Today's Schedule of Games

It’s Rivalry Week, the best week of college football.  But there is one rivalry this week that matters more than all the others . . .  

Here are some of today’s highlights:

At Noon on FOX: #2 Ohio State at #3 Michigan.  The biggest game played in Michigan Stadium this century.  The (playoff) Game.  Win and advance.  The key to this game on defense IMO is not Harrison, it’s Henderson.  Harrison will get his, he always does.  You can only hope to slow him down with double coverages and keep the explosives to a minimum.  But if Henderson is able to consistently get those 5, 6 yard runs he's been getting recently, it's going to be a dog fight. 

Michigan better be prepared to keep up on the scoreboard on offense.  We won the last two years against Ohio State because we never got down by more than one score, and we punted only once in the 2nd half in 2022, and we did not punt at all in the 2nd half in 2021.  A "body blows" running game that punts 3 times in a row like at PSU and UMD will get you beat by OSU.   We have to pay off drives with scores. 

The coaches know this, of course.  The offensive game plan the last two years against Ohio State has been outstanding, the best-called game of each season.  And it wasn’t just because Jim Harbaugh was standing on the sidelines at game time.  They will do it again, incorporating all of Michigan’s weapons on offense including JJ’s legs (a corresponding weapon that Ohio State does not have).  Michigan pulls away from Ohio State late for the win and a spot in the Big Ten Championship game.  Bet.             

In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on CBS: #8 Alabama at Auburn.  The Iron Bowl is always worth watching, but this one is the most competitively unbalanced Iron Bowl I have ever seen.  Alabama will be playing for the SEC championship next week, but Auburn wouldn’t even be competitive enough to play for the Conference USA championship.  Even as an underdog, there are times periodically when Auburn will rise up and comically bite Alabama in the ass, like the Kick Six game.  But this won’t be one of those games.  Alabama wins big.         

Also at 3:30 PM on ESPN: #15 Arizona at Arizona State.  Good shit Jedd.  Former Michigan assistant and Harbaugh protégé Jedd Fisch has taken a bottom-of-the-barrel starting point - https://www.mgoblog.com/mgoboard/%27mr-third-base%27-quantified - and turned it into a winner.  The Arizona Wildcats are ascendent, ranked #15 and rising up to third place in the Pac 12.  They will keep the momentum going with a win over ASU and wind up in a solid bowl game.

Also at 3:30 PM on FS1: Wisconsin at Minnesota.  This game is meaningless rankings-wise, but it’s a classic Big Ten rivalry college football game.  The battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe is the most-played rivalry game in FBS college football. (The axe is a beast - 6 feet long – and somebody is probably going to get hurt with it one day in a post-game celebration that carries things a bit too far.)  Both teams are evenly mediocre, er, evenly matched.  It’s a coin flip, so I’ll go with Minnesota at home.   

At 4:00 PM on FOX: Washington State at #4 Washington.  These two teams have agreed to keep the Apple Cup going even after they split into different conferences, thus setting a role model of sanity for the rest of college football.  Your move, Oregon-Oregon State, Oklahoma-Oklahoma State, etc.  Washington State has a history of knocking off higher-ranked Washington teams in the Apple Cup, and Washington has been living on the edge with close games against lesser teams.  And maybe if this game was in Pullman I would be brave enough to call the upset.  But that’s not the case, so I’ll go with Washington to win another close one and stay undefeated.     

In the Evening at 7:00 PM on ESPN: #5 Florida State at Florida.  Hoo boy, this one has upset written all over it, in indelible ink.  Florida State will be without injured starting QB Jordan Travis at a tough place to play: On the road, at the Swamp, at night.  Florida has had a miserable season, but this game is a way to make some amends and become bowl eligible.  They have had poor results this season, but they still have top talent.  If they get that talent to play focused and motivated, they’ll walk away with the big upset win in Gainesville.

Also at 7:30 PM on SEC Network: #24 Clemson at South Carolina.  This one has upset written all over it too, but in pencil not pen.  Columbia SC at night is another tough place to play, and Clemson has been up and down this season.  Both teams are on three-game winning streaks, but Clemson’s has been more impressive with wins over Notre Dame and UNC.  South Carolina will play spoiler for a little while, but then Clemson will assert itself and hold off the upset.     

At 7:30 PM on ABC: #1 Georgia at Georgia Tech.  This game is just a formality, but I’ll take a peek at it from time to time to see how Georgia looks.  I’ll need to do it in the first half because Georgia will be checked out by the second half.  They will win easily and rest up for Alabama.   

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

I salute you, Pac-12 After Dark Special.  I salute your bewildering upsets, your crazy finishes among unranked teams while the nation sleeps, your 40-35 scores at the half.  This is the last Pac-12 After Dark Special that will ever be played as we know it.  Only the good die young.       

At 10:30 PM on ESPN: California at UCLA.  Cal has been kind of showing a pulse as of late, with wins over Washington State and Stanford, and a very close loss against USC.  UCLA is rudderless, but they did dominate USC at the Coliseum.  It will be close, but I’ll go with UCLA in the final Pac-12 After Dark Special sendoff.                                     

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25, 2023:

AWAY                     HOME           TIME         TV

NOON:

2 Ohio State  @  3 Michigan   12:00 PM   FOX

Kentucky  @  10 Louisville   12:00 PM   ABC

Texas A&M  @  14 LSU   12:00 PM   ESPN

Indiana  @  Purdue   12:00 PM   BTN

Middle Tennessee  @  Sam Houston   12:00 PM   ESPN+

UConn  @  Massachusetts   12:00 PM   ESPN+

Pittsburgh  @  Duke   12:00 PM   ACCN

Houston  @  UCF   12:00 PM   FS1

Navy  @  SMU   12:00 PM   ESPN2

Troy  @  Southern Miss   12:00 PM   ESPNU

Northern Illinois  @  Kent State   12:00 PM   ESPN+

Miami (OH)  @  Ball State   12:00 PM   CBSSN

AFTERNOON:

Florida Atlantic  @  Rice   1:00 PM   ESPN+

Wake Forest  @  Syracuse   2:00 PM   CW NETWORK

Tulsa  @  East Carolina   2:00 PM   ESPN+

UAB  @  North Texas   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Georgia State  @  Old Dominion   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Western Kentucky  @  Florida International   3:00 PM   ESPN+

Colorado  @  Utah   3:00 PM   PAC12

UL Monroe  @  Louisiana   3:00 PM   ESPN+

San José State  @  UNLV   3:00 PM    -

8 Alabama  @  Auburn   3:30 PM   CBS

15 Arizona  @  Arizona State   3:30 PM   ESPN

BYU  @  20 Oklahoma State   3:30 PM   ABC

Vanderbilt  @  21 Tennessee   3:30 PM   SECN

25 Liberty  @  UTEP   3:30 PM   CBSSN

Northwestern  @  Illinois   3:30 PM   BTN

Wisconsin  @  Minnesota   3:30 PM   FS1

Maryland  @  Rutgers   3:30 PM   BTN

Virginia Tech  @  Virginia   3:30 PM   ACCN

Georgia Southern  @  Appalachian State   3:30 PM   ESPNU

James Madison  @  Coastal Carolina   3:30 PM   ESPN2

Arkansas State  @  Marshall   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Washington State  @  4 Washington   4:00 PM   FOX

Jacksonville State  @  New Mexico State   4:00 PM   ESPN+

EVENING:

5 Florida State  @  Florida   7:00 PM   ESPN

18 Notre Dame  @  Stanford   7:00 PM   PAC12

West Virginia  @  Baylor   7:00 PM   FS1

South Alabama  @  Texas State   7:00 PM   NFL NET

1 Georgia  @  Georgia Tech   7:30 PM   ABC

24 Clemson  @  South Carolina   7:30 PM   SECN

Kansas  @  Cincinnati   7:30 PM   ESPN2

Charlotte  @  South Florida   7:30 PM   ESPNU

Iowa State  @  19 Kansas State   8:00 PM   FOX

North Carolina  @  22 NC State   8:00 PM   ACCN

Wyoming  @  Nevada   9:00 PM   CBSSN

LATE NIGHT:

California  @  UCLA   10:30 PM   ESPN

Fresno State  @  San Diego State   10:30 PM   FS1

Colorado State  @  Hawai'i   11:00 PM    -