We’ve reached double digits folks. We now have only five weeks of the regular season left. Time is quickly running out, as is my time to complete that garbage truck Halloween costume I mentioned last week.
Thank goodness my two oldest kids went for ready-made, easy to find in the store options. There’s no way I could put together a vampire queen gown or unicorn tutu. But garbage truck? There are enough DIY guides out there I figured how hard could it be. Turns out it can be pretty tough when you’re juggling a 9-to-5, extracurricular activities, fall housework, and putting together a semi-coherent watch guide.
So, apologies for the brief intro – or not if you’re not a fan of my intros anyway – I’ve got cardboard boxes to spray paint and glue together. The dad tax is gonna be high this year.
Schedule graphics courtesy of Projection Sports.
Thursday, October 30 & Friday, October 31
North Carolina was oh so close to Bill Belichick’s first serious win of his tenure last week but just could not outlast Virginia in overtime. The Belichick circus reminds me a lot of the Deion Sanders one a few years ago before his first year at Colorado, but at least Deion’s Buffalos had a strong start to his inaugural season. After so much ballyhoo before the season the Tar Heels face planted hard in front of a national audience, and things haven’t gotten better since. With a trip to Syracuse Friday night they might actually have a chance to get their first ACC win.
Saturday, November 1
Penn State at #1 Ohio State is Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and boy did this one look a lot better at the beginning of the season. I’m sure Fox execs aren’t shedding too many tears, the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes are still two of the sport’s biggest brands so expect this game to still draw plenty of eyeballs, many of them surely looking forward to seeing Penn State drop its fifth game in a row. Nothing is certain when predicting football outcomes and PSU can shock the world with an epic upset in the Shoe, so whether you’re hate watching or pulling for the underdog there’s something for you at 11:00 on Fox.
#9 Vanderbilt at #20 Texas is the other big name game in the morning, which is still weird to say about a Vanderbilt game, let alone one where they’re ranked higher than the Longhorns. Texas was nearly upset at Mississippi State last week and they’re fighting for their playoff lives. If Vandy can take care of Texas they’re in great position for an at-large berth with their toughest remaining test in the final week at Tennessee.
#22 Houston has been a fun surprise this season as the Cougars are now 7-1 and ranked for the first time since 2022. They’ll host West Virginia this weekend with a chance at the Big XII championship game. They don’t play any of the teams ahead of them in the standings so so they’ll need a little help from elsewhere to make it to Arlington.
The team they just beat is traveling to Ames and they’ll be doing so without their starting quarterback. On Tuesday we learned Sam Leavitt was ruled out for this game after getting banged up against Houston. Iowa State’s chances at a championship are in ruins after a 5-0 start to the season before key injuries and unexpected losses to Cincinnati and Colorado doomed them. Last week they couldn’t hold an early lead against current conference leader BYU and fell for the third straight game. They’ll have a chance to get bowl eligible against a bruised Sun Devils team. Feel free to hate watch this one too, Hawkeye fans.
The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party renews its rivalry at 2:30 on ABC. Florida fired head coach Billy Napier a few weeks ago while Georgia is holding strong at #5 in the AP poll and fresh off three straight wins. Things get weird in rivalry games, so while I’m not expecting Florida to topple the Bulldogs but it also wouldn’t shock me. Regardless of what happens, it’ll be a fierce game which is always entertaining.
Moving into the evening #18 Oklahoma at #14 Tennessee is the featured SEC game of the night but, quite honestly, I kind of don’t care. Sure they’re big brands and Neyland Stadium is an amazing scene especially at night, but this game just has that feeling of disappointment for both sides. Both have two losses so one more is pretty much a playoff death sentence so that’s something. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen both these teams tout playoff pedigree in years past only to fade down the stretch. I’ll probably still watch, but I’m just not as invested as I’d have imagined.
What I am interested in seeing is #23 USC at Nebraska as that has more direct ties to Iowa’s future schedule. The Hawkeyes face both later this year so there are conference positioning considerations involved. But aside from the B1G horse race, it also just looks like a fun game and one which could see a lot of offensive output.
Happy Halloween dear readers. Which games are you most looking forward to?
