In conjunction with my AP Top 25 Breakdown , I decided to make a separate article for the watch guide that was debuted last week. This week features a loaded slate, both around the Big Ten and around the country,
and especially since Rutgers is playing on Friday night, Scarlet Knights fans will have extra time to relax and watch college football on Saturday. Here are the top games to watch in each timeslot.
A Full Day Of Big Ten Action
With most teams around the country having had their first bye week at this point, all eighteen Big Ten teams will be in action this Saturday. In addition, every team will be playing a conference game this week, giving viewers eight Big Ten games on Saturday to follow Rutgers-Washington on Friday.
In the Big Noon Kickoff game on FOX, #1 Ohio State (-13.5) will travel to Champaign to battle #17 Illinois. The Illini are 5-1, with their lone loss being a 63-10 disaster against Indiana. Despite that, Illinois has rebounded with consecutive victories over USC and Purdue and will look to put together a strong showing against the Buckeyes.
However, Ohio State is unblemished, with its shutdown defense being paired with an offense that is becoming more explosive each week. The 5-0 Buckeyes last defeated Minnesota 42-3 in the Shoe, and that was a Gophers team that took down an improved Rutgers outfit 31-28 just one week before.
The game of the week, both in the Big Ten and nationally, is #7 Indiana at #3 Oregon (-7.5). Both teams are 5-0 overall with 2-0 records in conference play, and are coming off a bye following a tough victory. The Ducks topped Penn State in double overtime in the whiteout game, while the Hoosiers won an ugly game at Kinnick Stadium against Iowa, 20-15. This game is the location of College GameDay and has a 3:30 Eastern start on CBS.
While the Ducks are among the top teams in the country, Indiana has continued its ascension in college football, and defeating a premier program like Oregon would establish IU among the elites in the Big Ten. This game will also be a good chance for Rutgers fans to see the Ducks in action before they visit SHI Stadium next Saturday.
The top evening game in the conference pairs #15 Michigan and USC (-2.5). The battle between college football blue bloods features a pair of dynamic quarterbacks, with the Wolverines’ Bryce Underwood taking on the Big Ten passing leader Jayden Maiava and the USC Trojans. Both teams have 4-1 records, with USC falling to Illinois and UM’s lone loss coming on the road at Oklahoma. The game will be at 7:30 PM Eastern on NBC.
Some of the other games in the Big Ten include a resurgent UCLA visiting Michigan State (-7.5), Penn State (-21.5) hosting Northwestern after its shocking loss to the Bruins, and Nebraska (-6.5) visiting Maryland. The evening also features Iowa (-3.5) at Wisconsin and Purdue at Minnesota (-7.5).
Around The Country
This week of college football will actually kick off on Wednesday, with multiple Conference USA and other Group of Five matchups from Wednesday to Friday night.
The one to circle would be #24 South Florida (-1.5) at North Texas, which starts at 7:30 PM on Friday. This game could be pivotal for a playoff spot, as the Bulls are 4-1 while the Mean Green are 5-0, and both teams are jockeying for that G5 autobid along with the other teams at the top of the American. If you are not busy watching the MLB playoffs and are anxiously awaiting the Rutgers game, I would suggest putting this on before 9 PM.
In the noon timeslot, #8 Alabama (-2.5) travels to #14 Missouri in arguably the top SEC matchup of the day. Crimson Tide has fully rebounded from its Week 1 loss to Florida State, taking down Georgia and Vanderbilt in back-to-back weeks, while the Tigers are 5-0 to start the season, which includes a Border War victory over Kansas and an SEC win over South Carolina. Pittsburgh will take on the #25 Seminoles (-10.5) at noon on ESPN.
The afternoon timeslot also features the Red River Rivalry between Texas (-2.5) and #6 Oklahoma. The Sooners will likely have to rely on Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback again this week, as it appears that John Mateer will not be able to return in time with his hand injury. Some of the other top games in the 3:30 timeslot are Virginia Tech at #13 Georgia Tech (-14.5), NC State at Notre Dame (-21.5), and #22 Iowa State at Colorado (-2.5), as well as Arkansas taking on Tennessee (-12.5) at 4:15 PM on the SEC Network.
In the evening, Florida will take on #5 Texas A&M (-7.5) in College Station as they look to pick off both Texas SEC programs in consecutive weeks. Kansas will take on the top team in the Big 12 when it visits Texas Tech (-13.5), while #10 Georgia (-3.5) will take on Auburn in the latest edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.
Some of the more intriguing later games are South Carolina at #11 LSU at 7:45 on the SEC Network, #18 BYU (-1.5) visiting Arizona at 8 PM on ESPN, and #21 Arizona State visiting Utah (-5.5) at 10:15 PM on ESPN. If you want to stay up late, San Diego State (-7.5) is taking on Nevada at 10:30 PM on CBSSN, while the Hawaii test features Utah State making the trip to Honolulu, which will kick off at 11:59 PM Eastern time.
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