Ohio State has a break. Fans will get to watch college football this weekend knowing there is no way Ohio State could lose.
In fact, there more than a few opportunities for Ohio State to "win" on Saturday. Prominently, Penn State hosts Michigan in what will start a critical two-game stretch to decide the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions start with Michigan this week and visit Ohio Stadium next week. May Michigan-Penn State be an exhausting three-overtime affair.
The schedule is a bit light elsewhere. USC and Notre Dame will play in what amounts to the only other game this week featuring two ranked teams. That will run concurrent with Michigan-Penn State, making for an exciting Saturday night of football.
Let's dive into the schedule.
Thursday
Louisiana at Arkansas State (ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.). It's Sun Belt Thursday again. 3-3 Louisiana travels to 3-2 Arkansas State for a shot at No. 2 in the Sun Belt standings. The meager records belie that these are two of the better teams in the conference. It's just that they're fodder for cupcake scheduling (e.g. Texas A&M, Nebraska).
Memphis at Houston (ESPN, 8 p.m.). No. 25 Memphis beat Navy last week by three points to position it well for the American West division crown. It could effectively secure it outright win a win at Houston. SMU (4-2) is the only winning record left on the schedule for Memphis.
Friday
Western Kentucky at Old Dominion (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.). Old Dominion has been playing FBS football since 2009 and joined the FBS ranks in 2014. I've never caught a game on TV yet. You may make it a point if you haven't done so already.
Marshall at Middle Tennessee (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). Marshall is 5-1 and could do well to run the table in the remainder of its games. That'll make it a team worth discussing near the season's end if the Group of Five invite is not clear.
Air Force at Nevada (CBS Sports, 9:30 p.m.). 2-4 Air Force takes on 1-6 Nevada in a game that's available if you're jonesing for football.
Colorado State at New Mexico (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). New Mexico has a dedicated time slot on Friday night. It's always appointment viewing, when it's available, given how exotic New Mexico's offense is.
However, New Mexico needs to rethink things after a 38-0 shutout loss to Fresno State. Colorado State is 5-2 and the best team in the Mountain West right now.
Saturday
Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor has outshined all Big Ten backs on the ground, including Saquon Barkley. (Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports)
Maryland at Wisconsin (FOX, 12 p.m.). I don't think my eyes will ever adjust to something like this being a middle-of-October Big Ten game in lieu of some home-and-home earlier in the season.
Oklahoma State at Texas (ABC, 12 p.m.). Texas gave Oklahoma a scare in the fourth quarter before the Sooners eventually secured the 29-24 win. This dropped Texas to a disappointing 3-3 to start Tom Herman's first year in Austin.
It's not clear what adjustments Texas could make to get over the hump against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are a touchdown favorite on the road.
Tulsa at Connecticut (ESPNU, 12 p.m.). Both teams are a combined 4-9. You can probably skip this.
Iowa at Northwestern (ESPN2, 12 p.m.). It's hard to know Northwestern's preferences. The university clearly has other priorities than athletics and Northwestern had worse seasons under Pat Fitzgerald that the athletic department stomached. That said, there was a period a few weeks ago where I thought Fitzgerald's seat might be getting warm.
The 16-point win at Maryland may have ended whatever conversation we were having about Fitzgerald's tenure in Evanston. He could help his case further with a home upset over visiting Iowa.
Purdue at Rutgers (BTN, 12 p.m.). Again, my eyes will never adjust to something like this being a middle-of-October Big Ten game instead of a home-and-home game earlier in the season.
Louisville at Florida State (ESPN, 12 p.m.). If you had asked me about this game earlier in the preseason, I would've confidently predicted "Florida State by 56." I thought Florida State was that good, and would be that pissed off from last year.
However, the Seminoles aren't the team they were last year or could've been in the preseason. Deondre Francois' injury and Dalvin Cook's departure for the NFL exposed glaring problems elsewhere on the offense.
That said, have you seen Louisville lately? Louisville is 4-3 and just gave Boston College its first ACC win since Nov. 2014. That team is a tire fire this season despite Lamar Jackson again putting up Heisman numbers. My preseason prediction might still come to fruition.
Iowa State at Texas Tech (FS1, 12 p.m.). Both teams are a surprising 4-2. Iowa State could secure a second-place ranking in the Big XII in the middle of October with a win in Lubbock.
Tennessee at Alabama (CBS, 3:30 p.m.). This is the customary "Third Saturday in October" game between Alabama and Tennessee.
I end up saying the same thing about it every year. Tennessee hasn't won since 2006. Even in 2007, when Tennessee was a 10-win team that won the SEC East, it still lost by 24 points to an Alabama team that lost to a Louisiana-Monroe team that same season.
3-3 Tennessee has long odds as 35-point underdogs in Tuscaloosa. I hope the blood-letting is gruesome because "Butch Jones hot seat" stories are my favorite genre of college football journalism at the moment. Each installment is a treasure.
Syracuse at Miami (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.). Here's a game that got more interesting after last week. Undefeated and No. 8 Miami beat Florida State for the first time in six years and remained undefeated with a miracle fourth-down conversion and game-winning field goal at home against Georgia Tech.
Syracuse, meanwhile, beat Clemson last week. That's something, but not enough to impress Vegas oddsmakers who have the Orange as 16-point underdogs in Miami.
North Carolina at Virginia Tech (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). 5-1 Virginia Tech takes on 1-6 UNC in Blacksburg in a game that might be competitive for 10 minutes.
Indiana at Michigan State (ABC, 3:30 p.m.). Indiana won last year in overtime to take home the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time since 2006. Sparty will probably want blood this time around.
UCF at Navy (CBS Sports, 3:30 p.m.). Memphis probably ended Navy's New Year's Six hopes last week in the Liberty Bowl. UCF, arguably the American Athletic Conference's best team, may end them for good as it rolls into town as 7.5-point favorites.
Arizona State at Utah (FS1, 3:30 p.m.). Todd Graham coached himself off the hot seat with last week's upset over Washington. It'll try to keep that magic going this week in Salt Lake City.
Illinois at Minnesota (BTN, 3:30 p.m.). Minnesota is on a three-game losing skid but should end that Saturday afternoon against a hapless Illinois squad.
Oklahoma at Kansas State (FOX, 4 p.m.). It's a big clash in the Little Apple as Oklahoma tries to recover its swagger it had from the Ohio State win. Oklahoma still beat Texas, but that flag-planting swagger ended when Iowa State planted its own flag in Norman.
SMU at Cincinnati (ESPNU, 4 p.m.). Luke Fickell is riding a four-game losing streak that he'll hope to end Saturday afternoon against the Mustangs. Fickell is still searching for his first league win in the American Athletic Conference.
South Florida at Tulane (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). No. 16 South Florida is real good. It's between it and UCF for best Group of Five team in the country. Tulane, by comparison, is not that good and should have a real bad time playing the Bulls in New Orleans.
BYU at East Carolina (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.). I'll always love how BYU's independence means it plays random games through the year, but neither team is good this year and you can skip this unless everything else is on a commercial break.
LSU at Ole Miss (ESPN, 7:15 p.m.). Ole Miss clawed back to a .500 record when it beat Vanderbilt by 22 points in its last game. It'll get an LSU team that's feeling pretty good about itself. The Tigers have responded to the home upset loss to Troy by beating Florida in Gainesville and upsetting previously undefeated Auburn.
Michigan at Penn State (ABC, 7:30 p.m.). The two games that will define the Big Ten season start Saturday night and will feature Penn State in consecutive weeks.
First, Penn State will try to avenge what was otherwise its second major blemish from last season's run to the Rose Bowl. The Nittany Lions got their pound in flesh from Pittsburgh earlier this season. The Panthers upset Penn State last year in Heinz Field. Michigan rocked Penn State last year in the Big House by 39 points.
The script is a little different this year. Michigan is a shell of what it was last year with a veteran, senior-laden squad. Penn State is getting comfortable in its role as an offensive goliath that features arguably the best overall player in the country regardless of position (Saquon Barkley).
Last year's game in Ann Arbor was a 3:30 p.m. kickoff in September. Penn State wants its priority games, and its revenge games, at night. Penn State will likely give Michigan its comeuppance for last year. The Ohio State fan can only hope it's an exhausting game for the Nittany Lions. Ohio State has its own revenge plans for next week in the Horseshoe.
USC at Notre Dame (NBC, 7:30 p.m.). This is one of my favorite anachronisms of college football, a "rivalry" more regional curiosity and historical artifact than any real present feud. However, it's a ranked game for our purposes. Notre Dame is a field-goal favorite at home against the Trojans.
Auburn at Arkansas (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.). Auburn's stock went tumbling after the road loss in Baton Rouge. Arkansas, meanwhile, is in a full tailspin. Bert's Hogs are still looking for the first SEC win in what would be its fourth try in 2017.
Kansas at TCU (FOX, 8 p.m.). TCU is a 39-point favorite. Enough said.
Wyoming at Boise State (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). Boise State is back in the saddle after beating No. 19 San Diego State on the road by 17 points. It'll return home to host Wyoming this year.
Wyoming, incidentally, beat Boise State last year in Laramie, effectively barring the Broncos from participating in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game and the New Year's Six.
Fresno State at San Diego State (CBS Sports, 10:30 p.m.). San Diego State's stock tumbled after last week's loss to Boise State but it could still secure pole position in the Mountain West West with a win over Fresno State. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in the Mountain West and 4-2 on the season in Jeff Tedford's first year back in the college coaching ranks.
Colorado at Washington State (ESPN, 10:45 p.m.). Washington State took it on the chin last week in Berkeley. Luke Falk was particularly horrendous, throwing five interceptions in the 37-3 loss. It promises to get back on the winning track against Colorado, the worst team in the Pac-12 South.
