Well, that was fun. Week 1 proved to be a pretty strong opening salvo for the new college football season.
There was the good. Cody Kessler looked like a vintage USC Heisman QB. Malik Zaire and Josh Rosen had phenomenal debuts for Notre Dame and UCLA, respectively. Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry did things that we expected. Braxton Miller solidified a 99 Spin Move rating for Madden 17.
There was the bad. Kansas fumbled the snap on a spike play, losing their shot at a last second comeback in the process. David Shaw seemed hellbent on finding a way to beat Northwestern without using the endzone or the uprights (it didn’t work). Bobby Petrino forgot the rules of the sport he gets paid millions to coach, because Bobby Petrino sucks (Go Falcons).
And there was the just outright memorable:
As far as opening weeks go, while there weren’t a bevy of upsets, it was very entertaining. Thumbs up, FBS.
I won’t lie to you. Week 2 is unlikely to match Week 1. Week 2 is unlikely to match any other week. That being said, we still watch. We watch because the season is new and the Braves are bad. Here’s the week 2 preview.
[sc:InContentAd ]Where are the rankings?
Last year I supplied weekly rankings from #1-#128. I’m doing that again this year, but not for week 1. The rankings just wouldn’t be interesting. I can tell you Notre Dame and Texas A&M would be tied for #1, because those are the only two teams that blew out a Power 5 opponent. My rankings, if you remember, aren’t subjective. Subjective rankings are interesting, but they’re a dime a dozen, and people other than me are more qualified to subjectively evaluate such things. They’re also not an attempt at finding the “best” team. Again, such rankings are more than plentiful, and there’s just no point in me muddying up the water further. F/+ does a nice job with that. Sagarin does too. I doubt I could improve. My ranking system, on the other hand, focuses on resumés and actual accomplishments. It’s a different approach on purpose. Anyway, #1 right now is ND/A&M. It probably won’t be next week. It’s fluid early, and it’s built for an endgame model that makes early season returns kind of weird. In late November, it’s a heck of an accomplishment to have beaten a one-loss team. In early September, it isn’t. So that’s why there weren’t rankings after Week 1, and won’t be after Week 2. There might be after Week 3, but probably not then either.
Heisman Watchlist, Week 2
A look at the top Heisman candidates in the country according to ESPN.
- Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama – Bama hosts Middle Tennessee, which means ESPN’s current Heisman favorite should be able to again rack up big numbers. MTSU has a pair of massive interior tackles – Patrick McNeil and Shaquille Huff are a combined 640 lbs – with which they’ll try to take lanes away from Henry, but with linebackers shorter and smaller than Henry, I’m not terribly optimistic about their chances.
- Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia – Despite what the name might indicate, ULM isn’t a cupcake in run defense. They were competent defensively a year ago, and returned what is pretty easily the Sun Belt’s best defense for 2015, which had 8 starters named 1st, 2nd, or 3rd team all-SBC. Now, I’m not trying to prop up Chubb’s week one performance too much. I’m just making sure you understand that ULM is not the same as an FCS school, and they’re not the same defensively as most FBS mid-majors. And actually, they had some success against Chubb. #27 ran the ball 16 times for 120 yards and 2 TD, but a closer look reveals that ULM actually took some efficiency away from Chubb, who had to pick up a bulk of his yards on explosive big plays. Using Bill Connelly’s success rate definition of gaining 50% of needed yards on 1st down, 70% on 2nd, and 100% on 3rd/4th, Chubb’s 16 runs went like this:
- 1st/10, -1 (Fail)
- 2nd/11, 2 (Fail)
- 1st/10, 7 (Success)
- 2nd/3, 14 TD (Success)
- 1st/10, 0 (Fail)
- 2nd/10, 5 (Fail)
- 1st/10, 18 (Success)
- 1st/10, 3 (Fail)
- 2nd/7, 2 (Fail)
- 3rd/5, 23 TD (Success)
- 1st/10, -1 (Fail)
- 1st/10, 5 (Success)
- 2nd/11, 12 (Success)
- 1st/10, 1 (Fail)
- 1st/10, 27 (Success)
- 1st/10, 3 (Fail)As far as success rate, he was 7 for 16, or 44%. That’s pretty good, but it isn’t amazing. ULM did a pretty nice job against UGA’s vaunted offensive line, but Chubb made them pay when he had his chance in the open field. If you credit the OL only up to 5 yards per play, the OL only earned Chubb 3.1 yards per play. But Chubb’s average ypc on plays that did go 5 yards was a whopping 13.8. When the OL blocked ULM effectively, Chubb made big things happen often in the open field. It’s an encouraging sign after a rather disappointing effort from the offensive line. While Vanderbilt’s offense might not pose much of a threat to Georgia, the defense very well might be adequate. It could be a second game where Chubb is relatively on his own, making his open field opportunities count in a big way.
- Braxton Miller, RB/WR, Ohio State – Against VT Miller had 8 touches for 140 yards and 2 scores. That’s pretty impressive, but I don’t think he’s a realistic long-term Heisman candidate. He’s explosive, but of his 6 carries on the ground, 5 went for a combined 9 yards. Using the earlier benchmarks for success/fail, of the 11 times he was targeted with a pass or rush attempt, just 3 were successful – a 24 yard reception for first down, and the 50+ yard TD plays both receiving and rushing. The big plays were very big, but that’s really all he was able to contribute. That’s a gamechanger when it works, but a Heisman also-ran after it doesn’t. He could have a big game this weekend, however, as the Buckeyes host a pretty thin Hawaii defense.
- Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State – Elliott picked up an impressive 138 yards on 13 touches against VT. Unlike Miller, Elliott was a model of consistency, winding up with a successful play on 10 of those 13 touches. Sure, 80 yards came on a single TD, but the other 58 yards were all very meaningful. Those 58 yards came in situations where Ohio State needed a total of 88 yards. Elliott moves the chains, which is why he’s the guy running the ball for the Buckeyes that actually has staying power as a Heisman candidate. The consistency should continue against Hawaii.
- Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU – If Boykin didn’t have last year’s numbers and TCU’s hype, and were judged solely on his performance last Thursday, I don’t think anyone would have him as a serious contender right now. His fortune is tied to his team’s. I don’t know if he’s an elite college QB, but the stats should look nice after a non-contest this weekend against Stephen F. Austin.
- Malik Zaire, QB, Notre Dame – Zaire was outstanding against Texas, much better than even optimistic fans expected. The Irish hit the road this week to face Virginia, who just got torched by a true freshman through the air. Zaire will have a national stage, the 3:30 ABC slot, to further his candidacy.
- Cardale Jones, QB, Ohio State – He was pedestrian as a passer, but picked up some nice gains as a runner. Team hype helps, but he’s going to have to pass better to keep JT Barrett on the bench. I imagine both will get plenty of playing time against the Rainbow Warriors.
- Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA – Is it the most impressive performance ever by a true freshman QB in a season opener? I don’t know, but it says a lot about Rosen that we’re having to ask that question. He’ll play his first road game in Vegas, as the Bruins oddly are visiting UNLV.
- Cody Kessler, QB, USC – If you read this section last week, you knew to expect big things from Kessler’s first game. Going 19/26 for 236 yards, 4 TD, and 0 INT, I’d say he delivered. It’s a concern that he was sacked 5 times, however. With Idaho coming to town this weekend, he can take his time again, but eventually all that standing around will come back to haunt him. Still, there’s a good chance Kessler will be at 500+ yards, 8 TD, and 0 INT after 2 weeks. That’s a solid start to a Heisman campaign.
- Seth Russell, QB, Baylor – Russell looks like a solid replacement for Bryce Petty in the Baylor lineup. At times, he even looked better. The Bears host FCS Lamar this weekend, so he’s gonna look real good again.
- Brandon Allen, QB, Arkansas – Yeah, Allen lit up UTEP, but ESPN’s “expert” that gave him a 3rd place vote after one week seems a bit overzealous. Facing a not very good Toledo defense this weekend, maybe we can get him elected to the College Football HOF by October.
- Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson – The Tigers host Appalachian State, so he’ll be in some highlights.
- Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M – It’s a shame he’s getting only nominal attention. Garrett was the best player on the field in Houston on Saturday. He might have been the best player on any field Saturday. This week he’ll be unleashed against an unfortunate Ball State offense.
The Ten Thirteen Closest Matchups of Week 2
Last week, 6 of the 10 games wound up decided by a single score. They included the only OT game of the weekend and the BYU-Nebraska Hail Mary game. Here are the Week 2 bouts that have the best chance of going either way:
- Western Michigan at Georgia Southern – GSU was without its QB, Kevin Ellison, for the Week 1 egg-laying in West Virginia. WMU was an upstart last year, one of the best mid-majors around, and last week played Michigan State within 2 scores. F/+ sees them almost identically, with a difference of just .1%, ranking them 68th and 69th nationally. Much of that is based on GSU’s 2014 season. They need a big rebound at home against the Broncos for the F/+ system and college football observers alike to stay on the Eagle bandwagon.
- Wake Forest at Syracuse – Another matchup of nearly identical teams according to F/+. Unfortunately, it’s a matchup of identical teams that won’t really be all that good this year.
- Temple at Cincinnati – Both are fringe top 50 teams that expect to at least compete in the AAC this year. Temple hits the road after an emotional but physically dominant first game. We’ll see if they can get into the Bearcat backfield as easily as they got into PSU’s.
- North Texas at SMU – I think we’re all pretty sure North Texas is bad. After week 1, where they showed some life against Baylor, we’re not so sure about SMU.
(Photo: Ron Chenoy / USA Today Sports) - Louisiana Tech at WKU – On the off-chance that you have no interest in Thursday’s NFL action, flip it over to FS1 for this Conference USA heavyweight fight. WKU is a real contender in the East, and LT should be the favorite in the West. It’s a possible conference championship preview, and it’s one of the biggest games of the year for either.
- Bowling Green at Maryland – A boring but evenly matched game, it seems.
- San Diego State at California – Two teams that are more or less still projected to be around the FBS average face off in an in-state matchup. Keep an eye on Cal. If they can make this pick look silly and win by a lot, they could be as improved as some are hoping they’d be, and they might make some noise in the Pac 12 North.
- San Jose State at Air Force – Both are unlikely contenders in the Mountain West, but it’s a big game for both. Whoever loses is going to face a huge uphill battle in the conference race going forward.
- Georgia State at New Mexico State – LOL
- Florida International at Indiana – Boy, seeing this one on an “evenly matched” list can’t be a proud moment for the Big Ten.
- Minnesota at Colorado State – I expanded this week’s list to 13 games, because there are some genuinely interesting games at 11-13 and some real (evenly matched) stinkers in the top 10. This one’s pretty intriguing. The Gophers looked pretty good against TCU last Thursday, losing by just 6 points. The Rams posted 65 points against Savannah State in Mike Bobo’s first game as Head Coach. He has one of the best skill position players in the country at his disposal in Rashard Higgins, and it’ll be fun to watch Higgins go to work against a better than you’d think Gopher defense.
- Oklahoma at Tennessee – This game is one of the highlights of the weekend. Oklahoma appears to be superior, but Tennessee at home could be a spoiler of sorts. Both could really move up in the world of perception with a win – Oklahoma into the top 10 and Tennessee into the top 20.
- Oregon at Michigan State – This may not be a great weekend for football matchups, but this is one hell of an outlier. F/+ sees both as top 6 teams right now, and it’s hard to strongly disagree. This game got away from MSU a year ago, but this time they have the QB with NFL expectations. Watch this game.
Your Hour By Hour Viewing Guide
A recommended course of action for you and your channel recall button.
Thursday
8:00 – Louisiana Tech vs. Western Kentucky on Fox Sports 1. Should be a pretty good game, but let’s face it – you’ll be watching the NFL instead, won’t you?
Friday
8:00 – Miami FL vs. Florida Atlantic on FS1.
9:00 – Put Miami/FAU into the backup spot, and watch Utah State/Utah on ESPN2. This will be the 112th edition of the Battle of the Brothers, and it should be a fairly competitive matchup.
Saturday
11:30 – South Alabama vs. Florida State, ESPN. It won’t be competitive, but it’s 11:30 AM football.
12:00 – The noon viewing slate is just a big ball of meh. I guess your best option is Oregon State at Michigan, on ABC. As the backup, it’s tough to really get excited about any. Wisconsin and Kansas State will both be playing, and they’re top 30 teams, but their opponents, Miami OH and UTSA, just won’t make things interesting. I think I’d go with Houston/Louisville via the Watch ESPN app.
12:30 – These aren’t that exciting, but if you’re not jazzed up by the noon games, check out the very evenly matched Wake Forest / Syracuse matchup on ESPN3 (Watch ESPN app), or watch dark horse Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson in Appalachian State / Clemson, also on ESPN3.
Unpaid Endorsement Time!
The noon slate gives me a good reason to recommend the Thuuz app, available for iPhone and Android. It will alert you if there’s a competitive, exciting game going on. It’s really helpful when there are a bunch of games on and you’re not really tied to any of them. That’ll be the case on Saturday before 3:30. Last weekend, thanks to Thuuz, I caught the competitive parts of several games I might have otherwise missed. Got an alert on BYU/Nebraska coming down to the wire, and 3 minutes later we watched as the Cougars pulled off the hail mary. Thuuz in no way compensates me for this (although seriously, they should). I just consider it a really helpful companion to Saturday (and Sunday) football watching.
3:30 – Nothing great here, but it’s much better than noon. I’ll be watching Georgia/Vanderbilt, but if you’re unencumbered by allegiances, I like Minnesota / Colorado State (CBSSN) and Notre Dame / Virginia (ABC) in that order. Or, if you like outright carnage, Ohio State hosts Hawaii on the Big Ten Network in what F/+ projects to be the most mismatched game of the week.
4:00 – Toledo / Arkansas (SECN) has the potential to be not completely uninteresting, but I’m not sure I’d toss a 3:30 game for it.
4:45 – Iowa / Iowa State (FOX) – The winner gets the Cy-Hawk Trophy. Real creative, guys. Watch this one if the 3:30 games aren’t giving you anything better to do. They’re two mostly mediocre teams. This rivalry game gets a slight bump only because upsets seem to happen frequently here – the Cyclones have won 10 of the last 17.
5:00 – San Diego State / California (Pac 12 Network) won’t be any more important than what you’re already watching, but it has the potential to be more fun. Cal has a nice offense.
6:00 – Oklahoma / Tennessee, on ESPN. You waited all day for something worthwhile, now you have it. I like Western Michigan / Georgia Southern (ESPN3) as the backup game here, but there’s really not anything demanding attention other than Sooners/Vols.
7:00 – East Carolina / Florida (ESPN2) might be a nice backup game, but you should still be watching ESPN. Or use Thuuz to flip around between any close 3:30 games that are wrapping up.
7:30 – Kentucky / South Carolina (SECN) trumps Florida’s non-conference game.
8:00 – It sucks that we only get 2 hours of OU/UT before making it the backup, but Michigan State hosts Oregon on ABC, and it is one of the biggest games of the year. Make ESPN the backup.
9:15 – Once Oklahoma/Tennessee ends, leave your backup channel on ESPN for Mississippi State/LSU. You should still be watching MSU/Oregon, though.
10:15 – BYU/Boise State is a nice matchup on ESPN2, if either of the ABC/ESPN pair isn’t living up to its billing.
11:00 – Once everything meaningful is over, the Pac-12 Network will still be airing this meaningless Cal Poly/Arizona State game. Fall asleep to this one, but at least knock out the rest of that bourbon in your glass first. And set your fantasy lineup for Sunday.
[sc:InContentAd ]The Full Slate
A quick explanation of a couple of columns:
F/+: F/+ is Football Outsiders’ method of ranking team strength. It’s presented as a percentage and all set against an average FBS team. So, if Team X has a F/+ rating of 12.3%, that means that, by this metric, they’re 12.3% better than the average FBS squad. It encompasses many things that make teams successful, like drive success, explosiveness, and efficiency, all weighted for quality of opponent, but it isn’t an end-all, be-all metric. There’s no such thing. It’s just a far more helpful metric than the collected votes of a bunch of middle-aged beat writers. For the first 4 weeks of the season, they mesh 2015 results with the preseason projections.
S&P+: Developed by Bill Connelly, S&P+ is the “+” half of the F/+ rankings. These are presented as scoring averages, but don’t take that part too seriously. It is a nice combination of two pretty basic concepts: efficiency and explosiveness. The S stands for Success Rate, and it is a better way of looking at teams on a per-play basis than yards. A play is deemed successful if it gains at least 50% of needed yards on 1st down, 70% of needed yards on 2nd down, and 100% on 3rd/4th. Success Rate is just the rate of how often an offense is successful in this regard (or how successful a defense is at preventing this). Explosiveness is measured as points per play. It’s a pretty detailed calculation, but it’s an intuitive one, based on expected point totals from field position. If you want the nitty gritty details, check this out. I listed S&P because it breaks down to both offensive and defensive totals, which gives you an idea of which side of the ball a team might be better on. Remember, these are projections combined with one week of data. In some cases, the early results can get a bit wonky (looking at you, Kent State defense), but as the year goes on they’ll be more reliable.
| Visitor | F/+ | Off. S&P+ | Def. S&P+ | Home | F/+ | Off. S&P+ | Def. S&P+ | Favorite | Time | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana Tech | 2.1% (58th) | 35.9 (35th) | 33.1 (81st) | Western Kentucky | 6.8% (48th) | 22.0 (99th) | 19.3 (30th) | Louisiana Tech (-1.0) | Thursday - 8:00 | FS1 |
| Miami FL | 14.8% (41st) | 21.9 (100th) | 12.4 (12th) | Florida Atlantic | -24.5% (100th) | 35.5 (37th) | 44.8 (118th) | Miami (-17.5) | Friday - 8:00 | FS1 |
| Utah State | 9.9% (45th) | 8.7 (124th) | 5.2 (2nd) | Utah | 23.4% (31st) | 26.3 (81st) | 16.3 (21st) | Utah (-13.5) | Friday - 9:00 | ESPN2 |
| South Florida | -35.7% (112th) | 10.7 (121st) | 22.9 (45th) | Florida State | 44.7% (11th) | 46.0 (9th) | 27.3 (61st) | Florida State (-28.0) | Saturday - 11:30 | ESPN |
| Jacksonville State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Auburn | 38.1% (18th) | 37.7 (27th) | 19.3 (29th) | No Line | Saturday - 12:00 | SEC Network |
| Oregon State | -13.2% (81st) | 10.4 (122nd) | 14.5 (18th) | Michigan | 17.9% (36th) | 26.1 (82nd) | 16.5 (24th) | Michigan (-15.5) | Saturday - 12:00 | ABC |
| Army | -41.4% (119th) | 31.3 (61st) | 48.7 (124th) | Connecticut | -29.1% (103rd) | 24.1 (90th) | 36.2 (91st) | Connecticut (-8.0) | Saturday - 12:00 | CBS SN |
| Kansas State | 27.8% (28th) | 25.4 (87th) | 13.7 (16th) | UTSA | -48.6% (127th) | 22.0 (98th) | 41.7 (111th) | Kansas State (-17.0) | Saturday - 12:00 | FS1 |
| Western Illinois | n/a | n/a | n/a | Illinois | -9.8% (77th) | 5.8 (125th) | 7.6 (4th) | No Line | Saturday - 12:00 | Big Ten Network |
| Bowling Green | -14.6% (82nd) | 38.2 (24th) | 44.9 (119th) | Maryland | -9.4% (75th) | 32.4 (56th) | 32.9 (80th) | Maryland (-7.5) | Saturday - 12:00 | Big Ten Network |
| Houston | -6.8% (73rd) | 38.3 (23rd) | 41.9 (112th) | Louisville | 22.3% (33rd) | 33.6 (49th) | 23.4 (48th) | Louisville (-13.0) | Saturday - 12:00 | ESPN3 |
| Buffalo | -34.3% (111th) | 24.7 (88th) | 39.5 (104th) | Penn State | 17.1% (37th) | 25.9 (84th) | 16.4 (22nd) | Penn State (-21.0) | Saturday - 12:00 | ESPN2 |
| Indiana State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Purdue | -15.4% (83rd) | 27.5 (79th) | 31.2 (72nd) | No Line | Saturday - 12:00 | ESPNNews |
| Miami OH | -42.4% (121st) | 23.4 (92nd) | 38.8 (102nd) | Wisconsin | 32.6% (24th) | 38.1 (25th) | 23.7 (49th) | Wisconsin (-32.0) | Saturday - 12:00 | ESPNU |
| Presbyterian | n/a | n/a | n/a | Charlotte | -33.6% (107th) | 15.0 (114th) | 29.0 (63rd) | Charlotte (-7.5) | Saturday - 12:00 | ESPN3 |
| Wake Forest | -20.8% (93rd) | 30.4 (66th) | 38.0 (99th) | Syracuse | -19.9% (92nd) | 5.6 (126th) | 11.6 (8th) | Syracuse (-4.5) | Saturday - 12:30 | ESPN3 |
| Appalachian State | -8.3% (74th) | 28.4 (72nd) | 33.1 (82nd) | Clemson | 36.3% (21st) | 33.1 (52nd) | 16.5 (23rd) | Clemson (-17.5) | Saturday - 12:30 | ESPN3 |
| Howard | n/a | n/a | n/a | Boston College | -2.7% (67th) | 13.2 (118th) | 11.7 (9th) | No Line | Saturday - 1:00 | ESPN3 |
| Massachusetts | -34.0% (109th) | 25.9 (86th) | 40.5 (106th) | Colorado | -22.2% (98th) | 17.1 (111th) | 22.9 (44th) | Colorado (-13.0) | Saturday - 2:00 | Pac 12 Network |
| Sacramento State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Washington | -0.5% (62nd) | 10.8 (120th) | 10.2 (5th) | No Line | Saturday - 2:00 | Pac 12 Network |
| UTEP | -38.4% (115th) | 32.8 (54th) | 46.0 (121st) | Texas Tech | 5.5% (49th) | 46.6 (7th) | 42.7 (114th) | Texas Tech (-21.0) | Saturday - 3:00 | FOX |
| Liberty | n/a | n/a | n/a | West Virginia | 14.9% (40th) | 22.6 (96th) | 14.5 (17th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:00 | |
| Monmouth | n/a | n/a | n/a | Central Michigan | -22.2% (97th) | 26.1 (83rd) | 34.2 (87th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:00 | ESPN3 |
| Georgia | 53.1% (5th) | 44.0 (12th) | 20.9 (39th) | Vanderbilt | -10.0% (78th) | 19.2 (106th) | 22.1 (42nd) | Georgia (-21.0) | Saturday - 3:30 | CBS |
| Murray State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Northern Illinois | 3.6% (56th) | 40.8 (18th) | 40.3 (105th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:30 | ESPN3 |
| Hawaii | -31.9% (105th) | 13.3 (117th) | 26.7 (60th) | Ohio State | 69.4% (1st) | 54.2 (3rd) | 24.0 (51st) | Ohio State (-40.0) | Saturday - 3:30 | Big Ten Network |
| Austin Peay | n/a | n/a | n/a | Southern Mississippi | -37.5% (114th) | 20.4 (105th) | 33.8 (84th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:30 | |
| Minnesota | 8.1% (46th) | 28.2 (74th) | 23.3 (47th) | Colorado State | -1.7% (64th) | 19.2 (107th) | 19.4 (32nd) | Minnesota (-6.5) | Saturday - 3:30 | CBS SN |
| Stephen F Austin | n/a | n/a | n/a | TCU | 45.5% (10th) | 35.3 (38th) | 16.2 (20th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:30 | FS1 |
| Washington State | -3.7% (70th) | 31.1 (64th) | 30.7 (69th) | Rutgers | -17.4% (88th) | 33.0 (53rd) | 37.5 (97th) | Rutgers (-2.0) | Saturday - 3:30 | ESPNU |
| Tulane | -19.4% (90th) | 16.8 (112th) | 24.0 (52nd) | Georgia Tech | 40.9% (14th) | 37.0 (30th) | 19.3 (31st) | Georgia Tech (-28.5) | Saturday - 3:30 | ESPN3 |
| Notre Dame | 41.6% (13th) | 34.7 (43rd) | 16.8 (25th) | Virginia | 1.8% (59th) | 36.6 (31st) | 32.5 (79th) | Notre Dame (-12.5) | Saturday - 3:30 | ABC |
| Furman | n/a | n/a | n/a | Virginia Tech | 32.3% (25th) | 46.2 (8th) | 32.0 (77th) | No Line | Saturday - 3:30 | ESPN3 |
| Fresno State | -21.4% (94th) | 18.0 (110th) | 26.3 (58th) | Ole Miss | 47.2% (9th) | 43.0 (13th) | 21.2 (41st) | Ole Miss (-29.5) | Saturday - 3:30 | ESPN2 |
| Middle Tennessee | -12.3% (80th) | 36.2 (33rd) | 40.7 (107th) | Alabama | 67.2% (2nd) | 44.9 (11th) | 16.9 (26th) | Alabama (-35.0) | Saturday - 4:00 | SEC Network |
| Toledo | 4.2% (55th) | 35.8 (36th) | 34.8 (89th) | Arkansas | 34.4% (23rd) | 48.1 (6th) | 30.7 (68th) | Arkansas (-21.5) | Saturday - 4:00 | SEC Network |
| Eastern Illinois | n/a | n/a | n/a | Northwestern | 4.6% (54th) | 16.6 (113th) | 15.0 (19th) | No Line | Saturday - 4:00 | ESPNNews |
| Eastern Michigan | -68.0% (128th) | 21.6 (102nd) | 47.9 (123rd) | Wyoming | -38.9% (116th) | 21.6 (101st) | 36.2 (92nd) | Wyoming (-13.5) | Saturday - 4:00 | |
| Iowa | 2.9% (57th) | 22.5 (97th) | 20.6 (37th) | Iowa State | -16.7% (87th) | 13.8 (116th) | 19.5 (33rd) | Iowa (-3.5) | Saturday - 4:45 | FOX |
| San Diego State | -4.1% (71st) | 9.2 (123rd) | 10.6 (7th) | California | 1.2% (60th) | 31.8 (59th) | 29.0 (62nd) | California (-13.5) | Saturday - 5:00 | Pac 12 Network |
| Oklahoma | 38.4% (16th) | 38.5 (22nd) | 20.9 (38th) | Tennessee | 27.0% (29th) | 48.6 (5th) | 34.5 (88th) | Oklahoma (-1.0) | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN |
| NC Central | n/a | n/a | n/a | Duke | 12.9% (42nd) | 23.0 (93rd) | 17.8 (27th) | No Line | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| North Carolina A&T | n/a | n/a | n/a | North Carolina | 10.6% (44th) | 32.8 (55th) | 26.3 (57th) | No Line | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| Eastern Kentucky | n/a | n/a | n/a | NC State | 5.2% (53rd) | 42.4 (14th) | 38.0 (98th) | No Line | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| Pittsburgh | 15.2% (39th) | 42.0 (15th) | 33.7 (83rd) | Akron | -35.9% (113th) | 22.9 (94th) | 36.4 (94th) | Pittsburgh (-13.0) | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| Delaware State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Kent State | -17.9% (89th) | 3.1 (127th) | 10.3 (6th) | No Line | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| Western Michigan | -2.8% (68th) | 31.0 (65th) | 30.9 (70th) | Georgia Southern | -2.9% (69th) | 18.3 (109th) | 18.8 (28th) | Western Michigan (-5.0) | Saturday - 6:00 | ESPN3 |
| Northwestern State | n/a | n/a | n/a | UL-Lafayette | -19.7% (91st) | 34.7 (42nd) | 41.4 (110th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Nicholls State | n/a | n/a | n/a | UL-Monroe | -26.1% (102nd) | 27.5 (78th) | 37.5 (96th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Prairie View A&M | n/a | n/a | n/a | Texas State | -29.9% (104th) | 31.1 (63rd) | 42.3 (113th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Charleston Southern | n/a | n/a | n/a | Troy | -46.6% (126th) | 31.4 (60th) | 49.0 (126th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Marshall | 16.3% (38th) | 33.2 (51st) | 25.5 (55th) | Ohio | -21.9% (96th) | 32.4 (57th) | 40.9 (108th) | Marshall (-3.0) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Norfolk State | n/a | n/a | n/a | Old Dominion | -33.9% (108th) | 28.6 (71st) | 40.9 (109th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:00 | |
| North Texas | -43.3% (122nd) | 12.6 (119th) | 32.0 (76th) | SMU | -39.0% (117th) | 37.6 (28th) | 52.7 (127th) | SMU (-4.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Arizona | 22.6% (32nd) | 37.1 (29th) | 26.6 (59th) | Nevada | -9.4% (76th) | 27.7 (77th) | 31.3 (74th) | Arizona (-11.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | CBS SN |
| Ball State | -1.5% (63rd) | 35.0 (41st) | 38.2 (101st) | Texas A&M | 35.8% (22nd) | 28.1 (75th) | 12.6 (14th) | Texas A&M (-29.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPNU |
| Missouri | 37.6% (20th) | 28.8 (69th) | 12.8 (15th) | Arkansas State | -6.7% (72nd) | 29.6 (67th) | 31.2 (71st) | Missouri (-10.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| East Carolina | -2.4% (66th) | 35.0 (40th) | 36.1 (90th) | Florida | 11.5% (43rd) | 38.5 (21st) | 31.2 (73rd) | Florida (-20.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN2 |
| Memphis | -2.4% (65th) | 23.7 (91st) | 23.9 (50th) | Kansas | -46.1% (125th) | 31.2 (62nd) | 47.0 (122nd) | Memphis (-13.5) | Saturday - 7:00 | ESPN3 |
| Central Arkansas | n/a | n/a | n/a | Oklahoma State | 19.8% (35th) | 34.1 (47th) | 26.2 (56th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:30 | FSN |
| Lamar | n/a | n/a | n/a | Baylor | 53.6% (4th) | 56.2 (2nd) | 34.1 (86th) | No Line | Saturday - 7:30 | FSN |
| Kentucky | -10.2% (79th) | 37.9 (26th) | 38.1 (100th) | South Carolina | 30.9% (27th) | 36.1 (34th) | 22.9 (46th) | South Carolina (-7.5) | Saturday - 7:30 | SEC Network |
| Idaho | -45.6% (123rd) | 28.3 (73rd) | 44.9 (120th) | USC | 42.1% (12th) | 39.8 (19th) | 21.0 (40th) | USC (-43.0) | Saturday - 8:00 | Pac 12 Network |
| Oregon | 59.8% (3rd) | 61.7 (1st) | 36.6 (95th) | Michigan State | 48.2% (6th) | 41.4 (16th) | 20.5 (36th) | Michigan State (-3.5) | Saturday - 8:00 | ABC |
| South Alabama | -34.2% (110th) | 21.4 (103rd) | 33.8 (85th) | Nebraska | 23.5% (30th) | 40.9 (17th) | 30.2 (66th) | Nebraska (-27.5) | Saturday - 8:00 | Big Ten Network |
| Rice | -25.0% (101st) | 27.9 (76th) | 36.3 (93rd) | Texas | 5.2% (52nd) | 29.0 (68th) | 22.4 (43rd) | Texas (-15.0) | Saturday - 8:00 | Longhorn Network |
| FIU | -23.5% (99th) | 20.7 (104th) | 30.5 (67th) | Indiana | -16.6% (86th) | 49.4 (4th) | 54.2 (128th) | Indiana (-7.5) | Saturday - 8:00 | Big Ten Network |
| Georgia State | -39.8% (118th) | 14.8 (115th) | 29.2 (64th) | New Mexico State | -46.0% (124th) | 25.9 (85th) | 43.8 (116th) | NM State (-7.0) | Saturday - 8:00 | ESPN3 |
| Temple | 7.8% (47th) | 22.7 (95th) | 19.7 (34th) | Cincinnati | 5.5% (50th) | 34.1 (46th) | 29.9 (65th) | Cincinnati (-7.0) | Saturday - 8:00 | ESPNNews |
| Tulsa | -16.2% (85th) | 36.4 (32nd) | 43.8 (117th) | New Mexico | -32.5% (106th) | 1.2 (128th) | 12.4 (13th) | New Mexico (-3.5) | Saturday - 8:00 | ESPN3 |
| LSU | 47.9% (7th) | 34.6 (44th) | 12.3 (11th) | Mississippi State | 31.0% (26th) | 34.5 (45th) | 19.8 (35th) | LSU (-5.0) | Saturday - 9:15 | ESPN |
| San Jose State | -21.5% (95th) | 35.1 (39th) | 43.7 (115th) | Air Force | -15.9% (84th) | 34.1 (48th) | 39.0 (103rd) | Air Force (-6.5) | Saturday - 10:15 | ESPNU |
| Boise State | 38.3% (17th) | 18.5 (108th) | 2.5 (1st) | BYU | 19.8% (34th) | 39.5 (20th) | 31.6 (75th) | Boise State (-2.5) | Saturday - 10:15 | ESPN2 |
| UCLA | 47.3% (8th) | 45.0 (10th) | 24.1 (53rd) | UNLV | -41.8% (120th) | 32.3 (58th) | 48.8 (125th) | UCLA (-29.0) | Saturday - 10:30 | CBS SN |
| UCF | 5.4% (51st) | 26.7 (80th) | 24.4 (54th) | Stanford | 38.1% (19th) | 24.2 (89th) | 7.4 (3rd) | Stanford (-19.0) | Saturday - 10:30 | FS1 |
| Cal Poly | n/a | n/a | n/a | Arizona State | 39.8% (15th) | 28.7 (70th) | 12.0 (10th) | No Line | Saturday - 11:00 | Pac 12 Network |
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