Games of the Slot: Week 10
Breaking down which game to watch at each time slot this weekend
Last week we saw some spectacular upsets like Arizona toppling Oregon State, but will we see that again this week? We’ve also got College Football Playoff rankings for the first time of the season, so the postseason picture is starting to clarify. I’m sure there’ll be some chaos injected into that, though. This is college football, after all.
There’s some big games on the docket for this weekend, which we’ll get into shortly. This is a week that has a ton of implications on the Playoff as well as conference title race. It should be some great viewing.
If you need to know what to watch this week, look no more. SID Sports has you covered.
All times are Eastern.
Friday Night
Game of the Slot: Boston College at Syracuse (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
It’s tough to find a quality Friday night game, so let’s settle for an Anxiety Bowl, shall we?
Boston College is having a respectable season, sitting at 2-2 in the ACC. Their wins have come over an up-and-down Georgia Tech and a very bad Virginia team, so don’t get too excited about those wins. They did play Florida State close, but Louisville blew them out. Jeff Hafley was a popular pick to get fired this preseason, but he’s turned the Eagles into a middling ACC team, which is an improvement for them, believe me. I don’t think his seat is hot, but it’s not cool either.
Syracuse is coming off a really bad loss to Virginia Tech, who is surprisingly third in the conference. It’s a deceptive third, though, with wins coming over ACC cellar dwellers Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse. The Orange sit at the very bottom of the conference at 0-4 in ACC play. We already discussed the heating seat under Dino Babers, settling on the fact that Babers needed four out of five wins to keep his job. One game into that five-game stretch and Syracuse already dropped one of the most winnable games.
To be clear, I don’t know if this will be a good game. It doesn’t have many title race implications, but it does have coaching implications. Both coaches have warm to hot seats. The outcome on either side will directly impact whether each job goes on the market. It’s worth watching just because of that.
Multi-Box Game: Colorado State at Wyoming (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
The only other game on Friday night is a Mountain West showdown between Colorado State and Wyoming. Both teams sit at the middle of the conference, but present an interesting schematic matchup. Wyoming’s defense is much stronger against the pass than the run, while Colorado State has a pass-heavy offense. Who wins that battle?
Saturday - 12 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 23 Kansas State at 7 Texas (FOX)
We’ve finally got a solid noon slate!
This game has serious implications for both the Playoff and Big 12 Championship race. Texas is very much in the thick of the Playoff hunt at 7, and both of these squads sit behind Oklahoma in the Big 12 standings.
Texas is without Quinn Ewers, who sprained his AC joint against Houston, so it’ll be Maalik Murphy once again under center for the Longhorns. That didn’t slow Texas down against BYU last week, but Kansas State is a much better opponent than the Cougars.
Kansas State has been rolling as of late, outscoring their opponents 82-3 in their past two games. They’ve fully shaken off the loss against Oklahoma State and are running an effective two-quarterback system with Will Howard and Avery Johnson. Plus, they add in a defense that is only allowing 15.9 points per game.
Last year, Chris Kleiman’s Wildcats surprised down the stretch to win the Big 12 Championship over a playoff-bound TCU. This could be the start of another Kansas State run. Or, Steve Sarkisian could outcoach Kleiman and keep Texas in the hunt for a playoff bid.
Multi-Box Games: Texas A&M at 10 Ole Miss (ESPN); Jacksonville State at South Carolina (ESPNU); Army at 25 Air Force (2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
We’ve got some weird matchups this week, so hold onto your hats. To kick off the multi-box, we’ve got an SEC matchup between Texas A&M and Ole Miss. A&M is all but eliminated from the SEC West race, but Ole Miss is holding on by a thread. A win keeps the playoffs and SEC title bid alive for the Rebs, but Jimbo Fisher needs to notch a signature win as the Aggie boosters continue to rally for his job. I don’t usually pick G5 at P5 matchups here, but Jacksonville State has been very good in their FBS transition and South Carolina has been very bad. This could be a very fun matchup with entertaining offenses led by Rich Rodriguez for Jacksonville State and Spencer Rattler on South Carolina’s side. Finally, we enter the 2 p.m. slate with the battle for the Commander-in-Chief Cup. Air Force has dominated the opposition, while Army has struggled in their shotgun transformation. Either way, a service academy game is always a fun, unique brand of football.
3-4 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 12 Missouri at 1 Georgia (3:30 p.m., CBS)
I’ll be honest, this was a tough one. I decided to go with one that makes or breaks the championship runs of both teams, both in the SEC and for the National Championship.
Right now, Missouri and Georgia are the SEC East’s two top programs by far. Tennessee is looming, but with two losses, they don’t factor into either race. A win for either Missouri or Georgia cements their status as Playoff contenders and makes them a near-lock for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
Missouri has gotten here based on their powerful offense. Luther Burden III is one of the nation’s most electric players, and he has a great connection with quarterback Brady Cook. They also have a strong running game behind Cody Schrader, who already has 807 yards and nine scores on the season. Despite one close loss to LSU, the Tigers control their destiny.
Georgia arrives at this matchup with an offense scoring 40.5 points a game and a defense only surrendering 14.8. The Dawgs shook off a slow start to beat the brakes off of Kentucky and Florida. They haven’t truly been tested yet and don’t have the historic defense they used to, but Georgia is still a very good team. Brock Bowers is out with an ankle injury, but that hasn’t slowed the Dawgs’ offense.
We’ve been waiting all season for a big-time matchup with playoff implications in the SEC, and here it is. It’s just not the teams we thought it would be.
Multi-Box Games: 9 Oklahoma at 23 Oklahoma State (3:30 p.m., ABC); James Madison at Georgia State (3:30 p.m., ESPN2); Iowa at Northwestern at Wrigley Field (3:30 p.m., Peacock)
We’ve got another major matchup at 3:30 p.m. in Bedlam. We talked about Texas and Kansas State ranking second and third respectively in the Big 12 earlier. Well, the other two in the conference’s top four are in this game. Oklahoma has to rebound after a loss to Kansas, while Oklahoma State has the nation’s most electric player right now in tailback Ollie Gordon II and are looking to stay alive in the conference title hunt. Throw in a rivalry that’s about to die, and you’ve got a great game. James Madison at Georgia State would be a Sun Belt division championship watch if JMU could compete in the postseason. Without that, we still get a fun game, though. Both teams have high-octane offenses, but I am worried about the Panthers’ defense. Finally, we have our Toilet Bowl of the Week in a Wrigley Field matchup between Iowa and Northwestern. It won’t be a good game. In fact, it might rank among the season’s ugliest. That’s part of the fun, right?
6-8 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 14 LSU at 8 Alabama (7:45 p.m., CBS)
I’ve been hyping up this matchup in each of the last two weeks’ Top 25 Rankings, so I won’t get too deep into it here.
LSU needs to win out to compete for the SEC Championship, and a win there could give us our first two-loss Playoff team. They’ve got potentially the nation’s most explosive offense with Jayden Daniels putting up Heisman numbers, but not getting much recognition. He’s got two star wideouts in Malik Nabers and Brian Andrews Jr. who should make life very difficult for a talented Alabama secondary. I am concerned about how the Tigers handle Alabama’s edge wrecking duo of Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell, who have a combined 14.5 sacks on the season.
For Alabama, we have an offense that’s sputtered at times, but has settled in recent weeks under Jalen Milroe. LSU’s defense is suspect, especially against the pass. Does Milroe have enough to keep up with Daniels and the Tiger offense?
Multi-Box Games: 5 Washington at 20 USC (7:30 p.m.; ABC); SMU at Rice (7:30 p.m., ESPNU); 21 Kansas at Iowa State (7 p.m., ESPN)
We haven’t mentioned the PAC-12 yet, and that needs to change. This has a very PAC-12 feel where USC could cannibalize one of the conference’s best chances for a playoff bid. To do that, they need to stop Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies offense. Let’s see how Alex Grinch tries to do that. SMU at Rice is a sneaky good American matchup. SMU sits behind Tulane in second in the conference, while Rice and quarterback J.T. Daniels are fighting for bowl eligibility. Rice played Tulane hard last week and could give the Mustangs a serious challenge. Kansas and Iowa State are largely out of the Big 12 title hunt, but it still has a good game brewing. Iowa State has a solid defense that could stifle a lot of what Kansas does on offense.
PAC-12 After Dark
Game of the Slot: 19 UCLA at Arizona (10:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1)
Come on playoff committee, recognize that Arizona is good.
In my last Top 25, I ranked UCLA 20 and gave Arizona the 24th spot. This is a PAC-12 After Dark game at heart, and Arizona has played very well in their PAC-12 After Dark timeslots.
The Bruins have been rolling with Ethan Garbers at quarterback, and it appears he’ll be back at the helm again this week. They also have a very good defense that only allows 15 points a game and 300 yards per game.
Arizona is the unknown here. They’ll continue starting Noah Fifita with Jayden de Laura out with an ankle injury, but Fifita has done enough to win the job outright once de Laura’s healthy. The Wildcats are scoring 33 points a game and put up 27 against Oregon State a week ago. I’d say UCLA has a better defense than the Beavers, but it shows that this Arizona offense is for real.
I’m really excited to see that Arizona offence-UCLA defense matchup, but I think the inverse will decide the game. Can Arizona stop Chip Kelly’s offense? Can Ethan Garbers and Carsen Steele make enough long drives to keep the Bruins defense rested?
Multi-Box Game: 16 Oregon State at Colorado (10 p.m., ESPN); Boise State at Fresno State (10 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Man, the hype around Colorado really died out, didn’t it? They still have a very good offense, and Shedur Sanders has put together a great season with 2.637 yards, 22 touchdowns and only three picks this season. But, they’re allowing 34.9 points per game. Oregon State is a great defense and will make life difficult for the Buffs offense. For our other multi-box game, we have a Mountain West matchup between two top-four teams in the conference. Everyone is chasing Air Force, but the winner of this game gets the early nod to face the Falcons. Boise State’s offense has struggled this season, and their 1.8 turnovers a game this season is concerning. Fresno State, however, has a very good offense and a solid defense.