Storyline To Watch: A Few Major Games, a Lot of Minor Rivalries

It’s not likely to be the most important weekend of the year, with maybe only 3-5 games that could realistically have a major impact on the playoff race. But what it lacks in good games, it at least makes up for a bit in rivalry games. And they’re not the late November rivalry games that everyone knows about. These are the rivalry games with goofier histories and goofier trophies, like a wagon wheel or an old brass spittoon.  Enjoy your weekend, and let’s get to the games.

Ranking the Games

#62: Incarnate Word at Texas State
#61: Alcorn State at Arkansas
#60: Houston Baptist at Western Kentucky – 3 games featuring FCS teams this week. The Incarnate Word/Texas State game could be close, because State is just so bad. The others shouldn’t be, because they feature good FBS teams against bad FCS teams.

#59: Florida Atlantic at Florida International – FAU leads the Shula Bowl 10-4 all-time, and I expect that lead to grow. FIU just fired its head coach and is one of the worst teams in the FBS so far. Still, the Don Shula Bowl. I hope the winner gets NFL Action ’72 stamps.

#58: Old Dominion at Charlotte – ODU is the favorite, but they may be without RB Ray Lawry, who has been one of the most explosive backs in the country so far. On plays where he reaches the second level, gaining at least 5 yards, he’s averaging 12.7 ypc. Charlotte’s defense stinks, so Lawry would enjoy this one if he’s able to play.

#57: UL-Lafayette at New Mexico State – The Ragin’ Cajuns are having a bounceback season, but the starting QB and RB are hampered by injuries, so this one might be closer than it should be.

#56: Nevada at Hawaii – Not particularly interesting, as I don’t expect either to be much of a factor in the MW West. Hawaii’s new coach is Nevada’s former OC, so that’s something extremely minor that the fanbases alone may care about.

#55: Eastern Michigan at Bowling Green – The only interesting thing to me is that Vegas has Bowling Green favored. They’ve been an absolute mess this year, twice giving up 77 points in a game, and winning only a single game, by a single point, over an FCS squad. It’s not a huge surprise, given that they replaced a well-respected coach on the rise, Dino Babers, with a guy who had no experience as even a coordinator – Mike Jinks. EMU also isn’t even the garden-variety EMU that just loses to everybody; they beat Charlotte by 18 and then beat an improved Wyoming team by a field goal. I’ve got EMU winning by a TD.

#54: San Jose State at New Mexico – SJSU has QB injury issues. The Lobos are hoping Teriyon Gipson can play; the star RB has 20 carries for 243 yards and 4 TD in limited action this season.

#53: UTEP at Louisiana Tech – Neither team is good, and the score still probably won’t be close. There’s little that’s interesting here besides the potential for LaTech players to post some fancy stats.

#52: Fresno State at UNLV – Another matchup of bad teams. These games will mean a lot to the teams involved, because any bowl hopes likely depend on winning matchups like these. To the rest of us, eh, not so much.

#51: Tulane at Massachusetts – UMass has some offensive firepower and no defense, meaning their games tend to entertain.

#50: Buffalo at Boston College – In the preseason, I’d have said this would be a blowout. I still think it will be, but I’m less certain. Buffalo just took down an upstart Army team, and BC has looked pretty bad.

#49: Wyoming at Colorado State – Ah, the two Mountain West teams I very mildly root for from afar (besides Air Force). Neither is really in the conference race, so you may not think there’s much at stake. Sure, nothing except the BRONZE BOOT! The rivalry known as the Border War is the biggest for either school, and CSU has won the last 3, and 58 of 107 all-time.

#48: Akron at Kent State – It’s rivalry week in Ohio! Most college football rivalry trophies are arbitrarily decided, but the story behind the Wagon Wheel, awarded to the winner of this game, is pretty cool if it’s true: According to legend, philanthropist and businessman John Buchtel was looking for a site to start a university. Along the road, in Kent, his wagon broke down, leaving a wagon wheel in the mud. Somehow, the wheel got buried. He moved on and eventually founded Buchtel College just 10 miles away. In the early 1900’s, some pipeline diggers unearthed the wheel and it came into Kent State’s possession. Years later, Kent State decided to use it as a trophy in their rivalry with Buchtel College, which was by that point known as the University of Akron. The story probably isn’t true, but I’m just gonna hope that it is.

#47: Middle Tennessee at North Texas – This one isn’t as fun, being a bad game without a rivalry attached to it. If you like Old Dominion-Charlotte but wonder why the teams can’t be slightly but not too much better, this game is for you.

#46: Troy at Idaho – Troy might be kind of good this year, and it would make sense if they are. They have a good, young coach, and they have talent on the roster. It’s just been a few years, so we’re all understandably a little wary of them. Should be a blowout.

#45: Rice at Southern Miss – Another should-be cakewalk in the CUSA. Southern Miss is a contender. Rice is not.

#44: Ohio at Miami OH – They’re each other’s primary rival, and instead of a specific game rivalry, the entirety of the athletic competitions go toward something called the Battle of the Bricks, ingeniously named because both campuses had brick buildings! Crazy!

#43: Georgia State at Appalachian State – Neither of these teams is as good as we hoped they’d be, but App State is still significantly better so far.

#42: Northern Illinois at Ball State – Since 2008, they have played for the Bronze Stalk Trophy. Why a bronze stalk? I’m guessing it was one of the few material-object combos still available. It was either this or play for the Alabaster Clown Shoe.

#41: Kansas at Texas Tech – Kansas doesn’t play defense, and TTU is really, really good at scoring points. The score could be comically fun.

#40: SMU at Temple – Chad Morris is improving SMU, but they’re probably not far enough along yet to start winning games like this.

#39: Central Florida at East Carolina – The Scott Frost era has yielded improvement so far for UCF, and now they test themselves in a game that matters (locally). It’s maybe the biggest rivalry for UCF, and it’s a notable for rivalry for the Pirates. The game doesn’t have a cool name or a trophy, but two years ago the Knights won on a last second Hail Mary to Breshad Perriman, so that’s nice.

#38: San Diego State at South Alabama – San Diego State has a good shot at 12-0, but to do so, they’ll have to beat a team that defeated Nicholls by 1 point in OT last week.

#37: UL-Monroe at Auburn – This one is only interesting if it’s close.

#36: Purdue at Maryland – Maryland has shown some life this year, and they should win by a couple scores. It’s too early to see if that life will really amount to anything, but it’d be enough to just put away games like this.

#35: Virginia at Duke – A matchup of perfectly average teams could be pretty close. This game may decide who finishes last in the ACC Coastal, as these are the only two schools in the division I don’t think will contend for the title.

#34: Oregon State at Colorado – Vegas has Colorado as an 18 point favorite! In a conference game! I think the 18 may be a bit too much, but I’m happy to see some legitimate improvement from the past power that has been irrelevant for far too long.

#33: Florida at Vanderbilt – Last week, UF had a second half meltdown on the road against Tennessee. Go home to Gainesville, figure things out, and get ready for a trip to… wait, Tennessee again? It doesn’t portend doom for Florida, just irritation. The Gators should win by a lot. This Vandy team isn’t good. But at least you’ve upgraded the town you’re visiting, from Knoxville (nice) to Nashville (awesome).

#32: Marshall at Pittsburgh – This isn’t the Marshall of 2 or 3 years ago. Pitt wins by a lot.

#31: Navy at Air Force – The first of 3 games to decide the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, this year’s series could be fairly interesting. I think parity among the 3 schools is greater than ever, what with Army getting better and Navy possibly a tad down. I’d still take Navy to go 2-0 in the set, but I’m not confident, especially with the Midshipmen having to go on the road for this one.

#30: Wake Forest at NC State – Wake is 4-0 and ranked in my top 10, so as much as I’d like the silliness to continue, it’s probably for the best that NC State beat them, which they’ll probably do. It’s probably Dave Clawson’s biggest game yet at Wake; the Wolfpack are possibly the Deacs’ biggest rivals, and there’s an in-state pecking order position at stake here.

#29: Baylor at Iowa State – Go Cyclones, even if you’re probably going to lose by 30.

#28: Utah State at Boise State – This has been a rather important MW Mountain division matchup in recent years, but I’m not sure USU is at the same level this time. Boise should roll.

#27: Notre Dame at Syracuse – You know, I’d say that Notre Dame should come out angry and blow Syracuse out of the water, but I said the same thing last week about Duke. Syracuse’s new coach, Dino Babers, knows how to scheme his way into some points. That said, I still refuse to believe ND will remain in the dumps for so long, so I’d take them by a few scores.

#26: Western Michigan at Central Michigan – The trophy is pretty generic – The Victory Cannon – but the teams aren’t. It’s a game that could potentially decide the MAC West. It’s the biggest rivalry for either school. And to top it off, despite being the better team recently, Western Michigan lost last year’s game. It could be heated, and it should be fun.

#25: Illinois at Nebraska – It’s not big. Just another look at Nebraska, who has been pretty good so far, in a Big Ten West division game that shouldn’t be close.

#24: South Florida at Cincinnati – When it comes to the American, most eyes will be on the West and teams like Memphis, Navy, and Houston. But the East could be pretty wide open. I could see a case for any of Cincinnati, Temple, East Carolina, and South Florida winning the division. So, obviously, this becomes somewhat important for adding some clarity to that picture. I’ll take the Bulls to bounce back after being at least a little competitive with FSU, but this could be close.

#23: Northwestern at Iowa – In most years, this would have some stakes in the Big Ten West attached to it, but Northwestern’s not very good this year. Still, it’s a power 5 conference game that features a contender and another team that may not be a complete pushover.

#22: Michigan State at Indiana – The Spartans seek a bounceback, and they should get it, although Indiana isn’t bad. If MSU plays poorly, the Hoosiers could win the Old Brass Spittoon, one of the college football trophies that really should get more attention, because it’s an old brass spittoon.

#21: Minnesota at Penn State – Of the contenders in the Big Ten West, Minnesota probably is the longest shot, but they’re in the mix, moreso than Northwestern and Illinois. One big advantage for the Gophers is their schedule. Unlike Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Iowa, they don’t play Ohio State or Michigan at all, and this is likely to be their toughest East matchup of the year. If they can win – and it’s very possible, as this game is a coin flip to me – it puts them in an advantageous position for winning the West. They’re not as good as the other contenders, but they have a much nicer schedule. Also, if Minnesota wins, Penn State may permanently turn on James Franklin, so you should definitely root for the Gophers. The winner gets the Governor’s Victory Bell, which was created in 1993 because we didn’t have enough Governor’s trophies or Victory Bells already awarded in college football.

#20: Arizona at UCLA – I like UCLA by a couple of scores here, but never underestimate the wild possibilities associated with #pac12afterdark.

#19: Connecticut at Houston – Houston is on the fringe of being one of those teams you watch every time they’re on, even if it’s a conference game against a non-contender from the other division.

#18: Rutgers at Ohio State – Ohio State is one of those teams you watch every time they’re on, but this one could be painfully boring after 20 minutes of football or so. Maybe the Big Ten’s best team against what is almost certainly its worst.

#17: Arizona State at USC – On paper, USC should win a close one, but USC hasn’t exactly stuck to the script this year, so who knows what to expect? This game should prove to be fairly important to the endgame of the Pac-12 South.

#16: Utah at California – A North/South battle between two teams that were good last year, expected to be worse this year, and are still somewhat good. Vegas expects a close win for the Bears, whereas I expect a decisive win for Utah.

#15: Texas A&M at South Carolina – A&M has looked really good so far. South Carolina hasn’t. I wouldn’t expect either trend to change.

#14: Texas at Oklahoma State – It should be a really good game between two evenly matched 2nd tier Big XII schools.

#13: Oregon at Washington State – Oregon’s defense is a dumpster fire, and now it faces Mike Leach. The Ducks should be able to outscore Wazzou, but after losing to Colorado, this team really can’t be counted on for too much.

#12: Kentucky at Alabama – I said it last week, and I’ll say it every week. Bama is so good their games are always recommended, even if it’s against one of the 3 worst teams in the SEC. The score should resemble last week’s Bama game. Kentucky has played division rival Missouri only 6 times, and they’ve beaten the Tigers more (3) than they’ve beaten Alabama (2), who they’ve faced 39 times. Kentucky fans can still yell at all the houndstooth-wearers about how they loved the Bear first.

#11: Toledo at BYU – When it comes to BYU, it’s the same song, different verse. A well-scheduled matchup that’s not big enough to get a ton of attention, but good enough to recommend watching. BYU’s 4 games have been nail-biters so far, winning by 2, losing by 1, losing by 3, and losing by 3. This one should be similarly competitive.

#10: Kansas State at West Virginia – A deceptively good game. I think it could be close (although, standard Holgo volatility caveat). I think WVU is a dark horse contender in the Big XII right now, and I don’t yet know what to think of Kansas State, who have only faced great teams (Stanford) or awful ones (FAU, Missouri State).

#9: Tennessee at Georgia – Vegas has UT by only 3.5, so the second half of the Florida game didn’t quite turn everyone into believers. Georgia has looked good this year. Yeah, just the one time, but it was this year. Home field advantage still matters in the SEC, unlike most places, so maybe Vegas is onto something. I hope they are, being a Georgia fan and all (and a fan of ethics, which is more anti-Butch Jones than it is pro-UGA). But, having watched Georgia this year, I just don’t see it. Still, it’s a major rivalry on CBS at 3:30, so it’s worth a watch.

#8: Miami at Georgia Tech – It being October, it’s nice to see Miami finally play somebody, mostly because this team has looked really good so far. You want to see them look really good at some better competition. Tech isn’t top-shelf, but they’re certainly better than FAMU or FAU, and almost certainly better than App State. Because of their matchup with Clemson, Tech is already a bit behind the 8-ball in the Coastal, and they really need a home upset against what at this point probably is the division favorite.

#7: Missouri at LSU – The football should be pretty entertaining, but let’s be honest. We’re watching this to see what this team looks like without Les Miles as its head coach. Yodie-yodie-yodie-yo-yo-footbaw.

#6: Oklahoma at TCU – Oklahoma still figures to be a major player in the Big XII race this year, and they may be the favorites to win the conference, even though they’re almost out of the playoff picture. TCU is another top contender, so this one’s fairly big for playoff and major bowl pictures.

#5: North Carolina at Florida State – In the preseason, I think many would have picked this as an ACC Championship preview, but at this point, I think passions have cooled on both teams a tad. 4 weeks in, you’re more suspicious of UNC’s loss to Georgia than you were when it happened, and while FSU is good, they’re not 2013 good.

#4: Memphis at Ole Miss – Ole Miss got their mojo back against Georgia, and now they get a shot for revenge against the team that beat them a year ago. After they dropped 77 points on Bowling Green, I think we can say Memphis may survive Justin Fuente‘s departure better than we expected.

#3: Stanford at Washington – Circled in the preseason as the game that would decide the Pac-12 North, I think it still holds that title, even if both teams looked a little wobbly last week. Stanford needed a last minute comeback to beat UCLA, and Washington got taken to overtime, where they beat Arizona. On Friday night in primetime, they’ll both hopefully be more on point, because the stakes are pretty huge.

#2: Wisconsin at Michigan – Is Wisconsin back? Last week’s 30-6 win over Michigan State was a positive indicator of such a development, but we’ll know for sure this weekend, as they take on what might be the nation’s best team in Ann Arbor.

#1: Louisville at Clemson – There’s really no competition for the #1 spot this week. On one side of the ball, you have pre-season Heisman favorite Deshaun Watson facing a lot of 3rd-and-Grantham (Georgia fans’ old valid grumble about the DC’s strange ability to allow conversions no matter the yardage required). On the other is the man who stole the Heisman hype away from Watson, Lamar Jackson, who has made 7-touchdown games seem passe. He’ll face a fantastic Clemson defense that has allowed 2+ touchdowns in a game only once this season. With a win, Louisville fans can go ahead and purchase tickets for the ACC Championship. If Clemson wins, the Atlantic division becomes interesting again. Either way, it’s a huge game that should have a major effect on the playoff picture come December.