The Huskies enter Week 6 with slim (but not very slim) hopes of getting to the College Football Playoff. Hardcore fans already know what the deal is. For those of you just now getting up to speed on how the College Football Playoff race is shaping up, here are some quick tips:
- Alabama looks like they could beat both the Buffalo Bills and the Oakland Raiders ... at the same time.
- Clemson isn’t quite the lock at #2 that many were expecting after seeing some attrition at QB and struggling with a last minute win over Syracuse last week, there is a sense that the ACC champions might get upset somewhere along the way
- The Big Ten looks solid with Ohio State and Penn State looking just a thin cut ahead of Michigan, Wisconsin and Michigan State. The Buckeyes are in the catbird’s seat after having beat Penn State last week in what may have been the college game of the year so far (though UW vs Auburn wasn’t too shabby). The Big Ten will have a participant, but who?
- Notre Dame is surging and has the cleanest (not to say it is easy) path to an undefeated season. The CFP has never had an independent participant before.
- The Big 12 looks like it is ready to cannibalize itself. That process has already started with Texas having a win over TCU. With the main contenders all still mostly playing each other in the weeks ahead, expect chaos. Husky fans want as much of that as possible.
So, you are caught up. Let’s jump into a preview of this weekend’s games with a Husky fan’s spin. Here we go.
Utah State at BYU (Friday Night)
Root for: the team with the most missionaries
UW dismantled BYU in a pretty convincing fashion last weekend. Every single one of UW’s offensive drives crossed midfield while every single one of their defensive drives resulted in zero points scored save for the muffed punt series against UW’s reserves. It would be super helpful if BYU were to nut up and go on a tear and close the season back in the top 25.
Plus, they have an awesome mascot.
Northwestern at #20 Michigan State
Root for: Michigan State
The Big Ten could use a little shaking up in the East. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Spartans make a run. Should they make a surprise run to the Big Ten championship, keep in mind that they and UW shared a common opponent with different results.
“you play to win the game”. - - Herm Edwards
Boston College at #22 NC State
Root for: a new ACC Atlantic champ
The Wolfpack are putting together an interesting season with an undefeated record up to this point. Their defense has been surprisingly stout. So much so, in fact, that I think they have a better than average chance at being the one team that could hang a loss on Clemson. Could NC State make a run at the ACC Atlantic.
Maybe, but they need to beat a feisty BC first.
#8 Auburn at Mississippi State
Root for: the team that beat your Huskies
This is your weekly reminder that it would sure be nice if Auburn quit making our loss to them look bad.
Arizona State at #21 Colorado
Root for: the Buffs
At this point, it would be somewhat useful to Washington’s playoff ambitions if Colorado were to become our South division foil. Run Ralphie Run.
#6 Notre Dame at #24 Virginia Tech
Root for: Hokies
Notre Dame’s victory over Stanford last week means they have just one serious competitor left to dispatch before they enter the soft part of their schedule. That would be the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Hokies are every bit the match for the Irish and, in fact, are still in a great position to win the ACC. In fact, they are kind of a wild card for every other team dreaming about the Playoff. Since VT is essentially already disqualified, it helps every other contender if they just keep on winning. The bigger the better.
This is easily the most important game other than UW’s own in improving or harming Washington’s odds of getting into the four team playoff. So, c’mon Justin Fuente. Let’s do this thing.
#19 Texas at #7 Oklahoma
Root for: Texas
Washington’s playoff hopes will most be impacted by the trajectory of Notre Dame and the status of the Big 12 champ. Our rooting interest has been and will remain that whomever emerges out of the Big 12 do so with two losses. Right now, there are four teams with either one or zero losses: OKST, Texas, West Virginia and Oklahoma.
Of the four, I’m not yet terribly worried about West Virginia as they have to play each of those other three still ahead on their schedule. Texas could still be a problem as they already have a win over TCU (who is still a serious contender to win the conference championship). But I’ll take that problem over the Oklahoma problem any day of the week.
Hook ‘em!
Friday Night Lights
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
---|---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
Georgia Tech at Louisville | 4:00 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
Middle Tennessee at Marshall | 4:30 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Utah State at BYU | 6:00 PM | ESPN2 | WatchESPN.com |
Satuday Gameday
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
---|---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
#1 Alabama at Arkansas | 9:00 AM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
#19 Texas at #7 Oklahoma | 9:00 AM | FOX | FoxSportsGo.com |
Kansas at #9 West Virginia | 9:00 AM | ESPN2 | WatchESPN.com |
Maryland at #15 Michigan | 9:00 AM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Northwestern at #20 Michigan State | 9:00 AM | FS1 | FoxSportsGo.com |
Tulane at Cincinnati | 9:00 AM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
Buffalo at Central Michigan | 9:00 AM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan | 9:00 AM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
East Carolina at Temple | 9:00 AM | ESPNews | WatchESPN.com |
Missouri at South Carolina | 9:00 AM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Illinois at Rutgers | 9:00 AM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
Syracuse at Pittsburgh | 9:20 AM | ACC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Boston College at #23 NC State | 9:30 AM | ACC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Northern Illinois at Ball State | 12:00 PM | None | WatchESPN.com |
#4 Clemson at Wake Forest | 12:30 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
#5 LSU at #22 Florida | 12:30 PM | CBS | CBSSports.com |
Florida State at #17 Miami | 12:30 PM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Iowa State at #25 Oklahoma State | 12:30 PM | ESPN2 | WatchESPN.com |
Ohio at Kent State | 12:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Miami (OH) at Akron | 12:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Navy at Air Force | 12:30 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Bowling Green at Toledo | 12:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
South Alabama at Georgia Southern | 12:30 PM | None | WatchESPN.com |
San Diego State at Boise State | 12:30 PM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
South Florida at UMass | 12:30 PM | Eleven/NESN/WTTA | UMassAthletics.com |
Kansas State at Baylor | 12:30 PM | FS1 | FoxSportsGo.com |
Iowa at Minnesota | 12:30 PM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
Indiana at #3 Ohio State | 1:00 PM | FOX | FoxSportsGo.com |
Arizona State at #21 Colorado | 1:00 PM | Pac-12 Networks | Pac-12.com |
UL Monroe at Ole Miss | 1:00 PM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
New Mexico at UNLV | 1:00 PM | AT&T SportsNet | None |
Old Dominion at Florida Atlantic | 2:00 PM | Stadium | Facebook.com |
SMU at #12 UCF | 4:00 PM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
#13 Kentucky at Texas A&M | 4:00 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
UAB at Louisiana Tech | 4:00 PM | Stadium | Facebook.com |
UTSA at Rice | 4:00 PM | None | WatchESPN.com |
Louisiana at Texas State | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
UConn at Memphis | 4:00 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Vanderbilt at #2 Georgia | 4:30 PM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
#8 Auburn at Mississippi State | 4:30 PM | ESPN2 | WatchESPN.com |
#10 Washington at UCLA | 4:30 PM | FOX | FoxSportsGo.com |
Nebraska at #16 Wisconsin | 4:30 PM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
North Texas at UTEP | 4:30 PM | beIN Sports | beINSports.com |
#6 Notre Dame at #24 Virginia Tech | 5:00 PM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Liberty at New Mexico State | 5:00 PM | None | Aggievision |
Washington State at Oregon State | 6:00 PM | Pac-12 Networks | Pac-12.com |
California at Arizona | 7:00 PM | FS1 | FoxSportsGo.com |
Utah at #14 Stanford | 7:30 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
Colorado State at San Jose State | 7:30 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Fresno State at Nevada | 7:30 PM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
Wyoming at Hawai'i | 8:59 PM | Spectrum Sports PPV | Stadium (App Only) |