It could be a remarkable weekend for college football. Or maybe it won’t be.
I don’t really know.
What I can say is that there are three matchups between top 25 teams including one game that Husky fans, in particular, will be paying attention to tonight.
We’ve got Husky coverage all over the site. The purpose of this post is to give our hardcore fans insights into and a forum to discuss other intriguing football angles from across the nation.
Consider this your open thread to discuss week 5 college football and let me know what you think of my upset pick.
A Top 5 Affair
Clemson (5) and Louisville (3) is the marquee matchup of the weekend. Color me curious.
Like most well-studied college football fans, the true identity of each of these teams remains a mystery. Louisville darted into the top 3 after blowing out a couple of cupcakes and then decimating a previously well-thought of Florida State team. It was easy to be overwhelmed by the final score in that game. But those who watched the game couldn’t help to be equally impressed by how badly Florida State played defense as they were by how well Lamar Jackson played offense. See this example from a tweet I sent out a few weeks ago:
This is not a talent thing. This is bad defense #FSUvsUL pic.twitter.com/5lpYYvQcGg
— UW Dawg Pound (@UWonSBN) September 17, 2016
We know they are good, but we don’t really know how good Louisville is quite yet. Along the same lines, we don’t really know if Clemson is as good as their preseason hype. The Tigers and their Heisman QB candidate Deshaun Watson have really disappointed, despite their lofty top 5 status. They currently rank 53rd in the nation in scoring offense, behind offenses of such repute as Air Force, Minnesota and New Mexico.
Either way, this is the second top 5 opponent in three weeks for Louisville. If they find a way to pull this one off, they’ll be off to the playoff races with very little between them and the finish line.
A Big House Throw Down
Wisconsin (8) travels to Michigan (4) for the third of three games between top 10 teams this weekend. Let’s just forget for a second my terrible upset pick of Michigan by Penn State a week ago and pretend that I have some clue of what I’m talking about.
I know that is a difficult suspension of disbelief, but work with me.
I did happen to call Wiscy’s upset win over Michigan State. At the time, I was impressed with Wisconsin’s defense and hopeful about its new QB. Traveling into Michigan - for a second straight difficult road game (ugh) - feels a little bit different for me.
The Wolverines are a more challenging opponent offensively than MSU and one that I think is sure to put more pressure on that Badger defense. On top of that, Harbaugh’s defense is a little bit more salty, particularly in getting after the pass rush. Their 17.0 sacks is tied for first in the nation.
I’m not seeing too many scenarios where Wisconsin wins their second straight road game against a top 10 opponent.
The Upset Pick
Many Husky fans have been impressed with UW’s nation-leading +9 turnover margin (tied with Ohio State). Second in the nation? The Memphis Tigers.
Many thought that when Justin Fuentes moved on to Virginia Tech that Memphis would descend back into the abyss of the Mississippi River.
Not so fast, my friends.
The Tigers are now led by former Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell. Under his stewardship, Memphis has become ASU-East. They are still running the same spread attack that Fuentes installed and ran to perfection with Paxton Lynch. Now they are matching it with a high risk, attacking style defense right out of the Todd Graham playbook.
Ole Miss is the hosting Memphis this weekend. Given the close proximity of the two schools, there has always been a sense of a personal rivalry. I think Memphis will head down to the Grove ready to punch their SEC rival in the face. How well Ole Miss responds to the challenge remains to be seen.
I’m guessing not too well. I like the upset possibility here. Memphis is going to create a few easy scoring opportunities thanks to some forced errors and it might just be enough. Memphis 41, Ole Miss 38
College Football TV Schedule
Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
(7) Stanford at (10) Washington | 9:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Toledo at BYU | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 | ||
---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
(22) Texas at Oklahoma State | 12:00 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
(14) Miami (FL) at Georgia Tech | 12:00 p.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
Rutgers at (2) Ohio State | 12:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
(23) Florida at Vanderbilt | 12:00 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
(13) Baylor at Iowa State | 12:00 p.m. | FS1 / FSGo |
Alcorn State at (20) Arkansas | 12:00 p.m. | SECN Alt. / WatchESPN |
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse (East Rutherford, NJ) | 12:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Northwestern at Iowa | 12:00 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
UCF at East Carolina | 12:00 p.m. | CBSSN / CBSSports.com |
SMU at Temple | 12:00 p.m. | ESPNews / WatchESPN |
Georgia State at Appalachian State | 12:00 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
Virginia at Duke | 12:30 p.m. | ACCN / WatchESPN |
Buffalo at Boston College | 1:00 p.m. | WatchESPN |
Oregon State at Colorado | 2:30 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Ohio at Miami (OH) | 2:30 p.m. | BCSN/TWCS / ESPN3 |
Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green | 3:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
(8) Wisconsin at (4) Michigan | 3:30 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
(11) Tennessee at (25) Georgia | 3:30 p.m. | CBS / CBSSports.com |
North Carolina at (12) Florida State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Illinois at (15) Nebraska | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
Kansas State at West Virginia | 3:30 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
Louisiana-Monroe at Auburn | 3:30 p.m. | SECN Alt. / WatchESPN |
Minnesota at Penn State | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
Purdue at Maryland | 3:30 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
Wake Forest at NC State | 3:30 p.m. | RSN / WatchESPN |
Navy at Air Force | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN / CBSSports.com |
Tulane at UMass | 3:30 p.m. | ASN/NESN / ESPN3 |
Akron at Kent State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Northern Illinois at Ball State | 3:30 p.m. | ASN / ESPN3 |
(9) Texas A&M at South Carolina | 4:00 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
San Jose State at New Mexico | 4:00 p.m. | ROOT SPORTS / CampusInsiders |
Oklahoma at (21) TCU | 5:00 p.m. | FOX / FSGo |
Troy at Idaho | 5:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
(18) Utah at California | 6:00 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Old Dominion at Charlotte | 6:00 p.m. | CUSA.TV |
Kentucky at (1) Alabama | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Memphis at (16) Ole Miss | 7:00 p.m. | SECN Alt. or ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
USF at Cincinnati | 7:00 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
UTEP at Louisiana Tech | 7:00 p.m. | ASN |
Western Michigan at Central Michigan | 7:00 p.m. | CBSSN / CBSSports.com |
Florida Atlantic at FIU | 7:00 p.m. | beIN Sports / Stream |
Middle Tennessee at North Texas | 7:00 p.m. | |
Houston Baptist at WKU | 7:00 p.m. | CS Live |
Incarnate Word at Texas State | 7:00 p.m. | TSSP/KEYE-TV / ESPN3 |
Missouri at LSU | 7:30 p.m. | SECN / WatchESPN |
Marshall at Pittsburgh | 7:30 p.m. | RSN / WatchESPN |
(3) Louisville at (5) Clemson | 8:00 p.m. | ABC / WatchESPN |
(17) Michigan State at Indiana | 8:00 p.m. | BTN / BTN2Go |
(19) San Diego State at South Alabama | 8:00 p.m. | ESPNews / WatchESPN |
UL Lafayette at New Mexico State | 8:00 p.m. | ESPN3 |
Arizona State at USC | 8:30 p.m. | FOX / FS Go |
Oregon at Washington State | 9:30 p.m. | Pac-12N / Pac-12.com |
Utah State at (24) Boise State | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN2 / WatchESPN |
Wyoming at Colorado State | 10:15 p.m. | ESPNU / WatchESPN |
Arizona at UCLA | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Fresno State at UNLV | 10:30 p.m. | CBSSN / CBSSports.com |
Nevada at Hawaii | 12:00 a.m. | Oceanic PPV |