (Stadium): Southern Miss seems a bit lost in the wilderness right now.
• Arizona @ Colorado (Pac12): Well, most folks should be glad they don’t get Pac-12 network so that’s there no chance they’ll be exposed to this game. These teams are a combined 1-9 on the year so far, but Arizona’s especially bad defense figures to let the Buffs take this one at home.
• Western Kentucky @ Old Dominion (espn3.com)
• Bowling Green @ Northern Illinois (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Vanderbilt @ South Carolina (SEC): Is South Carolina a bad enough team to allow Vandy to win a conference game? Maybe! But probably not.
• Texas Tech @ Kanas (ESPN+)

6:00: Rice @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Alabama @ Mississippi State (ESPN): I would not want to play Bama this week.
• Utah State @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): I’ll take the Aggies here.
• Colorado State @ New Mexico (Stadium): Rams.
• Liberty @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Texas Christian @ Oklahoma (ABC): TCU’s lack of an identity means there’s way I can even remotely consider them having a chance to win here.
• Iowa State @ Kansas State (“Farmageddon”; ESPN2): K-State’s down a quarterback, but it’s a bit of a lost season for the Cyclones. I’ll still take them though.
• Stanford @ Washington State (ESPNU): Stanford beat Oregon and then immediately faceplanted and lost 28-10 to Arizona State. I’ll take Wazzu here.
• Mississippi @ Tennessee (SEC): Tennessee is better this year, but I can’t see them scoring enough to beat Ole Miss.
• North Carolina State @ Boston College (ACCN): Both these teams are among the better teams in the ACC, which a bit of cognitive dissonance for me but it’s there. I’ll take NCSU though.

8:00: Army @ Wisconsin (BTN): Army will keep this close just from possessing the ball and running the clock, but I’m sure they can pip Wisky.

8:30: California-Los Angeles @ Washington (FOX): This should’ve been a marquee game for the Pac-12, but alas, UCLA should be a solid favorite.

9:00:

• Air Force @ Boise State (FS1): Both of these teams just notched big wins, but I figure Boise will keep the momentum going,
• Louisiana Tech @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN+)

10:00: Arizona State @ Utah (ESPN): I’m still coming to grips with “ranked Arizona State”, and I suspect they will continue to be after this.

10:30: Hawaii @ Nevada (CBSS): Nevada all the way here.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Nebraska @ Northwestern (ABC): The forecast for Scott Frost’s first win as Nebraska’s head coach looks cloudy. But hey, how about a distraction?
• Florida @ Vanderbilt (ESPN): I guess Florida is good? Or at least okay? Definitely better than Vandy, though.
• Iowa @ Indiana (ESPN2): There’s a Hooiser fan out there somewhere is mad that Kentucky now has both a good football team and basketball team, while Indiana arguably has neither.
• Minnesota @ Ohio State (FS1): Buckeyes.
• Oklahoma State @ Kansas State (ESPNU): Sooners.
• Tennessee @ Auburn (SEC): Hey, uh, TIgers, um, what are you doing? Everyone’s worried about y’all. The thing you’re supposed to be good at is offense, and you are not good at it this year! I had to momentarily stop to think “hey, wait a second, Tennessee might beat them”. I mean, they probably won’t, but boy howdy that’s where we’re at with Auburn right now.
• Rutgers @ Maryland (BTN): I wonder if at the Big Ten conference offices this is known as the Regret Bowl. Did the conference ultimately benefit at all from adding these teams? I’m sure they did, but still. Anyway, Terps roll.
• Akron @ Buffalo (CBSS): Speaking of MAC teams that have beaten Rutgers by 29 points, Bulls roll.

12:20: Duke @ Georgia Tech (Raycom): Okay, so now we know exactly how bad Louisville is (real bad). We also know how badly Paul Johnson hates traveling defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder (real bad). That said, or defense still looks… well, I won’t say “real bad”, but you get the idea. That said, I just hope we acquit ourselves against the Blue Devils better than we did last year.

12:30: Louisville @ Boston College (ACC/RSN): Boston College might try to see if they can break the 600 yard rushing mark that we couldn’t quite get to last week. (We probably would’ve hit it, except we were down a possession in the fourth quarter due to a 95-yard pick-six.)

2:30: Pittsburgh @ Notre Dame (NBC): In case you don’t know, the corner of the Internet I hang out in has been calling Pitt to upset Notre Dame all year. So, here were are. Go Panthers.

3:30:

• Georgia @ Louisiana State (CBS): At least Georgia and Bama will play in the SEC Championship this year.
• Washington @ Oregon (ABC/ESPN2): Hey, Pac-12 you finally got a marquee game on in the daytime! Good job! Oh, wait, nevermind, you’re doing a reverse mirror with two AAC teams. Wonderful, great. At any rate, this should be a cracker of the game, even though I think Washington’s defense will allow it to prevail. But, that said, with it being at Autzen, I kinda wish it was at night, you know?
• Central Florida @ Memphis (ABC/ESPN2): I’m mostly joking above because this should also be a cracker of a game. The rest of the G5 world is sort of waiting for UCF to lose, sort in the same way most of the P5 world is waiting for Alabama, Georgia, or Ohio State to lose. In the G5 scenario, it’s a bit more dire because until they lose UCF are massive favorites to return to a New Year’s Day bowl game. So, with that, I expect them to continue to prevail.
• Baylor @ Texas (ESPN): TEXAS IS BACK. Well, okay, maybe. I mean, they’ve beaten Oklahoma before and had it not being particularly indicative of anything, which still seems like the more likely scenario. The real test are games like this, which Texas should win.
• Purdue @ Illinois (FS1): Purdue: who knows? But hey, they’ll beat Illinois.
• Army vs. San Jose State (@Santa Clara, CA; ESPNU): Do you know the way to… the northern reaches of Santa Clara? Yeah, not as catchy as the original, but hey if they wanna play in the Bay Area’s soulless NFL stadium, well, I guess it works just as well as getting blown out by Army in Spartan CEFCU Stadium.
• Texas A&M @ South Carolina (SEC): Texas A&M went out and ruined a good thing (that is, Kentucky’s undefeated season). This game figures to be… really boring, honestly. Neither team is exactly full of offensive savants, and for the second week in a row it figures to pretty damp in Columbia, SC. So, I’m going with the Aggies, I guess?
• Michigan State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): I actually still do have BTN, but I still just have it in standard definition. Will this be the one time a year I watch it for an extended period? Honestly, I figure no, because I don’t think the Spartans are really that good, whereas Penn State was still a few plays away from being a Top-5 team.
• Temple @ Navy (CBSS): Navy didn’t just lose to Air Force last week, they lost 35-7. That’s… bad. I’m going with Temple here.

7:00:

• Missouri @ Alabama (ESPN): (*distant clap of thunder*) LIGHTNING ROUND! Bama.
• Miami @ Virginia (ESPN2): Miami.
• West Virginia @ Iowa State (FS1): Unless something weird happens ’cause AMES AFTER DARK, WVU all the way.
• Virginia Tech @ North Carolina (ESPNU): VPI.
• Houston @ East Carolina (CBSS): Cougars.
• California-Los Angeles @ California (Pac12): UCLA. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

7:30:

• Wisconsin @ Michigan (ABC): I guess I really should drop of LIGHTNING ROUND (*thunder noises*) for this game, but I mean… there’s not a whole lot of evidence that Wisconsin will be able to beat any of the Big Three Big Ten East teams this year, which is bad because they both have this and Penn State on the road. I mean, geez, you can see this scenario playing out now, right? Some bounces go the wrong way, and suddenly the Badgers have 2 or 3 conference losses and things get dicey. So as to not put too fine a point on this, but Wisconsin really needs to win this game. And honestly, I don’t think they will. (*thunder noises*) LET CHAOS REIGN IN THE BIG TEN WEST (“The Immigrant Song” begins playing out of nowhere)
• Mississippi @ Arkansas (SEC): So, yeah, the Big Ten is the land of gray winter skies, snow, and beer. Add in a good portion of the population being of Scandinavian descent, and you have college football’s most metal conference. The SEC, well, the SEC is a lot of things, but I think most would agree metal isn’t one of them. And this game is about as far from metal as you can get. Anyway, Ole Miss should win this game for the first time since 2013.
• Middle Tennessee State @ Florida International (beIN): MTSU figures to seize control of the CUSA East in this one.

10:15: Hawaii @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): Hey y’all, Hawaii is 6-1 and fun again. You should watch them, they figure to win!

10:30:

• Colorado @ Southern California (FS1): Did you know the Buffs are 5-0? While it’s tough to pick them on the road, USC has, shall we say, vastly underperformed this year, so what the heck, let’s put the Pac-12 South into full chaos mode and go with Colorado here.
• Wyoming @ Fresno State (ESPNU): Yeah, Wyoming’s not good this year.
• Boise State @ Nevada (CBSS): Boise was knocked off their perch with a loss to San Diego State last weekend, but the Aztecs themselves are pretty good. They’re probably out of contention of the New Year’s Six spot, but they should still beat Nevada.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Friday

7:00: Georgia Tech @ Louisville (ESPN): So we’re here to cover the Friday games this weekend as well, where in a down-on-their-luck squad of Yellow Jackets seek to turn their season around. And, well, we could certainly do worse than Louisville, but we’ve been bad on the road as of late and I’m still worried about the defense.

7:30: Middle Tennessee State @ Marshall (CBSS): MTSU is lucky to be 2-2, having been outscored by 45 points through four games. Marshall looks a lot better, and they’re at home.

9:00: Utah State @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): BYU’s upset over Wisconsin will continue to look weird, as they’re probably going to lose to the Aggies here.

Saturday

Noon:

• Maryland @ Michigan (ABC): Maryland and Rutgers’s addition to the Big Ten has been embarrassing to the conference, the former off the field, the latter on it. Not that prior Big Ten members have necessarily looked better, but when the TV money disappears one wonders if they might find themselves chopped off like a gangrenous limb. Taking Michigan here.
• Texas vs. Oklahoma (@Dallas, TX; FOX): The Red River Thing is back, and probably as weird as ever! As though it matters, I’m picking Oklahoma.
• Alabama @ Arkansas (ESPN): Let’s see, when will we finally get a game this season where I have a reason to write something here’s other than “Bama” or “Tide” and also not a meta-commentary on what I write here… Mizzou at home, probably not… at Neyland, hah… ah, here we go, mark your calendars for the next time the Crimson Tide will play a game that has a chance to be interesting: November 3rd at LSU.
• Kansas @ West Virginia (ESPN2): All you need to know about KU football is that they probably won’t win another game for the rest of the season but their two wins are a relative success anyway. (In other words, they should schedule Rutgers more often.)
• Northwestern @ Michigan State (FS1): The Big Ten West is on fire right now, and not in a good way. Going with Sparty here.
• Tulane @ Cincinnati (ESPNU): If The Red River Whatchamacallit gets lopsided, flip over to ESPNU, ’cause this one could be good. However, it could also be a Cincy blowout. Either way, I like the Bearcats.
• East Carolina @ Temple (ESPNEWS): Temple? Yeah, let’s say Temple.
• Missouri @ South Carolina (SEC): If the Gamecocks can score points, they can keep this one close, but I’m going with Mizzou.
• Illinois @ Rutgers (BTN): Suddenly glad I don’t get Big Ten Network anymore. As pointed on the Shutdown Fullcast (the Internet’s only college football podcast!), everything you need to know about how awful Rutgers is that they are five point underdogs. At home. To Illinois.
• Buffalo @ Central Michigan (CBSS): Everything you need to know about how awful Rutgers is, transitive property edition: Buffalo beat Rutgers 42-13 (again, at Rutgers) and then turned around and got Army’d at home. That said, CMU is awful and the Bulls should remain undefeated in the MAC.

12:20: Syracuse @ Pittsburgh (Raycom): Just to ensure that you’re not too confused when the ACC Network finally launches next year, it’s Raycom. Anyway, I’m agreement with College Football Twitter (at least, the version of it I follow): Pitt football is a superweapon that has to charge and can only be fired once per season. Therefore, they will beat Notre Dame and lose to everyone else.

12:30: Boston College @ North Carolina State (ACC/RSN): This is arguably NC State’s biggest test yet (having missed West Virginia due to the hurricane), and while they should test, BC can sneak up on you, in a manner of speaking.

3:30:

• Louisiana State @ Florida (CBS): This is usually the year’s most entertaining 9-6 game, and this one promises not to disappoint. How far along is Florida? Why is LSU ranked fifth? Answers to these questions, and… maybe more! I like LSU, though.
• Florida State @ Miami (ABC): Provided Miami actually does have the FSU thing out of their heads now, this year’s version of the ‘Noles shouldn’t present a lot of trouble for them.
• Clemson @ Wake Forest (ESPN): Yes, of course Clemson has a propensity to suffer one random ACC loss per year, but I don’t think this is going to be it.
• Iowa State @ Oklahoma State (ESPN2): It looks like the bad ol’ days for the Cyclones again.
• Kansas State @ Baylor (FS1): All you need to know about how K-State’s season is going is that, by most metrics, Kansas is better than them. It might really be the beginning of the end for Bill Synder this time.
• San Diego State @ Boise State (ESPNU): This is the best team Boise has played since they went to Stillwater. They still figure to win, but I think the Aztecs will make a game of it.
• Iowa @ Minnesota (BTN): Minnesota looked better this year, but then came a 42-13 faceplant at the hands of Maryland.
• Navy @ Air Force (CBSS): Navy’s having a bit of a down year, but I still like them over Air Force in the first leg of the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.

4:00:

• Indiana @ Ohio State (FOX): Buckeyes.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Mississippi (SEC): Rebels/Bears/Landsharks.
• Arizona State @ Colorado (Pac12): HERM has shown that he doesn’t understand how college football works (see his recent comments about not understanding that the players are generally in class when they’re not at practice), but despite this the Sun Devils are 3-2. That said, the Buffs this weekend and Stanford next weekend figure to deliver a bracing dose of reality.

5:00: Old Dominion @ Florida Atlantic (Stadium): Owls.

7:00:

• Kentucky @ Texas A&M (ESPN): Is Kentucky… good? I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this possibly, but I’d be even less comfortable with picking the Aggies to win.
• Southern Methodist @ Central Florida (ESPNU): LIGHTNING ROUND! UCF.
• Connecticut @ Memphis (CBSS): Memphis.

7:30:

• Washington @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): UDub.
• Auburn @ Mississippi State (ESPN2): So it’s the 10 year anniversary of the (in)famous 3-2 game. I’ve been doing this for a long time, let’s flash back and see what I said about it:
  

  7:00: Auburn @ Mississippi State (ESPN2): I’d say there’s about a 20% chance of Auburn getting Croom’d here. Maybe lower. Nonetheless, Tigers prevail.

  Well, unlike with many of my picks on this site, I was correct. The next week, Miss State played us and scored 5 whole more points and lost badly, and Auburn lost to LSU. However, for a certain segment of the Internet college football populace, that game is known as the Baby I’m Burnin’ Game:
  
  Anyway, Auburn figures to prevail again, and probably score more than 3 points in the process.

• Vanderbilt @ Georgia (SEC): At this point, I’m just fervently hoping the national title game isn’t a rematch.
• Nebraska @ Wisconsin (BTN): I may have already used this joke, but at this point it looks more like Year -1 for Scott Frost at Nebraska.
• North Texas @ Texas-El Paso (beIN): UNT.

8:00: Notre Dame @ Virginia Tech (ABC): When I figure out how I’m supposed to pick VPI to beat anyone after they lost to Old Dominion, I’ll let you know.

9:00: Washington State @ Oregon State (Pac12): Wazzu.

10:00: California @ Arizona (FS1): This figures to be more fun than the late stages of ND-VPI, at least, so maybe get ready to check out the first half. I like the Bears here.

10:30:

• Utah @ Stanford (ESPN): Stanford seems just good enough to give UDub a shot to play Auburn again in the first round of the playoff.
• Fresno State @ Nevada (ESPNU): Fresno.
• Colorado State @ San Jose State (CBSS): Yeah, maybe stick to the Pac-12 games on this night. I like the Rams.