another weekend of college football beckons, bringing matchups, big and small for your viewing pleasure. You may have heard, but tonight marks the first night of a stretch in which there will be either college or professional football on television every single day through Thanksgiving. What a time to be alive.
But what football should you watch? We have some thoughts.
Thursday Night
Once again, this may be the night to actually have dinner with your family, or catch up on some housework. Not a lot of compelling football going on on Thursday night. I do think the Texas State vs. Troy matchup (7:00, ESPNU) will be an entertaining football game, but not one you should feel required to follow. While I do enjoy making fun of the powerful teams who play their games on Thursday nights, I do find myself occasionally, wishing that a few of them would bite the bullet solely for our viewing pleasure.
Friday Night
OK, now we’re talking. Michigan State travels to take on #6 Oregon (9:00, FOX) and Fran Brown’s surprising Syracuse Orangemen travel to #25 UNLV (9:00, FS1).
Oregon is starting to look like a Big Ten contender after a shaky start, but a relapse is always possible. Syracuse is a surprising 3-1 under the former UGA defensive backs coach, and Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord has been a big reason why, tossing 14 touchdown passes so far on the season.
Saturday Noon
The early slate this Saturday is just okay, with the only SEC matchup being #9 Missouri traveling to Texas A&M. It’s an interesting game because it gives Missouri the chance for a relatively strong win on what is an overall weak schedule, but would also give first year Texas A&M coach Mike Elko a nice win to build on. This is what I like to call a Nathaniel Hawthorne game: one team is rising and another one is falling no matter what happens. (Noon, ABC)
SMU at #22 Louisville also has some potential, with the Pony Express coming off a big victory over Florida State and the Cardinals making some noise as a dark horse playoff contender (Noon, ESPN).
Saturday Afternoon
Obviously your attention will be monopolized by the Georgia/Auburn game kicking off at 3:30 on ABC.
But if you have the nagging urge to flip over to another channel during commercial breaks might I suggest Iowa at #3 Ohio State, also kicking off at 3:30 p.m. on CBS? Iowa is 3-1 and averaging a very un-Iowa 32 points per game. While the Buckeyes remain undefeated this will be the biggest test they’ve faced so far by a fairly wide margin.
Elsewhere #12 Ole Miss looks like bounce back from their loss to Kentucky as they travel to Columbia to take on Shane Beamer’s South Carolina Gamecocks. Weird things happen on humid afternoons in Columbia. That’s all I’m saying. (3:30, ESPN)
Saturday Night
A full slate of prime time action awaits with Clemson traveling to Florida State for a game Mike Norvell needs to win and Dabo Swinney really can’t afford to lose (7:00, ESPN).
At 7:30 #4 Tennessee kicks off at Arkansas in a game that feels pesky to me for a Volunteer team that’s getting more and more confident (ABC).
There’s also #10 Michigan at Washington (7:30 p.m., NBC) in a matchup of teams quickly learning that it isn’t 2023 anymore.
And of course at 7:45 on the SEC Network you can take in the bitter blood feud between the Florida Gators and Gus Malzahn’s UCF Golden Knights. I’m torn between the utter hilarity that would ensue if the Gators lose to the Cussin’ Guses, and the sad realization that doing so would be the likely end of the Sunbelt Billy era in Gainesville. I just don’t want it to end. It’s been too magical.
As usual the full television and streaming schedule, with SEC games in bold, is below. Until later,
Go ‘Dawgs!!!
Thursday, Oct. 3
Texas State at Troy | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
Sam Houston at UTEP| 9 p.m. | CBSSN
Friday, Oct. 4
New Hampshire at Harvard | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Jacksonvillle State at Kennesaw State| 7 p.m. | CBSSN
Houston at TCU | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Michigan State at No. 6 Oregon | 9 p.m. | FOX
Syracuse at No. 25 UNLV | 9 p.m. | FS1
Saturday, Oct. 5
UCLA at No. 7 Penn State | 12 p.m. | FOX
No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M | 12 p.m. | ABC/ESPN+
SMU at No. 22 Louisville | 12 p.m. | ESPN
Purdue at Wisconsin | 12 p.m. |BTN
Massachusetts at Northern Illinois | 12 p.m. | CBSSN
Boston College at Virginia | 12 p.m. | ACC Network
Pittsburgh at North Carolina | 12 p.m. | ESPN 2
Wake Forest at NC State | 12 p.m. | The CW Network
Navy at Air Force | 12 p.m. | CBS
Army at Tulsa | 12 p.m. | ESPNU
Bryant at Brown | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Princeton at Columbia | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Central Connecticut at Yale | 12 p.m. | ESPN+
Tulane at UAB | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Delaware at Monmouth | 1 p.m. | FloSports
Albany at Cornell | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Central Connecticut at Yale | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Drake at Valparaiso | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Marist at Davidson | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Morehead St. at Butler | 1 p.m. | FloSports
Stetson at St. Thomas-MN | 1 p.m.
Penn at Dartmouth | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
St. Francis (PA) at Delaware St. | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Lincoln (PA) at Morgan St. | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Norfolk St. at Sacred Heart | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Long Island at Duquesne| 1 p.m. | TBD
Lafayette at Fordham | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Holy Cross at Colgate | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
East Carolina at Charlotte | 1 p.m. | ESPNU
Buffalo State at Mercyhurst | 1 p.m. | NEC Front Row
Western Michigan at Ball State | 2:00 p.m. | ESPN+
Rhode Island at Hampton | 2 p.m. | FloSports
North Carolina A&T at Richmond | 2 p.m. | FloSports
Austin Peay at West Georgia | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Tennessee St. at Lindenwood | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Indiana St. at Youngstown St. | 2 p.m. | ESPN+
Furman at The Citadel | 2 p.m.| ESPN+
Wofford at Western Carolina | 2:30 p.m. | ESPN+
South Carolina St. at Tennessee Tech | 2:30 p.m. |ESPN+
Southeast Missouri State at Eastern Illinois | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Gardner-Webb at UT Martin | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Weber St. at Montana | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
South Dakota at Murray State | 3 p.m. |ESPN+
Florida A&M at Alabama State | 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Alcorn St. | 3 p.m.| HBCU GO
VMI at Samford | 3 p.m | ESPN+
Virginia-Lynchburg at Texas Southern | 3 p.m. | SWAC Digital Network
Auburn at No. 5 Georgia | 3:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN+
Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State | 3:30 p.m. | CBS
No. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN
No. 23 Indiana at Northwestern | 3:30 p.m. | BTN
Temple at UConn | 3:30 p.m.| CBSSN
Virginia Tech at Stanford | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network
Appalachian State at Marshall | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Miami (OH) at Toledo | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Bowling Green at Akron | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
East Carolina at Charlotte | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU
Villanova at Stony Brook | 3:30 p.m. | Flosports
Chattanooga at East Tennessee St. | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
North Dakota at North Dakota St. | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Rutgers at Nebraska | 4 p.m. | FS1
West Virginia at Oklahoma State | 4 p.m. | ESPN 2
North Carolina Central at Campbell | 4 p.m. | FloSports
Central Arkansas at Abilene Christian | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Western Illinois at Charleston Southern| 4 p.m.|ESPN+
Northern Colorado at Montana St. | 4:00 p.m | ESPN+
UC Davis at Portland St. | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
Presbyterian at San Diego | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 1 Alabama at Vanderbilt | 4:15 | SEC Network
Utah Tech at North Alabama | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
Northern Arizona at Idaho | 5 p.m. | ESPN+
South Dakota St. at Northern Iowa| 5 p.m.|ESPN+
Alabama A&M at Jackson St. | 5 p.m | ESPN+
William & Mary at Towson | 6 p.m. | FloSports
Colorado State at Oregon State | 6:30 p.m | The CW Network
No. 15 Clemson at Florida State | 7 p.m. | ESPN
Utah State at No. 21 Boise State | 7 p.m. | FOX
Old Dominion at Coastal Carolina | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
South Alabama at Arkansas State | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
James Madison at UL Monroe | 7 p.m. | ESPNU
Louisiana at Southern Miss | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
McNeese at Houston Christian | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Texas A&M-Commerce at SE Louisiana | 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Illinois St. at Southern Illinois | 7 p.m.|ESPN+
Prairie View A&M at Incarnate Word | 7 p.m | ESPN+
Nicholls at Southern | 7 p.m.
No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas | 7:30 p.m. | ABC
No. 10 Michigan at Washington | 7:30 p.m. | NBC
No. 11 Southern California at Minnesota | 7:30 p.m. | BTN
Baylor at No. 16 Iowa State | 7:30 p.m. | FOX
Nevada at San José State | 7:30 p.m. | truTV
UCF at Florida | 7:45 p.m. | SEC Network
Duke at Georgia Tech | 8 p.m. | ACC Network
Kansas at Arizona State | 8 p.m. | ESPN 2
Hawai’i at San Diego State | 8 p.m. | CBSSN
Tarleton State at Southern Utah | 8 p.m. | ESPN+
Idaho St. at Cal Poly | 8 p.m. | ESPN+
Northwestern St. at Stephen F. Austin | 8 p.m.|ESPN+
Texas Tech at Arizona | 10 p.m | FOX
No. 8 Miami (FL) at California | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN