This weekend’s college football schedule isn’t loaded like last weekend’s, where there were a dozen games at the 11 a.m. (Central) time slot, the 2:30 time slot, and the 6 and 6:30 p.m time slots.
But there are few games of interest out there before we get Oklahoma-Texas and ‘Bama-Texas A&M next week.
Thursday night’s results: Western Kentucky topped Middle Tennessee, 31-10; Tulsa took out Temple, 48-26; and Jacksonville State came from behind to beat Sam Houston State, 35-28 in overtime.
We’ve already had one (mild) upset this weekend: No. 19 Oregon State knocked off No. 10 Utah, 21-7, on Friday night at Corvalis. Also on Friday night, Louisville held off North Carolina State, 13-10. Louisiana Tech beat UTEP, 24-10; and BYU dropped Cincinnati to 0-2 in the Big 12 with a 35-27 win over the Bearcats.
Now, today’s schedule:
No. 6 Penn State at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Big 10 Network
No. 8 Southern Cal at Colorado, 11 a.m., FOX
No. 22 Florida at Kentucky, 11 a.m., ESPN
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas, 11 a.m., SEC Network (and that one is being played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington)
Louisiana at Minnesota, 11 a.m., Big 10 Network
Utah State at UConn, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network
Clemson at Syracuse, 11 a.m., ABC
Alabama-Birmingham at Tulane, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Buffalo at Akron, 11 a.m., ESPN+
South Alabama at James Madison, 11 a.m., ESPNU
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan, 12:30 p.m., ESPN+
Virginia at Boston College, 1:30 p.m., CW Network
Miami (Ohio) at Kent State, 1:30 p.m., ESPN+
Arizona State at Cal, 2 p.m., Pac-12 Network
No. 1 Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 p.m., CBS
No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska, 2:30 p.m., FOX
No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Indiana at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., Big 10 Network
Illinois at Purdue, 2:30 p.m., Peacock
Wagner at Rutgers, 2:30 p.m., Big 10 Network
Bowling Green at Georgia Tech, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network
Houston at Texas Tech, 2:30 p.m., FS2
Baylor at Central Florida, 2:30 p.m., FS1
Arkansas State at UMass, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
South Florida at Navy, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Old Dominion at Marshall, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Ball State at Wester Michigan, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Northern Illinois at Toledo, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 23 Missouri at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m., SEC Network
Boise State at Memphis, 3 p.m., ESPN2
Hawai’i at UNLV, 3 p.m.
New Mexico at Wyoming, 3 p.m.
No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss, 5 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Oregon at Stanford, 5:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Iowa State at No. 14 Oklahoma, 6 p.m., FS1
East Carolina at Rice, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Abilene Christian at North Texas, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m., NFL Network
Troy at Georgia State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Texas State at Southern Miss, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Utah Tech at Colorado State, 6 p.m.
No. 11 Notre Dame at NO. 17 Duke, 6 :30 p.m., ABC
South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
Michigan State at Iowa, 6:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock
Charlotte at SMU, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network
West Virginia at TCU, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Appalachian State at Louisiana-Monroe, 7 p.m., ESPN+
San Diego State at Air Force (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
No. 12 Alabama at Mississippi State, 8 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 Washington at Arizona, 9 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Nevada at No. 25 Fresno State, 9:30 p.m., FS1
Staff Picks
Seven of our staff members, including yours truly, are making these picks of 15 college games a week (we also do all of the NFL games on the schedule each week, in a separate story).
After a – well – crappy start, I’m actually doing not awful in the college picks. I’m behind, but I’ll catch ‘em. NFL picks early in-season is always difficult for me, until I get a feel of who’s either good, or who’s still good from the previous year.
So, the standings look like this, after three weeks of college picks.
Correspondent Shelby Thompson Molandes and my daughter Ashtyn (who is in the contest because we allowed her in, because we were stupid – she’s very good at this) are leading the way. They’re tied, each with a record of 35-10, although I am happy that Shelby missed her pick of Alabama-Ole Miss.
Photographer Alex Nabor is right behind them, only by a game (34-11), and correspondent Mitchell Molandes is two back (33-12), as is my wife, Jenna Hagler Lucas.
I’m at 31-14, along with associate editor Clayton Fletcher, and my videographer (who doubles as my son), Jacob Lucas, is bringing up the rear at 30-15.
On we go; here are the games and picks for this week.
No. 8 Southern Cal at Colorado: I could very well see coach Deion Sanders and his crew upsetting Southern Cal in Boulder, and after watching the Trojans’ defense, I don’t know that it would be that much of an upset. I’m taking USC in a squeaker, as are five more of us. But Jacob and Ashtyn both took Colorado to pull this off. So the pick is USC, 6-2.
Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: The mystery here is what A&M will have at quarterback, but I don’t think it’s much of a mystery. Max Johnson has played fairly well when he’s been in the lineup for the Aggies, and even though Arkansas can be a tough out (ask LSU about that), I think they get it done at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Jacob and Alex have Arkansas in the upset. Another 6-2 pick.
No. 22 Florida at Kentucky: I just don’t see the Gators, trying to get their football legs under coach Billy Napier, making this happen. I took Kentucky for the win. Alex and Mitchell joined me in that pick, and everyone else likes Florida. So the pick is 5-3 Florida, officially.
No. 1 Georgia at Auburn: This used to be a real rivalry. But Georgia hired Kirby Smart, Auburn has fired about 3,302 coaches in the last three decades, and Georgia has left them in the dust in recruiting. I would normally give Auburn a chance here – I’ve many covered games at Jordan-Haire (pronounced JURDEN AIR, by the way, not kidding) over the years, and when that place gets rockin’, it’s as loud as any in college football. There’s very little chance here, unless the Bulldogs – who have not been tested, let me add – just don’t show up. For some reason, Fletcher picked Auburn. My goodness. The split is 7-1, in Georgia’s favor.
No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska: Absolutely no one bought into Nebraska getting this ‘W.’ And I can absolutely tell you for my part, it’s not so much that Michigan is that strong as it is that Nebraska coach Matt Rhule has a LOT of work to do. Michigan is the unanimous pick.
No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas: We’ve got one dude – Mitchell Molandes – who says the Jayhawks pull the upset. Maybe he’s looking at Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels and his athleticism, or something. Daniels is 56-of-75 for 705 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Not bad, but not spectacular. Or maybe he’s looking at the Jayhawks’ defense, allowing 22.8 points a game. Heck, I don’t know WHAT he’s looking at. The pick is 7-1, in favor of the Longhorns.
Baylor at Central Florida: Whoo, everybody on the Gus Bus for Central Florida! Well, not everybody. Jenna, Fletch and myself have UCF winning this one; the rest of those people have Baylor taking it, so a 5-3 split in Baylor’s favor.
Boise State at Memphis: In the old days, eight, maybe seven, years ago, there’s no way I would have picked Boise to lose this game, even on the road. This ain’t the old days. And I’m not alone. Jacob and Alex took Boise; the rest of us took the Memphis Tigers, a 6-2 split for Memphis on the final pick.
No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss: The general consensus that I’ve heard all week is that LSU played well below their standards in a (just barely) home win over Arkansas last week – the Tigers needed a field goal at the end of regulation to beat the ‘Hogs. The general consensus I’ve also heard is that Ole Miss had a decent shot to beat Alabama, and let them off the hook. Our general consensus says the Rebels finally get one at home, although Jenna, Alex and Shelby all took LSU. The pick is a somewhat-surprising 5-3 in the favor of the Rebels.
Iowa State at No. 14 Oklahoma: OK, Fletcher, you’re just being ridiculous with the upset-picking now. Fletch took Iowa State; the rest of us told him to put down the crack pipe and get with the program. Not really. But it would be a pretty large upset for the Cyclones to win in Soonerland. They’ve done it before, but with WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more talented teams. The pick is 7-1, in Oklahoma’s favor.
No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke: Fletcher again took the underdog and picked Duke in this one. And this time, Mitchell and I came along with him. The split is 5-3, though, in favor of the Fighting Irish. Or is it ‘Fightin’”? I guess it depends on the week.
South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee: Well, the pick is 7-1, and you know by now who the ‘1’ is. Fletcher, boy, I don’t know what to think about you. You’re gonna want some of these picks back by Sunday night.
West Virginia at TCU: How much do you think TCU coach Sonny Dykes is kicking himself right now about the loss to Colorado to open the season – which also opened the door on Deion-mania (I think I’m gonna trademark that phrase). Mitchell and Shelby both took West Virginia, and the rest of us picked the Horned Frogs, a 6-2 split.
No. 12 Alabama at Mississippi State: Alabama blew the doors off of Ole Miss in the fourth quarter last week. Mississippi State wrestled a cage match with South Carolina in Columbia, and lost a loser-leaves-town. But not because of a lack of effort from receiver Lideatrick Griffin (number 5 for the Bulldogs). Griffin was amazing: he caught seven passes for 256 yards – he averaged 36 yards a catch! – and a touchdown. He’s freaking good. And Alabama had better freaking pay attention to him on defense. The Tide should roll here, and our pick is unanimous (8-0), but don’t be surprised if Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers and Griffin keep the ‘Dogs in the game for a while.
By the way, those two universities are only about an hour and 10 minutes apart.
No. 7 Washington at Arizona: Huskies quarterback Michael Penix has been the real deal every time I’ve watched him, whether at Indiana or for the Huskies. On the season, he’s leading major college football in passing yards (1,636), and has thrown 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Now, their schedule is a bit weak, and they haven’t really played an opponent yet that had a realistic chance to beat them. That’s coming. For now, our pick is 7-1 Washington, with Alex the wise guy who took Arizona. Just kidding, Nabor, you never know. (Sometimes you do – George Gets Obsessed With A Beautiful Woman’s Boyfriend | The English Patient | Seinfeld).
