Games of the Slot: Week 7
Breaking down which game to watch at each time slot this weekend
Last week was a doozy, with some great games and more than a few upsets. In fact, most of the games we featured in this article were down to the wire, fun matchups (except for you, Kentucky-Georgia). So, want to run this back? Here’s the games I’ll be tuning into this week, including multi-box options for those of you who can’t get enough college football and can follow four games at once.
As always, all times are Eastern Standard.
Friday Night
Game of the Slot: Tulane at Memphis (7 p.m. EST, ESPN)
We open up our weekend with an American matchup that could very well have conference championship implications. Both squads come into their prime-time showdown at 4-1 and sitting atop the American standings. Memphis’s loss came to a very good Missouri team that I have on my Next Five Out this week. Tulane, who AP has unranked but I slotted in at 24, lost a home game to No. 13 Ole Miss without their starting quarterback.
This should be a fun game for offensive-inclined fans. Both squads are averaging over 400 yards a game and near 30 points (Tulane at 29.8 ppg and Memphis at 36.6). Both teams have great G5 quarterbacks in Tulane’s Michael Pratt, who is healthy again, and Memphis’s Seth Henigan.
The only downside to this matchup is if you like defense, as neither school is particularly strong there. They’re not allowing a ton of points (Tulane gives up 17.4 ppg and Memphis 21.4), but they do give up yards.
What I’m most interested in is the difference in offensive styles. Ryan Silverfield of Memphis runs a more spread out, balanced attack with a ton of air raid concepts. Willie Fritz of Tulane, on the other hand, employs a more spread option system that you don’t see very often. You’ll get offense in this game, don’t worry, but it’ll be two very different attacks that should make this a great game to watch
Multi-Box Games: Fresno State at Utah State (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network); Stanford at Colorado (10 p.m., ESPN)
Technically you don’t have to change the channel much, as Stanford-Colorado should hit ESPN once the Tulane-Memphis game ends, but these other two matchups are mismatches. Fresno State is a very solid Mountain West program, while Utah State is trying to find its way. Colorado and Coach Prime are must-see TV, but Stanford is must-avoid TV. I don’t think either matchup will be particularly close, but they’re there to flip to during halftime or a commercial break.
Saturday - 12 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 3 Ohio State at Purdue (Peacock)
The noon slot this weekend isn’t the strongest, but a Top Five team heading into West Lafayette to square off against the Spoilermakers is definitely something to watch.
Too often, the Spoilermakers strike against Ohio State, knocking off a ranked Buckeye team three times at home since the AP Poll’s inception, and boy does this matchup have Purdue miracle written all over it.
The Boilermakers have a college football veteran in Hudson Card under center, even though he’s not had the best of seasons so far. They aren’t scoring a ton, and are actually allowing more points per game than scoring (allowing 28.0 ppg while scoring 25.7). But it’s often these downtrodden Purdue teams that pull off the miracles, right?
On Ohio State’s part, I’m looking for two things: 1) can they get the run game going, and 2) can the defense dominate an inferior opponent like they should? I think the defense can certainly do their job, but I’m concerned about their running game. Even with the stable of backs the Buckeyes have in TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Chip Trayanum, there hasn’t been those big plays you expect from their run game. Now’s the perfect time to turn that around.
Multi-Box Games: Iowa State at Cincinnati (FS1); Arkansas at 11 Alabama (ESPN); Georgia Southern at James Madison (ESPN2)
Didn’t believe me that the noon slate was weak? Well, here we go. Iowa State at Cincinnati may not be the most fun game to watch, per se, but it should be a good matchup. Both programs are struggling in the Big 12, and a win could turn some seasons around. I fully expect Alabama to trounce Arkansas, but the Razorbacks have enough talent to make this interesting. Finally, a Sun Belt showdown between Georgia Southern and James Madison has potential to be a really fun game. I have the Dukes ranked 23rd in my Top 25, but these are two talented offenses. This could shake out to be one of the best games of the day, if you want to watch G5 football (you definitely should).
3-4 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 8 Oregon at 7 Washington (ABC)
Once again, you can skip the 2 p.m. timeslot. Neither game should amount to much.
But this one, this one is the big game. The one you’ve all been waiting for. Two weeks of hate ends now. Oregon and Washington in Husky Stadium.
There’s been a lot of talk about the offenses in this game, which are two of the nation’s best. So, I want to pivot to the defensive side, where I think this game will be won.
Oregon is on the road and has to stifle the nation’s most explosive passing attack. They do have a defensive-minded head coach in Dan Lanning who made Colorado’s offensive attack mean nothing in a 42-6 beatdown. The Ducks are one of the most underrated defensive units in the nation, and certainly have the talent to stymie the Husky passing attack. They’re only allowing 153.6 passing yards a game and defensive backs Kalen Jackson and Bo Addison are having great starts to their year. They’ve got their toughest matchup this week against Rome Odunze, a healthy Jalen McMillan, and Jaylnn Polk.
Washington gets the home crowd behind them, which is a huge boost for a defense. They’re a turnover-friendly defense, averaging 2 takeaways per game. Oregon doesn’t turn the ball over much, with only one interception thrown, but the Husky defense will be out for blood. Seven Washington defenders have registered an interception this season, paced by cornerback Kamren Fabiculanan’s two picks. If they can force Bo Nix into some turnovers, the tide of the game could shift the Huskies’ way.
Multi-Box Games: Texas A&M at 19 Tennessee (3:30 p.m., CBS); Troy at Army (3:30 p.m. CBS Sports Network); Florida at South Carolina (3:30 p.m., SEC Network)
We’ll kick off our multi-box games with an intriguing SEC matchup between Texas A&M and Tennessee in Knoxville. The Aggies played Alabama tough last week, but came up just short, while Tennessee is building off of a slow start. Moving to West Point, we have a very interesting ground battle between Troy and Army. Both are ground-and-pound teams, and Troy seemed to revive their defense last week against Arkansas State. The spread triple option Army attack is a good test for the Trojans. Florida is in a desperate position with support for coach Billy Napier dwindling. A big win on the road against South Carolina could go a long way to ease that. The same can be said on the South Carolina side for coach Shane Beamer.
5-8 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 10 USC at 21 Notre Dame (7:30 p.m., NBC)
Just for once, I want to see USC play any semblance of defense. Please.
The Trojans have the nation’s most explosive offense with reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Player of the Year leader Caleb Williams, but he can only do so much. Like will USC to a triple overtime win over checks notes Arizona?
Notre Dame has a strong defense, the best that USC has come across this season. In fact, the Irish are only allowing 15.9 points per game this season, and that’s with two losses. On the flip side, USC is scoring 51.8 points per game, easily the top in the nation. Something has to give in this matchup.
What’s more interesting to me is seeing USC’s porous defense attempt to stop Sam Hartman and Audric Estime. The Trojans are giving up an average of 355 yards per game, which is outrageous. Hartman is only averaging 266.9. He’s also only tossed three interceptions this season, which shows that USC will not be able to rely on turnovers.
I could see this game going one of two ways: either 1) USC doesn’t care about defense and puts up an insane amount of points and Notre Dame can’t keep up, or 2) Notre Dame punches the Trojans in the mouth and out-physicals their way to a win.
Multi-Box Games: 25 Miami (FL) at 12 North Carolina (7:30 p.m., ABC); 18 UCLA at 15 Oregon State (8 p.m., FOX); Arizona at 19 Washington State (7 p.m., PAC-12 Network)
The late slot has the strongest slate of games, so get your mind and channel-flipping muscles ready. Miami is coming off one of the most comical losses I’ve ever seen and heading to a very good North Carolina team. This is the kind of game that shapes up the ACC title race: are UNC actual contenders and how close is Miami to back? Speaking of title races, the winner of UCLA and Oregon State will definitely still be in the running, albeit taking third place in the conference. Washington State is looking to stay in that conversation against an Arizona team that’s sneaky good and almost upset USC without quarterback Jayden de Laura.
PAC-12 After Dark
Game of the Slot: 16 Montana at 3 Idaho (10 p.m., ESPN2)
That’s not the PAC-12! That’s right, we’re going to the FCS ranks for a national-title contention matchup at the nation’s most iconic stadium, the Kibbie Dome.
If you’ve never really watched FCS football, that’s okay, I forgive you. But this matchup is worth tuning into. It’s got everything: an iconic college football venue, a rivalry (The Battle for the Little Brown Stein), and two teams with national title aspirations.
Both teams come into the showdown at 5-1 and very much in national title contention. The Vandals of Idaho had their only loss on the road at FBS Cal, 31-17, so are undefeated in FCS play. They run an incredibly balanced offense that averages 443 yards per game which is split almost evenly between passing and rushing. Their quarterback, Gevani McCoy, is legit good, leading the Big Sky Conference in efficiency and passing touchdowns while placing second in passing touchdowns. They also have the most prolific FCS receiver in Hayden Hatten, who leads the nation in receiving yards. The defense is also strong, placing in the Top 25 in the FCS in passing yards allowed and scoring defense.
They’ll need that strong secondary against the Grizzlies, who own one of the FCS’s most effective passing attacks. They’ve had some quarterback shuffling, but Clifton McDowell has gotten a majority of their snaps under center. No matter if it’s McDowell or Sam Vidlak under center for the Grizz, there’s a plethora of targets to throw to, with a three-headed monster of Keelan White, Junior Bergen and Aaron Fontes who have over 200 receiving yards. Montana also has a defense that’s potentially better than Idaho’s, only allowing 19 points per game. They also have an incredibly strong rushing defense, only allowing 88.3 yards per game.
Multi-Box Game: Boise State at Colorado State (9:45 p.m., FS1); San Diego State at Hawaii (11 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
Now you can see why I went to the FCS for our late-late night timeslot. Boise State has a very interesting two-quarterback system with Taylen Green mostly running and Maddux Madsen mostly throwing, which is worth a watch. As for San Diego State and Hawaii, I honestly have nothing interesting for this matchup. If you’re still up, it’s something.