Today's Schedule of Games

All eyes on the Pac 12, TCU, and, um, the Big Ten West, as the SEC has its traditional “week off” where they don’t really play anybody before Rivalry Week.  Must be nice.

Here are some highlights:

At Noon on ABC: Illinois at #3 Michigan.  Michigan versus Michigan-Lite.  Michigan is going to try to pave Illinois, despite run defense being Illinois’ strength.  We already know that.  Jim Harbaugh has said multiple times that it is his favorite way to win.  So . . . can Michigan do it?  If they can, oh boy, that makes things pretty exciting for next week.  If they can’t, how long until Jim Harbaugh gives up on his “favorite way to win” and goes to his second favorite thing: winning the game?  Hopefully not too long.  We’ve been through this before in the Indiana game, so there is precedence for the shift before it’s too late.  JJ will be involved in a meaningful way in this game, but I actually do think that Michigan will pretty much pave Illinois just like Harbaugh wants.  Michigan pulls away and wins it in the second half, as always.

This game is probably the last time we will see Blake Corum carry a football in Michigan Stadium.  What a privilege it has been.            

Also at Noon on ESPNU: Yale at Harvard.  The original “The Game”.  A tradition as old as college football itself.  But it’s a tradition like cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.  You partake in it because it’s tradition and you feel like you should.  But after a few bites of it, you’re like “OK, I’ve done it” and you move on to something else.  I  always like to check in on this game, but I don’t think I’ve ever watched a full game or even an entire half.  I’ll probably check in on it today during one of the many (many, many) commercials in the Michigan game.  I’ll go with Harvard, the Michigan of the East, to win this one.

Also at Noon on FOX: #4 TCU at Baylor.  TCU keeps running the gauntlet and surviving.  Can they do it again at Baylor?  They are only a very slight favorite, kind of surprising for an undefeated team.  This looks like the kind of game that could be an upset, and that’s the way I’ll be rooting.  But I don’t really think it will happen.  TCU has shown conclusively over and over that they know how to win these types of games.  And they will do it again today.  

In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on ABC: #2 Ohio State at Maryland.  Ohio State versus Ohio State-Lite.  But the real contest will be us versus our rooting self-discipline.  It does us absolutely no good to have Ohio State lose.  An OSU loss could hurt our CFP seeding if we go on to beat them next week, and it could hurt our chances at making the CFP if we lose a close one to them next week.  They are still over-confident about playing us (believe me, they think our win last year was a one-time aberration) and a loss will only make them more focused when they play us.  It’s going to be all we can do to control ourselves when a Maryland receiver breaks away on a long pass . . . “GO! GO! Get in the endzone!  No, wait . . . Get tackled! Get tackled!”.  But control ourselves we must.  The forces of rooting self-discipline will win out and Ohio State will beat Maryland.  Then we can go back to hating them.

At 4:00 PM on FOX: Iowa at Minnesota.  The Big Ten West is stupid.  And fun.  Apparently, the winner of this game has the inside track to the Big Ten West championship.  I didn’t bother to look that up for sure, because it will change next week anyway.  I’m going to go with Minnesota here, because like SBF becoming a crypto billionaire, it would be an injustice to humanity for undeserving Iowa to buttfumble its way to the top of the food chain.

In the Evening at 7:30 PM on ABC: #22 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma.  This particular game is not especially compelling, but there are only a few Bedlam games left to be played as Oklahoma moves on to the SEC.  This one should be particularly bad-blooded, in a jilted lover rabbit boiler sort of way.  Look for The (Other) OSU to take its frustrations out on Oklahoma and pull off the Bedlam victory.     

At 8:00 PM on FOX: #7 USC at #16 UCLA.  The biggest game of the day.  USC - the only hope for a Pac 12 CFP slot - goes on the road to UCLA at night.  UCLA attendance at their home games is pathetic, but they will show up for this one.  USC has a great offense and a not-so-great defense.  Can DTR and Zach Charbonnet make them pay for that?  Yes, I believe they will and control the ball in a methodical, hugely impactful win.  This is why you hired Chip Kelly, UCLA.   

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

At 10:30 PM on ESPN: #10 Utah at #12 Oregon.  Nothing meaningless about this game.  The winner stays in the hunt for the Pac 12 championship.  Oregon is kicking themselves for pissing away a win last week.  Tonight they will get a re-do and they will pay it off this time with a big win.   

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19, 2022:

AWAY             HOME      TIME         TV

NOON:

Navy @ 20 UCF   11:00 AM   ESPN2

Yale @ Harvard   12:00 PM   ESPNU

Illinois @ 3 Michigan   12:00 PM   ABC

4 TCU @ Baylor   12:00 PM   FOX

Austin Peay @ 8 Alabama   12:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

Louisiana @ 19 Florida State   12:00 PM   ESPN3

East Tennessee State @ Mississippi State   12:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

UMass @ Texas A&M   12:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

Florida @ Vanderbilt   12:00 PM   SECN

UConn @ Army   12:00 PM   CBSSN

Virginia Tech @ Liberty   12:00 PM   ESPN+

Wisconsin @ Nebraska   12:00 PM   ESPN

Northwestern @ Purdue   12:00 PM   FS1

Indiana @ Michigan State   12:00 PM   BTN

Duke @ Pittsburgh   12:00 PM   ACCN

AFTERNOON:

UTSA @ Rice   1:00 PM   ESPN+

15 Kansas State @ West Virginia   2:00 PM   BIG12|ESPN+

Washington State @ Arizona   2:00 PM   PAC12

Houston @ East Carolina   2:00 PM   ESPN+

North Alabama @ Memphis   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Georgia State @ James Madison   2:00 PM   ESPN+

23 Oregon State @ Arizona State   2:15 PM   ESPN2

Boston College @ 18 Notre Dame   2:30 PM   NBC|Peacock

Old Dominion @ Appalachian State   2:30 PM   ESPN+

1 Georgia @ Kentucky   3:30 PM   CBS

2 Ohio State @ Maryland   3:30 PM   ABC

Miami @ 9 Clemson   3:30 PM   ESPN

11 Penn State @ Rutgers   3:30 PM   BTN

24 NC State @ Louisville   3:30 PM   ESPN3

Texas @ Kansas   3:30 PM   FS1

Utah Tech @ BYU   3:30 PM   ESPN3

South Alabama @ Southern Miss   3:30 PM   NFL NET

UL Monroe @ Troy   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Louisiana Tech @ Charlotte   3:30 PM   ESPN3

Florida Atlantic @ Middle Tennessee   3:30 PM   ESPN+

25 Cincinnati @ Temple   4:00 PM   ESPNU

Iowa @ Minnesota   4:00 PM   FOX

Florida International @ UTEP   4:00 PM   ESPN+

Western Kentucky @ Auburn   4:00 PM   SECN

Arkansas State @ Texas State   5:00 PM   ESPN3

Georgia Tech @ 13 North Carolina   5:30 PM   ESPN2

Stanford @ California   5:30 PM   PAC12

EVENING:

Marshall @ Georgia Southern   6:00 PM   ESPN+

5 Tennessee @ South Carolina   7:00 PM   ESPN

Texas Tech @ Iowa State   7:00 PM   FS1

Boise State @ Wyoming   7:00 PM   CBSSN

14 Ole Miss @ Arkansas   7:30 PM   SECN

22 Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma   7:30 PM   ABC

New Mexico State @ Missouri   7:30 PM   ESPNU

7 USC @ 16 UCLA   8:00 PM   FOX

Syracuse @ Wake Forest   8:00 PM   ACCN

UAB @ 6 LSU   9:00 PM   ESPN2

Colorado @ 17 Washington   9:00 PM   PAC12

Colorado State @ Air Force   9:00 PM   FS2

San José State @ Utah State   9:45 PM   FS1

LATE NIGHT:

10 Utah @ 12 Oregon   10:30 PM   ESPN

Fresno State @ Nevada   10:30 PM   CBSSN

UNLV @ Hawai'i   11:00 PM    -