Week 9 Viewing Guide: The Biggest Paul Bunyan Trophy in Nearly 60 Years, ACC Free-for-All Continues, and Spooky Late Games into Halloween

By George Eisner on October 30, 2021 at 8:35 am
Rick Osentoski | USA TODAY Sports
Rick Osentoski | USA TODAY Sports
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With Ohio State not kicking off until this evening, let's take a look at a host of other college football matchups from around the country we’ll have our eyes on this Saturday.

NoonersMarc Lebryk | USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Marc Lebryk | USA TODAY Sports

#6 Michigan vs. #8 Michigan State, 12 p.m. on FOX

Not since 1964 have the Spartans and Wolverines met as teams ranked inside the AP Top 10 at the same time. In the eight seasons prior going back to 1956, Michigan and Michigan State met three times as top five opponents. Paul Bunyan and Babe have waited on this one for quite a while. 

In a 2021 season littered with upsets, these two teams are somehow among the only five remaining undefeated Power 5 squads. Michigan has not played a single team that has held a top 25 ranking at any point this season other than Wisconsin, and the Badgers were 1-3 at the time of their meeting.

Meanwhile, Michigan State enters this game off a bye following their nail-biter of a victory over Indiana two weeks ago. After a first quarter pick six, the Spartans only managed to put together 13 points of offense the rest of the day.

That hiccup of a performance occurred despite the fact that Michigan State's offense looks about as lively as it has since the days of Kirk Cousins and Le'Veon Bell. Prior to their meeting with Indiana, the Spartans had scored 30 points in all but one game this season thanks chiefly to the emergence of backfield tandem Payton Thorne and Kenneth Walker III. Walker is due to check in for a 1,000 yard rushing season on his first carry today, and Thorne has tossed 15 touchdowns against only four interceptions in relief of last year's starting quarterback Rocky Lombardi — now at Northern Illinois.

But Indiana may have tipped off Michigan State's remaining opponents with the blueprint to taking down the Spartans. The Hoosiers did an excellent job of stuffing Walker on early downs, and with a more limited run game available than what had been there previously, Michigan State's entire offense sputtered. Thorne threw half of his interception total this season into the Hoosiers' defense — only a week prior to C.J. Stroud carving them up for three touchdowns in the first half of Ohio State's win.

Michigan's run defense does not quite grade out as highly as Michigan State's with respect to opponent yards per carry and game, but the Wolverines do appear to do a better job of controlling the line of scrimmage. Among the stats Football Outsiders tracks for defensive linemen, Michigan's front holds two grades inside the top 20, while Michigan State has nearly three that rank beyond the top-100 teams in college football.

If the Wolverines keep the cap on Walker, Jim Harbaugh should be able to grind out a road win and finally get his revenge on Mel Tucker. Tucker not only upset Harbaugh in Ann Arbor when they first met as head coaches last year, but also got one over on the khaki king in 2014 when the two met for NFL Sunday Night Football.

Tucker was the Chicago Bears' defensive coordinator against Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers amid a 21-point fourth quarter comeback that featured four Colin Kaepernick turnovers. Both Harbaugh and Tucker were out of professional football after that season.

AfternoonersJoshua L. Jones | USA TODAY NETWORK

Photo: Joshua L. Jones | USA TODAY NETWORK

#1 Georgia vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m. on CBS

One of the SEC's most fascinating rivalries, the unofficial War for the Oar today could either be an interesting test for Georgia or a total flop for Florida depending on which quarterback the Gators decide to commit to as their starter.

Anthony Richardson has been letting his play speak for itself all season, and he was the sole reason LSU did not run away with their win against Florida two weeks ago. After Dan Mullen benched starter Emory Jones following a pick six to open the second half, Richardson accounted for all four Florida touchdowns over the course of the talented freshman's comeback bid for the Gators.

Richardson is Florida's second leading rusher this season despite the fact that he has only played barely a fifth of all the snaps Florida has had on offense. Yet, Mullen continues to insist on platooning the Gators' quarterbacks for some indiscernible reason.

Georgia's defense does not have the time or patience for such indecision. While teams try to figure our their best personnel for attacking the Bulldogs, Jordan Davis is busy shutting off almost all interior gaps by himself.

If LSU's DB pee-ew secondary was a Hail Mary away from keeping Jones entirely out of the end zone in his last game, it is hard to imagine him finding much more success against the consensus best defense in college football at the moment. Richardson may not find immediate results, but if Mullen makes a change-of-pace swap for Jones too quickly, it could put Florida in an early hole from which it will not likely recover.

For those curious about the "War for the Oar" nickname in favor of the infamous "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," the student bodies for these schools have been awarding themselves a cypress oar to the winning university since 2009. The teams have almost nothing to do with it and the presentation does not occur at the game. Essentially, the oar is a non-participation trophy for student body presidents.

Big Ten rivalries do it better.

Texas Tech vs. #4 Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m. on ABC

The Sooners can't keep getting away with it.

Oklahoma finally looked like they were in the clear. After Lincoln Riley put bratty Spencer Rattler on the bench during the team's first half decomposing against Texas, freshman quarterback Caleb Williams led the team to an inspiring comeback win and then followed it up with an impressive offensive showcase the following week against TCU. Despite the fact that Williams had not thrown more than a single pass in FBS games prior to the win over Texas, people were ready to start his Heisman campaign.

Then the Sooners visited Lawrence last week, and everything got gross quickly.

Kansas actually led by multiple scores at one point late into the 3rd quarter before multiple officiating controversies and inevitable Jayhawk regression to the mean resulted in a second half comeback win for Oklahoma by 12 points. However, the city of Lawrence was so optimistic about one of the biggest potential wins in Kansas football history that administrators made admission free in the second half to try to fill the seats for an upset.

Today, the Sooners will play only their second contest this season against an opponent multiple games above .500 at the time of their meeting. They will face a Texas Tech team that has been somewhat inconsistent going back to mid-September, but put up a much more impressive recent road performance against Kansas than what Oklahoma offered.

If the Sooners' offense struggles to play at its preferred pace as it did in Lawrence last week, the Red Raiders will have exactly the script they need to make matters difficult for their opponents. Texas Tech will need to lean on the performances of their deep running back room, but that could be difficult opposite an Oklahoma run defense that has served as the most consistent component of the Sooners this season.

The more likely event is that the lowly Red Raider pass defense gets torn apart by Riley's scheme at home. But even against a Jayhawk secondary last week that gives up the highest opponent completion percentage in college football (75.34%), Oklahoma still finished the game with nearly 70 fewer passing yards than Kansas despite trailing for most of the afternoon.

The Sooners have a bye after this week, but will play three straight ranked opponents in November prior to the Big 12 Championship. Two of those games will be road matchups, including a date with Mike Gundy's previously top-10 Oklahoma State squad at the end of the regular season.

Oklahoma can't perform the Houdini act forever.

PrimetimeJamie Rhodes | USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Jamie Rhodes | USA TODAY Sports

A Trio of Side-Games for Buckeye Fans

A second consecutive primetime slot for Ohio State coincides with yet another good slate of early evening games. Buckeye fans with only one screen or set of eyes will unfortunately have to miss most of them.

Even so, these games are all worth a channel flip or two during commercial breaks for a Penn State palate cleanser or a chance to see an exciting highlight before it makes the rounds on social media. With that in mind, here are three other primetime games this evening to check out at Ohio State's halftime or another available moment.

  • #10 Ole Miss vs. #18 Auburn, 7:00 p.m. on ESPN
    Sideline interviews aside, Lane Kiffin has put down the popcorn and put on a serious face since Ole Miss went down 28-0 at halftime to Alabama. All the Rebels have done off of that loss is put up 114 points in their last three SEC games — the most impressive of which came against an Arkansas defense that had previously operated as one of the most well-rounded in college football this year.

    Auburn was still trying to find its way after floundering against Georgia and losing to Penn State in Happy Valley earlier this year, but had their most impressive win of the season two weeks ago on the road against Arkansas. Fresh off a bye and their best football yet, the Tigers will be ready to take the Rebels to task in today's only ranked matchup beyond the Big Ten.
     
  • #19 SMU vs. Houston, 7:00 p.m. on ESPN2
    One of these teams will likely end up playing Cincinnati in the American Athletic Conference Championship, although SMU does have the Bearcats on its schedule for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Houston surprisingly leads the ACC at the moment with four conference wins, which means a loss for the Cougars today would finally move #2 overall Cincinnati to the top of the ACC standings — assuming Tulane proves to be no challenge.

    Meanwhile, SMU has quietly put together an undefeated campaign of its own on the edge of November. The Mustangs have no wins over ranked opponents so far in 2021, but have outscored their entire schedule to date by 140 points. Today will be an excellent chance to evaluate whether or not they will pose a legitimate threat to the AAC and Playoff aspirations of Cincy.
     
  • Louisville vs. N.C. State, 7:30 p.m. on ACCN
    W I L D C A R D   of the   W E E K
    Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham has somehow not made an appearance in the Eleven Warriors Weekly Viewing Guide all season. Now feels like the right time to change that.

    Cunningham is currently tied for college football's most rushing touchdowns (13) despite the fact that he has yet to hit 100 total carries in 2021, unlike the three running backs sharing his lead. He struggled throwing the ball against Boston College, but had his best performance on the ground so far with 133 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the victory. N.C. State's ACC Championship hopes are on the line after falling a point short in an upset to Miami last weekend. The Wolfpack cannot afford another conference loss and will need to take down Wake Forest in two weeks if the team wants their season to be remembered for more than just pantsing Dabo Swinney and Clemson for the first time in a decade. 

Saturday Night FeverDarren Yamashita | USA TODAY Sports

Photo: Darren Yamashita | USA TODAY Sports

Virginia vs. #25 BYU, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN2

Even though Ohio State fans will miss three great games while the Buckeyes deal with the Nittany Lions, the football on afterwards figures to be just as good. Among these late-night viewing opportunities will be Virginia, a team that has quietly flown under the radar for much of this season but still presents a puncher's chance of winning the entire ACC given their remaining schedule.

Their opponent will be a team that the Viewing Guide knows quite well at this point. BYU was a regular Saturday Night Fever feature early this season, but as the Cougars slowly came apart at the seams after entering the AP Top 10 for the first time in over a decade, the Guide pushed them aside in favor of a new Mountain Standard Time darling: Air Force.

The Falcons fell short of finally earning a top 25 ranking last week after going down to San Diego State, and now the Guide has gone back to its jealous ex in Utah. We swear it had nothing to do with religious commitments — we just wanted to explore, and military types have always caught our eye.

BYU's two-point win over a Washington State team grappling with a coach's vaccine mandate controversy last week does not exactly inspire much confidence coming off its losses to Boise State and Baylor. However, running back Tyler Allgeier did have his best performance of the season on his way to nearly 200 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

For the Cavaliers, their identity this season almost entirely revolves around clinical and versatile offensive performance. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong already has over 3,000 passing yards and 23 touchdowns this season, but Virginia's x-factor will almost certainly be dynamic playmaker Keytaon Thompson.

Thompson was the #1 quarterback in the state of Louisiana coming out of high school and remains listed as such on Virginia's roster. However, he is also currently leading the team in receptions and is their second leading rusher despite only having the fourth most carries among Cavaliers this season.

BYU has not scored 30 points in almost a month, but with the Cavaliers' absent defense, this game has some sleeper shootout potential. Virginia has a bye week to prepare for meetings with Notre Dame and divisional gatekeeper Pittsburgh after tonight, which makes this a crucial game for keeping momentum and spirits high. 

Fresno State vs. #21 San Diego State, 10:30 p.m. on CBSSN

The Brady Hoke Redemption Tour is no joke.

Noticeably slimmer from his days in Ann Arbor, Hoke quite literally looks like a new man at the helm of San Diego State. He currently has the Aztecs sitting at the top of their division in the Mountain West fresh off a victory over Air Force last week — the team that has been the most impressive of the servicemen squads on the field this season.

But Fresno State sits just below them in the conference standings, having only dropped one game in the Mountain West in 2021 — a three-point road loss to Hawaii. Their own resume includes a near-upset of Oregon a week prior to the Ducks beating the Buckeyes, a road win over UCLA, and a victory in last week's Wildcard of the Week game against Nevada that came down to the final play.

The other half of the Mountain West is a total mess at the moment, but it's likely the winner of this one ends up in the conference's championship game come December.

On the Radar for Next Week 

  • Buckeyes: #5 Ohio State vs. Nebraska, TBD on ABC/BTN/ESPN 
  • TBD: #18 Auburn vs. #14 Texas A&M, TBD on CBS/ESPN
  • Saturday Night Fever: #23 UTSA vs. UTEP, 10:15 p.m. on ESPN2
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