2024 Games of the Slot: Week 8
2024 Games of the Slot: Week 8
Breaking down which game to watch at each time slot this weekend
Last week was a great bunch of games, from a Top Five matchup in Eugene to some thrilling affairs in Death Valley and Tuscaloosa. But it’s time to turn the page to a whole new set of games that should - hopefully - make the conference championship and playoff races come into picture.
So what games do you need to watch this weekend? Let’s get into it!
As always, all times are in Eastern.
Friday Night
Game of the Slot: 2 Oregon at Purdue (8 p.m., FOX)
If you’ve watched any Big Ten football ever, you know that this one is going to likely get really funky.
We’ll start with the visitors. Oregon is finally looking like the national title contenders we all assumed they would be after a big-time win over Ohio State last weekend. Dan Lanning’s team is among the nation’s best and their offense made mincemeat of a solid Ohio State defense. I am worried about the Duck defense, though, which did little to nothing to stop the Buckeye passing attack. I think they’ll be able to improve those marks this week against Purdue, but you never know.
That’s because they’re traveling to Ross-Ade Stadium, the most cursed Big Ten stadium. This is where Big Ten teams with title hopes go to die, oftentimes against mid-tier Purdue teams just like this one. The Boilermakers sit at 1-5 with five straight losses and no FBS wins this season. They did just play a really drunk game against Illinois, so they have chaos on their side. Unfortunately for Purdue fans, chaos is the biggest thing on their side, especially with quarterback Hudson Card’s status up in the air.
Multi-Box Games: Oklahoma State at 11 BYU (10:15 p.m., ESPN), Fresno State at Nevada (10:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network), Florida State at Duke (7 p.m., ESPN2)
Oklahoma State started out hot, but a three-game slide against conference opponents has all but eliminated the Pokes from Big 12 contention. On paper, they’re more talented than the 6-0 Cougars, but BYU has played well all season. I wouldn’t discount either team here. This is about as dead even as you’d see a game. Both teams are right around .500 (Fresno at 3-3, Nevada at 3-4) and we’ll see a strength-on-strength matchup between Fresno State’s passing attack and Nevada’s secondary. The Mountain West season is still early, so both teams are in the thick of the title hunt. Speaking of title hunts, Florida State isn’t there. But Duke is. Neither team has seen the field since October 5, when both teams lost. Florida State is still a talented team, so if Duke is going to be for real, they’ll need to take care of business against the Seminoles.
Saturday - 12 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: Nebraska at 17 Indiana (FOX)
It’s an unlikely Game of the Slot matchup, but it’s one I’m really intrigued by.
The visiting Huskers have sat in my Next Five Out rankings for three straight weeks. Aside from a one-score loss to Illinois, Nebraska’s been really good this season. True freshman Dylan Raiola has proved he belongs with a 9:3 touchdown to interception ratio and 1,358 yards. He struggled mightily against the Rutgers defense last time out, though, and Indiana may be the best defense on paper he’s had to go against. If Matt Rhule’s Nebraska wants to notch their first ranked win of the season, they’ll need Raiola’s best.
Indiana, on the other hand, hasn’t had much struggle this season. They haven’t faced a ton of competition, though, so this is Curt Cignetti’s first major test in Bloomington. I’m really watching to see how the high-flying Hoosier offense looks going against a stout Nebraska defense. Something has to give, as Indiana ranks third in scoring offense (47.5 points per game), while Nebraska ranks seventh in scoring defense (11.3 points per game). I’d give the edge to Cignetti and quarterback Kurtis Rourke, but it’s a narrow edge.
Multi-Box Games: 4 Miami at Louisville (ABC/ESPN+), Arizona State at Cincinnati (ESPN+), Louisiana at Coastal Carolina (ESPNU)
Everyone, welcome to Miami’s first true test. The Canes have weathered two storms the past two weeks with thrilling wins over Virginia Tech and California, but Louisville is better than those. If Mario Cristobal’s squad comes out of the gate slow, Tyler Shough, JaCorey Brooks and the Cardinal offense will punish them for it. It’s time to start culling the Big 12 competitors, and Arizona State and Cincinnati are both 2-1 in conference so far. I’m worried for the Sun Devils with quarterback Sam Leavitt’s status unknown, but they have their hands full even if he’s healthy against a solid Bearcat defense. I’d say this game comes down to the Cincinnati offense vs. Arizona State defense. Two losses in the Big 12 won’t eliminate a team, but with eight with one or no losses already, a win firmly entrenches a team in the conference title race. We haven’t talked much Sun Belt this year, but this is the biggest game for the conference so far. Louisiana is the expected leader in the West division and have played well behind a balanced offensive attack. But Coastal Carolina is also playing well, which was unexpected. The Chanticleers are getting a solid season from Ethan Vasko and spreading the ball around. Can they bounce back after a disheartening loss to James Madison?
3-4 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 6 Alabama at 10 Tennessee (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+)
It’s the Third Saturday in October and there’s major SEC stakes in Knoxville. With both teams looking lackluster the past two weeks, this is a pivotal game on both sides.
Alabama was surprised by a really good Vanderbilt team, but they came out flat against South Carolina last weekend. In the past two games, Jalen Milroe has three picks to two touchdowns passing and hasn’t had much impact on the ground. In fact, the entire Alabama rushing attack hasn’t mad much impact the past two games. Throw in the fact that the Crimson Tide defense hasn’t been able to effectively stop the run - especially quarterback runs - and I think the Tennessee offense has a mismatch. There’s been a lot of chatter that Nick Saban would’ve cleaned this team up. Let’s see if Kalen DeBoer can do that and get Alabama ready for a rivalry showdown.
That is, if the Volunteers’ veer and shoot system would wake up. After vaporizing everything in their path the first three weeks, Tennessee has scored 48 points in their last 10 quarters. Tailback Dylan Sampson is still a force to be reckoned with, but quarterback Nico Iamaleava has really struggled for the first time in his young career. The good new is Tennessee’s defense has kept up the same strong play, led by a healthy pass rush and quality secondary. I think the Volunteers match up well with Alabama, but that’s on paper. Will that translate to the field?
Multi-Box Games: 13 Notre Dame at Georgia Tech (3:30 p.m., ESPN), Colorado at Arizona (4 p.m., FOX), Toledo at Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
Notre Dame has gotten stronger each week of their four-game winning streak, but Georgia Tech shouldn’t be overlooked. While Notre Dame has a great secondary and a continuously improving offense, Georgia Tech relies on the run. They’ll be able to go after the Irish’s weak point and push on it. Is that enough to get a Yellow Jacket win? Colorado is in the mess at the top of the Big 12, but Arizona’s conference hopes are on life support. With these two teams, expect all gas and no brakes as neither defense is one to write home about. Deion Sanders has stated that Travis Hunter will play and his battle against Tetairoa McMillan (both on offense and head-to-head) could decide this game. MACtion is heating up and two of the top teams are pitted head-to-head this week in Toledo and Northern Illinois. Both sit at 1-1 in conference play and that one loss came to Buffalo, interestingly. The Toledo offense and Huskie defense will be a great battle to watch. Also, keep an eye on time of possession here. Toledo moves quickly, and NIU does not.
Wondering where these rankings are coming from? Check out this week’s SID Sports Top 25 and Players of the Week!
6-8 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 7 Georgia at 1 Texas (7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+)
Texas, welcome to the SEC. At least they get to stay at Darrell K. Royal Stadium.
Georgia comes in as the fourth-place team in the SEC and seventh by my rankings. They’ve had some close scares - see: Mississippi State and Kentucky - and nearly came back against Alabama in a game of the year contender. This hasn’t been the dominant Dawg squad we’ve seen before, but Kirby Smart’s program has a way of taking care of business against top-tier opponents that can’t be discounted. Georgia has a consummate veteran in Carson Beck under center and a strong running game headlined by Trevor Etienne that shouldn’t be too affected by the hostile Texan crowd.
For Texas, they have their guy back in Quinn Ewers and haven’t been challenged once this season. We do have a common opponent in Mississippi State to compare: Georgia won 41-31, while Texas won 35-13. Is it possible Texas has a better defense than the vaunted Dawgs unit? That’s not as crazy a thought as you might say, especially since Texas has allowed only 6.3 points per game - the best mark in the nation. We’ve talked a lot about this offense, but the defense deserves praise too. Can they pull the Georgia offense into the mud like Kentucky did? If so, Quinn Ewers and the Longhorn offense may have their way with Georgia.
Multi-Box Games: 12 LSU at 23 Arkansas (7 p.m., ESPN), 19 Kansas State at West Virginia (7:30 p.m., FOX), North Texas at Memphis (7:30 p.m., ESPNU)
LSU has really shaken off their loss to USC and narrow win over South Carolina to become a powerful team, notching a great win at home against Ole Miss last week. Brian Kelly needs to make sure the Bayou Bengals aren’t riding too high, though, because Arkansas will ambush them. With a strong running game, the Hogs have the scheme to make LSU’s defense reel. Can they respond? We’ll return to the Big 12 for Kansas State and West Virginia, both of which sit in the 2-1 mess atop the conference standings. We’ve got two fun dual-threat quarterbacks, making this a defensive-deciding game. I trust Kansas State’s unit more to contain Garrett Greene, but I’ve been wrong. Jake Retzlaff made the Wildcat defense look silly. Memphis returns to the newsletter with a major American matchup against 5-1 North Texas. Expect a ton of offense here, as both teams love to air it out. Memphis will be a more traditional passing attack, while North Texas is going to be the funky run-and-shoot system we all love. Whoever gets a stop might win this game.
West Coast After Dark
Game of the Slot: TCU at Utah (10:30 p.m., ESPN)
Let’s preface this - this is not the TCU-Utah matchup of a few years ago. Both teams are reeling a bit, but that lends well to late-night chaos, doesn’t it? With both programs 1-2 in the Big 12, this is another pivotal matchup.
TCU is still very much the Sonny Dykes air-it-out offense you’d expect. Josh Hoover has had a solid season under center so far, but that hasn’t translated to wins. The Horned Frogs are a one-trick pony on offense with the fifth ranked passing offense and 123rd rushing attack. That’s not a bad thing - as they’ve been scoring 35.7 points per game. But the defense is struggling a lot. They rank 104th in scoring defense with 30.8 points allowed per game.
That bodes well for Utah, who has to rely on true freshman Isaac Wilson following Cam Rising’s season-ending injury. Wilson’s had a rough go in his freshman season with more interceptions than touchdowns and a 55 percent completion rate. This is the weakest defense he’s seen, though, so maybe it can be a confidence booster for the young quarterback. I still expect to see a lot of Micah Bernard and the Utah defense is stingy, as always.
Multi-Box Game: UNLV at Oregon State (10 p.m., The CW)
There’s only one other late-night game, so we’re a little limited here. UNLV’s been a really interesting story from Matthew Sluka now to Hajj-Malik Williams under center and I’d say the Rebs are better off with Williams. Oregon State is a reclamation project, but the Beavs are sitting at 4-2. They’re a smashmouth team, so expect a quick affair here with tons of running.
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Just curious what you think the narrative will be about Texas if they drop tomorrow’s game? Even though they briefly slipped from the No. 1 spot, they have seemed to me to be the team that’s gotten the most juice this season for being the legit best team in the country. Is it just pure mayhem if they lose because Oregon isn’t as big a brand (should they get out of Purdue alive) and Penn State’s S.O.S is… well, I’ll leave it at that.