Can the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies prove a lot of the doubters wrong, and go into The Coliseum in L.A. and leave with a win over USC tonight?
Tonight is also the annual renewing of the state of Louisiana’s grudge match against former coach Nick Saban, as LSU makes its return to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama on CBS.
There’s a ton of other things going on in the college football world today, not the least of which has the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State battling in what will be the final Bedlam game for a while, it appears, in Stillwater; Texas trying to survive a test at home against tough-out Kansas State; and No. 2 Georgia taking on a one-loss Missouri team at home that is a bit of a mystery.
So, here’s what’s happened so far in college football this week.
Central Michigan defeated Northern Illinois, 37-31, on Tuesday, and Toledo beat Buffalo, 31-13. On Wednesday night, Bowling Green beat Ball State, 24-21, and Akron beat Kent State, 31-27.
Texas Tech defeated TCU, 35-28, in Lubbock on Thursday night. Duke edged Wake Forest, 24-21, on Thursday, and Troy beat South Alabama, 28-10.
On Friday, Boston College defeated Syracuse, 17-10, and Wyoming beat Colorado State, 24-15 – no word if anybody wore hats or sunglasses in that one.
Now, here’s today’s schedule, in Central Standard time, with TV network when applicable.
No. 1 Ohio State at Rutgers, 11 a.m., CBS
No. 23 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas, 11 a.m., FOX
Texas A&M at No. 10 Ole Miss, 11 a.m., ESPN
No. 15 Notre Dame at Clemson, 11 a.m., ABC
UConn at No. 17 Tennessee, 11 a.m., SEC Network
Arkansas at Florida, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Wisconsin at Indiana, 11 a.m., Big 10 Network
Nebraska at Michigan State, 11 a.m., Fox Sports 1
Jacksonville State at South Carolina, 11 a.m., ESPNU
Campbell at North Carolina, 11 a.m., ACC Network
Kennesaw State at Sam Houston State, noon, ESPN+
Arizona State at No. 18 Utah, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Georgia Tech at Virginia, 1 p.m., CW Network
Navy at Temple, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Army at No. 25 Air Force, 1:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Florida Atlantic at Alabama-Birmingham, ESPN+
Texas-San Antonio at North Texas, 2 p.m., ESPN+
South Florida at Memphis, 2 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana at Arkansas State, 2 p.m., ESPN+
No. 12 Missouri at No. 2 Georgia, 2:30 p.m., CBS
No. 4 Florida State at Pittsburgh, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 22 Oklahoma State, 2:30 p.m., ABC
No. 11 Penn State at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., FOX
Virginia Tech at No. 13 Louisville, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network
No. 24 Tulane at East Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
Illinois at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., Big 10 Network
Iowa at Northwestern, 2:30 p.m., Peacock
Merrimack at UMass, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Houston at Baylor, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Central Florida at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
James Madison at Georgia State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
Coastal Carolina at Old Dominion, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Auburn at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m., SEC Network
Charlotte at Tulsa, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana Monroe at Southern Miss, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Hawai’i at Nevada, 3 p.m.
Georgia Southern at Texas State, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Cal at No. 6 Oregon, 4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Louisiana Tech at Liberty, 5 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Middle Tennessee at New Mexico State, 5 p.m., ESPN+
Marshall at Appalachian State, 5 p.m., NFL Network
UNLV at New Mexico, 5 p.m.
No. 21 Kansas at Iowa State, 6 p.m., ESPN
BYU at West Virginia, 6 p.m. FOX
Utah State at San Diego State, 6 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Purdue at Michigan, 6:30 p.m., NBC
No. 5 Washington at No. 20 USC, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Kentucky at Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
SMU at Rice, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 14 LSU at No. 8 Alabama, 6:45 p.m., CBS
Miami at N.C. State, 7 p.m. ACC Network
Western Kentucky at UTEP, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Stanford at Washington State, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 16 Oregon State at Colorado, 9 p.m. ESPN
Boise State at Fresno State, 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network
No. 19 UCLA at Arizona, 9:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Staff picks
Our staff here at TFB always picks a selection of 15 college games, and 15 NFL games. This year, the NFL is proving to be much more difficult to pick – that’s often the case.
Making picks are editor / publisher Mitch Lucas, his wife and correspondent Jenna Lucas, videographer Jacob Lucas (and no, this isn’t nepotism, the kid’s good at his job), photographer Alex Nabor, associate editor Clayton Fletcher (who never met an upset he didn’t love), correspondent Mitchell Molandes, his wife and correspondent Shelby Thompson Molandes, and Mitch and Jenna’s daughter, Ashtyn Lucas. And don’t you laugh: she’s a college student and she’s been in the lead for much of the season on the picks. She’s freakin’ good at this.
On we go.
Oh, wait. Thursday’s game was TCU at Texas Tech, and that’s over. The pick was officially 5-3 in favor of TCU, but Mitch, Alex and Mitchell picked Tech, and Tech won the game, so they took that one.
Now, Saturday’s games.
Kansas State at Texas: The Longhorns will have to face the Wildcats without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. K-State hasn’t won in Austin since 2011. Our panel says they won’t on Saturday. The pick: unanimous (8-0) in favor of Texas.
Texas A&M at Ole Miss: Is it just me, or does it seem like the Aggies’ season every single year is only built around what they do against ‘Bama? Do these people know that they have more than one game to play? Guys, it’s a 12-13 game season. WAKE UP. At any rate, the pick: Mitchell took A&M, and everyone else took Ole Miss, so the official number is 7-1 in favor of the Rebels.
Notre Dame at Clemson: Boy, Clemson coach Dabo Sweeny tore into Tyler from Spartanburg, didn’t he? Maybe Tyler from Spartanburg should be more careful than to completely destroy a coach on a call-in show. I’m guessing Tyler from Spartanburg is a South Carolina fan. Just a hunch. The pick here: Mitch went with Clemson. Everyone else is taking Notre Dame. I’m thinking ol’ Mitch might be onto something. The number is 7-1, officially.
Arizona State at Utah: No beating around the bush here. The pick: Utah, 7-1, Shelby being the 1.
Army at Air Force: The Air Force Academy is undefeated but No. 20 in the CFP rankings. They may not get a lot higher. They say they don’t play anybody. I have a question. How is that any different than the University of Michigan? (Crickets). The pick? Air Force, unanimously (8-0).
Missouri at Georgia: You know it’s coming. It’s coming, it’s coming and you know it. Here it is. The pick: Fletcher takes Mizzou. Everyone else takes Georgia. Fletch, I love you, man. I hope you get your upset. I don’t see it, buddy. But I hope you get it. 7-1 in favor of Georgia.
Oklahoma at Oklahoma State: I have a hunch that the Sooners may lose for the second straight week. But hey, man, I’m not a “picker.” The pick: a 4-4 even split, with Mitch, Fletch, Jacob and Jenna taking State, and Ashtyn, Mitchell, Shelby and Alex taking OU.
Tulane at East Carolina: Tulane another team in the CFP rankings that probably won’t get a lot of love because of their schedule. The pick: unanimous (8-0) in favor of Tulane winning.
Cal at Oregon: Are the Ducks headed for the four-team playoff? Don’t know, but they are headed for a win over Cal today, according to the panel. The pick: unanimous (8-0) for Oregon.
Purdue at Michigan: Michigan has played East Carolina this season, and tried, I heard, to sign Sulligent High School, but Sulligent was busy playing Lamar County. Next up for Michigan: Pizza Hut University. The pick: Michigan, unanimously (8-0).
Washington at USC: This is a “put your money where your mouth is” game. If Washington wants to be the king of the hill in the Pac-12, they’ve beaten Oregon. This would be huge. They HAVE to win this game to make a statement, and to have any hope of getting into the top four. The pick: a 4-4 split, wouldn’t you know, with Mitch, Jenna, Jacob, and Alex taking USC, and everyone else taking the Huskies.
LSU at Alabama: This is the most surprising result of the entire picks list this weekend, to me. The pick: a unanimous (8-0) decision in favor of Alabama. Wow. I can’t believe no one took LSU.
Oregon State at Colorado: The Beavers are very much still in the hunt for the Pac-12 Championship. Colorado is pretty much out of that, and trying to be a spoiler, which they can very much do. The pick: 5-3, in favor of Oregon State, with Mitch, Fletch and Jacob taking the Buffaloes.
UCLA at Arizona: Finishing up, the late game on our list has coach Chip Kelly and the Bruins at an underrated Arizona team. The pick: 6-2, with Jacob and Mitch taking Arizona and everyone else taking UCLA.
