On Tuesday, Ball State edged Northern Illinois, 20-17; Western Michigan beat Central Michigan, 38-28 – no word about any sign-stealing there (sorry, couldn’t resist); and Ohio beat Buffalo, 20-10.
Wednesday night, Miami (Ohio) shut out Akron, 19-0; Bowling Green beat Kent State, 49-19; and Toledo beat Eastern Michigan, 39-23.
No. 11 Louisville held off Virginia, but it was close: 31-24, on Thursday night, and Southern Miss beat Louisiana, 34-31, in overtime.
Friday night, there were two games: SMU hosted North Texas, and Wyoming played at UNLV.
Saturday’s schedule, with College Football Playoff rankings when applicable (all times Central Standard time):
No. 3 Michigan at No. 10 Penn State, 11 a.m., FOX. The latest: Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended by the Big Ten Conference for the last three games for discipline on the sign-stealing deal, and his appeal is Friday. He is definitely not coaching in this game.
No. 8 Alabama at Kentucky, 11 a.m., ESPN (No. 8 Alabama aims to clinch SEC West title at Kentucky, which looks to win its second straight game)
Texas Tech at No. 16 Kansas, 11 a.m., Fox Sports 1 (No. 19 Kansas will try to stay in the Big 12 title picture as Texas Tech comes to town)
Tulsa at No. 23 Tulane, 11 a.m., ESPN2 (No. 20 Tulane seeks its 8th straight win when it hosts desperate Tulsa)
Holy Cross at Army, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network
Indiana at Illinois, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network (Indiana visits Illinois with both coming off a big win and both still seeking bowl eligibility)
Maryland at Nebraska, 11 a.m., Peacock (Maryland-Nebraska winner will be eligible for a bowl. Terrapins trying to end 4-game losing streak. )
Vanderbilt at South Carolina, 11 a.m., SEC Network
Virginia Tech at Boston College, 11 a.m., ACC Network (Boston College aims for 6th straight win when Virginia Tech visits)
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 11 a.m., ABC (Bowl eligibility on the line when Clemson looks for ninth straight win over Georgia Tech)
Temple at South Florida, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Old Dominion at Liberty, noon, ESPN+ (No. 25 Liberty’s perfect season is on the line when it faces Old Dominion)
No. 21 Arizona at Colorado, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Network (No. 23 Arizona rolls into Colorado on 3-game win streak and bowl eligible for first time since 2017)
UConn at James Madison, 1 p.m., ESPN+ (Undefeated No. 21 James Madison puts focus on football instead of bowl eligibility vs UConn)
North Carolina State at Wake Forest, 1 p.m., CW Network
Memphis at Charlotte, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Appalachian State at Georgia State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Troy at Louisiana Monroe, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Baylor at No. 25 Kansas State, 2 p.m., ESPN+ (Kansas State tries to beat Baylor at home for first time since 2017 season on Saturday)
Sam Houston State at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m., ESPN+
Nevada at Utah State, 2 p.m.
Miami at No. 4 Florida State, 2 p.m., ABC (Jordan Travis and No. 4 Florida State have a playoff berth in sight and rival Miami in the way)
No. 18 Utah at No. 5 Washington, 2:30 p.m., FOX (Next challenge for No. 5 Washington in the Huskies’ stretch run is a visit from No. 13 Utah)
No. 13 Tennessee at No. 14 Missouri, 2:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., CBS (No. 14 Tennessee heads to No. 16 Missouri for first meeting with both teams ranked)
No. 15 Oklahoma State at Central Florida, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (No. 15 Oklahoma State aims for 6th straight win in road test vs Big 12 newcomer UCF)
Rutgers at No. 22 Iowa, 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Hawkeyes looking to protect their lead in the Big Ten West when Rutgers comes to Kinnick)
Florida International at Middle Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Minnesota at Purdue, 2:30 p.m., NBC
Northwestern at Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
New Mexico State at Western Kentucky, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Pittsburgh at Syracuse, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network
Alabama-Birmingham at Navy, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Texas State at Coastal Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Auburn at Arkansas, 3 p.m., SEC Network (Auburn, Arkansas fight to avoid last place in competitive SEC West)
Washington State at Cal, 3 p.m., ESPN+
East Carolina at Florida Atlantic, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Arkansas State at South Alabama, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Stanford at No. 12 Oregon State, 4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network (No. 12 Oregon State hosts Stanford before a tough final stretch)
No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 2 Georgia, 6 p.m., ESPN (No. 1 Georgia faces another tough test against high-scoring No. 10 Ole Miss)
West Virginia at No. 17 Oklahoma, 6 p.m., FOX (No. 17 Oklahoma, West Virginia to meet in matchup of teams one game behind Big 12 leaders)
Cincinnati at Houston, 6 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Georgia Southern at Marshall, 6 p.m., NFL Network
San Diego State at Colorado State, CBS Sports Network
Michigan State at No. 1 Ohio State, 6:30 p.m., NBC (No. 3 Ohio State looks for a fast start and more complete game against struggling Michigan State)
No. 7 Texas at TCU, 6:30 p.m., ABC (QB Quinn Ewers to return from shoulder sprain for No. 7 Texas and start against TCU)
Florida at No. 19 LSU, 6:30 p.m. SEC Network (No. 18 LSU and unranked Florida seek strong finishes under their second-year coaches)
Mississippi State at Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 (Aggies will qualify for bowl with win over Mississippi State)
Rice at Texas-San Antonio, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Duke at No. 24 North Carolina, 7 p.m., ACC Network (No. 24 North Carolina and Duke meet in their long-running rivalry for the Victory Bell)
Arizona State at UCLA, 8 p.m., Pac-12 Network
New Mexico at Boise State, 9 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Iowa State at BYU, 9:15 p.m., ESPN
Southern Cal at No. 6 Oregon, 9:30 p.m., FOX (USC and Caleb Williams will try to rebound against No. 6 Oregon and Bo Nix)
Fresno State at San Jose State, 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Air Force at Hawai’i, 10 p.m.
Staff picks
Our staff does the weekly TFB pick thing, as many of you know, and it’s myself, my wife and correspondent Jenna Lucas, staff photographer Alex Nabor,), correspondents and couple Mitchell Molandes and Shelby Thompson Molandes, associate editor Clayton Fletcher, my son and excellent videographer Jacob Lucas (who has served and still does work for the Kilgore College Rangerettes), and my college student daughter Ashtyn, who technically isn’t a TFB staffer, but is pretty salty at making picks, as you can tell by looking at the results.
In fact, I’m 99-36, one win shy of 100, and have came all the way back from a disastrous first week to completely, totally claim the lead. I’m 99-36.
Ashtyn is one game back (98-37). Then there’s a few steps back, like walking back from a sandbar in the ocean, Alex is at 94-41. Mitchell is at 92-43, and Shelby and Jenna are each at 91-44. Jacob is at 90-45, and pulling up the back is Clayton “I’M-GONNA-PICK-EVERY-FREAKING-UPSET-I-CAN-POSSIBLY-GET-MY-HANDS-ON” Fletcher.
Thursday came and went, but we had all picked Louisville.
And here we go, more than usual, because so many games are important this weekend.
Michigan at Penn State: Let me be clear: I have always liked Jim Harbaugh, back to his days as the Chicago Bears quarterback, through his playing career, through his days as the Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback and the Hail Mary (“I thought he caught it!” in the AFC title game – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT4vF24WanE)
That said, I think Connor Stalions is as guilty as sin here. And I think Michigan plays a schedule softer than melted butter. I think the Wolverines deserve a butt-whipping. And I don’t know that they’re going to get one. But I do think they’re going to get pushed. In fact, I picked an outright upset, Penn State over Michigan, and so did Jenna and Fletch. The pick, officially, 5-3, in favor of the Wolverines.
Alabama at Kentucky: I think there’s the outside, outside possibility for an upset here, don’t think I’m crazy. Alabama needs to be very careful. But if the Tide can win this game, they clinch the SEC West Division. The pick: Alabama, unanimously (8-0).
Tulsa at Tulane: Won’t waste a lot of time here. The pick: Tulane, unanimously (8-0).
Arizona at Colorado: I have seen Arizona at least three times this year, and I’ve been so impressed with the way they play, not only their offense, but the way they’re coached and the way their defense collapses on the ball.
Baylor at Kansas State: For all intent and purpose, the Bears are playing spoiler here, and K-State is attempting to secure a rematch of last weekend’s overtime game against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game in December at AT&T Stadium in a few weeks. At least two of us believe they could. The pick: 6-2 in favor of K-State, but Fletcher (shocker) and Jacob have picked Baylor here.
Miami at Florida State: Oh, for the days when this mattered more. It matters, make no mistake. Heck, if Florida State lost today, that is a BIG, big story. But there was a day when this decided the participants in the national championship game. Alas… The pick: 7-1, with Fletcher, who’s just trolling at this point, taking the Hurricanes to get it done in Tallahassee.
Utah at Washington: After Washington took down Oregon and Southern Cal, nobody on the panel is buying the Utes to do this, so The Pick is Washington, unanimously (8-0), but we might see a good game.
Tennessee at Missouri: This is a monster game and could very well decide who’s going to the SEC Championship Game, should Georgia stumble twice (like, say, tonight, and then again next week in Knoxville). The pick: 5-3 Tennessee, the road team, with Fletch, Jacob and Mitchell taking the Tigers.
Oklahoma State at Central Florida: The Cowboys are in the same position as K-State, attempting to get into the Big 12 title game. Gotta avoid that road upset, though. The pick: Cowboys, unanimously (8-0).
Rutgers at Iowa: Iowa, across the board (8-0).
Stanford at Oregon State: I doubted Stanford pulling an upset over Colorado earlier this season, and made some cute comment. I won’t do that again, although I will say that’s why they call them “upsets.” The pick here: Oregon State, unanimously (8-0).
West Virginia at Oklahoma: The Sooners pretty much blew their chances at playing for the Big 12 title with their losses at Kansas and in Stillwater, but there’s hope, I guess. Not if they lose this one. The pick: Oklahoma (unanimously, 8-0).
Ole Miss at Georgia: Let me say this: I so RARELY disagree with Fletcher on his upsets. And this most likely won’t happen. But I strongly have a feeling that the Rebels, led by quarterback Jackson Dart, have an outstanding shot of pulling this off. The Bulldogs have been cruising, and I may totally miss this – they may crush Ole Miss. The Rebels may not get off to a good start themselves. But Georgia has started slow a few times this year. They do it today, and it could cost them – dearly. The pick: Fletch, Ashtyn and I have taken Ole Miss, everyone else, Georgia, so a 5-3 split.
Texas at TCU: TCU has been disappointing this year after the huge season a year ago. Fletch took TCU, again, I think you’re a troll, Fletcher (use “angry face emoji” here). The pick: 7-1 Longhorns. You know what? On second thought, this *might* be TCU’s Super Bowl, so to speak. If they look at it that way and let it all hang out, they could pull this off. It’ll take a big effort, though.
Florida at LSU: Quarterback Jayden Daniels is playing after the “targeting” last week that Dallas Turner pulled in Tuscaloosa. That hit was a football hit, I’m sorry, folks. The pick: LSU, except Alex, who took the Gators, so 7-1 in favor of the Tigahs (said former coach Ed Orgeron).
Michigan State at Ohio State: If I was going to make cute jokes about “um, no,” I’d do it here. I won’t. The pick: Ohio State, unanimously (8-0).
Mississippi State at Texas A&M: This is where I’ll be today. And it’s a unanimous pick (8-0) in favor of the Aggies. Now, if A&M doesn’t get this done, coach Jimbo Fisher could be in trouble. Mississippi State is coming off a 24-3 loss AT HOME to Kentucky in which they looked very bad (I was in Starkville for that). The Aggies can’t lose this game, and Jimbo survive it.
Duke at North Carolina: This ain’t basketball – i.e., the enthusiasm won’t be killer. The pick: North Carolina, 7-1 (Fletcher).
Southern Cal at Oregon: You have to wonder if Caleb Williams will check out any minute. The pick: the Ducks, unanimously (8-0).
