Today's Schedule of Games

Submitted by M-Dog on October 14th, 2023 at 9:57 AM

October rolls along with still a dozen or so teams that have a legitimate shot at the CFP.  What today’s games that will impact the CFP lack in quantity they make up for in quality.

Here are some of today’s highlights:

At Noon on FOX: Indiana at #2 Michigan.  Indiana was the first team last year to show that Michigan’s vaunted running game actually could be slowed down, if you threw enough resources at doing so.  Indiana run-blitzed like crazy and bottled up the Michigan running game pretty well, getting a number of key stops.  It was 10-10 at the half and only 17-10 well into the 4th quarter.  Michigan beat its head against the wall, as is the Harbaugh way, until they finally gave up and released JJ to overwhelm the Hoosiers and win 31-10.  It will be interesting today to see what lessons were learned by both teams.  Will Indiana still sell out on the run?  Will Michigan prove that they are indeed a smarter offense now and involve JJ’s arm from the very start?  I say that Michigan is indeed a changed team, and they won’t mess around with being one-dimensional despite the weather.  Michigan puts the game out of doubt in the first half.           

In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on ABC: #8 Oregon at #7 Washington.  Man, the western part of the Big Ten is due for a serious upgrade next year, albeit without both Penix and Bonix at QB.  This is probably the game of the year in the Pac 12.  Both teams appear evenly matched, with Washington a 3 point home-field favorite.  I have no idea who will win, but the forecast calls for rain so I will go with Oregon and their somewhat better running game.

At 4:00 PM on FOX: Iowa at Wisconsin.  I don’t follow much Iowa football, especially now that Cade is out of the picture.  All I know is that Iowa has played some really ugly pathetic games this season.  So, I have been waiting for the news any day now that Iowa has finally had enough and that Kirk Ferentz and his entire staff have finally been fired to put them out of all of college football’s misery.  Then I look up and . . . HOLY SHIT, Iowa is 5-1 and tied for first place in the Big Ten West!  How the hell did that happen??  They could actually win it.  But all bizarre things must eventually come to an end, and Bucky will win today and bring Iowa back down to muddy grimy earth.

In the Evening at 7:30 PM on NBC/Peacock: #10 USC at #21 Notre Dame.  The hell with Notre Dame and all, but they have already lost enough games to keep them out of the CFP picture.  So now we need them to wreak havoc on the rest of their schedule, which starts with USC.  At some point, USC’s complete lack of defense is going to catch up with them.  Defense travels so they say, and USC’s defense has already missed the flight to South Bend.  So will tonight be the night when USC has tempted their defensive fate one time too many?  I think so, Notre Dame knocks them off.  

Also at 7:30 PM on ABC: #25 Miami at #12 North Carolina.  If they calculated losses based on stupidity, Miami would have 2 losses instead of just one.  But they are still in the hunt for the ACC championship despite themselves.  A loss like the one they just had can get in a team’s head, but I don’t think that will happen.  This is an opportunity for them to right the ship immediately, and that is exactly what I think they will do in a big soul-cleansing win.

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

At 8:00 PM on FOX: #18 UCLA at #15 Oregon State.  There is no actual Pac-12 After Dark game tonight.  That game was last night where Stanford beat Colorado, 46-43 in 2 OT’s after being down 0-29 in the first half.  So instead, we’ll go with UCLA - Oregon State as tonight’s honorary Pac-12 After (East Coast) Dark game.  UCLA beat the team (Washington State) that beat Oregon State.  So then they should beat Oregon State, right?  Nah . . . there’s no transitive property in college football.  Oregon State will win at home at night in true Pac-12 After Dark fashion.                            

SATURDAY OCTOBER 14, 2023:

AWAY                  HOME           TIME         TV

NOON:

1 Georgia  @  Vanderbilt   12:00 PM   CBS

Indiana  @  2 Michigan   12:00 PM   FOX

3 Ohio State  @  Purdue   12:00 PM   Peacock

Syracuse  @  4 Florida State   12:00 PM   ABC

Arkansas  @  11 Alabama   12:00 PM   ESPN

Michigan State  @  Rutgers   12:00 PM   BTN

Iowa State  @  Cincinnati   12:00 PM   FS1

Temple  @  North Texas   12:00 PM   ESPNU

Georgia Southern  @  James Madison   12:00 PM   ESPN2

Kent State  @  Eastern Michigan   12:00 PM   CBSSN

AFTERNOON:

Navy  @  Charlotte   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Toledo  @  Ball State   2:00 PM   ESPN+

California  @  16 Utah   3:00 PM   PAC12

Massachusetts  @  6 Penn State   3:30 PM   BTN

8 Oregon  @  7 Washington   3:30 PM   ABC

Texas A&M  @  19 Tennessee   3:30 PM   CBS

23 Kansas  @  Oklahoma State   3:30 PM   FS1

Troy  @  Army   3:30 PM   CBSSN

Illinois  @  Maryland   3:30 PM   NBC

Florida  @  South Carolina   3:30 PM   SECN

Wake Forest  @  Virginia Tech   3:30 PM   ACCN

BYU  @  TCU   3:30 PM   ESPN

Florida Atlantic  @  South Florida   3:30 PM   ESPN2

Akron  @  Central Michigan   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Bowling Green  @  Buffalo   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Miami (OH)  @  Western Michigan   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Iowa  @  Wisconsin   4:00 PM   FOX

Ohio  @  Northern Illinois   4:00 PM   ESPNU

UNLV  @  Nevada   5:00 PM    -

EVENING:

San José State  @  New Mexico   6:00 PM    -

14 Louisville  @  Pittsburgh   6:30 PM   CW NETWORK

Arizona  @  19 Washington State   7:00 PM   PAC12

Auburn  @  22 LSU   7:00 PM   ESPN

Kansas State  @  Texas Tech   7:00 PM   FS1

Marshall  @  Georgia State   7:00 PM   ESPN2

UL Monroe  @  Texas State   7:00 PM   ESPN+

Wyoming  @  Air Force   7:00 PM   CBSSN

10 USC  @  21 Notre Dame   7:30 PM   NBC|Peacock

25 Miami  @  12 North Carolina   7:30 PM   ABC

Missouri  @  24 Kentucky   7:30 PM   SECN

18 UCLA  @  15 Oregon State   8:00 PM   FOX

NC State  @  17 Duke   8:00 PM   ACCN

UAB  @  UTSA   8:00 PM   ESPNU

LATE NIGHT:

Boise State  @  Colorado State   9:45 PM   FS1

San Diego State  @  Hawai'i   11:00 PM   CBSSN
 

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GoBlue96

October 14th, 2023 at 10:08 AM ^

Turned down free tickets to the Indiana game because of the weather and likely bad game.  Looking forward to watching a lot of football from the couch today. 

Joined: 07/01/2008

MGoPoints: 55716

tubauberalles

October 14th, 2023 at 10:12 AM ^

Waitaminit - Stanford won that game?  I stopped watching right around the time it got to 29-0 as Stanford looked so hapless and the game was putting me to sleep.  WTF?

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 3169

1VaBlue1

October 14th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^

This is why, when the PAC12 calls for halftime at midnight, you man the F up and keep watching!  The PAC12 version of After Dark is so much better than the Hershey's Special Dark version.

 

(Hershey's Special Dark is some very dark chocolate.  And dark chocolate should be a crime in 47 states...)

Joined: 01/31/2016

MGoPoints: 127316

DonAZ

October 14th, 2023 at 10:29 AM ^

First of all, I really enjoy these write-ups.  I like your writing style quite a bit.  So thanks for these!

I'm mildly curious about the MSU@Rutgers game, just to see if there's a spark of character left inside the MSU team.  It seems like today could be the day they start to redeem -- in some sense -- this season, or this could be the day they fold their tent and give up on this season.

Iowa@Wisconsin ... I was skeptical of Fickell's plans to do an abrupt offensive scheme change, but his 4-1 record says he's not totally crazy.  Today will be an interesting test to see if Wisconin's offense can overcome Iowa's defense.

Illinois@Maryland ... the current line appears to favor Maryland by 13.5 points.  I'm not a betting man, but I have a feeling Maryland will cover that easily.

Joined: 12/05/2011

MGoPoints: 16763

DonAZ

October 14th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^

No real thoughts, other than I doubt a high-profile coach (Meyer, Sanders) would want that job, so hopes for a home-run hire are probably just wishful thinking.  That program needs a younger coach with a background of integrity to restore the culture a bit.  I don't know who that might be, but more of the same (Dantonio, Tucker) won't be a good move for them.

Joined: 12/05/2011

MGoPoints: 16763

Don

October 14th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^

Considering that Michigan is 1-6 against USC in the last 7 games against the Trojans, I’m a bit skeptical that USC is a dream matchup for us. 
 

I know that USC doesn’t appear to be a physically tough team, but I’m old enough to have heard Michigan fans confidently assert before every one of those 6 losses that teams in the PAC 8/10/12 couldn’t match the more physical brand of football played in the Big Ten, and therefore Michigan would beat USC with its physicality.

My caveat is that those USC teams that beat us were coached by guys like John McKay, John Robinson, and Pete Carroll, and all of them were coaches who always had strong defenses. That’s certainly not Riley.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148386

BuckeyeChuck

October 14th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^

Oregon/Washington is a HUGE matchup. Washington's pass offense is the best unit on the field, but Oregon is more balanced. Not only is Oregon's offense more balanced, but combination of offense & defense Oregon is more balanced. High-scoring game, but I think Oregon is the more complete team.

Joined: 11/20/2011

MGoPoints: 18326

bronxblue

October 14th, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^

If ND can run the ball the way they say they want to, I don't see how USC holds up long-term in this game.  It'll get wonky and points-y but if ND is up this feels like a game they can win.  But they're also playing their 4th ranked team in as many weeks and that's tough for anyone to get up.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171814

BlueMk1690

October 14th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^

Meyer is such an insecure, petty man. Great coach, but clearly has some personality deficits.

(Referring to Meyer's little underhanded comment after the brief segment on Harbaugh lifting the tree off the road with the cop last winter).

Joined: 02/04/2011

MGoPoints: 12933

m1jjb00

October 14th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^

UCLA-Oregon State is not meaningless.  UCLA wins this and they're in good shape to be in the championship game.  The rest of their schedule is USC and the bottom of the Pac-whatever.

Joined: 11/21/2009

MGoPoints: 8065