College football schedule Week 10
It is hard to believe that we’re into the last month of the college football regular season already, but that is the case and there are a lot of games that we’ll be watching closely. The release of the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night adds some more intrigue to the rest of the season, along with a little more pressure for the teams hoping to be the ones that make the final four-team playoff.
But, as I talked about last week, we’ve also got a lot of games with division and conference implications the rest of the way, plus teams vying for six wins to get bowl eligibility. We also have some rivalry games that will be like bowl games to teams that aren’t going to be making a trip to a neutral-site at season’s end. That means we’ll have a lot of situational spots the rest of the way.
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(Games sorted by Kickoff Time; odds as of October 31, 10:50 a.m. PT)
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Golden Flashes and the Zips both come in 0-4 in MAC play and 1-7 overall, so this is the de facto bowl game for both programs. The Wagon Wheel has gone to Kent State in each of the last four matchups, so the Zips are looking to end a losing streak and are favored to do so. At this point, this is about the only game that these two teams will get excited about. Neither team has beaten a FBS foe this season, so I guess that may be a motivating factor for the loser of this one, but I think this might be the last time we see anything resembling an impassioned effort from Kent State and Akron.
Kennesaw State Owls at Sam Houston Bearkats (N/A)
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
This is a FCS vs. FBS game, but it won’t be next season, as Kennesaw State will make the leap and join Conference USA. The Owls are just 2-5 and have beaten two lower-division opponents. Sam Houston State is winless in Year 1 as a FBS program. This looks like the best chance to avoid a bagel for the Bearkats, who play at Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky before finishing at home against Middle Tennessee. Certainly this game will mean something to Kennesaw State as well with their impending move into the same conference.
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
The Spiderman meme could be applied here, as both Georgia Tech and Virginia have recent wins over North Carolina, with the Yellow Jackets pulling it off last week at home. Fans rushed the field on homecoming night and celebrated a second win over the No. 17 team in the country in three weeks. The other No. 17 was Miami, who Virginia just lost to in overtime last week. This is a tough spot for both teams. Virginia now has no margin for error for making a bowl game. Georgia Tech is still somehow alive to play in the ACC Championship Game. They’d need a lot of help, but it is possible. This is a very intriguing game in Charlottesville.
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET
This one is in Denver and not Colorado Springs, as it will be played at the home of the Broncos, so it’s still a long trip for Army. Air Force is looking to retain the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy after beating Navy 17-6 earlier this season. It would be the first time since 2010-11 that the Falcons have been repeat champs in the service academy rivalry. They are also ranked, so there are a lot of incentives for them to be dialed in here, but they’ve lost four of the last six and each of the last five head-to-head games has been decided by seven or fewer points.
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Maybe Penn State’s awful performance last week against Indiana will keep them focused this week as they head to College Park to take on Maryland. The Terps are coming off of a real dud of their own on the road against Northwestern. Penn State has Michigan on deck in what is really the only other regular season game that matters to them. They still could backdoor their way into the Big Ten title game, but it seems highly unlikely. The last two weeks have led to a ton of questions on the field and it isn’t easy to shake those. Let’s see if Penn State plays a more buttoned-up game in a lookahead spot.
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Bedlam lost a little bit of shine with Oklahoma’s loss at Kansas last week. There is still a path back to the College Football Playoff for Oklahoma, but they’ll need some help and they’ll also need a win here and in every game going forward. Some bettors really like to pick against teams after their first loss and it just so happens that Oklahoma State is rolling right now thanks to Ollie Gordon II. Gordon only had 19 carries in the first three games for 109 yards. He has 122 for 978 yards in five conference games and has rushed for 282 and 271 yards in the last two games. That has sparked Oklahoma State’s turnaround and we’ll see if they can carry it over into this year’s version of the rivalry.
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
This game lost a bit of luster last week as well, as Georgia State lost to Georgia Southern to fall behind the Eagles in the standings. James Madison cannot play in the Sun Belt Championship Game because the NCAA is a joke, so this went from being a de facto East Division title game to being just a conference game. That said, James Madison is No. 23 in the nation and 8-0 on the season, so every game is a bowl game for them in hopes of finishing unbeaten. They nearly lost it last week against Old Dominion in a spot I circled a while ago. Will they bounce back? Will Georgia State after losing their rivalry game? This is a fun one.
Saturday, 5:30 p.m. PT
How much will Cal have in the tank here? A failed two-point conversion against USC proved to be the difference in a 50-49 loss that featured 1,024 yards of offense. Oregon is looking to push Bo Nix closer to winning the Heisman and also stay on track in terms of getting a rematch with Washington or making the Pac-12 Championship Game against somebody else. For Cal to go on the road to Eugene here makes it an even tougher spot, as the Duck faithful are getting to watch a very exciting brand of football. This looks like a huge number on the surface, but the difference between these two teams may be very apparent.
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
The line is the first thing that you notice here, as the ranked Jayhawks are on the road in Ames against Iowa State. The Cyclones are favored and the line implies that they’d be a slight favorite or a pick ‘em on a neutral. Kansas is going off of a hugely emotional win over Oklahoma that featured a field storming and goal posts in nearby Potter Lake. It is also the first game as a ranked team this season for KU. Iowa State is very, very much in the running for the Big 12 title game and they have played well lately. This is not an easy spot for Kansas at all, while Iowa State has won three in a row with relative ease.
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