Pat Fitzgerald is one of my favorite coaches in the Big Ten.
But it's a bad day to be a Wildcat, which means he is Public Enemy No. 1 on Saturday, as is his team. I'll talk more about that in a second.
Let's have a good Saturday, shall we?
LIVING IN REALITY. Ryan Day and Ohio State will win today, and everyone knows it, even Fitzgerald. While the Northwestern head coach did not explicitly say that in his mid-week presser with local media, his comments indicated how he thinks Saturday's game will go.
“When you pop on the tape and take a deeper dive, it’s a complete team,” Fitzgerald said of Ohio State this week. “Coach Day and his staff have done a phenomenal job in recruiting. They’ve got depth everywhere and explosiveness in all three phases. Coming off a really hard-fought game at Penn State, that was impressive to watch. ... We’ll have our hands full.”
Indeed, Northwestern will have its hands full on Saturday, or – perhaps more accurately –there will be too much for the Wildcats' hands (paws?) to carry. While the weather in Evanston is expected to add some intrigue to this matchup, it won't stop Ohio State from putting together a dominant performance on the road. Because even with the rain and the wind, what flaws do the Buckeyes have that the Wildcats can exploit?
Fitzgerald doesn't see any weaknesses his team could take advantage of this afternoon.
“On tape, no, I have not seen anything. But we haven’t cut the grass at Ryan Field since our last home game,” Fitzgerald said with a laugh. “So there will be somewhere between 2-to-4 feet high. Maybe the sprinkling system will come on at 7, again at 10. ... I don’t know. They’re a great team, man.”
Fitzgerald's comments were refreshingly honest – the main reason he is one of my favorite coaches in the Big Ten. He understands his program better than anyone and is comfortable admitting when his team doesn't stand a chance against a superior opponent.
Do I expect him to tell his players they will lose in the pregame speech? No. But does he understand that he's talking to the same players who lost a game to Miami (Ohio) and FCS Southern Illinois? Yes. You don't lose to teams like that and then magically turn around and beat the No. 2 team in the nation. That doesn't happen.
The bottom line is that everyone in Ryan Field this afternoon expects this game to end with Ohio State on top. With that said, the Buckeyes' primary objective should be to get in and get quickly with a win while maintaining the health of the starters and critical depth players at several positions. If they do that, it will be a successful mission in Evanston. Hopefully, that's what we are talking about on Monday.
Prediction: Ohio State 52, Northwestern 7.
TODAY'S MENU. There is a juicy slate of games in the college football world this weekend, including two huge matchups in the Southeastern Conference.
Can Tennessee storm into Athens and beat Georgia, justifying its No. 1 ranking in the first College Football Playoff rankings, or will the Bulldogs defend their home turf? Will Alabama overcome (an inexplicably ranked No. 10) LSU in Death Valley, or will the Tigers come away with the upset?
It's college football! Anything can happen!
Here is the full slate of games, with the day’s marquee games listed in bold:
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV/Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Air Force vs. Army (in Arlington, TX) | 11:30am | CBS |
| 19 Tulane at Tulsa | 12:00pm | ESPNU |
| Iowa at Purdue | 12:00pm | FS1 |
| 2 Ohio State at Northwestern | 12:00pm | ABC |
| WKU at Charlotte | 12:00pm | CBSSN |
| 17 North Carolina at Virginia | 12:00pm | ACCN |
| Minnesota at Nebraska | 12:00pm | ESPN2 |
| Maryland at Wisconsin | 12:00pm | BTN |
| Texas Tech at 7 TCU | 12:00pm | FOX |
| Kentucky at Missouri | 12:00pm | SECN |
| Florida at Texas A&M | 12:00pm | ESPN |
| Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech | 12:30pm | RSN/ESPN3 |
| USF at Temple | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Marshall at Old Dominion | 2:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Georgia State at Southern Miss | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Middle Tennessee at Louisiana Tech | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Baylor at Oklahoma | 3:00pm | ESPN+ |
| UTSA at UAB | 3:30pm | Stadium |
| 25 UCF at Memphis | 3:30pm | ESPN2 |
| Washington State at Stanford | 3:30pm | P12N |
| Michigan State at 16 Illinois | 3:30pm | BTN |
| 15 Penn State at Indiana | 3:30pm | ABC |
| 20 Syracuse at Pitt | 3:30pm | ACCN |
| New Mexico at Utah State | 3:30pm | CBSSN |
| West Virginia at Iowa State | 3:30pm | ESPN+ |
| 18 Oklahoma State at Kansas | 3:30pm | FS1 |
| 1 Tennessee at 3 Georgia | 3:30pm | CBS |
| 8 Oregon at Colorado | 3:30pm | ESPN |
| Liberty at Arkansas | 4:00pm | SECN |
| Navy at Cincinnati | 4:00pm | ESPNU |
| South Alabama at Georgia Southern | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| FIU at North Texas | 4:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Texas State at ULM | 5:00pm | ESPN3 |
| Troy at Louisiana | 5:00pm | ESPN+ |
| Houston at SMU | 7:00pm | NFLN |
| BYU at Boise State | 7:00pm | FS2 |
| 6 Alabama at 10 LSU | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| 24 Texas at 13 Kansas State | 7:00pm | FS1 |
| UNLV at San Diego State | 7:00pm | CBSSN |
| Arizona at 14 Utah | 7:30pm | P12N |
| Auburn at Mississippi State | 7:30pm | ESPN2 |
| 4 Clemson at Notre Dame | 7:30pm | NBC/Peacock |
| South Carolina at Vanderbilt | 7:30pm | SECN |
| James Madison at Louisville | 7:30pm | ESPNU |
| Florida State at Miami (FL) | 7:30pm | ABC |
| 5 Michigan at Rutgers | 7:30pm | BTN |
| 21 Wake Forest at 22 NC State | 8:00pm | ACCN |
| 12 UCLA at Arizona State | 10:30pm | FS1 |
| Hawaii at Fresno State | 10:30pm | FS2 |
| Colorado State at San Jose State | 10:30pm | NBCS Bay Area |
| California at 9 USC | 10:30pm | ESPN |
MY PICKS. Folks, I went positive with my picks last week, as North Carolina and TCU covered the spread against the Backyard Brawl teams Pitt and West Virginia, respectively. The only selection that didn't land was Georgia, who defeated Florida by 22 points with a 23.5-point spread. The pain! I was so close to a 3-for-3 day.
2022 RECORD: 11-12
Here are my picks for this week:
- Texas Tech at No. 7 TCU (-9.5): Texas Tech is coming off a blowout 45-17 loss to Baylor that sent Red Raiders to 4-4. Now they stare down the barrel at Max Duggan, Kendre Miller and the rest of TCU’s big-play offense. Not good, people, not good. Gus Johnson will have a field day calling TDs for the Horned Frogs all day long as they cruise to a cover.
- No. 1 Tennessee (+8) at No. 3 Georgia: Tennessee is fun, but Hendon Hooker will be the Heisman frontrunner over C.J. Stroud if the Volunteers beat Georgia in Athens, which is not fun. Both teams are good, and the Bulldogs have a home-field advantage, but I don't think it's enough of an edge to beat a talented Tennesee team by more than 8 points. I'll take Tennessee to cover but hopefully(?) lose. I don't know, people, tell me how I should feel about this one.
- No. 4 Clemson at Notre Dame (+4): For how much the Irish have sucked this season, I think Marcus Freeman can and will redeem the poor start to his tenure with an upset win over Clemson on Saturday. Remember: It's college football! Anything can happen! Why not Notre Dame?! It would be unbelievably fun to see Dabo Swinney's season crumble at the hands of Freeman while simultaneously making Ohio State's win over Notre Dame look that much better. Please give me the Irish to cover and win.
BACK TO THE BUCKEYES. JK Johnson can do it all. In addition to being one of Ohio State's top cornerbacks, the second-year Buckeye is a pretty talented videographer. This video from the football team's Twitter proves as much:
we let JK film best fridays in college footballresults speak for themselves pic.twitter.com/YNTAtLyRwD
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 4, 2022
A couple of thoughts:
- The Best Fridays in Football look like a lot of fun – always have, always will.
- Coach Day saying, “Sup, Brother,” to Johnson is hilarious. Is he Hulk Hogan?
- Brian Hartline looks like he was enjoying the opportunity to compete against some of the Buckeyes.
- Mickey Marotti, my guy, you need to stick to throwing around weights because those handles need some work (Please don't hurt me, Coach Mick).
That's it for me on this fine Saturday, excluding the Song of the Day and Them Links. Make sure to stay tuned for our coverage throughout the day on the website and on social media. See you all on Monday.
SONG OF THE DAY. “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago.
CUT TO THE CHASE. Alcohol death toll is growing, US government reports say... From "Enola Holmes" to "Extraction," Netflix bets on sequels... Senators are up for sale, the buyer must keep the team in Ottawa... Powerball jackpot hits $1.6 billion — a world record... The richest person who ever lived had unimaginable wealth.
DON'T FORGET: Vote for Ohio State women's ice hockey defenseman Sophie Jaques to win the AAU James E. Sullivan Award (Click here).
