Without question, the game of highest importance on the schedule on Saturday is Oregon at Washington, a top-10 battle (A preview: Historic clash and national spotlight await longtime rivals when No. 7 Washington hosts No. 8 Oregon).
But there are other games on Saturday’s slate that should entertain – or could be trap games.
In fact, we’ll just dub this “Trap Game Saturday,” and be done with it.
No. 11 Alabama, in control in the Southeastern Conference West Division, can’t afford a loss at home to Arkansas, who gave LSU all it wanted a few weeks ago before the Tigers won on a short field goal right before time expired.
No. 10 Southern Cal visits rival Notre Dame, licking its wounds after falling at Louisville a week ago. And the Irish with home field could be a dangerous spot for a Trojans defense that isn’t going to resemble anything you might see in Tuscaloosa or Athens, Georgia.
We would mention No. 1 Georgia playing at Vanderbilt, but… well, you know.
Saturday’s schedule, beginning with the early 11 a.m. kickoffs:
No. 1 Georgia at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., CBS
Indiana at No. 2 Michigan, 11 a.m., FOX
No. 3 Ohio State at Purdue, 11 a.m., Peacock
Syracuse at No. 4 Florida State, 11 a.m., ABC
Arkansas at No. 11 Alabama, 11 a.m., ESPN
Michigan State at Rutgers, 11 a.m., Big 10 Network
Iowa State at Cincinnati, 11 a.m., Fox Sports 1 (FS1)
Temple at North Texas, 11 a.m., ESPNU
Georgia Southern at James Madison, 11 a.m., ESPN2
Kent State at Eastern Michigan, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network
Navy at Charlotte, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Toledo at Ball State, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Cal at No. 16 Utah, 2 p.m., Pac-12 Network
UMass at No. 6 Penn State, 2:30 p.m., Big 10 Network
No. 8 Oregon at No. 7 Washington, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Texas A&M at No. 19 Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., CBS
No. 23 Kansas at Oklahoma State, 2:30 p.m., FS1
Troy at Army, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Illinois at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., NBC
Florida at South Carolina, 2:30 p.m., SEC Network
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network
BYU at TCU, 2:30 p.m., ESPN
Florida Atlantic at South Florida, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2
Akron at Central Michigan, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Bowling Green at Buffalo, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Miami (Ohio) at Western Michigan, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Iowa at Wisconsin, 3 p.m., FOX
Ohio at Northern Illinois, 3 p.m., ESPNU
UNLV at Nevada, 4 p.m.
San Jose State at New Mexico, 5 p.m.
No. 14 Louisville at Pittsburgh, 5:30 p.m., CW Network
Arizona at No. 19 Washington State, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network
Auburn at No. 22 LSU, 6 p.m., ESPN
Kansas State at Texas Tech, 6 p.m., FS1
Marshall at Georgia State, 6 p.m., ESPN2
Louisiana Monroe at Texas State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Wyoming at Air Force, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network
No. 10 Southern Cal at No. 21 Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m., NBC, Peacock
No. 25 Miami at No. 12 North Carolina, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Missouri at No. 24 Kentucky, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network
No. 18 UCLA at No. 15 Oregon State, 7 p.m., FOX
North Carolina State at No. 17 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Alabama-Birmingham at Texas-San Antonio, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Boise State at Colorado State, 8:45 p.m., FS1
San Diego State at Hawai’i, 10 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Staff picks
Our staff of seven, plus my daughter Ashtyn, tries to pick the outcomes of 15 games each week, and right now, Ashtyn has the last laugh: the freshman in college is leading both our college and NFL picks contest. A couple of us are closing in fast in the college picks, but she still leads both.
Wow.
The standings: Ashtyn Lucas leads the way with a 56-19 record. Correspondent Shelby Thompson Molandes and myself are nipping at her heels: we’re both 55-20. Mitchell Molandes is 54-21, and my wife and correspondent Jenna Hagler Lucas is 52-23. Photographer Alex Nabor is 51-24, videographer Jacob Lucas is 49-26, and our assistant editor Clayton “Fletch” Fletcher never met an upset he didn’t pick, and it’s cost him in the standings. He’s bringing up the rear with a 48-27 record. (To be fair, he’s had some near-misses).
This week’s picks:
West Virginia at Houston: Well, we know how that turned out. West Virginia dropped the game on a Hail Mary, 41-39, literally as time expired. Fletch and myself picked Houston to take that one, and the rest of those people took West Virginia. HA! HA! Houston wins. The pick, technically, was 6-2, in favor of the Mountaineers.
Stanford at Colorado: This one is Colorado, unanimously. Stanford seems to really be in a rut after the “mutual departure” of former coach David Shaw. The pick: Colorado, all eight of us.
Indiana at Michigan: None of us see a glimmer of hope for Indiana, either, as the pick is unanimous for the Wolverines. Don’t you wish Michigan would play someone, at least outside the Big 10, that could give them a game? They will next year: they host Texas in a non-conference game. I can see the ticket brokers salivating already.
Ohio State at Purdue: I said in the beginning this was “Trap Game Saturday.” But even I’m not foolish enough to pick this. And neither was anyone else. The pick: unanimous, for Ohio State, 8-0.
Arkansas at Alabama: The Crimson Tide seem to be getting things under control – except for the fact that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has no idea how to call a running play. Or refuses to do it. At any rate, the ‘Hogs pushed LSU in Baton Rouge. Do they push ‘Bama? Maybe, but not for a win. At least, no one on our panel believes it’ll happen. The pick: unanimous 8-0 in favor of Alabama with another SEC West win.
Syracuse at Florida State: The Seminoles just might, might be closing in on an ACC title. Right now, they look like the class of the league – or at least they share that title with North Carolina, as both are undefeated. The pick: You guessed it, another unanimous pick, 8-0.
Cal at Utah: Utah isn’t out of the Pac-12 title hunt, though Cal might be. That is likely enough motivation to keep the Utes winning, at least for now. The pick: 7-1, with Fletch doing his “upset” thing. Wait till you hear what he picked later in the list in the SEC.
Oregon at Washington: Well, here we are, a battle of two good quarterbacks. But is it a battle of two good defenses? My prediction: Oregon escapes with a win, barely. The pick: 6-2, with Fletch and Jenna both taking the home-team Huskies.
Texas A&M at Tennessee: The Aggies almost beat Alabama, in College Station. If they can beat the Vols, or sneak up on them as they get ready for ‘Bama next week, it would be monumental news. Mitchell and Shelby both took A&M to get it done, as did Ashtyn and Fletch. The pick: 5-3, in favor of the Aggies.
BYU at TCU: A split decision here. Some of us are still holding onto what TCU was last year, apparently (yours truly), and just can’t accept that they’re just not that this year. Still, I picked ‘em here. The pick: 5-3 in favor of the Horned Frogs winning at home.
Louisville at Pitt: Don’t underrate this as a trap game. I took Louisville and so did everyone on the panel, so the pick is a unanimous 8-0. But something tells me if we’re wrong on any of our unanimous picks, this is the one.
Arizona at Washington State: I watched a week ago as Arizona gave Southern Cal all it wanted. The Wildcats’ offense is impressive. We could be in for a shootout. The pick: 7-1, with Jacob taking Arizona to pull the upset.
Auburn at LSU: I know several of us picked Auburn to pull this off. I just can’t see it. They held off Georgia until the final minutes, but this Auburn team just isn’t talented enough offensively to get this done. If they had a home crowd behind them, a freaky bounce or two, maybe. But I can’t see this. The pick: a split, even, four going for LSU (myself included) and four for Auburn.
Southern Cal at Notre Dame: I picked USC, and I’m already regretting it. Something tells me this will be the upset of the day. The pick, officially, is a 5-3 split in favor of USC. But Fletch, Jenna and Jacob all took the Irish, and I won’t be surprised if they win that pick.
Miami at North Carolina: The Hurricanes were burned by a coaching mistake, a fumble and a Hail Mary, in that order, last week at home. My hunch is they’re angry, but not quite “back” enough to get this upset. I took North Carolina, and the pick, officially, is 6-2 UNC, with Jenna and Jacob picking the ‘Canes.
