Friday night games can be a nightmare for team preparation and as a fan, it can really throw things out of whack. Here in the great state of Iowa, conflicting with high school football on Friday night is a cardinal sin.
However, for all the problems that arise from Friday matchups, there are some positives. That’s especially true this Saturday morning as Hawkeye fans awake to a full slate of college football and fresh off a 38-28 win for Iowa over Rutgers on Friday night.
The win came in unusual fashion
for Iowa with the offense going blow for blow with the Knights in the first half and finding a way to get over the hump in the fourth quarter while playing from behind. It was both maddening and refreshing to watch and now, Iowa fans can sit back, relax, and enjoy a fall Saturday of college football with a win already secured and no threat of pulmonary embolism.
As he does every week, our own GingerHawk broke down the full slate of games for this weekend in his weekly watch guide published on Thursday. With just Saturday remaining, here’s a look at all the games on deck for today.
Here are a few key highlights for those looking for entertainment value today.
Ranked Games
In the 11am CT window, you’ve got #17 Texas Tech at Utah on FOX. In a staggered start, #15 Tennessee hosts UAB on the SECN at 11:45.
Then in the afternoon window, you’ve got #6 Oregon hosting Oregon State on the BTN at 2pm CT. Yes, you read that right. #7 Florida State is hosting Kent State at 2:30 on the ACCN while #13 Ole Miss has Tulane at home on ESPN.
The real good stuff in that window is on ABC where #11 Oklahoma hosts #22 Auburn. And on CBS, #21 Michigan travels to Nebraska. NBC has #24 Notre Dame hosting Purdue.
The afternoon window closes with #18 Georgia Tech hosting Temple on the CW. Yes, really.
Kick off your evening viewing with #23 Mizzou hosting South Carolina on ESPN at 6pm CT. At 6:30, ABC has #4 Miami hosting Florida. In the Big Ten, Hawkeye fans will surely be tuning in to #9 Illinois at #19 Indiana. Iowa, of course, plays host to IU next weekend. The other 6:30 game is #20 Vanderbilt hosting Georgia State on ESPNU.
That’s pretty emblematic of the rest of the evening slate, which is very mushy before the Big Ten after dark. #3 LSU is hosting SE Louisiana on the SEC Network, because it just means more when you have such a difficult schedule as the SEC always does. That’s at 6:45pm CT. At 7, #8 Texas closes things out hosting Sam Houston on ESPN+.
As mentioned, the Big Ten after dark has #25 USC hosting MSU in a 10pm CT kick on FOX.
There are two other Big Ten matchups today. 2-1 Wisconsin hosts 3-0 Maryland in the early window on NBC. In the evening, CBS has the Apple Cup with Washington traveling to Washington State. Wild to have Oregon-Oregon State on BTN and mention Washington-Wazzou as a game involving Big Ten teams. Not sure that will ever feel normal.
Anyway, happy watching and kind commenting!
