Today's Schedule of Games
All eyes will be on Columbus today for Penn State – Ohio State. Both ESPN Game Day and Fox Big Noon Kickoff will be broadcasting from the game. There is nothing else in the noon timeslot that is of much interest to compete with it. However, things do get quite interesting in the afternoon and the evening.
Here are some of today’s highlights:
At Noon on FOX: #7 Penn State at #3 Ohio State. Your one-stop shopping for scouting both of our biggest upcoming opponents at the same time. Could be a good opportunity to steal some signs. What we want from this game is for it to be a close contest that goes deep into the 4th quarter. Make each team show their best stuff, show their go-to plays when under duress. And it wouldn’t hurt for both QBs to emerge shell-shocked from the experience of facing a defense that puts real pressure on them. Who will win it? Penn State has a very good defense but I don’t think they have quite enough offense to stay in it. OSU will win in the ‘Shoe.
In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on CBS: #17 Tennessee at #11 Alabama. People are sleeping on Alabama at their own risk. IMO, they should still be the favorite to win the SEC. They are getting some things sorted out and are starting to look like an Alabama team, at least at times. They will continue that trajectory and beat Tennessee pretty early and convincingly. If we make the CFP, Alabama is the team that I would least like to meet in the first round.
Also at 3:30 PM on NBC: Minnesota at #24 Iowa. Iowa . . . IOWA! . . . is the first-place team in the Big Ten West. But Minny is only a game behind and will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker edge for first place if they pull out a win. And then it won’t matter because all of the teams at the top of the Big Ten West look like they have at least another loss or two in them. At some point, Iowa’s lack of offense – no, their absolute aversion to offense – is going to bite them in the ass. I think this could be that game and Minnesota pulls out a not-that-surprising win.
In the Evening at 7:30 PM on NBC: #2 Michigan at Michigan State. Michigan State has long made a living on being mad and playing mad. It defines them. But now Michigan is mad. We have had enough. Enough of the tunnel shit, and the sign-scouting shit, and the Harbaugh pile-on shit. Look for Michigan to come out focused, roll up their sleeves, and stomp all over Sparty. Michigan is the clearly better team, and they won’t let MSU hang around to get a chance at an upset.
Also at 7:30 PM on ABC: #16 Duke at #4 Florida State. Duke played surprisingly well last week without Riley Leonard, their injured starting QB. The Duke backup QB was more than a placeholder in their convincing win over NC State. But will it be enough against undefeated FSU at home at night? No, I don’t think so. Florida State wins, and positions itself for a showdown with North Carolina. No basketballs were harmed during the write-up of this paragraph.
At 8:00 PM on FOX: #14 Utah at #18 USC. Despite how bad they looked against Notre Dame, USC is still undefeated in the Pac 12 and controls its destiny in the conference. Utah only has one loss in the Pac 12 so they are in the running for the Pac 12 title too. USC’s downfall against ND was turnovers, which I believe they will clean up against Utah. Will it be enough to win the game? I think it will, USC will prevail against Utah.
Finally, your Pac-12 After Dark Special(s) - meaningless crazy football just for the fun of it:
At 10:30 PM on FS1: Arizona State at #5 Washington. This game is a Pac-12 After Dark Special in name (time-slot?) only. It won’t be meaningless. It won’t even be crazy. Washington is a far better team than ASU and they will control the game and avoid the letdown in a methodical win.
At 10:30 PM on ESPN: #25 UCLA at Stanford. Now THIS is a Pac-12 After Dark Special game. It has all of the elements of a Pac-12 After Dark Special game: An under-the-radar game, at the underdog’s stadium, against a heavily-favored opponent, late at night. Strange things happen in these games. UCLA beware. But . . . as tempting as it is to pick Stanford to pull the classic Pac-12 After Dark upset, I don’t think it happens tonight. It will be fun for a while and then the magic will fizzle out.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 21, 2023:
AWAY HOME TIME TV
NOON:
7 Penn State @ 3 Ohio State 12:00 PM FOX
UCF @ 6 Oklahoma 12:00 PM ABC
22 Air Force @ Navy 12:00 PM CBS
Mississippi State @ Arkansas 12:00 PM ESPN
Rutgers @ Indiana 12:00 PM BTN
Boston College @ Georgia Tech 12:00 PM ACCN
Baylor @ Cincinnati 12:00 PM BIG12|ESPN+
Memphis @ UAB 12:00 PM ESPN2
Western Michigan @ Ohio 12:00 PM CBSSN
AFTERNOON:
Charlotte @ East Carolina 2:00 PM ESPN+
UL Monroe @ Georgia Southern 2:00 PM ESPN+
Akron @ Bowling Green 2:00 PM ESPN+
Washington State @ 9 Oregon 3:30 PM ABC
17 Tennessee @ 11 Alabama 3:30 PM CBS
South Carolina @ 20 Missouri 3:30 PM SECN
North Texas @ 23 Tulane 3:30 PM ESPN2
Minnesota @ 24 Iowa 3:30 PM NBC
Wisconsin @ Illinois 3:30 PM FS1
Northwestern @ Nebraska 3:30 PM BTN
South Florida @ UConn 3:30 PM CBSSN
Pittsburgh @ Wake Forest 3:30 PM ACCN
Oklahoma State @ West Virginia 3:30 PM ESPN
Central Michigan @ Ball State 3:30 PM ESPN+
Eastern Michigan @ Northern Illinois 3:30 PM ESPN+
Buffalo @ Kent State 3:30 PM ESPN+
8 Texas @ Houston 4:00 PM FOX
Toledo @ Miami (OH) 4:00 PM ESPNU
EVENING:
UTSA @ Florida Atlantic 6:00 PM ESPN+
Hawai'i @ New Mexico 6:00 PM -
Virginia @ 10 North Carolina 6:30 PM CW NETWORK
13 Ole Miss @ Auburn 7:00 PM ESPN
Texas Tech @ BYU 7:00 PM FS1
TCU @ Kansas State 7:00 PM ESPN2
Appalachian State @ Old Dominion 7:00 PM NFL NET
Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas State 7:00 PM ESPN+
Colorado State @ UNLV 7:00 PM -
Utah State @ San José State 7:00 PM CBSSN
2 Michigan @ Michigan State 7:30 PM NBC
16 Duke @ 4 Florida State 7:30 PM ABC
Army @ 19 LSU 7:30 PM SECN
14 Utah @ 18 USC 8:00 PM FOX
Clemson @ Miami 8:00 PM ACCN
Georgia State @ Louisiana 8:00 PM ESPNU
Nevada @ San Diego State 9:00 PM FS2
LATE NIGHT:
Arizona State @ 5 Washington 10:30 PM FS1
25 UCLA @ Stanford 10:30 PM ESPN
October 21st, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
Here's a fancy schmancy schedule link with some nice aesthetically pleasing graphics:
http://gameviewingguide.com/cfb
October 21st, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
fwiw CFB.guide takes you to the same place, and might be easier for people to remember if into you're into the whole brevity thing
October 21st, 2023 at 10:21 AM ^
Someone do a welfare check on Bryan and Raj. I'm missing Punt-Counterpunt and concerned.
Edit: Glad to see it now. Thanks, mdog. Autumn Saturdays are the best!
October 21st, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
It just went up.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:25 AM ^
Thanks for sharing!
October 21st, 2023 at 10:38 AM ^
Also looking forward to Red Wings at Senators 1pm
October 21st, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Let's go Red Wings
*clap, clap clap, clap, clap
October 21st, 2023 at 10:50 AM ^
Still hate that our game is a night game. But we have some entertaining matchups to watch while we wait. PSU/OSU will be a lot like OSU/ND a few weeks back. Like two douchebags fighting each other. Neither deserves to win but one of them has to lose.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
My kid has a playoff game in the next county over that starts at 830. SO ANNOYED. Will be going dark at kickoff.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
Buckeyes will be without some key performers today. They will be missing cornerback Denzel Burke and running back, Trevyon Henderson while wideout Emeka Ebuka may be out as a gametime decision.
Ohio State analysts are trying to play down the MIA list but Henderson is the most explosive runner on both teams and Ebuka prevents Penn State from double-teaming Marvin Harrison Jr. all game long. We shall see what it all means.
October 21st, 2023 at 10:57 AM ^
Thanks M-Dog. Big beautiful day of college football as long as the Good Guys win tonight.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
Alabama has definitely not been looking like an Alabama team. They barely got by a bad Arkansas team last week and will not be in the CFP.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
See… just when you say that…
They at times look like crap. OL, RB, WR dont seem up to Bama standards. QB is erratic. But they are still very talented—moreso than SEC opponents—and have a former Sparty coach (once gangreen, always infected?). Bama can win every game to get to play UGa again and at that point it just takes one upset.
The AF-Navy game at noon is interesting. AF may be best G5 team… but they lost their QB and he is like more than half their offense. So this game gets more competitive with a lot at stake for the F-16s.
October 21st, 2023 at 11:48 AM ^
A blah day outside, can't wait to park my arse and watch all the games in the next 15 minutes.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:08 PM ^
Whoever wins today stole the other teams signs
October 21st, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
Indiana scores first in their slap fight with Rutgers.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
Prediction for the Penn State - Ohio State game.
Penn State will play 11 players on defense on every play.
October 21st, 2023 at 12:46 PM ^
Why did frames stop running the ball after those long runs?
October 21st, 2023 at 1:50 PM ^
Only 10 days remain until MACtion 2023 begins!
October 21st, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
Snoozer at the shoe. Neither team has a Qb to beat JJ
October 21st, 2023 at 3:39 PM ^
Penn State state looked terrible. Iowanian. OSU looked solid, but not that great. Just decent running and all day Marvin Harrison Jr. No faith in their QBs though, either of them.
Had that BS hold not been called away from the action and PSU gotten the scoop and score, it would have been a tied game at the end. That was a 14 point swing. Still don't think PSU could have pulled off the win. At best an OT loss the way Allar was playing.