A look into the new normal (2024 CFB Regular Season thread)

[VikingFan2k2]

Might not have to worry about him anymore. That looked bad

Yeah, I feel for the kid. Watching his parents in the stands was very sad. They're good people in my experience from the time Brad was a QB for the Vikings.

 

[Xeliou66]

UNC survives as the Gophers miss a last second FG. Rough loss for the Gophers.

 

[VikingFan2k2]

UNC survives as the Gophers miss a last second FG. Rough loss for the Gophers.

The Gophers didn't deserve to win. Fleck's conservative play calling directly led to this loss.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 1- Top 10 Games (Labor Day Weekend)

I was gonna mention some of yesterday's games when I came onto the site today... but it looks like you good people are already on top of it! Thanks for posting on this thread; if you guys wanna use it all year, I'll have absolutely no problems with it.

Now let's see what games could be worth it for this Labor Day Weekend. Yep, it's time for...

The Top 10 Games of College Football 2024 (Week 1- The Weekend)
​

(All times are Eastern, and all games on Saturday unless noted)
10. UNLV @ Houston [7:00, FOX Sports 1] (This one just looks like a fun contest to me. Houston is looking for a good win to start 2024 off right. As for UNLV, they may be missing Jayden Maiava at QB, but they're loaded everywhere else. Can the Rebels pull the upset?)

9. Miami-Ohio @ Northwestern [3:30, Big 10 Network] (Coach David Braun was brilliant for Northwestern in 2023, but now let's see if he can do it again in 2024. And the Wildcats should get a good test here; Miami-Ohio is the reigning MAC champions, and Brett Gabbert is still their QB.)

8. Virginia Tech @ Vanderbilt [12:00, ESPN] (This is the first time we'll get to see Vanderbilt's new wacky offense. How well will it run against a "Power 4" defense, and will Vandy's new QB Diego Pavia lift up the team? As for Virginia Tech, they're just looking for a good road win to continue their climb upwards.)

7. Fresno State @ Michigan [7:30, NBC] (So here we are. This is Michigan's 1st game with Sherrone Moore as their coach, and it's their championship coronation as well. But wait a second! Fresno State DOES have a capable team, and QB Mikey Keene is nothing to sneeze at. How well Michigan's offense runs will determine if this game becomes a doozy or not.)

6. Boston College @ Florida State [7:30 Monday, ESPN] (Give credit to the ABC family of networks: They manage to get 5 of the top 6 games of this week on their various stations. And this one will finish off the whole party; it's a Monday night ACC conference game!
To me, all of the setup for this game came from Saturday's debacle in Ireland. Was that just good Georgia Tech, or is Florida State about to fall into a 0-2 hole?)

5. USC vs. LSU {From Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas} [7:30 Sunday, ABC] (Both teams have defenses that has something to prove. Both teams are replacing generational QB's. And USC's coach Lincoln Riley will be desperate to get the big win... but WILL he?)

4. Notre Dame @ Texas A&M [7:30, ABC] (Look. We know about the pressure that Notre Dame and their head coach is under. So let's focus on Texas A&M; this is their first game with Mike Elko as their head coach. But nobody really knows what the Aggies will do in this contest; can the Irish handle it?)

3. Miami @ Florida [3:30, ABC] (It's the "Battle for the Seminole War Canoe" game! It'll be Cam Ward making his debut for Miami, taking on Graham Mertz and the Gators. And we got two coaches that... well, let's just say that they're under an EXTREME amount of pressure this season.)

2. Penn State @ West Virginia [12:00, FOX] (At least FOX was able to hang on to this game for their fancy "Big Noon Saturday" event. Penn State and West Virginia know each other quite well, and I guarantee you guys that this won't be a Penn State walkover. The Mountaineers will keep the game close, but do they have the talent to finish off the Nittany Lions? Drew Aller and the Lions will give us the answer.)

1. Georgia vs. Clemson {from Atlanta} [12:00, ABC] (In terms of rankings and prestige, this is the big game of Week 1. And we know what to expect from the Bulldogs [especially since they'll be close to home], but what about the Tigers? Can they pull off the stunner and return to the nation's elite?)

Game with the best chance to be a bust: Akron @ Ohio State (This game may be on CBS, but it's Ohio State taking on a in-state foe... that they never lose to. Just don't bother.)
Honorable mentions for the Top 10: South Dakota State @ Oklahoma State, Western Kentucky @ Alabama, and Georgia State @ Georgia Tech.

My prediction segment is next!

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 1 Predictions (Part 2- Labor Day Weekend)

Now on to the first big wave of predictions for the season. Here's how I see the weekend shaping up (FBS vs. FCS games don't count):

Top 25:
(14)Clemson 27 @ (1)Georgia 41
Akron 7 @ (2)Ohio State 56
Colorado State 17 @ (4)Texas 45
Western Kentucky 10 @ (5)Alabama 56
(7)Notre Dame 28 @ (20)Texas A&M 27
(8)Penn State 35 @ West Virginia 28
Fresno State 14 @ (9)Michigan 28
Boston College 21 @ (10)Florida State 28
(13)LSU 37 vs. (25)USC 31
(17)Miami 24 @ Florida 31
New Mexico 13 @ (23)Arizona 41

Other big games:
Virginia Tech 24 @ Vanderbilt 17
Miami-Ohio 20 @ Northwestern 23
UNLV 30 @ Houston 27

...and I'm done! The thread is yours, and I'll check back later.

 

[Xeliou66]

I get that the game is a mismatch, but my god Temple’s offense is horrid. And Jackson Arnold for Oklahoma looks impressive so far, 3 TD passes.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Texas Tech 52-51 Abilene Christian (Aug 31, 2024) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. Abilene Christian Wildcats NCAAF game, final score 52-51, from August 31, 2024 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

In my opinion, this was the best game we had yesterday. Watch as Texas Tech barely avoids getting crossed off my Christmas card list!

 

[redskinsfan1963]

silly as it sounds,VA tech/vandy was the best game Saturday.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 1- Good and Bad

With Week 1 now in the books, it's time for me to boil down everything to a simple formula: What was good, and what was bad? Yes, it's time for the first "Good/Bad" segment of the 2024 season!

It was a Good Week for:​

Most SEC teams (Georgia took care of business. Vanderbilt got the upset win over Virginia Tech [in a game that was just as good as Abliene Christian/TTU]. Oklahoma and Texas had fun muscle-flexers in their debut. And we had 4 shutout wins for SEC teams on Saturday [and 6 overall for the week].)
Drew Allar (Penn State/WVU had a long weather delay... and Drew Allar didn't even blink. He was awesome in Penn State's win in Morgantown.)
Tetairoa McMillan (This man set school records for receiving [304 yards and 4 TD's] in Arizona's win over New Mexico.)
Ashton Jeanty (Boise State won a shootout over Georgia Southern 2 days ago, by a score of 56-45. And Jeanty led the way for Boise as he got 267 rushing yards and SIX touchdowns.)
The Miami Hurricanes (Miami manhandled the Florida Gators... in Gainesville! If Miami keeps that kind of effort up, they can be a playoff contender. Oh, and don't fool yourselves, Hurricanes fans: You LOVE the fact that Florida State is 0-2 right now, aren't ya?)

It was a Bad Week for:​

Florida State (On that note, we start the bad side of the board with the Seminoles. In both of their current losses, FSU's offense did not deliver on it's promise. Louis Riddick is right: FSU has some real soul-searching to do.)
The FCS (I already mentioned Abliene Christian. Western Carolina, SE-Missouri State and Tennessee Tech also tried hard. But for the 2nd straight year, the FCS comes up empty against the FBS in Week 1.)
Michigan's offense (Michigan won their opener against Fresno State... even though their offense didn't do shit. I mean, only 121 yards passing?! You got Texas on Saturday, Michigan! ...Please do better.)
Jardin Gilbert (I don't like to call out individual players for their screwups. But I watched the USC/LSU game, and you can't deny that Gilbert's targeting penalty put USC on the path to victory. Man, I hope Jardin has learned his lesson, and will help Brian Kelly settle things down in Baton Rouge.)

...and I'm done! Did I forget anything? Let me know...

 

[fightinfunbags]

Week 1- Good and Bad

With Week 1 now in the books, it's time for me to boil down everything to a simple formula: What was good, and what was bad? Yes, it's time for the first "Good/Bad" segment of the 2024 season!

It was a Good Week for:​

Most SEC teams (Georgia took care of business. Vanderbilt got the upset win over Virginia Tech [in a game that was just as good as Abliene Christian/TTU]. Oklahoma and Texas had fun muscle-flexers in their debut. And we had 4 shutout wins for SEC teams on Saturday [and 6 overall for the week].)
Drew Allar (Penn State/WVU had a long weather delay... and Drew Allar didn't even blink. He was awesome in Penn State's win in Morgantown.)
Tetairoa McMillan (This man set school records for receiving [304 yards and 4 TD's] in Arizona's win over New Mexico.)
Ashton Jeanty (Boise State won a shootout over Georgia Southern 2 days ago, by a score of 56-45. And Jeanty led the way for Boise as he got 267 rushing yards and SIX touchdowns.)
The Miami Hurricanes (Miami manhandled the Florida Gators... in Gainesville! If Miami keeps that kind of effort up, they can be a playoff contender. Oh, and don't fool yourselves, Hurricanes fans: You LOVE the fact that Florida State is 0-2 right now, aren't ya?)

It was a Bad Week for:​

Florida State (On that note, we start the bad side of the board with the Seminoles. In both of their current losses, FSU's offense did not deliver on it's promise. Louis Riddick is right: FSU has some real soul-searching to do.)
The FCS (I already mentioned Abliene Christian. Western Carolina, SE-Missouri State and Tennessee Tech also tried hard. But for the 2nd straight year, the FCS comes up empty against the FBS in Week 1.)
Michigan's offense (Michigan won their opener against Fresno State... even though their offense didn't do shit. I mean, only 121 yards passing?! You got Texas on Saturday, Michigan! ...Please do better.)
Jardin Gilbert (I don't like to call out individual players for their screwups. But I watched the USC/LSU game, and you can't deny that Gilbert's targeting penalty put USC on the path to victory. Man, I hope Jardin has learned his lesson, and will help Brian Kelly settle things down in Baton Rouge.)

...and I'm done! Did I forget anything? Let me know...

Good stuff but I disagree with the SEC assessment. They played 4 higher profile matchups but lost 3 of them. Georgia over Clemson was the only win. ND beat A&M, Miami beat Florida, and USC beat LSU.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Good stuff but I disagree with the SEC assessment. They played 4 higher profile matchups but lost 3 of them. Georgia over Clemson was the only win. ND beat A&M, Miami beat Florida, and USC beat LSU.

Hmm... Good point. But that's why I said MOST teams in the SEC had a good week; I also was looking at those 6 shutouts done by SEC teams.

 

[fightinfunbags]

Hmm... Good point. But that's why I said MOST teams in the SEC had a good week; I also was looking at those 6 shutouts done by SEC teams.

Fair point.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 2- Top 10 Games

It's time (once again) to judge teams based on only 60 minutes of game footage. Yep, it's time for...

The Top 10 Games of College Football 2024 (Week 2)​

(All times are Eastern)
10. Baylor @ Utah [3:30, FOX] (Don't get me wrong; this should be a good game. We have Baylor traveling to Utah to see their new friends in the Big 12. But this was a previously-scheduled non-conference game, so it won't count in the Big 12 standings. So we just have a fun challenge match where Utah's passing attack will be put to the test.)

9. Kansas State @ Tulane [12:00, ESPN] (Both KSU and Tulane played FCS teams last week, so we don't really have a good read on them yet. But pay attention to two guys in this challenge match: DJ Giddens [for Kansas State] and Darian Mensah [for Tulane]. DJ is the new top RB for K-State; will he feast on Tulane's D? And Darian is the new starting QB for Tulane; let's see what he can do against a "Power 4" secondary.)

8. Georgia Tech @ Syracuse [12:00, ACC Network] (Is Syracuse ready to do some big things in 2024? I mean, they did look very good in the 2nd half of their game against Ohio. But I need to see how the Orange offense handles the stout line play of Georgia Tech. As for the Jackets, they're looking to go to 3-0 and REALLY get their renaissance season going.)

7. Michigan State @ Maryland [3:30, Big 10 Network] (It's the Big 10 opener for both the Spartans and the Terrapins. Michigan State struggled a little bit with FAU last week; can they get their offense fired up? And Maryland looked great against UConn... but UConn was an easy win. Let's see the Terps handle a REAL defense.)

6. South Carolina @ Kentucky [3:30, ABC] (Here's another conference opener to look at, this time in the SEC. But I don't know if my mom [who likes South Carolina] will be watching this one. I mean, the Gamecocks needed a last-minute TD to beat Old Dominion last week. What sort of new tricks will SC have for the Wildcats? Or will Kentucky just shut them down and keep moving?)

5. Arkansas @ Oklahoma State [12:00, ABC] (Now that Oklahoma State has shooed away South Dakota State, they can now move on to more important things. Like this challenge match against Arkansas, for example! I want to see how Alan Bowmen and his crew attack the Arkansas D. And as for the Razorbacks, they DID look very good last week, but let's see what QB Taylen Green can do against a defense that can hit back.)

4. Iowa State @ Iowa [3:30, CBS] (Ah, the annual "Cy-Hawk Trophy" rivalry battle! It never gets old. And how about Iowa's offense actually doing a good job last week? That should bode well for them against Rocco Becht and the always-tough Cyclones.)

3. Colorado @ Nebraska [7:30, NBC] (Yep. You just knew that a major network like NBC was gonna be all over this one. Anyway, it's time for Colorado to make their first trip to Lincoln since 2018 and try to get the hype train going again. As for Nebraska, they're trying to snap a 3-game skid against Colorado and win one for the Big 10. And don't forget; for the first and only time, it'll be Sheduer Sanders vs. Dylan Raiola!)

2. Tennessee vs. NC State [from Charlotte, NC] {7:30, ABC} (On the off chance that CU/Nebraska gets boring, don't forget we also have the "Duke's Mayo Classic" in Charlotte between two ranked teams going on at the same time. Tennessee is trying to prove that it's not all finesse and get a quality win. And NC State might have struggled against an FCS team last week, but they don't care; if they get their offense cranked up, we'll be in for a doozy.)

1. Texas @ Michigan [12:00, FOX] (Here we are! One of the most anticipated games of the 2024 season is here: The Longhorns visiting the Wolverines! You don't need any fancy setups for this one!
...But I will say this. Michigan's offense has to step up here, 'cause I don't think their defense will be enough to stop Texas on Saturday.)

Best "mid-major" game: UTSA @ Texas State (It's the "Battle of I-35" between the Roadrunners and the Bobcats! High-schoolers from all over the state of Texas will be watching this one, for sure.)
Game with the best chance to be a bust: USF @ Alabama (Last year's game between these two was a surprisingly good game. But the way Alabama looked last week... I don't think USF will put up too much of a fight this time against the Tide.)
Honorable mentions for the Top 10: BYU @ SMU, Virginia @ Wake Forest, Texas Tech @ Washington State, Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati, and California @ Auburn.

My prediction segment is next!

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 2 Predictions

Okay, on to my predictions for Week 2. And let's hope the SEC backs me up better than it did last week (FBS vs. FCS games don't count):

Top 25:
Western Michigan 10 @ (2)Ohio State 54
(3)Texas 28 @ (10)Michigan 20
USF 13 @ (4)Alabama 47
Northern Illinois 14 @ (5)Notre Dame 28
Middle Tennessee 10 @ (6)Ole Miss 55
Boise State 20 @ (7)Oregon 35
Bowling Green 10 @ (8)Penn State 50
Buffalo 7 @ (9)Missouri 42
Baylor 20 @ (11)Utah 41
Utah State 12 @ (13)USC 40
(14)Tennessee 38 vs. (24)NC State 24
Houston 14 @ (15)Oklahoma 49
Arkansas 38 @ (16)Oklahoma State 31
(17)Kansas State 37 @ Tulane 21
(19)Kansas 35 @ Illinois 28
Iowa State 17 @ (21)Iowa 28
Jacksonville State 13 @ (22)Louisville 49
(23)Georgia Tech 31 @ Syracuse 24
Appalachian State 14 @ (25)Clemson 30

Other big games:
BYU 30 @ SMU 38
Duke 21 @ Northwestern 24
Michigan State 27 @ Maryland 24
California 18 @ Auburn 31
South Carolina 20 @ Kentucky 27
Colorado 49 @ Nebraska 41

...and I'm done! Man, that's 25 games I just picked. Okay, let's see how many I get wrong...

 

[socaljim242]

I cannot wait for football!!

My playoff team predictions are (I posted them on another thread but I’ll post them again here)

Georgia
Texas
Ohio St
Ole Miss
Oregon
Alabama
Clemson
Missouri
Penn St
Kansas St
Notre Dame
Memphis

I’ll pick Georgia to beat Ohio St in the National Title Game


As for tomorrow’s big game - I think the Jackets have a decent shot at upsetting the Seminoles in Ireland tomorrow - GA Tech has pulled a few upsets in the last 2 years and they have a good amount of talent back - the Jackets will need to pull a couple of upsets to have a winning record this year as their schedule is hard - facing Georgia and ND out of conference and play most of the ACCs best teams. But the GT offense should be strong - they return QB Haynes King, a 1,000 yard rusher at RB, 3 of their top 4 receivers and 4 starters on the O-Line, and they averaged 31 points a game last year and could be even better this year. Their D isn’t as experienced and they’ll need some guys to emerge on the front 7.
As for the Noles, they lost a lot of stellar guys from last years team but reloaded in the portal. But I’ve never been impressed by DJ Uiagalelei and he’ll have to have by far his best year yet if the Noles are going to win the ACC again. And they lost their leading rusher and top 3 receivers as well. So their O is kind of a question mark, although they did bring in guys in the portal who are talented. Their D should be very good, they are deep and talented, probably the ACC’s best D.
So while the Noles are more talented, I give the Jackets a shot at upsetting them, it will be interesting to see how the Noles offense clicks with a bunch of new guys. Can’t wait to watch it!!

Looking good but Oregon didn;t look good.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Friday night lights for Duke
To me, the SMU/BYU game was fun if not a little disappointing. Kinda wished we got more points there.

Duke 26-20 Northwestern (Sep 6, 2024) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Duke Blue Devils vs. Northwestern Wildcats NCAAF game, final score 26-20, from September 6, 2024 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

But hey, if you want REAL drama, the above game will suffice.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Notre Dame stunned by Northern Illinois

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/08/sport/northern-illinois-notre-dame-college-football-spt-intl/index.html

You gotta be f---ing kidding me! The Irish win at Texas A&M one week, then get embarrassed by a 28.5-point underdog the next?! I am mortified by this result. Scarlet mortified.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 2- Good and Bad

Wow, my nephew knows a lot about "Happy Tree Friends" storyboards. But of course, you're not interested in that. You want to see the "Good/Bad" segment for Week 2! Well, here you go:

It Was a Good Week for:​

Washington State (Texas Tech underestimated Wazzu in the "Mike Leach Bowl", and they paid for it. The Cougars stood tall with a 37-16 victory in Pullman, and now it's on to an epic "Apple Cup"!)
Cam Skattebo (Never heard of this guy? Well, Cam got 262 yards rushing to help his Arizona State Sun Devils win a close one over Mississippi State.)
Kansas State (Okay, so it was a lot tougher than they really wanted. But K-State won against a quality team like Tulane. Oh, and they saw their rivals in Lawrence flop against Illinois. Plus, some of their other Big 12 friends [like Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Houston] showed true guts in their games.)
The Group of Five (I already mentioned what Northern Illinois did, Toledo and Ohio are doing fine, UL-Monroe is 2-0, and Texas State looked great in their win over UTSA. Plus, Boise State and Bowling Green put a mighty big scare into [respectfully] Oregon and Penn State. And don't be fooled by the score; USF gave Alabama a BIG fright for the 2nd year in a row.)
Army (I gotta point out the fact that Army won their first conference game of any sort in 20 years, as they surprised FAU in Boca Raton.)

It Was a Bad Week for:​

Michigan's offense (My mom said she didn't watch the Michigan/Texas game, and for good reason; her favorite team sucked. Michigan's offense had almost no zip in their step, and Texas feasted on that.)
Deion Sanders (Bro! I give you the benefit of the doubt in your game against Nebraska, and this is what you do?! Your offense did almost NOTHING against the Huskers. Is this season gonna be another "all bark and no bite" type of deal, Deion? You tell me!)
NC State (Turns out NC State's struggles with Western Carolina was a warning sign for Wolfpack backers. I mean, NC State didn't even put up a fight against Tennessee. No fight at all!)
Auburn (And it's back to earth for the Auburn Tigers; they lose at home to Cal. And they got only 14 points in the loss.)

And finally, did you see Idaho winning against Wyoming? I guess their performance against Oregon wasn't a fluke, eh? Well anyway, enjoy the first NFL Sunday of the year.

 

[redskinsfan1963]

Notre Dame stunned by Northern Illinois

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/08/sport/northern-illinois-notre-dame-college-football-spt-intl/index.html

You gotta be f---ing kidding me! The Irish win at Texas A&M one week, then get embarrassed by a 28.5-point underdog the next?! I am mortified by this result. Scarlet mortified.

nd looked like shit the whole game,especially at QB.

 

[Dolgevillefootballfan]

Week 3- Top 10 Games

Looks like a quiet week of college football this week, doesn't it? Well, we all thought that in Week 2, and guess what happened? A lot of chaos; just ask Michigan and Notre Dame.

So on that note, it's time to go through another intriguing week. Yep, it's time for...

The Top 10 Games of College Football 2024 [Week 3]​

(All times are Eastern)
10. Notre Dame @ Purdue [3:30, CBS] (Originally, I had Texas State's game with Arizona State tonight as my #10 game. But... yeah, I wanna see how Notre Dame will respond after that stunning loss to NIU, too. I mean, how can the Irish passing game not have any TD's so far in 2024? They GOTTA fix that, they GOTTA! As for Purdue, they're playing with house money here. If they lose, we're all expecting it, but if they win, what a boost it'll be for the Boilermakers and their offense!)

9. Indiana @ UCLA [7:30, NBC] (*sigh* Well, too late to turn back now. It's time for UCLA's big debut in the Big 10 as they host the Hoosiers. Indiana has been looking good over their first 2 games, so they're feeling confident. But UCLA has had 2 weeks to prep for this one; let's hope that extra time has helped the Bruins offense come up with some new tricks.)

8. Ole Miss @ Wake Forest [6:30, CW Network] (Wait. The CW will have this game? Fine by me; they'll get to see Ole Miss go through their first test of 2024 as they visit the Deacons. On paper, this looks like a mismatch. But Wake was only 1 point away from beating Virginia last week, and they have RB Demond Claiborne on their side. If the Wake Forest defense can stop Jaxson Dart...)

7. UCF @ TCU [7:30, FOX] (Just a simple Big 12 opener between two unbeaten teams. Will a lot of points be scored? I mean, TCU has QB Josh Hoover doing well. But the UCF defense has been doing great thus far, so this should be a very even game.)

6. LSU @ South Carolina [12:00, ABC] ("College Gameday" will be in South Carolina this week, as the LSU Tigers go to visit the Gamecocks. And yeah, South Carolina looked good last week against Kentucky, but let's see how they handle a Top 25 squad. Oh, and LSU's defense still isn't looking right [Nicholls State got in a few shots against them last week]. Can Brian Kelly and his players fix it in time?)

5. Washington State vs. Washington [from Lumen Field in Seattle] {3:30, Peacock} (Wait. We got an historic rivalry game between 2 bitter foes, and it's only on Peacock? CBS has a contract with the Big 10 too, don't they? Couldn't they have picked up the game instead of dealing with Deion and his underachieving Buffaloes again?
Anyway, on to this game. This is what Washington State has been waiting for since last January: A chance to shock their greedy in-state rivals, who left them behind to join the Big 10. As for the Huskies, they've had 2 games to sort out their new roster. Now it's D-Day for these batch of Huskies.)

4. Alabama @ Wisconsin [12:00, FOX] (So... Does Wisconsin have a chance in this game against the Crimson Tide? I mean, they didn't look dominant in either of their wins. But maybe that was planned. Maybe Wisconsin is saving up all of their big offensive plays for this game, and will unleash them on the Tide!
As for Alabama, let's hope they're still not thinking about the USF game. They need to look really good here, because I THINK they play Georgia next week.)

3. Boston College @ Missouri [12:45, SEC Network] (Weird starting time aside, this is a sneakily-good game to watch. The Eagles are ranked right now, but do they really deserve it? Can the Eagles offense put up big points against an SEC team that hasn't even been scored on yet? And what about the Tigers; how will they respond when they get punched in the mouth? Well, Eli Drinkwitz is taking this threat seriously; I think Missouri lost the last time they played BC.)

2. Arizona @ Kansas State [8:00 tomorrow, FOX] (So "WWE Smackdown" has been moved from FOX to USA because of college football games like this? Well, to be fair this game looks really good! Heck, if it was a real Big 12 game, this game would have been #1 on my list.
But despite the fact this won't count in the Big 12 standings, this will still be a good game between two Top-20 teams. And much like Alabama with USF, K-State cannot get caught with their close call against Tulane; they better be ready to fight.)

1. Oregon @ Oregon State [3:30, FOX] (The Oregon/OSU rivalry lives on! And it'll be a real hoot in Corvallis when they meet up in this week's Main Event. But what pushed this game over the top? The recent struggles of the Ducks. Idaho gave Oregon a good fight, and only a late field goal stopped Boise State from overtaking the Ducks.
So will Oregon get their act together and silence the Beavers again? Or will OSU send Oregon into the Big 10 schedule as losers?)

Game with the best chance to be a bust: Oklahoma State @ Tulsa (In my copy of "CFB 25", Tulsa was able to beat the Cowboys a few times. But this is reality, and reality says that the Cowboys have got this easy.)
Honorable mentions for the Top 10: Memphis @ Florida State, Arizona State @ Texas State, Georgia @ Kentucky, Utah @ Utah State, and West Virginia @ Pittsburgh.

My prediction segment is next!