A few spicy ranked matchups as conference play starts, with a B1G start on Friday, a sleepy Saturday morning, and then full throttle in the afternoon and evening.
Thursday game
South Alabama @ Appalachian State - 7:30 / 6:30 ESPN
Hey, it's football. App State has a nice stadium, so that's fun to look at.
Friday games
Stanford @ Syracuse - 7:30 / 6:30 ESPN
A classic ACC matchup. Stanford is pretty bad. Kyle McCord has been tearing it up for Cuse. Should be a blowout for the Orange in a near-sellout crowd.
#24 Illinois @ #22 Nebraska - 8 / 7 Fox
Not a bad B1G pairing at all. FFR has Illinois playing solid, competent football, and Rhule looks like he's going to easily break the Huskers' bowl drought.
Saturday games
Florida @ Mississippi State - 12 / 11 ESPN
If you thought Florida - A&M was a cripple fight, this is going to be even more pathetic. Let's see if Miss State looks capable of being more than a speedbump next week.
NC State @ #21 Clemson - 12 / 11 ABC
Look, it's slim pickings in this timeslot. State has historically given Clemson fits, but Grayson McCall is hurt and they have looked like pure shit in all three of their games this year.
Charlotte @ Indiana - 12 / 11 BTN
Curt Cignetti has Indiana looking immediately bowlish. Biff Poggi ran Oklahoma drills all summer and can barely field a team. This should be a bloodbath.
I guess you could watch Kansas @ WVU (12/11 ESPN2) or Houston @ Cincinnati (12/11 FS1) for some Big XII bottomfeeder action. The early games are pretty bad across the board.
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#11 USC @ #18 Michigan - 3:30 / 2:30 CBS
It's a crime that this is a conference game and not a Rose Bowl matchup. We should learn a lot about both teams in this one - is USC for real? Does Michigan suck that bad?
#12 Utah @ #14 Oklahoma State - 4 / 3 Fox
Huge Big XII game. A battle of experienced, well-coached contenders with 7th-year QBs that are older than a solid subset of NFL starters.
Arkansas @ Auburn - 3:30 / 2:30 ESPN
Hugh Freeze is officially on Fraud Watch. Petrino seems to have resucitated the Pig offense. Could be an interesting one.
Keep an eye on Miami (OH) @ #17 Notre Dame (3:30/2:30 NBC) for Marcus Freeman vs MAC hijinks and Georgia Tech @ Louisville (3:30/2:30 ESPN2) could matter for an ACC Championship slot. Also, Duke is playing @ MTSU for some reason over on ESPNU.
And in an odd timeslot, it's the Battle for the Iron Skillet!
TCU @ SMU - 5 / 4 CW
Sonny Dykes and Rhett Lashlee will compete to see which coach can be the most unthreateningly competent, and which group of good-looking white kids gets first sniff of the coke down at daddy's country club.
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Louisiana-Monroe @ #1(!!!) Texas - 8 / 7 ESPN+ / SECN+
Arch's first start will (sort of) be televised. Let's have some fun and not get injured.
#6 Tennessee @ #15 Oklahoma - 7:30 / 6:30 ABC
Josh Heupel returns to Norman, and his Vols have flown out of the blocks. Can OU keep up? Probably not.
Cal @ Florida State - 7:30 / 6:30 ESPN2
Watching Cal go from just another Pac-12 school to the memelords of the ACC has been a hoot. Can they #decolonizecalahassee? Can DJU complete a forward pass?
Baylor @ Colorado - 8 / 7 Fox
One of these schools will lose, and I will enjoy that very much.
Keep an eye on Bowling Green @ #25 Texas A&M (7:30 / 6:30 - ESPN+) and #8 Miami @ South Florida (7 / 6 ESPN) in case the upset warning starts flashing.
#13 Kansas State @ BYU - 10:30 / 9:30 ESPN
Your Big XII After Dark selection will be this potential trap game for the high-flying 'Cats after their big win over Arizona.