Week 7 boasts two games between top ten teams. Alabama travels to Tennessee for its second consecutive road game while Tennessee will try to rebound from the double overtime loss in College Station. Meanwhile, No. 8 Wisconsin hosts No. 2 Ohio State in a matchup that will also host ESPN's College GameDay.
Beyond that, there are some good games elsewhere on the schedule. Our apologies to Appalachian State and Louisiana Lafayette, which played last night in Lafayette. The contest was all Appalachian State as the Mountaineers cruised to a 24-0 victory.
Do also note there will not be a Thursday night game. Navy was supposed to play at East Carolina tonight but the game was postponed due to residual effects of Hurricane Matthew. The game will be played on Nov. 19 instead.
Those qualifiers aside, let's dive into the schedule.
Friday
Duke at Louisville (ESPN, 7 p.m.). Friday's packed again this week. It starts with Louisville returning to action off its bye. Its last game was the loss at Clemson. Lamar Jackson's Cardinals will look to keep himself in the Heisman race and the Cardinals alive in the ACC Atlantic picture against the Duke Blue Devils. Louisville is an astonishing 35-point favorite this contest.
Memphis at Tulane (ESPNU, 8 p.m.). Despite sharing a division with Houston and Navy in the American Athletic Conference, Memphis is still a factor in the championship game hunt. It can't afford any losses outside those two teams, though. 3-2 Tulane, a 12-point underdog on Friday night, has hung with every team it has played so far.
San Diego State at Fresno State (CBS Sports, 10 p.m.). San Diego State's 42-24 loss at South Alabama two weeks ago means it's effectively out the New Year's Six race. It would need an improbable undefeated run through the Mountain West, including a victory over Boise State in the conference championship game, and for Houston to lose another game.
BYU's independence has been a win for college football fans everywhere, just not Michigan State fans. (Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports)
Mississippi State at BYU (ESPN, 10:15 p.m.). Long-time readers of these guides know that I love all that a game like this entails.
It has everything that resembles an exhibition game you would play on an old EA Sports NCAA football game. It's a regional curiosity, pitting an agricultural public school from the Deep South against a religiously-affiliated private school in the Mountain Time Zone. It's a distinctive color clash between BYU's blue and Mississippi State's maroon. It's an interesting non-conference game in the middle of the schedule. It features a Power Five conference team traveling to the venue of a team it would otherwise schedule at home as a non-conference cupcake.
Credit Mississippi State for having two such games on its schedule. It traveled to Foxboro to play Massachusetts three weeks ago.
Saturday
Vanderbilt at Georgia (SEC Network, 12 p.m.). Georgia has an unexpectedly brief turnaround after playing South Carolina on Sunday. It's a 14-point favorite at home on Saturday, though.
NC State at Clemson (ABC, 12 p.m.). It's Homecoming in Death Valley. Clemson will host NC State as an 18-point favorite.
Minnesota at Maryland (ESPNU, 12 p.m.). Lost in the fact that Penn State beat Maryland by 24 in Happy Valley on Saturday: Maryland might not be half so bad this year. It at least looks fine so far at 4-1. Minnesota might not be much of a challenge, but we'll find out more starting next week. Maryland's next five games are Michigan State, at Indiana, at Michigan, Ohio State, and at Nebraska.
Iowa fans have run with this manufactured Purdue "rivalry" (BHGP).
Iowa at Purdue (ESPN2, 12 p.m.). May we never forget, during the failed Legends and Leaders experiment, the Big Ten explicitly designated this as a "rivalry game" equal to Ohio State vs. Michigan. This might have been the unintentionally best/most hilarious part of that three-year project.
Kansas State at Oklahoma (ESPN, 12 p.m.). Oklahoma is firmly a "junior power" in college football. It's good enough to win its league, but not good enough to avoid humiliation by talent-laden programs like Clemson and Ohio State. It's an 11-point favorite at home.
West Virginia at Texas Tech (FOX Sports 1, 12 p.m.). If this seems like the kind of contest with an over-under in the 80s, it's because it is.
Illinois at Rutgers (ESPN News, 12 p.m.). Make time to talk to your children about this battle for last place in the Big Ten.
Wake Forest at Florida State (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.). 5-1 Wake Forest isn't that bad this year and Florida State is capable of losing to anyone. Seminoles fans will hope last Saturday's win at Miami was a turning point.
Kansas at Baylor (FOX Sports 1, 3:30 p.m.). Kansas' last game was that one-point loss at Texas Christian. The Jayhawks are still looking for that first Big XII win since Nov. 8, 2014.
Alabama at Tennessee (CBS, 3:30 p.m.). This is the SEC game of the week. No. 1 Alabama hits the road again, traveling to No. 9 Tennessee.
The talking points are all familiar. Alabama is Borg and yet it gets a mulligan for a loss on its schedule every year. Will it need one this year? Alabama may not be that great in 2016, but no other team is as good. We're all wondering where the loss on Alabama's schedule is. It may not happen this year as the rest of the conference has struggled.
Meanwhile, Tennessee just can't beat Alabama. It's 0-9 since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa to ruin everything for everyone else. Tennessee had a similar losing streak against another main rival (Florida) that it just snapped this year. The rapture will be even greater should it finally beat Nick Saban.
It could help itself by starting faster than it has in every game it has played this season. Add in 2016 Tennessee's second halves with 2015 Tennessee's first quarters and that would be an unbeatable team this year.
Tennessee is a 13-point underdog at home. It's looking to celebrate like it's 2006.
USC at Arizona (FOX, 3:30 p.m.). USC announced it was back in the saddle with a close win at home against Colorado, but it needs a Utah loss somewhere on the Utes' remaining schedule to jump in front of the Pac-12 South race. It travels to Tucson as an eight-point favorite.
New Mexico at Air Force (ESPN News, 3:30 p.m.). 4-1 Air Force just suffered its first loss last week. It will host 2-3 New Mexico in a game in which both are looking up to Boise State and Wyoming in the same division.
Nebraska at Indiana (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Nebraska was one of the biggest talking points in the most recent AP Poll. Is it seriously a top ten team? Its schedule has been garbage to date. Indiana will pose an interesting challenge, even if it's coming off a deflating loss at Ohio Stadium.
North Carolina at Miami (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Two weeks ago, this looked like the de facto ACC Coastal Championship Game. Miami's loss to Florida State and Virginia Tech's rout of UNC complicated things.
Northwestern at Michigan State (BTN, 3:30 p.m.). Michigan State, a perfectly cromulent (sic) pre-season pick to win the Big Ten, is riding a three-game losing streak. It even lost to Brigham Young last week by 17 points. The schedule picks up in intensity going forward. It travels to Maryland next week and then hosts Michigan. It closes with Ohio State and a trip to Penn State.
Virginia Tech rained as hard on Chapel Hill on Saturday as Hurricane Matthew. (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
Virginia Tech at Syracuse (ESPNU, 3:45 p.m.). Surprise, it's No. 17 Virginia Tech that is in pole position in the ACC Coastal. Its 34-3 humbling of North Carolina makes the Hokies the favorite going forward. Next week's tilt against Miami might be definitive.
Missouri at Florida (SEC Network, 4 p.m.). Florida got a de facto bye last Saturday because of Hurricane Matthew. It'll host a 2-3 Missouri team still looking for arry Odom's first SEC win.
Utah at Oregon State (Pac-12 Network, 4 p.m.). Guys, Oregon State finally won a Pac-12 game. The Beavers beat California 47-44 at home to give Gary Andersen his first league win since he arrived in Corvallis last year. Utah will be a bigger challenge. The Utes are nine-point favorites.
Ole Miss at Arkansas (ESPN, 7 p.m.). A battle of two teams for whom we should thank for nothing. Ole Miss squandered a huge lead at home to Alabama while Arkansas went limp out the gate against the Crimson Tide in Fayetteville. This is nominally a top-25 matchup, but Arkansas' ranked status and Ole Miss' relative ranking is more pro forma because of its conference affiliation.
Tulsa at Houston (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). This week's Poll Watch noted that one-loss Houston is ranked higher than an undefeated Boise State team. It could get that Group of Five bid to the New Year's Six if it wins out.
Iowa State at Texas (Longhrorn Network, 7 p.m.). Things couldn't get worse for Charlie Strong... could they?
Southern Mississippi at LSU (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.). LSU returns from an impromptu bye to host Southern Miss out of conference.
Temple at Central Florida (ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.). Keep an eye on this game. The loser is out the American East picture in all likelihood. The winner of that division gets (likely) Houston or Navy in the conference championship game.
Arizona State at Colorado (Pac-12 South, 8 p.m.). Colorado was the new Pac-12 darling last week and was even ranked for the first time since November 2005. Now, it has to circle the wagons at home against a 5-1 Arizona State team. Vegas is high on Colorado. The Buffs are 14-point favorites.
Ohio State at Wisconsin (ABC, 8 p.m.). This is your personal game of the week. Stay tuned to Eleven Warriors for comprehensive coverage of this contest.
Pretty sure a hammer is not an allowable accessory on the field of play.
Colorado State at Boise State (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). Houston's loss last week provides opportunity for Boise State to better make its case for the New Year's Six. Colorado State, 3-3 on the season so far, should be no problem for the Broncos' on the blue turf. Boise State is a 32-point favorite.
Boise State also announced it will roll out its vintage (if you can call them that) 2006 uniforms for this game. Why this game, and why those uniforms are "vintage" are questions for someone else and not this author.
UCLA at Washington State (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.). Remember when UCLA was ranked in the pre-season? It was splitting projections with USC about the Pac-12 South divisional title in the pre-season. It's now 3-3 and taking on water.
Meanwhile, Washington State has come from nowhere since dropping its season-opener at home to FCS Eastern Washington. The Cougars followed that with a three-point loss at Boise State, but has beat the most recent Pac-12 champions (Oregon, Stanford) by a combined 44 points. We might have an interesting Apple Cup this year.
