Today's Schedule of Games

It’s Shakeout Saturday in the SEC and ACC.  Several huge games that will decide who stays on top of the conference mountain and who falls aside.  But you’ll have to wait until later in the day to see them . . . 

Here are some highlights:

At Noon . . . I got nothing.  Maybe Texas Tech @ #7 TCU on FOX.  The talking heads are trying to talk this into a game because they need a storyline that involves TCU at this point, but I’m not seeing it.  TCU will win in a snoozer.

So maybe I’ll go old school with a look at Air Force @ Army (it’s at 11:30 AM on CBS).  I love college football because you get all these contrasting playing styles that you will never see in the group-think NFL.  You have teams like three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Army playing on the same day as air-it-out teams like Tennessee or Texas Tech.  Plus, West Point in the fall is glorious.  But not glorious enough to produce a victory, Air Force will win it.           

In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on CBS: #1 Tennessee @ #3 Georgia.  The Big One.  Fans and media types tend to undervalue OL and DL play, and defense and the running game.  They fall hard for the shiny object of a flashy elite offense like Tennessee’s.  But Tennessee’s defense is not elite.  At the end of the day, Georgia will simply get more stops than Tennessee and take care of business.     

In the Evening at 7:00 PM on ESPN: #6 Alabama @ #10 LSU.  The other Big One in the SEC.  Like Penn State in a White Out night game, LSU is a different critter in Death Valley at night.  Dare we dream?  Can LSU knock off Alabama tonight?  I really, really want this to happen for the good of college football and humanity in general.  But it won’t.  Alabama will pull out a tough one and we’ll still have to hear talk about three SEC teams in the CFP.   

At 7:30 PM on BTN: #5 Michigan @ Rutgers.  Michigan has established a clear trend this season . . . we crush the teams we are supposed to crush, but we take our damn good natured time about it.  There have been a bunch of blow out wins this year that were quite uncomfortable games in the first half.  So while we would all love for Michigan to get a quick 35 point first half lead on Rutgers so that JJ can practice 40 yard downfield passes to Andrel Anthony, that’s not what’s going to happen.  That is not who Michigan is.  And by Michigan, I mean Jim Harbaugh.  We may beat Rutgers 78-0 again, but if we do it will be 6-0 at halftime.  Michigan will crush Rutgers, but they will take their damn time about it.

Also at 7:30 PM on NBC/Peacock: #4 Clemson @ Notre Dame.  The Big One in the ACC.  I am not sold on Clemson at all, and Notre Dame is starting to put some things together.  Clemson is living on borrowed time and will have to pay up at some point.  That point will be tonight.  Notre Dame will beat Clemson and knock them out of CFP consideration.

Finally, your Pac-12 After Dark Special(s) - meaningless crazy football just for the fun of it:

At 10:30 PM on FS1: #12 UCLA @ Arizona State.  This is one of those classic Pac-12 After Dark Specials where weird ju ju happens at night, and an unranked forgotten team at home rises up and bites a higher ranked team in the ass.  Will it happen tonight in the desert?  It will look like it for a while but then UCLA will break the spell and remind everybody who they are and who ASU is.  UCLA will win it.      

Also at 10:30 PM on ESPN: California @ #9 USC.  This one is Pac-12 After Dark in name only.  No crazy surprises here.  Cal won’t be a threat to USC, and the Trojans will keep pace for the Pac 12 Title. 

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2022:

AWAY           HOME      TIME         TV

EARLY / NOON:

Air Force @ Army   11:30 AM   CBS

2 Ohio State @ Northwestern   12:00 PM   ABC

Texas Tech @ 7 TCU   12:00 PM   FOX

17 North Carolina @ Virginia   12:00 PM   ACCN

19 Tulane @ Tulsa   12:00 PM   ESPNU

Kentucky @ Missouri   12:00 PM   SECN

Florida @ Texas A&M   12:00 PM   ESPN

Minnesota @ Nebraska   12:00 PM   ESPN2

Iowa @ Purdue   12:00 PM   FS1

Maryland @ Wisconsin   12:00 PM   BTN

Western Kentucky @ Charlotte   12:00 PM   CBSSN

Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech   12:30 PM   ESPN3

AFTERNOON:

South Florida @ Temple   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Marshall @ Old Dominion   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Baylor @ Oklahoma   3:00 PM   ESPN+

Georgia State @ Southern Miss   3:00 PM   ESPN+

Middle Tennessee @ Louisiana Tech   3:00 PM   ESPN+

1 Tennessee @ 3 Georgia   3:30 PM   CBS

8 Oregon @ Colorado   3:30 PM   ESPN

15 Penn State @ Indiana   3:30 PM   ABC

Michigan State @ 16 Illinois   3:30 PM   BTN

18 Oklahoma State @ Kansas   3:30 PM   FS1

20 Syracuse @ Pittsburgh   3:30 PM   ACCN

25 UCF @ Memphis   3:30 PM   ESPN2

Washington State @ Stanford   3:30 PM   PAC12

West Virginia @ Iowa State   3:30 PM   BIG12/ESPN+

New Mexico @ Utah State   3:30 PM   CBSSN

UTSA @ UAB   3:30 PM    -

Liberty @ Arkansas   4:00 PM   SECN

Navy @ Cincinnati   4:00 PM   ESPNU

South Alabama @ Georgia Southern   4:00 PM   ESPN+

Florida International @ North Texas   4:00 PM   ESPN+

Troy @ Louisiana   5:00 PM   ESPN+

Texas State @ UL Monroe   5:00 PM   ESPN3

EVENING:

6 Alabama @ 10 LSU   7:00 PM   ESPN

24 Texas @ 13 Kansas State   7:00 PM   FS1

BYU @ Boise State   7:00 PM   FS2

UNLV @ San Diego State   7:00 PM   CBSSN

Houston @ SMU   7:00 PM   NFL NET

4 Clemson @ Notre Dame   7:30 PM   NBC/Peacock

5 Michigan @ Rutgers   7:30 PM   BTN

Arizona @ 14 Utah   7:30 PM   PAC12

Auburn @ Mississippi State   7:30 PM   ESPN2

South Carolina @ Vanderbilt   7:30 PM   SECN

James Madison @ Louisville   7:30 PM   ESPNU

Florida State @ Miami   7:30 PM   ABC

21 Wake Forest @ 22 NC State   8:00 PM   ACCN

LATE NIGHT:

California @ 9 USC   10:30 PM   ESPN

12 UCLA @ Arizona State   10:30 PM   FS1

Colorado State @ San José State   10:30 PM    -

Hawai'i @ Fresno State   10:30 PM   FS2