Ranking College Football's Best Weeknight Games of 2015 Season
Remember when you could mark down your favorite college football team playing on Saturday, every week? Without question? Thanks to the proliferation of television, television money and the desire for national exposure, college football has expanded throughout the week.
This fall, regular-season games will be played on all seven days of the week at one point or another during the season. By November, college football will be a Tuesday-Saturday enterprise, every week. NFL.com knows there's quality games throughout the slate, and the site took a look at the season's top 100 games.
While Tuesday and Wednesday have become the province of the MAC and Sun Belt, there’s no shame in playing a weekday game. Every Power Five league except the Big Ten will have significant in-league games on weekdays, and the Big Ten still has several big weekday games in the season’s opening weekend.
Here’s a look at the best weeknight games set for the 2015 college football season. These games were selected for their significance to the upcoming season, the quality of the teams involved and the potential to affect national and league title races.
12: Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech, Nov. 12
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In recent years, the ACC Coastal has become one of college football’s biggest models of parity, with hard-fought, tough games that are always hard-hitting, if not technically proficient.
The rivalry between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech sums it up. The two became rivals after Virginia Tech joined the ACC, and while the Hokies hold an 8-4 all-time series lead, the last few games have been very competitive.
Each of the last three games has been decided by a touchdown or less, with the Yellow Jackets taking a 27-24 win in Blacksburg last fall.
Virginia Tech’s Nov. 12 visit will be significant, too. While the Yellow Jackets, coming off an 11-3 ACC Coastal Division and Orange Bowl-winning season, will be the favorites, Paul Johnson’s team must replace four of its top five rushers and its top two receivers. It also faces a tough schedule that includes trips to Clemson and Notre Dame.
With three games left in the regular season, this will be a game that has a real impact on the Coastal rep in the ACC title game and a gritty contest to boot.
11: North Carolina vs. South Carolina, Sept. 3
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Despite sharing a border, North Carolina and South Carolina haven’t gotten together much recently. North Carolina leads the series 34-18-4, but the teams have met only twice since 1991, with South Carolina winning both matchups.
Their meeting on the opening night of the 2015 college football season is intriguing, though. Both teams are coming off disappointing 2014 seasons, with Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks slipping to a 7-6 record and Larry Fedora’s Tar Heels finishing an ugly 6-7.
A neutral-site, ESPN-televised matchup in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium is the perfect opportunity for both teams to get off on the right foot. Beat your regional rival, and 2015 starts looking a lot better following an offseason that saw both sides reshuffle their defensive staffs. The play might not be of the highest quality early on, but the intensity will be there Sept. 3.
10: TCU at Minnesota, Sept. 3
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Last fall, TCU snuck up on people. Coming off a 4-8 season, the Horned Frogs rocketed to national relevance with new starting quarterback Trevone Boykin piloting the Air Raid offense to a 12-1 record and just missing the College Football Playoff.
The Frogs scored 46.5 points per game, second-best nationally, and they won’t sneak up on anyone in 2015. They return 15 starters, led by Boykin—a strong Heisman Trophy candidate.
TCU’s season opener is an interesting one: Gary Patterson and Co. will travel to TCF Bank Stadium to face off with Minnesota on Sept. 3, the opening night of the season. Last year, TCU whipped the Golden Gophers 30-7 in Fort Worth. The Gophers return just four offensive starters and must replace talented tailback David Cobb. Regardless, this will be a great litmus test for TCU’s playoff hopes.
9: Washington at Boise State, Sept. 4
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Chris Petersen, Boise State. Boise State, Chris Petersen. Oh, you already know each other? Great! You’ll have lots of fun. The 2015 season opener might be an emotional night for Petersen, Washington’s second-year coach. He had an incredible run as Boise State’s head coach, piling up a 92-12 record, two unbeaten seasons and a pair of Fiesta Bowl wins in eight seasons.
It wasn’t exactly a surprise when Petersen finally bolted for Washington following the 2014 regular season. He’d earned it.
This could be an unhappy homecoming. Following an 8-6 debut as the Husky head coach, Washington sustained major losses on defense and is returning just nine starters overall. Washington also must break in a new starting quarterback following Cyler Miles’ departure and will start a freshman quarterback at Boise.
Meanwhile, the Broncos will also be starting a new quarterback, but they will return 17 starters from a 12-2 team that won the Fiesta Bowl and is favored to repeat as Mountain West champions. It’ll be a charged night in Boise. These teams split their only two previous meetings, but the Broncos should be decided favorites.
8: Washington at Southern California, Oct. 8
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As Steve Sarkisian begins his second season as Southern California’s head coach, the expectations are higher. Following a 9-4 debut, 14 starters return, led by senior quarterback Cody Kessler. There’s a feeling the effects of the NCAA probation that followed Pete Carroll’s tenure have abated. The Trojans are a legit College Football Playoff contender.
That said, the Oct. 8 visit from Sarkisian’s old employer, Washington, is interesting. USC should be favored in this matchup, but it comes right in the middle of a tough five-game stretch: Stanford, at Arizona State, Washington, at Notre Dame, Utah.
The Washington game comes following an off week, but it’ll be interesting to see how Sarkisian handles facing off against his old team, which should have its sea legs following the season’s first month.
7: Baylor at Kansas State, Nov. 5
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Baylor just missed the College Football Playoff last fall, and despite losing standout starting quarterback Bryce Petty to graduation and the NFL draft, the Bears are poised for another strong playoff push. Art Briles returns 17 starters, and new starter Seth Russell will inherit an offense that returns eight starters from a group that averaged a national-best 48.2 points per game last year.
The Bears leave Texas just once before November, but their second trip to Kansas (the first is to play woeful Kansas on Oct. 10) will be much tougher than the first. While Kansas State might take a step back this fall while breaking in a new quarterback, Bill Snyder’s teams always play tough, especially in Manhattan.
It’s the start of a tough season-ending stretch that also features trips to Oklahoma State and TCU, and matchups with Oklahoma and Texas. But first, the Bears must survive a Thursday night in Manhattan.
6: UCLA at Stanford, Oct. 15
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Following back-to-back 10-win seasons, Jim Mora Jr. has UCLA football rolling and relevant again. This fall, the Bruins will be clear Pac-12 and College Football Playoff contenders, especially after returning 17 starters, led by junior tailback Paul Perkins and junior linebacker Myles Jack.
True freshman Josh Rosen still must prove himself as the starting quarterback, but there are abundant reasons for optimism in Westwood.
That said, the Bruins still must succeed against a tough schedule. From mid-September through mid-October, UCLA will host BYU, travel to Arizona, host Arizona State and, following an off week, travel to Stanford for an Oct. 15 Thursday night affair.
The Cardinal return 12 starters, led by senior quarterback Kevin Hogan, and they dusted the Bruins 31-10 in the 2014 regular-season finale. This visit to the Bay Area will be no easy task for Mora and UCLA.
5: Clemson at Louisville, Sept. 17
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Clemson has quietly developed into one of the nation’s most consistent programs. Dabo Swinney has four consecutive 10-win seasons under his belt, and the Tigers hope this is the season they make the leap from ACC power to College Football Playoff qualifier.
Although strong offensive pieces return, led by sophomore quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson, there are questions on defense, where only two starters return from the nation’s No. 1 overall defense.
A Thursday night game at Louisville will be Clemson’s first real test following games with FCS foe Wofford and Appalachian State to open the season. Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium is a tough place for visitors (ask Florida State), and Bobby Petrino put together a 9-4 record in his return to the Louisville sideline.
Last fall, Clemson outlasted Louisville 23-17 after losing Watson to a broken finger and stopping the Cardinals on 4th-and-goal at the Clemson 2-yard line with 21 seconds to play. Cardinal fans will be fired up for Clemson’s visit, and this could be a real slobberknocker that will have early influence on the ACC Atlantic.
4: Michigan at Utah, Sept. 3
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There’s little question about the No. 1 story of this college football offseason: Jim Harbaugh’s return to Michigan as head coach. Ann Arbor’s prodigal son has returned to turn around his alma mater, and everything he’s done has been news, be it taking on the SEC over satellite recruiting camps, hosting Jameis Winston or speaking out about films shown on Michigan’s campus.
Know what he hasn’t done? Coach the Wolverines in a regular-season game. That changes Sept. 3 when Michigan heads to Utah for a nationally televised Thursday night opener. This will be no easy task. Michigan has some uncertainty at quarterback, on the defensive line and in the secondary, among other places. Meanwhile, Utah returns 11 starters from a 9-4 team, led by prolific tailback Devontae Booker.
Rice-Eccles Stadium is no easy place for visitors to play, and we’ll quickly find out just how much Brady Hoke left Harbaugh to work with as he begins his UM tenure. This should be a lot of fun.
3: Oregon at Arizona State, Oct. 29
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For Oregon, 2015 will be a season of transition. The Ducks have established themselves as one of college football’s powers following a run to last season’s College Football Playoff national title game, but they must replace 11 starters, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. Will it be Jeff Lockie or Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams? How will tailback Royce Freeman improve as a sophomore?
One of the most intriguing tests will come Oct. 29 at Arizona State. The Sun Devils and Ducks didn’t face off last season, although Todd Graham is putting together a force in the desert. Although ASU will slide Mike Bercovici to replace the graduated Taylor Kelly at quarterback, don’t expect much of a drop-off from an offense that averaged 36.9 points per game in 2014.
Sun Devil Stadium is becoming a tough environment for opposing teams, and ASU fans will be ready for the Ducks to visit for a Thursday night with an ESPN national audience watching. The result could play a big role in the Pac-12 and CFP races.
2: Ohio State at Virginia Tech, Sept. 7
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When you go back and look at the 2014 regular season, the most inexplicable result is Virginia Tech’s 35-21 upset of Ohio State in Columbus. Then-freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett played poorly in his second career start, completing nine of 29 passes for 213 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, but the game was a nadir for his and Ohio State’s season.
The Buckeyes didn’t lose again, with Barrett and later backup Cardale Jones leading a charge to the College Football Playoff title. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech never really found that same form again, scraping to a 7-6 record, barely qualifying for a bowl game and generally looking mediocre.
This time around, Ohio State won’t look past the Hokies, not with a Labor Day evening date set for Lane Stadium, one of college football’s tougher venues. Lane will be rocking, but Urban Meyer will have his team prepared, no matter which quarterback leads the Buckeyes out onto the field.
All of college football will be watching to see how Ohio State’s title defense begins in Blacksburg.
1: Baylor at TCU, Nov. 27
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We didn’t know it at the time, but last Oct. 11, Baylor and TCU played one of the most important games of the season. Baylor’s wild fourth-quarter comeback sealed a 61-58 win and was ultimately TCU’s only blemish in a 12-1 season.
Baylor lost to West Virginia, and both one-loss Big 12 teams were left out of the College Football Playoff, jumped by eventual national champion Ohio State.
TCU coach Gary Patterson was highly critical of the CFP selection committee, and he was still upset about it last spring, as he told CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd:
"I was told the reason we had a [selection] committee is we were going to take all that stuff out of it. [Conference] championship games shouldn't have mattered. Their job was to watch all this film and pick the four best teams no matter who you played, what you did. All the sudden it came down to, ‘Well, they played a championship game but they didn't.' That's not what we were told. We were told they were going to pick the four best teams.
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That didn’t sit well with Baylor, TCU or the Big 12, so it makes sense that the teams’ rematch on Nov. 27 will be near season’s end. It’ll be TCU’s regular-season finale, while Baylor has a Dec. 5 game with Texas.
Regardless, the Black Friday showdown will carry extra significance. Expect another shootout, as both teams return the bulk of offenses that ranked first and second nationally in scoring offense a year ago.
And expect it to be extremely meaningful. If the Big 12 has its way, the late placement on the schedule will play a role in getting a playoff participant this fall. Either way, we’ll all be winners after finishing our Black Friday shopping.
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