A showdown between two Pac-12 powers and the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party – do they even still call it that?
That’s otherwise known as the Florida-Georgia game, or these days, maybe it’s the Georgia-Florida game. No matter what name you have for it, No. 1 Georgia will face rival Florida at neutral-site Jacksonville on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
The real question: do coach Billy Napier and his troops have enough firepower to stay with the Bulldogs (7-0)?
Georgia won’t have standout tight end Brock Bowers, who was injured (a high ankle sprain) in a game at Vanderbilt two weeks ago and had surgery recently. Bowers is expected back this season, but he definitely won’t suit up in Jacksonville.
Do the Gators (5-2) have a chance? Of course they do. Georgia has started slow out of the gate in several games this year, and the Bulldogs almost didn’t get out of Auburn with a win. Florida’s best chance might be to milk the clock, keeping the Georgia offense on the sidelines. TO do that, the Gators will have to have success running the ball – against a Georgia defense that allows under 100 yards a game (91, to be exact).
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck will be taking the field in his hometown. This season, Beck has thrown for 2,147 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Florida’s running game averages 141 yards a game. That’s 84th in the nation. Not good.
The other big game today – barring an upset of one of the top-ranked big dogs (No. 4 Florida State at Wake Forest, No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas, or maybe in Madison, where Wisconsin hosts No. 3 Ohio State, or in Austin with BYU visiting No. 7 Texas) – would appear to be at Utah, where the 13th-ranked Utes will face No. 8 Oregon, a 2:30 p.m. start on ABC.
Both teams only have one loss and still have a very good chance of playing in the Pac-12’s championship game. The winner Saturday keeps their hopes alive for that, and possibly for a spot in the top four and the College Football Playoff. For the loser? Well, the odds aren’t good for either.
Scores from games played so far this week: On Tuesday, New Mexico State topped Louisiana Tech, 27-24; Liberty beat Western Kentucky, 42-29; on Wednesday, Jacksonville State beat Florida International, 41-16; and UTEP beat Sam Houston State, 37-34; and on Thursday, Virginia Tech topped Syracuse in Blacksburg, 38-10, and Georgia Southern beat Georgia State, 44-27.
The only game on Friday night’s schedule has Florida Atlantic (3-4) visiting Charlotte (2-5) in an American Athletic Conference game. And afterward, there’s sure to be questions. Will there be only three? (Charlotte coach gets mad at lack of questions during media day)
Here’s Saturday’s schedule, followed by our staff’s picks for 15 selected games. All times here are Central Standard time because, hey, we live in the Central time zone.
No. 4 Florida State at Wake Forest, 11 a.m., ABC (No. 4 Florida State takes pride in second-half defensive performances)
No. 6 Oklahoma at Kansas, 11 a.m., FOX (No. 6 Oklahoma wary of upset possibilities as it heads to Kansas for a Big 12 showdown)
Indiana at No. 10 Penn State, 11 a.m., CBS (No. 10 Penn State looking to bounce back against struggling Indiana)
UMass at Army, 11 a.m., CBS Sports Network
UConn at Boston College, 11 a.m., ACC Network
Maryland at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Big 10 Network (Maryland looks to bounce back against Northwestern after week off following back to back losses)
South Carolina at Texas A&M, 11 a.m., ESPN (South Carolina, Texas A&M looking to ease fans frustrated with disappointing seasons)
Houston at Kansas State, 11 a.m., ESPN2 (K-State goes for third straight win as Big 12 newcomer Houston visits for first matchup)
West Virginia at Central Florida, 11 a.m., ESPN2 (UCF, West Virginia seek bounce-back win at The Bounce House)
Tulsa at SMU, 11 a.m., ESPNU
Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan, noon, ESPN+
Clemson at North Carolina State, 1 p.m, CW Network (Clemson, North Carolina State looking for return to winning path)
Memphis at North Texas, ESPN+
No. 1 Georgia at Florida, 2:30 p.m., CBS (Florida turns to Steve Spurrier for advice before playing No. 1 Georgia in the ‘Cocktail Party’)
BYU at No. 7 Texas, 2:30 p.m., CBS (Texas QB Ewers is week to week with a shoulder injury. Murphy is likely to start against BYU)
No. 8 Oregon at No. 13 Utah, 2:30 p.m., FOX (Resurgent offense boosting No. 13 Utah ahead of showdown with No. 8 Oregon)
Pittsburgh at No. 14 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m., NBC (No. 14 Notre Dame and Pittsburgh renew old rivalry without the bells and whistles)
No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (No. 18 Louisville, No. 20 Duke look to overcome losses and stay in the ACC championship picture)
Mississippi State at Auburn, 2:30 p.m., SEC Network (Mississippi State visits slumping Auburn with QB Will Rogers’ status uncertain)
Michigan State at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., Big 10 Network (The Gophers, coming off a grind-it-out win over rival Iowa, host the reeling Spartans)
Purdue at Nebraksa, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Injury-plagued Nebraska can keep pace in the Big Ten West race with a victory over Purdue)
Virginia at Miami, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network (Virginia and Miami to meet, after both got big victories last weekend)
Iowa State at Baylor, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ (Cyclones going for a third straight win when it visits Baylor. Bears look to end struggles at home)
East Carolina at Texas-San Antonio, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Southern Miss at Appalachian State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN+
Miami (Ohio) at Ohio, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
No. 22 Tulane at Rice, 3 p.m., ESPN2 (No. 22 Tulane looks to extend winning streak to six games in visit to Rice)
No. 24 Southern Cal at Cal, 3 p.m., Pac-12 (No. 24 USC seeks to bounce back from consecutive losses and beat California)
Arkansas State at Louisiana Monroe, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Louisiana at South Alabama, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Wyoming at Boise State, 4:30 p.m., Fox Sports 2
Marshall at Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m., NFL Network
No. 5 Washington at Stanford, 6 p.m., FS1 (No. 5 Washington looks to get offense back on track against Stanford)
No. 19 Air Force at Colorado State, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network (No. 19 Air Force takes a 7-0 record into a road game against rival Colorado State)
No. 21 Tennessee at Kentucky, 6 p.m., ESPN (No. 21 Tennessee visits Kentucky in border showdown, with both looking to prove they can hold leads)
Troy at Texas State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
No. 3 Ohio State at Wisconsin, 6:30 p.m., NBC (Wisconsin coach Fickell says focus shouldn’t be on him as Badgers face his alma mater Ohio State)
Vanderbilt at No. 12 Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network (No. 12 Ole Miss faces yet another SEC team looking for its first league win. This time it’s Vandy)
Colorado at No. 23 UCLA, 6:30 p.m., ABC (Coach Prime brings rested and reeling Colorado into Rose Bowl for matchup against No. 23 UCLA)
No. 17 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACC Network (No. 17 North Carolina looks to bounce back from shocking loss as it faces Georgia Tech)
Old Dominion at No 25 James Madison, 7 p.m., ESPNU (No. 25 James Madison’s perch atop the Sun Belt’s East Division on the line against Old Dominion)
Washington State at Arizona State, 7 p.m., Pac-12 Network (Washington State, Arizona State looking to end losing streaks in the desert)
Cincinnati at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 (Oklahoma State takes 3-game win streak into game vs. Cincinnati)
No. 11 Oregon State at Arizona, 9:30 p.m., ESPN (No. 11 Oregon State facing tough test in the desert against Arizona)
New Mexico at Nevada, 9:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
UNLV at Fresno State, 9:30 p.m., FS1
San Jose State at Hawai’i, 10:59 p.m.
+++++
Staff picks
If you read The Football Beat regularly, you know that we have our staff, plus my lovely college student daughter Ashtyn, attempt to pick the outcomes of 15 college games each week, then in another section, we attempt to pick the outcomes of every single NFL game each week.
Whew.
So, after a poor start out of the gate, yours truly leads the college picks with a 77-28 record. Ashtyn is in second (76-29), and one of our staff photographers, Alex Nabor, who somehow got every single game picked correctly last week (applause), is in third (75-30).
Correspondent Shelby Thompson Molandes is fourth (73-32); correspondent Mitchell Molandes and my wife, Jenna, who also reports for our site, are tied (71-34); Jacob Lucas, our videographer, is sixth (68-37), nine games behind the leader; and associate editor Clayton Fletcher, who’s a bit on the wild side, is bringing up the rear (68-37).
This week’s games.
Florida State at Wake Forest: The Seminoles have been, for the most part, cruising. I don’t know why, just intuition from 30 years of doing this, but I’m kind of thinking the ‘Noles could have difficulties this week. I don’t think they’ll lose, but I think they’ll be uncomfortable for a while. The pick, officially, is FSU unanimously (8-0).
Oklahoma at Kansas: Ditto for the Sooners, who haven’t had a true road test. And they may not until next week, when they play the “Bedlam” game at Oklahoma State. But I’m thinking they need to be careful here in Lawrence on Saturday. In fact, Fletch, Jenna and Jacob are just flat-out calling the upset. The pick: the three of them all took Kansas, the rest of us, OU, so a 5-3 split.
South Carolina at Texas A&M: A lot of people, I think, myself included, thought the Gamecocks could be trending upward this year after upsets of Tennessee and Clemson a year ago. But they’ve disappointed. They are strong at home, though. If this game were at Columbia, I might pick South Carolina. But nothing about seeing this game on paper says “South Carolina wins!” to me. The pick: 7-1 in A&M’s favor, with only Fletch picking South Carolina (wouldn’t you know it’d be Fletch).
Georgia vs. Florida: Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers is out with an ankle injury and is going to miss what will likely be his final game against the Gators on Saturday. Still, I like Georgia to get a win here. The pick: So does everyone else, except – you guessed it – Clayton, who took Florida.
BYU at Texas: Texas could be vulnerable here without starting quarterback Quinn Ewers. But BYU has looked overwhelmed at times in this, its first season in the Big 12 Conference. The Longhorns are saying goodbye, tough, and are heading to the SEC next season. So this is a one-and-done. Who wins: I say Texas, most likely, even with Ewers out. The pick: 7-1 for Texas – dang you, Fletch! He’s the “one.”
Oregon at Utah: The Utes are a bit of an underdog against Oregon, who’s second in the nation in scoring (47 points a game). Utah has won 18 straight home games. I believe they go to 19, even though I do think Oregon is a good football team, just slipped by one point in that showdown at Washington. The pick: Mitchell, Shelby and Ashtyn all took Oregon to get the road win. The rest of us took Utah, so officially, it’s 5-3, in Utah’s favor.
Pitt at Notre Dame: Apparently, this is an old rivalry. But the Fighting Irish have clearly been the stronger team this season. Ohio State nipped them at home. I’m betting the Panthers don’t come close to that (Sorry, Pitt fans). The pick: unanimous in favor of Notre Dame (8-0).
Duke at Louisville: I give Duke so much credit for what it’s done this season, and their program has came a long way. I don’t think Louisville is in a better place: I think they happen to have this game at home, and that’ll make a difference. The pick: Fletch, Mitchell and Shelby took Duke; the rest of us took the Cardinals. So officially, a 5-3 split, leaning Louisville.
Mississippi State at Auburn: We’re reading that MSU quarterback Will Rogers may have to miss this game. Neither of these programs is having a good season, but Auburn is tough at home. I’m taking the Bulldogs, but if Rogers can’t go, Auburn should win. The pick: a 5-3 split in favor of Auburn, with Shelby, Alex and myself taking MSU.
Southern Cal at Cal: As you’ve likely read on our site and others this week, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley is ill and may have to miss this game. To me, it won’t matter, because the USC offense will still take the field. The pick: all of us (except dadblamed Fletcher) took USC, a 7-1 split. Boy, if you call all these upsets and even get three of them, you’re a lucky man, Fletch.
Washington at Arizona State: Too much Michael Penix for Arizona State, unless they really step up. The Sun Devils are down near the bottom of the pack at passing yards allowed, and Penix, Washington’s quarterback, is leading the nation (by just 3 FREAKING YARDS) in passing yards, 2,576, with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s completed 70 percent of his passes this season. Note: LSU’s Jayden Daniels has 2,573 yards, 25 touchdowns and three picks. The pick: Washington, unanimous (8-0), and yes, even Fletcher.
Tennessee at Kentucky: OK, here, I get to play the role of upset-picker. Kentucky is a tough out at home – usually – and this Tennessee team doesn’t seem to have the resolve that last year’s had. The Volunteers still have plenty to play for, but I think they get caught napping this week. I’m flat-out calling the upset, although I see a close game. The pick: an even 4-4 split, with Jenna, Alex and Shelby agreeing with my upset call.
Ohio State at Wisconsin: The pick: Jenna and Fletch are taking the Badgers to pull the upset. So, a 6-2 split, in favor of Ohio State, who does seem to always struggle in at least one road, night game every season. Heck, they might be right on the upset call.
Colorado at UCLA: The public relations machine that is the Colorado Buffaloes football program rolls in to Los Angeles this week, which should bring out some celebrities. Remember: when Colorado played Hollywood darling USC, the Trojans went to Boulder. The pick: Colorado for seven of us, except Ashtyn, who took UCLA, officially, 7-1.
Oregon State at Arizona: I’ve watched the Wildcats a few times this season, and Oregon State, as well. I’m not sure Arizona will actually pull this off, but their offense is capable of it. The pick: Well – dang, I’m the only one that called it. It’s 7-1, in Oregon State’s favor.
Y’all have an outstanding weekend watching football.
