Midweek CUSA led off Week Nine with an OT thriller that kept Western Kentucky alive in the conference hunt:
Texas is 5-2, ranked, and favored in this week's road game so I assume we're all feeling great. Let's get to it!
Wednesday
Middle Tennessee State @ Delaware (-11) (7:30/6:30 ESPN2): The first half of the FBS newbie doubleheader is in Newark (the good one). Derek Mason is now the coach at MTSU, so that's neat.
Missouri State (-2) @ New Mexico State (9/8 CBSSN): Show Me vs. Land of Enchantment in the battle of the States.
Thursday
South Alabama (-6) @ Georgia State (7:30/6:30 ESPN2): Conferences REALLY hate counter-programming against the NFL, huh? These are the bottom teams in the two Sun Belt divisions - who will finally pick up a conference win in the old Braves/Olympic stadium?
Friday
North Texas (-23) @ Charlotte (6/5 ESPNU): UNT should dominate a bad 49ers team in the (non-Cincinnati) Queen City.
California @ Virginia Tech (-3) (7:30/6:30 ESPN): A true All Coast Conference battle in Blacksburg. Cal had some fun trolling Chapel Bill last week (with the game still very much in doubt!)
Boise State (-20) @ Nevada (10/9 CBSSN): The Broncos are lurking as a threat for the G5 Playoff spot after recovering from the season-opening loss to South Florida. Catch them on national TV.
Saturday
Early Games
#8 Ole Miss @ #13 Oklahoma (-4) (11/12 ABC): Two one-loss teams - who will pick up the pieces and make an SEC Championship run, and who will be left staring down the barrel of a very disappointing season after a hot start? OU especially faces a nasty homestretch of games against ranked opponents.
UCLA @ #2 Indiana (-21) (11/12 Fox): Forget Curt Cignetti for a second, what a fucking story UCLA is! Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel have turned the Bruins into surprise Big 10 contenders. But with Bloomington suddenly becoming one of the toughest places to play in the country, the fairy tale might end here.
Kansas State @ Kansas (-2) (11/12 TNT): Can't go wrong with a rivalry game at the third spot in the rotation, and in this timeslot it's the Sunflower Bowl! Should be a close one in Lawrence.
Midafternoon Games
#11 BYU @ Iowa State (pick 'em) (3:30/2:30 Fox): We FINALLY get undefeated BYU at a reasonable hour without a huge SEC or B1G game sucking away all the attention. If you have not yet seen freshman Bear Bachmeier sling it, that kid is the truth, but Ames can be a tough, loud environment.
#15 Missouri @ #10 Vanderbilt (-3) (3:30/2:30 ESPN): Whoops, forgot to add this one. Top Ten Vandy hosting Gameday sure is a new kind of sentence to write!
Baylor @ #21 Cincinnati (-4) (4/3 ESPN2): Another Big 12 game! Watch the Scott Satterfield Career Revival Tour attempt to take another skull, as Dave Aranda's job is very much on the line.
#22 Texas (-7) @ Mississippi State (4:15/3:15 SECN): Hook 'em, meet CLANGA. The most annoying home crowd for TV speakers will try to deafen the "meditative" (thanks CBSSN crew) Texas offense in Starkville.
Primetime Games
#25 Michigan (-13) @ Michigan State (7:30/6:30 NBC): What deranged TV exec made this a night game in East Lansing? The Spartans are bad, but so is Michigan, and this crowd is going to be drunk, loud, and hostile as hell. Go Sparty Go.
#3 Texas A&M (-1) @ #20 LSU (7:30/6:30 ABC): If they're going to achieve their 8&4 destiny, the Aggies need to get to losing. Primetime in Baton Rouge would be a natural place to start. Shame that means Brian Kelly has to win.
#17 Tennessee (-8) @ Kentucky (7:45/6:45 SECN): Vols, it's your turn to enter the Mark Stoops Misery Vortex (thank you to Ryan Nanni for that one). Good luck.
RIP Pac-12 After Dark.
Colorado @ Utah (-14) (10:15/9:15 ESPN): Utah is fresh off a brutal Holy War loss. Colorado is a shell of its previous swagger, and a field rush against Iowa State doesn't exactly scream "big program". Still, it's football, and a chance to likely watch Deion lose.
All football is good football, folks. Even OT wins in Lexington. Happy viewing!