College Football Week 9: The Ultimate TV Viewing Guide, Oct. 28-30
Welcome back to another week of The Ultimate College Football: Television Guide for Week 9!
First let me say a happy Halloween to you couch potatoes. Forget the kids and their Sponge Bob or Ren and Stimpy or whatever the heck they're into nowadays. Forget the significant other and how they want you to be the other half of a hot dog and bun costume or Macho Man Randy Savage to her Elizabeth.
Side note, that would be an AWESOME costume; oooooooooo yeah dig it!
But, my television-watching friends, do not forget to go out to the local pubs this weekend. Halloween is the best time for college co-eds to wear that outfit that may be a little, well revealing. Bars have televisions as well so you do not have to miss out on the primetime games. Peel yourself off the couch, grab a buddy or two and head on out; you will thank me on Monday.
Alright you, the college football lover, does not care about Halloween or crappy costumes. No, you want to know where and when you can find your favorite team this weekend!
You want to know what time and what channel that the new Bowl Championship Series No. 1 is going to lose this week. Well, you will be able to see Auburn lose to Mississippi, since it is on one of the thousands of ESPN channels.
Hopefully that last sentence did not turn you off from the rest of the slide show. Please stick around, because there is still a whole bag full of Halloween candy goodness. No bags of pennies, or candy corn found in this group of games.
Click through to find out when and where your favorite team is playing on cable this week!
You can always follow me on Twitter as you can see my thoughts of the day and any breaking news on Saturday.
Thursday, Oct. 28, 7:30 EDT: No. 16 Florida State at North Carolina State, ESPN
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To start our television watching, it is an ACC Atlantic division game between Florida State and North Carolina State.
NC State started this season as one of the biggest surprise teams in not just the ACC, but all of college football. They still have a really good passer to lead the offense, but they just have seemed to forget how to play defense.
Not to mention they're coming off an upset against East Carolina.
Now NC State has Christian Ponder and a very good Florida State offense, looking to rip this defense apart on Thursday night.
Friday, Oct. 29, 8:00 EDT: West Virginia at Connecticut, ESPN 2
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In our mandatory Big East conference game on one of the ESPN networks, we have West Virginia traveling to Connecticut.
Listen, the Big East is a major conference. They deserve to have a BCS automatic bid due to the major markets they play in.
But in the Top 25 polls realeased this week, they have zero teams ranked. The SEC West division has four teams ranked, the WAC has a couple of teams in there and even the Baylor bleeping Bears are in the Top 25.
Saturday, Oct. 30, Noon EDT: No. 22 Miami at Virginia, ESPN
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Welcome back to the Top 25 Miami. The U beat down North Carolina last week to keep their ACC Coastal division hopes alive. They sit just one game back of Virginia Tech for the division lead with a game against them still on their schedule.
Virginia can pass the ball very well. They rank 35th in the NCAA in passing with 255 yards per game. They are however just 3-4 on the year with all of their wins coming in non-conference games.
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Saturday, Oct. 30, Noon EDT: Purdue at Illinois, ESPN 2
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Illinois is a sneaky good team. Yes, they are 4-3 on the season and 2-2 in the Big Ten. But their losses come against a No. 6 Missouri, No. 5 Michigan State and No. 11 Ohio State.
They cannot pass the ball to save their life as they rank 114th in passing, but they know how to run the ball and keep their opponents off the scoreboard.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 2:30 EDT: Tulsa at Notre Dame, NBC
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For the Halloween fun this is a great game to watch. You get Touchdown Jesus, you get a college kid dressed as a leprechaun and you get to see 52 college kids on the Notre Dame side pretend that they are football players.
Hiiiiiiii Yooooo!
Saturday, Oct. 30, 3:30 EDT: No. 5 Michigan State at No. 18 Iowa, ABC
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There were a lot of sad faces for the Iowa fans after last week's mismanagement of the game clock in their game against Wisconsin last week. Who would have called a timeout while your team was marching down the field to a game-winning field goal?
Wait, everyone would have let Stanzi spike the ball, saving a timeout?
Michigan State had to scratch and claw its way to avoid an upset loss at Northwestern last week. This game against Iowa is its last game against a ranked opponent on its schedule.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 3:30 EDT: No. 6 Missouri at No. 14 Nebraska, ABC Or ESPN
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Missouri comes to Lincoln, Nebraska with a chance to lock its Big 12 North championship up. The Tigers have the chance to deny Nebraska the chance of taking the Big 12 title with them to the Big Ten conference next year. They have the chance to do what South Carolina could not do, defeat a No. 1 then fall apart the next week.
Nebraska, a certain columnist would like to admit when it is wrong. This is not that columnist.
Taylor Martinez did have a good game last week against Oklahoma State. However, a certain columnist does not want to turn tail just yet.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 3:30 EDT: Georgia Vs Florida, CBS
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No, Florida Gator fans, your savior the last four years is not ditching his day job of getting rolled on by the Oakland Raiders to come and save your season. Tebow is gone, John Brantley stinks and yet Florida is a game out of the SEC East division
Georgia started the season with wide receiver, A.J. Green, suspended from trying to sell his game jersey on Ebay. They then proceeded to lose four out of their first five, looking like they were dead in the SEC East water.
But a win here and they are one South Carolina loss away from being tied for the division lead.
Someone has to win the SEC East right?
Saturday, Oct. 30, 6:00 EDT: No. 1 Auburn at Mississippi, ESPN 2
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This lone Ole Miss fan is the last one on the Houston Nutt, Jeremiah Masoli bandwagon. This season has just been awful for the student body, alumni and fans of the Mississippi Rebel Bears. Is it Rebel Bears now, or Rebel Cows or Rebel Sea Bass?
All that Auburn has to do is just let Cam Newton run the ball. Or just let Cam throw the ball up in the air about five yards then run under it. Or just let Cam play free safety.
Pretty much let Cam do what he is going to do; score touchdowns.
Saturday, Oct. 30, No. 13 Stanford at Washington, Versus
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With the win of Oregon against UCLA last week, it made the road for Stanford back to the head of the Pac-10 conference even tougher. During their game this week against Washington, it is hard not to think that they will be doing a little scoreboard watching since Oregon and USC will be going on at the same time.
Oh, and there is the quarterback matchup between potentially the top two picks in the NFL 2011 draft as Stanford's Andrew Luck faces Washington's Jake Locker.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 8:00 EDT: No. 2 Oregon at USC, ABC
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ESPN's College Game Day television show is with Tommy Trojan and the rest of southern California this week.
This is the game that could wreck the BCS as USC has a great defensive coordinator in Monte Kiffin. Monte has had two weeks to prepare his team to face this Oregon offense that has torched every defense that they have come up against.
If Oregon is upset this week, does Boise State finally get one of the two top spots?
Saturday, Oct. 30, 8:00 EDT: No. 11 Ohio State at Minnesota, ABC
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For all of you fans out there in Minnesota and Ohio, you will not be watching the USC-Oregon game. Instead, you get to watch either your Buckeyes or Golden Gophers play in Minnesota's new home.
Ohio State will either come into this game with a chance at overtaking Michigan State at the top of the Big Ten, or for the first time in a while, they will be out of a BCS game.
It will be interesting to see what level of play this Ohio State team plays at if Michigan State is able to at Iowa earlier in the day.
Saturday, Oct. 30, 8:00 EDT: Michigan at Penn State, ESPN
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This game, much like the Georgia-Florida game, is between two former great college programs. Yes, both are still good programs that receive commitments from top level recruits, but both are on terrible seasons.
Penn State needs to find a quarterback, whereas Michigan needs to find a defense. And speaking of quarterbacks, Michigan's Denard Robinson, where have you been?
Saturday, Oct. 30, 9:15 EDT: Colorado at No. 9 Oklahoma, ESPN2
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And to close out your television watching, it is the "eff you game" of the week. Oklahoma last week was named the No. 1 team in the BCS. All they had to do was win out. Then Bob Stoops pulled a Bob Stoops, in that he went on the road in a big game and laid an egg.
This week Bob and the Sooners come home to Norman where they almost never lose. They get a Colorado team that just lost its quarterback to a season-ending injury.
This one should get ugly, like your buddy who takes too many jello shots at the Halloween party.
Thanks for viewing this week's version of the Ultimate College Football Television Guide. If you want more of my gas bagging please follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tjmcaloon.
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