As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Marshall @ Ohio State (FOX): Unlike last week, there’s no real bangers here in the early window. This might be a good Saturday to sleep in, for those of us out west. At any rate, the Buckeyes will easily dispatch the Herd. Next!
• North Carolina State @ Clemson (ABC): Okay, this one requires some thought. These are teams both at the risk of seeing what should have been a promising season begin to careen off the tracks. Clemson, especially, continues to be on the lookout for signs of progress back toward the sport’s elite after a sluggish start. I like the Tigers at home, mostly because I still think they have more at their disposal than NCSU.
• Florida @ Mississippi State (ESPN): No one is making you watch this game. Seriously. The Gators are bad, yeah, but Miss State just got absolutely trucked by a MAC team last week. (Toledo is good, but seriously, there’s no reason for any SEC team to lose 41-17 to a team from the MAC.) So I’m reluctantly taking Florida here.
• Kansas @ West Virginia (ESPN2): Kansas’s hopes for a really good season came crashing down with their loss to UNLV last weekend, which also makes it seem like their chances against WVU aren’t great.
• Houston @ Cincinnati (FS1): Meanwhile, there’s some signs of life for the Cougars after their opening week loss to UNLV. I’ll take them here.
• Charlotte @ Indiana (BTN): #9Windiana
• Villanova @ Maryland (BTN)
• Tulane @ Louisiana (ESPNU): Tulane has two straight losses going in to this… to ranked P4 competition. I’ll take them on the road against the Cajuns.
• James Madison @ North Carolina (ACCN): We still don’t know anything about UNC, and we still won’t after this one.
• Rice @ Army (CBSS): Rice doesn’t currently have any wins over FBS competition, and they still won’t after their trip to West Point.

12:45: Ohio @ Kentucky (SEC): Kentucky all the way here.

1:00: Ball State @ Central Michigan (ESPN+)

2:00:

• Saint Francis @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)
• Virginia @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
• Utah State @ Temple (ESPN+)
• Arkansas State @ Iowa State (ESPN+)

3:00: Southern Mississippi @ Jacksonville State (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Miami @ Notre Dame (NBC): Notre Dame visited their frustrations at losing to a MAC team by pounding Purdue 66-7 last weekend. Expect more of the same here.
• California-Los Angeles @ Louisiana State (ABC): A west coast school going to Baton Rouge should be more interesting than this, but unfortunately UCLA just has no juice right now.
• Southern California @ Michigan (CBS): A west coast coast school going to Ann Arbor should be more interesting than this, but unfortunately Michigan just has no juice right now.
• Arkansas @ Auburn (ESPN): Several observers noted that Arkansas’s collapse against Oklahoma State last week was so bad that it was almost like the assistants and the team were trying to get Sam Pittman fired. On the Plains, meanwhile, Hugh Freeze did manage to beat a team from New Mexico, but spirits are still down. This figures to be about as unwatchable as Miss State-Florida. I’ll pick the Hogs, I guess.
• Georgia Tech @ Louisville (ESPN2): Okay, so we had ourselves a bit of a romp against VMI. Honestly, after the Geoff years I still don’t take it for granted we’re going to dispose of bad FCS team the way we’re supposed to, so it was still enjoyable to see. Louisville is yet another team that has looked great against less-than-great competition. I hope we can do our part to give them their first real test. For our part, we still haven’t really been able to run the ball consistently since the FSU game. It’ll be key to get that back on track.
• Arizona State @ Texas Tech (FS1): Unlike some of the other games this week that feature two teams that probably aren’t very good, this one figures to the fun kind of not very good. There figures be plenty of points. In the end, I probably like TTU slightly better, but this is a toss up in my mind.
• Kent State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): We need Penn State to get into conference play ASAP, because this will again tell us basically nothing about that.
• Memphis @ Navy (CBSS): This Memphis team might be pretty good, y’all. Naturally, going into Annapolis is not always a guarantee of success, but suffice it to say Memphis has enough talent to overcome the option.
• Rutgers @ Virginia Tech (ACCN): I’ll take VPI in this one, but you could tell me basically anything about it afterward and I’d probably believe you.
• Youngstown State @ Pittsburgh (ACCNX)
• Central Connecticut @ Massachusetts (ESPN+)
• Houston Christian @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)
• Buffalo @ Norther Illinois (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Utah @ Oklahoma State (FOX): Now we’re getting some where. Utah’s starting QB might actually play, which is a fairly novel concept for Cam Rising. The Pokes have been rolling, but if the Utes can bring in a functional offense to go with their punch-you-in-the-mouth defense, then I like their chances. A lot.
• Duke @ Middle Tennessee (ESPNU): This is a weird road game for the Blue Devils, but they shouldn’t really have any issues due to it.

4:15: Vanderbilt @ Missouri (SEC): I still don’t think Mizzou is, like, that good, but Vandy has no chance here.

5:00:

• Texas Christian @ Southern Methodist (The CW): So the Battle for the Iron Skillet is endangered. The folks over in Fort Worth need to make this happen. Also, this game figures to be pretty close. I’ll give the Ponies a slight edge here.
• Texas-El Paso @ Colorado State (truTV): These teams are both pretty bad. I guess I’ll take the Rams, but this is another in the unwatchable pile.

6:00:

• Monmouth @ Florida International (ESPN+)
• East Carolina @ Liberty (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Miami @ South Florida (ESPN): So USF did the thing against Bama… for a bit, and then it got away from them. I’d say the best case for the Bulls here is to do about the same thing.
• California @ Florida State (ESPN2): So now that’s is plainly obvious that FSU just does not have a quarterback (otherwise why is DJ still starting?), I suspect everyone and their brother will be picking Cal here. Including me. Which is probably why FSU will win, but I’m going down with the ship here.
• Northwestern @ Washington (FS1): I doubt it’ll help much, but the Huskies should get back in the win column after some truly bizarre play calling to wrap up an Apple Cup loss.
• Florida Atlantic @ Connecticut (CBSS): Well, FAU has technically beat an FBS team, which is more than the Huskies can say.
• Wyoming @ North Texas (ESPN+)
• Florida A&M @ Troy (ESPN+)
• Tulsa @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)
• New Mexico State @ Sam Houston State (ESPN+)
• Toledo @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Tennessee @ Oklahoma (ABC): And this is your game of the day, folks. You have points versus a coach in Brent Venables who very much does not want to allow points. Unfortunately for him, my suspicion is the Vols offense will just be too much to overcome.
• Iowa @ Minnesota (NBC): About the best thing going for this game is that there’s a bronze pig on the line. Otherwise, this figures to be a typical Iowa win.
• Akron @ South Carolina (ESPNU): Well, South Carolina probably won’t have any blown calls to complain about in this one.
• Bowling Green @ Texas A&M (ESPN+)

7:45: Georgia Southern @ Mississippi (SEC): Next weekend we may finally learn something about Ole Miss, or at least they’ll play a team capable of scoring 10 points on them.

8:00:

• Baylor @ Colorado (FOX): Well Buffs, you beat your rival. Congrats! Your reward is now you get to play a team that has clearly better line talent than you again, and the Bears especially will be trying to hit Shaddeur every chance they get. I’m sure they’ll score a couple of times, but it figures to be a long, painful night in Boulder.
• Michigan State @ Boston College (ACCN): I’m still adjusting to this idea that BC is good, but that’s the scenario here, whereas the Spartans are still kind of untested. Cautiously taking BC here.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Texas (ESPN+)

8:30:

• Purdue @ Oregon State (The CW): It got sort of out of hand for the Beavers in the second half against Oregon last week, but fortunately for them Purdue is not anything like Oregon. I like State here.
• Fresno State @ New Mexico (truTV): Fresno may be going for the New Mexico sweep. They beat NMSU 48-0 last week, and I’m not sure I’d expect the Lobos to do any better.

9:45: Portland State @ Boise State (FS1)

10:30: Kansas State @ Brigham Young (ESPN): This figures to be physical and close for the first half, and it will definitely be “Big 12 After Dark” as hell. But the thing is that K-State can actually move the ball, which will doom BYU in the second half

Midnight: Northern Iowa @ Hawaii (Team1Sports)

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Alabama @ Wisconsin (FOX): I’m hardly new to to this observation, but get ready for a very front-loaded day of games. We start off early in Madison, Wisconsin, where the main issue for Alabama fans will likely be misguided attempts to out-drink the locals. Otherwise, barring something surprising from the Badger offense, I think the Tide have this.
• Louisiana State @ South Carolina (ABC): South Carolina may not be terrible, but I have a hard time entertaining them keeping a lid on LSU.
• Memphis @ Florida State (ESPN): Okay, so while I don’t expect Memphis to win this game, I sort of expect them to? The Tigers aren’t appreciably worse than the two teams FSU has already lost to. The main thing is just that I’m assuming maybe FSU has figured some things out, especially on defense.
• Oklahoma State @ Tulsa (ESPN2): I think this is going to be mostly Pokes.
• North Texas @ Texas Tech (FS1): In another plains-state game with non-traditional rivals, this figures to be a bit closer, but it’s still at home for Tech.
• Arkansas State @ Michigan (BTN): Michigan gets-right in a game where their lack of top-tier offensive playmakers (i.e., all the guys who got them the title last season) won’t matter at all.
• Cincinnati @ Miami (“Battle for the Bell”; ESPNU): Did you know… this is a long-standing rivalry game? And yeah, Cincy has dominated as of late, but guess what, Miami won last year, and it’s back up in their stadium. Plus, the Bearcats blew a three-touchdown lead to Pitt last week. Factor all that in, and it’s not hard to see the Redhawks doing it again.
• Louisiana Tech @ North Carolina State (ACCN): NC State will be fine in this one.
• Central Michigan @ Illinois (Peacock)

12:45: Boston College @ Missouri (SEC): So… this is the only ranked vs. ranked match of the day, an observation that usually is then followed by “wait, how is Missouri ranked sixth?” Who can say, really. If BC can keep it close they’ve got a chance, but while I don’t agree with Mizzou being ranked 6th, I can definitely buy they have a significantly better idea of what they’re doing on offense than say, oh, Florida State.

1:00: Massachusetts @ Buffalo (CBSS): If Buffalo doesn’t roll here there are severe problems there.

2:00: Coastal Carolina @ Temple (ESPN+)

3:30:

• Texas A&M @ Florida (ABC): I know why this is on national broadcast television, but I’m not sure I know why. TAMU I guess?
• Oregon @ Oregon State (“Civil War”; FOX): And so, weird Week 3 Rivalry Saturday begins in earnest. You had better believe Corvallis is going to be rocking in this one, and for good reason. The Beavers, despite a major exodus after last season, have had a good start to the year. Oregon is 2-0, but that comes with some major caveats in a pair of games the Ducks could have easily lost. And this is their biggest challenge yet. On paper, the Beavers stand no chance. But on the field with 50,000 jilted fans in the stands, it’s easy to see how it could go south quick for them. I like the Beavers here.
• Notre Dame @ Purdue (CBS): Meanwhile, Notre Dame suffered what will likely go down as the biggest upset for the year: losing to Northern Illinois. That said, unlike the scenario I described above and even despite that, unlike Oregon, the Irish actually lost… I’m still going to pick them.
• Tulane @ Oklahoma (ESPN): Yes, I’m aware Oklahoma isn’t in the Big 12 anymore, but for starters Tulane absolutely should have beaten Kansas State last weekend. And unlike K-State, Oklahoma has some severe issues on offense right now. Sure, the defense is good, but I can definitely see how Tulane scores early and keeps it close into the 4th quarter. After that, anything goes. I’ll take the Wave.
• West Virginia @ Pittsburgh (“Backyard Brawl”; ESPN2): This is about as evenly matched of a Backyard Brawl as there’s maybe ever been. I want this to be a good game so bad after last year’s opening weekend banger, but something tells me Pitt just keeps the Cincy vibes rolling and just paves over the ‘Neers.
• Prairie View A&M @ Michigan State (BTN)
• Nevada @ Minnesota (BTN): Gophers.
• Ball State @ Miami (ACCN): Canes.
• Virginia Military @ Georgia Tech (ACCNX): Well, we finally got got last weekend. Think maybe there’s a few programs though that are trying to figure how Kyle McCord wound up at Syracuse instead of, say, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma… maybe he’ll get that NIL bag after this season. Any rate, as far the Jackets go, there were definitely some issues that cropped with the first good offense they had to play against, and boy howdy the rushing attack picked an incredibly bad time to vanish into thin air. At any rate, this is a good week to figure some things out.
• Washington State vs. Washington (“Apple Cup” @ Seattle, WA; Peacock): I’ll join the chorus of commentators pointing out that the neutral site is good, actually. Yes, they played in Seattle last season, but that was at Husky Stadium. Playing at Lumen Field means this thing is going to be 50/50, and I can tell you from first hand experience, it’s going to be 50/50. This could be a legit cool Apple Cup. That said, though, I’m not as confident about the Cougs as I am the Beavers.
• Morgan State @ Ohio (ESPN+)

4:00:

• Troy @ Iowa (FS1): You’ll probably want to take the under in this one, which also means Iowa is going to win.
• Appalachian State @ East Carolina (ESPNU): There’s probably some in-state beef here, and I’m not sure I have much of a read on this one. If ECU is actually turning a corner, this would be a great time to do it. Otherwise, I like App.

4:15: Alabama-Birmingham @ Arkansas (SEC): Yeah, so UAB got vaporized by Louisiana-Monroe last week. I don’t think they stand much of a chance here.

4:30: Utah @ Utah State (“Battle of the Brothers”; CBSS): Utah has some severe issues on offense without Cam Rising, but… the Aggies lost by like 60 to USC last week, I think the Utes will be fine.

6:00:

• Connecticut @ Duke (ACCNX)
• North Carolina Central @ North Carolina (ACCNX)
• Florida International @ Florida Atlantic (“Shula Bowl”; ESPN+)
• Gardner-Webb @ Charlotte (ESPN+)
• Colgate @ Akron (ESPN+)
• Texas-El Paso @ Liberty (ESPN+)
• South Carolina State @ Georgia Southern (ESPN+)
• Virginia Tech @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)

6:30:

• Mississippi @ Wake Forest (CW): Lane will presumably name his own score in Winston-Salem.
• Bethune-Cookman @ Western Michigan (ESPN+)

7:00:

• Texas-San Antonio @ Texas (ESPN): The fallout from last week’s loss to Texas State is that I can’t really come up with a plausible way UTSA stands a chance in this game.
• Kennesaw State @ San Jose State (truTV): This is your reminder that Kennesaw State is now FBS, and they also terrible.
• Vanderbilt @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• South Florida @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)
• Western Kentucky @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
• Jacksonville State @ Eastern Michigan (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Georgia @ Kentucky (ABC): Georgia. Next!
• Colorado @ Colorado State (“Rocky Mountain Showdown”; CBS): Colorado has two awesome skill players. Otherwise, they absolutely cannot block or beat blocks. They are terrible, and they’re going to lose this game, and it’s going to be hilarious.
• Central Florida @ Texas Christian (FOX): We’re going to find out a lot about these teams, provided anyone can keep their eyes off what’s going in Fort Collins. UCF has played no one, but at least blown them out, while TCU has a close win over Stanford. I’ll flip a weighted coin to account for TCU being at home and take the Frogs.
• Indiana @ California-Los Angeles (NBC): Well, Indiana can at least play offense, so provided they aren’t distract by the sun setting over the San Gabriels around the start of the fourth quarter, I like the Hoosiers in their first (sigh) conference game.
• New Mexico @ Auburn (ESPN2): I would love to believe that Hugh Freeze is forever destined to lose to teams from New Mexico (after losing to their cousins from Los Cruces two years in a row) but there’s nothing about the Lobos’ losses (including to a (good) FCS team) that says that it’s going to happen.
• Air Force @ Baylor (FS1): Baylor will be fine in this one.
• Northern Iowa @ Nebraska (BTN)
• Eastern Illinois @ Northwestern (BTN)
• Toledo @ Mississippi State (ESPNU): I’d love to predict another big MAC upset this week, but teams that only beat UMass by two scores don’t exactly scream “rolling into cowbell territory and winning” to me.

7:45: Kent State @ Tennessee (SEC): Kent lost to something called “St Francis PA” last week. This does not bode well for their chances in Knoxville. The Vols may put up a 100-spot.

8:00:

• Maryland @ Virginia (ACCN): Of course Maryland is on the ACC Network, why wouldn’t they be? “Jokes” aside, we don’t have to worry about September Maryland this year, it seems. It’s probably for the best. I don’t anticipate their trip to Charlottesville changing that either.
• Rice @ Houston (ESPN+)

9:00: Brigham Young @ Wyoming (CBSS): There are plenty of years were this game would’ve been extremely compelling. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be one of them. I’ll give a slight edge to BYU.

10:30:

• San Diego State @ California (ESPN): Cal can score. San Diego State amply demonstrated last week that they cannot. I think this one is pretty open and shut.
• New Mexico State @ Fresno State (truTV): New Mexico State may have a pulse this year, which was not a given considering they lost their coach and quarterback. But it’s hard to see them prevailing against Fresno.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Arkansas @ Oklahoma State (ABC): Let’s face it, most of the early games are going to be overshadowed by the next game, so the angle is: is there a reason to keep an eye on any of the other ones? In this case, no. I like the Pokes.
• Texas @ Michigan (FOX): Early last season was defined by Texas and Alabama’s excellent tilt in Austin, that helped put the Horns on the to the playoff. Michigan, of course, won that playoff. This is an all-time helmet game between two programs that have met just once: in the 2004-05 Rose Bowl, where Texas won 38-37 on a walk-off field goal by Dusty Magnum. (Vince Young of course featured prominently for the Longhorns.) This time around, the game may not be that close: Michigan is replacing a lot from last year’s team and may not really have a quarterback, whereas Texas sort of has the opposite problem. The main factor will be the true road game aspect of this, but I still have to pick Texas.
• Kansas State @ Tulane (ESPN): I don’t know that Tulane can win this game, but I think they can make it interesting.
• Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati (ESPN2): Once again, I love the regional matchup aspect of this, but this one doesn’t figure to be anything other than a Pitt rout.
• Bowling Green @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State rolls.
• Akron @ Rutgers (BTN): Rutgers rolls.
• Troy @ Memphis (ESPNU): This definitely a match up of two totally different approaches to offense and game management in general. I’ll take the Tigers here, but it may be worth keeping an eye on this one.
• Army @ Florida Atlantic (CBS): I think there’s a way Army can win here, but if FAU can just force the issue with their speed it’ll be all but over.
• Georgia Tech @ Syracuse (ACCN): So as Florida State was getting thrashed by Boston College last Monday, my favorite joke was “wow the Noles are really devaluing Georgia Tech’s strength of schedule”. That said, unlike FSU, Syracuse appears to have a quarterback that can throw the ball downfield, which is definitely going to be a new test for our defense.
• Rhode Island @ Minnesota (Peacock)

12:45: McNeese State @ Texas A&M (SEC)

2:00:

• Tennessee Tech @ Georgia (ESPN+)
• Missouri State @ Ball State (ESPN+)

2:30: Saint Francis @ Kent State (ESPN+)

3:00: Utah Tech @ Nevada-Las Vegas (MWN)

3:30:

• Baylor @ Utah (FOX): Talking about “styles make fights”, Utah would prefer this to be a literal rockfight. This isn’t the high-flying RGIII Baylor days of course, and overall, it figures that the Bears will struggle in this trip to Salt Lake City.
• South Carolina @ Kentucky (ABC): South Carolina might be kind of bad? I mean, I have no idea about Kentucky, but just based on that I’ll take the Cayuts at home.
• Northern Illinois @ Notre Dame (NBC): ND should roll.
• Iowa State @ Iowa (“El Assico”; CBS): Ah, here’s how you know it’s really Week 2 of the season. Of course, why CBS decided the nation needed to see this oddest of rivalries is beyond me. What not to expect: offense. What to expect: ??? I think the Hawkeyes are more talented and it is in Kinnick, but there’s a reason why there’s a non-zero chance the phrase “sickos” will be used on the broadcast.
• California @ Auburn (ESPN2): So I went to last year’s edition of the this game in Berkeley, and Cal had plenty of chances to the win the game. They basically just… didn’t. I won’t be in Alabama for this one, but there’s reasons for optimism for Cal. At a minimum, they probably have an edge at quarterback. I think they’ll get the dub this time.
• South Dakota @ Wisconsin (FS1)
• Idaho @ Wyoming (truTV)
• Eastern Michigan @ Washington (BTN): UDub gets a head start on scheduling MAC opponents, like a proper Big Ten team.
• Michigan State @ Maryland (BTN): Meanwhile in College Park, an early test for both of these teams. That said, it’s September, which means the Terps are basically unstoppable.
• Temple @ Navy (CBSS): There’s not going to be a lot of chances for Navy to obliterate a conference opponent this year. This is very much one of them.
• Charlotte @ North Carolina (ACCC): Heels should roll.
• Jacksonville State @ Louisville (ACCNX)
• Duquesne @ Boston College (ACCNX)
• Massachusetts @ Toledo (ESPN+)

4:00: Texas-San Antonio @ Texas State (“I-35 Rivalry”; ESPNU): This is definitely the G5 game of the day, and perhaps one of the best games of any sort. UTSA is the steady hand here, while Texas State went on a major talent acquisition spree this off-season. This may well be the biggest game in the history of Texas State at this level, and it’ll be interesting to see if they can pack it in in San Marcos. That said, I still like the Roadrunners.

4:15: Middle Tennessee State @ Mississippi (SEC): Lane Kiiffin can name his score in this one.

4:30: Marshall @ Virginia Tech (CW): I don’t think Virginia Tech is good or any thing, but Marshall sure has a chance to be very, very bad.

6:00:

• Florida A&M @ Miami (ACCNX)
• Central Michigan @ Florida International ESPN+)
• Albany @ West Virginia (ESPN+)
• South Alabama @ Ohio (ESPN+)
• Gardner-Webb @ James Madison (ESPN+)
• East Carolina @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)

6:30: Sam Houston State @ Central Florida (ESPN+)

7:00:

• South Florida @ Alabama (ESPN): So many will remember last year’s contest in Tampa, where Bama won but it sure wasn’t comfortable. The caveat, of course, is that they really didn’t have a quarterback. USF is actually not a bad team, but I don’t think Bama will be in much of a mood to mess around in this one. If they do, well, it’ll certainly make things challenging for DeBoer going forward.
• Virginia @ Wake Forest (ESPN2): I have absolutely no read on this game. Ask me next week. For now, I’ll just pick Wake.
• Kansas @ Illinois (FS1): Okay, so more “styles make fights” football here. Kansas, of course, is going to move the ball, the question is just how much will Illinois keep them out of the end zone. This feels like either a very narrow Illinois win in a low-scoring, defensive contest, or a Kansas absolute blowout. The latter feels more likely.
• Georgia Southern @ Nevada (truTV): Southern is in a bit of disarray after last week’s loss to a Mountain West team, and going to the Reno doesn’t seem like it’ll solve any of their problems.
• San Jose State @ Air Force (CBSS): I like Air Force here.
• Northern Colorado @ Colorado State (MWN)
• California Polytechnic @ Stanford (ACCNX)
• Samford @ Florida (ESPN+)
• Buffalo @ Missouri (ESPN+)
• Southeastern Louisiana @ Southern Mississippi (ESPN+)
• Tennessee-Chattanooga @ Georgia State (ESPN+)
• Tulsa @ Arkansas State (ESPN+)
• William & Mary @ Coastal Carolina (ESPN+)
• Eastern Kentucky @ Western Kentucky (ESPN+)
• Louisiana @ Kennesaw State (ESPN+)
• Texas Southern @ Rice (ESPN+)
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Louisiana-Monroe (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Tennessee vs. North Carolina State (Duke’s Mayo Classic @ Charlotte, NC; ABC): I don’t think anyone thinks NC State is bad, per se, just that Tennessee might be really good. In particular, I’m not sure the Wolfpack defense is going to be able to stop the Vols.
• Colorado @ Nebraska (NBC): Nebraska’s decent again, Colorado still has major problems in the trenches, the game is at night in Lincoln, and this is an old, old rivalry. It… might get ugly for the Buffs.
• Western Michigan @ Ohio State (BTN):  Bucks roll.
• Alcorn State @ Vanderbilt (ESPNU)
• Nicholls State @ Louisiana State (ESPN+)
• Stephen F. Austin @ North Texas (ESPN+)

7:45: Houston @ Oklahoma (SEC): The Sooners may, no joke, score 100.

8:00:

• Appalachian State @ Clemson (ACCN): If Clemson has some things figured out, and a quarterback, then this one won’t be close. But… if things in upstate South Carolina are as bleak as they looked against Georgia, App State may be looking for yet another ACC team to upset. To be clear, I can’t pick the Mountaineers, but I’m not going to be surprised if they pull this off.
• Long Island @ Texas Christian (ESPN+)

9:00: Southern Utah @ Texas-El Paso (ESPN+)

10:00:

• Texas Tech @ Washington State (FOX): I think I kind of like Wazzu in this one, but it’s hard to tell where these two teams are at at the moment. Once again, as me next week.
• Sacramento State @ Fresno State (MWN)
• Boise State @ Oregon (Peacock)
• Northern Arizona @ Arizona (ESPN+)

10:15: Liberty @ New Mexico State (ESPN2): Ugh, Liberty’s going to win, aren’t they.

10:30:

• Mississippi State @ Arizona State (ESPN): This is possibly the most random game of the day. Anything could happen here and I wouldn’t be surprised. Which is partially why I love that this involves a SEC team kickoff at 9:30 their time back in Mississippi, because this could get weird for the folks back east. Also, I kind of like the Sun Devils anyway.
• Oregon State @ San Diego State (CBSS): Beavers all the way here.

11:00: Utah State @ Southern California (BTN): Welcome to… B1G After Dark. Ugh, they’re going to co-opt that aren’t they? At any rate, I’ll be shocked if there’s a reason to actually tune in for any other reason.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Saturday

Noon:

• Pennsylvania State @ West Virginia (FOX): And finally, welcome back to College Football Saturday! Y’all, I think this is a perfectly wonderful way to come back. Well, maybe not this particular game, which will kind of be a theme of this weekend. Penn State should have this one easy.
• Clemson vs. Georgia (Aflac Kickoff Game @ Atlanta, GA; ABC): That said, this is a game of the day, and it’s kind of weirdly… early? Like, why isn’t this in prime time? Oh, sure, the “dawgs” are a huge favorite, and, well, I don’t have a lot of reasons to disagree. That said, this Clemson team should still be game enough to test them, and this should be worth watching.
• Virginia Tech @ Vanderbilt (ESPN): Whereas, well, I suspect the Hokies got this…
• Connecticut @ Maryland (FS1): … and so do the Terps.
• Illinois State @ Iowa (BTN)
• Indiana State @ Purdue (BTN)
• Kent State @ Pittsburgh (ESPNU): Y’all, I promise to try to talk about every FBS vs. FBS game, but, look, I may need until we get into conference season in a week or two.
• Bucknell @ Navy (CBSS)
• Austin Peay @ Louisville (ACCN)

12:45: Tennessee-Chattanooga @ Tennessee (SEC)

2:00: South Dakota State @ Oklahoma State (ESPN+)

2:30: Towson @ Cincinnati (ESPN+)

3:00: Portland State @ Washington State (CW)

3:30:

• Miami @ Florida (ABC): There’s not really a fantastic name for this rivalry, but it’s a rivalry nonetheless. I personally… do not understand any of the hype around the Canes at all, and also, it really feeds into the “ACC is imploding” memes if Florida wins, so I’m going with that.
• Akron @ Ohio State (CBS): Yeah, we’re in season two of the “B1G on CBS”, but still, the idea of CBS showing football this early is somewhat disorienting. I suspect that the first weekend of the US Open might be slightly better content than this, but, well, I’ve never talked about tennis on here, so I’m probably wrong.
• Texas-El Paso @ Nebraska (FOX): As usual, I want UTEP to be fun, but I’ll need some results before Is tart calling them to beat Nebraska.
• Colorado State @ Texas (ESPN): Unlike the above, I have zero worries about the Longhorns being able to handle business here.
• North Dakota @ Iowa State (FS1)
• Miami @ Northwestern (BTN): The main reason to watch most Northwestern home games this season will be to see if a wayward kick goes into Lake Michigan. That said, no worries for the Cats here.
• Florida International @ Indiana (BTN): 9Windiana has to get started somewhere, eh?
• Merrimack @ Air Force (CBSS)
• Ohio @ Syracuse (ACCN): I have no idea what to expect from the Orange here, so how the handle a… probably not very good MAC team will indicate a lot to me for the rest of the season.
• Kennesaw State @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)
• Eastern Michigan @ Massachusetts (ESPN+)
• Western Illinois @ Northern Illinois (ESPN+)
• East Tennessee State @ Appalachian State (ESPN+)

4:00: Boise State @ Georgia Southern (ESPNU): This, low-key, may be one of the games of the day. Regional G5 teams traveling to play at home is a wonderful thing and we’d definitely like to see more of it. I definitely think that, on paper, Boise has the edge here, but y’all, we’re talking about a 4:00 PM Eastern kick below the gnat belt down in Statesboro. I think just about anything can happen in this one. I still like Boise, but this could be one of the best games of the day.

4:15: Old Dominion @ South Carolina (SEC): Whereas, well, I’m not sure what the Gamecocks have now, but it’s probably(?) enough to beat ODU.

5:00:

• California-Davis @ California (ACCNX)
• Stony Brook @ Marshall (ESPN+)
• North Texas @ South Alabama (ESPN+)

6:00:

• Richmond @ Virginia (ACCNX)
• Norfolk State @ East Carolina (ESPN+)
• Campbell @ Liberty (ESPN+)
• Eastern Kentucky @ Mississippi STate (ESPN+)

6:30: Idaho State @ Oregon State (CW)

7:00:

• Western Kentucky @ Alabama (ESPN): Well, there’s a new sheriff in town down in Tuscaloosa, but the real tests won’t start for another couple of weeks. If you’re young, though, please let me remind you: it is not manifest destiny for the Crimson Tide to be one of the major powers in this sport. Trust me.
• Nevada-Las Vegas @ Houston (FS1): UNLV is definitely getting a bit of a glow-up this offseason, whereas no one seems to know what to do with post-Dana Houston. So I guess I like the Runnin’ Rebels here?
• Tarleton State @ Baylor (ESPN+)
• Tennessee-Martin @ Kansas State (ESPN+)
• Tennessee Tech @ Middle Tennessee State (ESPN+)
• Furman @ Mississippi (ESPN+)
• North Alabama @ Memphis (ESPN+)
• Sam Houston State @ Rice (ESPN+)
• Bethune-Cookman @ South Florida (ESPN+)
• Central Arkansas @ Arkansas State (ESPN+)
• Nevada @ Troy (ESPN+)

7:30:

• Fresno State @ Michigan (NBC): Michigan has no idea who their quarterback is, but that has no bearing on this game.
• Notre Dame @ Texas A&M (ABC): Speaking of new eras, it’s A&M’s first post-Jimbo game, because, well, they actually did the thing! And, well, they’ll probably lose this one.
• California-Los Angeles @ Hawaii (CBS): UCLA gets some exercise, fresh air, and an easy win over in the islands before heading for the Midwest.
• Idaho @ Oregon (BTN)
• Alabama A&M @ Auburn (ESPN+)
• Abilene Christian @ Texas Tech (ESPN+)

7:45: Southern Mississippi @ Kentucky (SEC): In addition to being old enough to remember when Alabama was bad, I remember when Southern Miss was good, which included beating Bama. Alas, well, I don’t like their chances these days against the SEC.

8:00:

• Texas A&M-Commerce @ San Diego State (truTV)
• James Madison @ Charlotte (ESPNU): Charlotte weirdly has a lot of starters missing, so I’m going JMU in this one.
• Georgia State @ Georgia Tech (ACCN): Y’all. Where do I even start? Like, we ran straight down their throats in Dublin. Is that just, like, how good we are, or more “game in Ireland” weirdness. I dunno, we lost to Bowling Green last season, so for both myself and my fellow Tech friends… stay frosty, y’all.
• Robert Morris @ Utah State (MWN)
• Houston Christian @ Southern Methodist (ACCNX)
• Southern Illinois @ Brigham Young (ESPN+)
• Nicholls State @ Louisiana Tech (ESPN+)
• Grambling State @ Louisiana (ESPN+
• Lamar @ Texas State (ESPN+)

9:00: Southeast Missouri State @ New Mexico State (ESPN+)

10:30:

• New Mexico @ Arizona (ESPN): Zona has this, right?
• Wyoming @ Arizona State (FS1): State has this, right? (Actually, I have way more doubt about State here.)

11:00: Weber State @ Washington (BTN)

Sunday

7:30: Southern California vs. Louisiana State (Vegas Kickoff Classic @ Las Vegas, NV; ABC): This may be legitimately one of the best games of the opening weekend. Obviously, we’re not much for NFL stadium neutral games this early in the season, but these teams are both playoff contenders with tons of questions. Like, can USC actually move the ball? Can LSU both replace all the talent they lost and rise to the level expected based on the talent they lost? It’s a huge conundrum that will require several weeks of this season to resolve, but we’ll likely be writing in a week that we have a read on these teams based on this one. So who knows? I tend to prefer LSU, but I won’t be surprised by any result here.

Monday

7:30: Boston College @ Florida State (ESPN): And finally… FSU will win an ACC game this season. I guarantee it.