Today's Schedule of Games

Welcome to week two of college football.  There is only one really big game today, but there are still a few interesting “backstory” games to watch.

Here are some of today’s highlights:

At Noon on FOX: Nebraska at #22 Colorado.  Behind all of the bluster and preening, coach Prime actually knows what he is doing in a well thought-out way.  Things that look chaotic and arbitrary aren’t really.  He has that Bill Parcells thing of getting under his players’ skin, but in a way that motivates them.  90 new players on the roster in the first game of the year, and only 6 penalties all game?  Are you kidding me??  At MSU that’s called “first drive”.  It is in our best interest to root for Nebraska, so I will dutifully do that, but I wouldn’t mind if the Coach Prime circus continues for just a little while longer.    

In the Afternoon at 3:30 PM on CBS: UNLV at #2 Michigan.  As a Michigan fan, I will watch with interest what Michigan does this game.  But as a college football fan, I will especially watch with interest what UNLV does on defense.  Now that Michigan has shown (finally) that they can and will punish the “TCU game plan”, what do you do if you are UNLV?  You can’t just count on Michigan’s stubbornness to bail you out while you recklessly run-blitz your safety’s every down.  UNLV will be more cautious than ECU, which will open up the Michigan running game.  Then they will run-blitz on selected downs when that starts to get out of hand.  At which point, JJ will drop dimes on their ass.  So, it won’t really matter what they do.  Hey, just have fun out there.            

Also at 3:30 PM on FOX: Iowa at Iowa State.  ¡El Assico!  I love this rivalry.  Because it is so stupid and unpredictable and usually comes down to the wire based on who makes the last mistake.  Can Cade McNamara and Erick All add an element of atypical calmness and stability to Iowa in the midst of the El Assico storm?  Yes.  Yes they can.  Iowa will win it in boringly stable fashion.  But is that a good thing for the rest of us?               

In the Evening at 7:00 PM on ESPN: #11 Texas at #3 Alabama.  Having just read Communist Football’s board post on why James Worthy left Michigan (spoiler alert: It was all Michigan’s fault, not Texas’s fault), I can root for Texas today with a clear conscious.  They almost took down Alabama last year, and they are many people’s upset special to do it this year.  But not so fast my friend, as the old guy says.  Sleep on Alabama at your own risk.  Saban is laser focused on cutting down on the excitable dumb mistakes they had last year that did them in during their two very close losses.  They still have all of the talent in the world, and he’ll have that talent ready (and smart) to go.  Alabama will take care of Texas convincingly tonight in Tuscaloosa.         

Finally, your Pac-12 After Dark Special - meaningless crazy football just for the fun of it.  This is the last season for Pac-12 After Dark football.  *sigh*.  Because it was usually pointless football – typically unranked teams that the rest of the country ignored – it was fun.  Teams just went out and played, with nothing on the line.  There was no deeper meaning, it was just highly entertaining for its own sake.  I will miss it.       

At 10:30 PM on FOX: Stanford at #6 USC.  This used to be a big game in the Pac-12, courtesy of Mr. Jim Harbaugh, and then carried on by David Shaw.  Now it’s back to what Stanford – USC meant before Harbaugh . . . nothing.  USC still can’t play defense, but it won’t matter.  Stanford can’t play enough anywhere near enough offense to stay with USC.  USC will win it big and early at home.           

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2023:

AWAY                     HOME           TIME         TV

NOON:

Vanderbilt  @  Wake Forest   11:00 AM   ACCN

Ball State  @  1 Georgia   12:00 PM   SECN

Youngstown State  @  5 Ohio State   12:00 PM   BTN

Delaware  @  7 Penn State   12:00 PM   Peacock

10 Notre Dame  @  NC State   12:00 PM   ABC

12 Utah  @  Baylor   12:00 PM   ESPN

Troy  @  15 Kansas State   12:00 PM   FS1

Nebraska  @  22 Colorado   12:00 PM   FOX

Delaware State  @  Army   12:00 PM   CBSSN

Purdue  @  Virginia Tech   12:00 PM   ESPN2

Holy Cross  @  Boston College   12:00 PM   ESPN+|ACCNX

James Madison  @  Virginia   12:00 PM   ESPNU

AFTERNOON:

South Carolina State  @  Georgia Tech   1:00 PM   ESPN+|ACCNX

New Hampshire  @  Central Michigan   1:30 PM   ESPN+

Eastern Illinois  @  Bowling Green   2:00 PM   ESPN+

Charleston Southern  @  25 Clemson   2:15 PM   ACCN

Eastern Kentucky  @  Kentucky   3:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

Southern Utah  @  BYU   3:00 PM   BIG12|ESPN+

UNLV  @  2 Michigan   3:30 PM   CBS

20 Ole Miss  @  24 Tulane   3:30 PM   ESPN2

23 Texas A&M  @  Miami   3:30 PM   ABC

Iowa  @  Iowa State   3:30 PM   FOX

Richmond  @  Michigan State   3:30 PM   BTN

UTEP  @  Northwestern   3:30 PM   BTN

Western Michigan  @  Syracuse   3:30 PM   ESPN+|ACCNX

Miami (OH)  @  Massachusetts   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Texas State  @  UTSA   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Wagner  @  Navy   3:30 PM   CBSSN

Southern Illinois  @  Northern Illinois   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Texas Southern  @  Toledo   3:30 PM   ESPN+

Kent State  @  Arkansas   4:00 PM   SECN

Marshall  @  East Carolina   4:00 PM   ESPNU

Cal Poly  @  San José State   4:00 PM    -

Portland State  @  Wyoming   4:00 PM    -

Tulsa  @  8 Washington   5:00 PM   PAC12

Austin Peay  @  9 Tennessee   5:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

SE Louisiana  @  South Alabama   5:00 PM   ESPN+

Appalachian State  @  17 North Carolina   5:15 PM   ACCN

EVENING:

SMU  @  18 Oklahoma   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Lafayette  @  21 Duke   6:00 PM   ESPN+|ACCNX

New Mexico State  @  Liberty   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Duquesne  @  West Virginia   6:00 PM   BIG12|ESPN+

UAB  @  Georgia Southern   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Ohio  @  Florida Atlantic   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Louisiana  @  Old Dominion   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Morgan State  @  Akron   6:00 PM   ESPN+

Fordham  @  Buffalo   6:00 PM   ESPN+

North Texas  @  Florida International   6:30 PM   ESPN+

Cincinnati  @  Pittsburgh   6:30 PM   CW NETWORK

11 Texas  @  3 Alabama   7:00 PM   ESPN

13 Oregon  @  Texas Tech   7:00 PM   FOX

Jacksonville State  @  Coastal Carolina   7:00 PM   ESPN+

UConn  @  Georgia State   7:00 PM   ESPN+

Northwestern State  @  Louisiana Tech   7:00 PM   ESPN+

Middle Tennessee  @  Missouri   7:00 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

Houston Christian  @  Western Kentucky   7:00 PM   ESPN+

UCF  @  Boise State   7:00 PM   FS1

Houston  @  Rice   7:00 PM   NFL NET

Florida A&M  @  South Florida   7:00 PM   ESPN+

Memphis  @  Arkansas State   7:00 PM   ESPN+

Idaho  @  Nevada   7:00 PM    -

Grambling  @  14 LSU   7:30 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

19 Wisconsin  @  Washington State   7:30 PM   ABC

McNeese  @  Florida   7:30 PM   ESPNU

Charlotte  @  Maryland   7:30 PM   NBC

Eastern Michigan  @  Minnesota   7:30 PM   BTN

Arizona  @  Mississippi State   7:30 PM   SECN

Temple  @  Rutgers   7:30 PM   BTN

Furman  @  South Carolina   7:30 PM   ESPN+|SECN+

UCLA  @  San Diego State   7:30 PM   CBS

Air Force  @  Sam Houston   8:00 PM   CBSSN

Nicholls  @  TCU   8:00 PM   BIG12|ESPN+

Lamar  @  UL Monroe   8:00 PM   ESPN+

Tennessee Tech  @  New Mexico   8:00 PM    -

Idaho State  @  Utah State   8:00 PM    -

Southern Miss  @  4 Florida State   8:30 PM   ACCN

UC Davis  @  16 Oregon State   9:00 PM   PAC12

Eastern Washington  @  Fresno State   9:00 PM    -

LATE NIGHT:

Stanford  @  6 USC   10:30 PM   FOX

Auburn  @  California   10:30 PM   ESPN

Oklahoma State  @  Arizona State   10:30 PM    -

UAlbany  @  Hawai'i   11:59 PM    -