Breaking Down Michigan-Notre Dame, Washington-Auburn, Alabama-Louisville
Here are this week’s key games. All times Pacific Time because The Prognosticator lives on the West Coast.
Saturday, Sept. 1
• Oregon State at Ohio State (9 .m., ABC)
The Meyer Mess makes this matchup something of a marquee game, even tho the Buckeyes should pelt the visiting Beavers like acorns dropping from the tree. OSU’s embarrassing PR-driven decision to only suspend the coach for three games is the thing Urban legends are made of in these parts. Mark the Prognosticator’s word: that decision will come back to bite the Buckeyes. Not in this game and maybe not in this season, but it’s coming sometime soon. Winner: Ohio State
• Texas at Maryland (9 a.m., FS1)
If there’s one team that has tried to crawl into a shell these past two weeks, it’s the Terps. Their mishandling of player safety rang loud bells all over College Park, but only after it was exposed and examined by ESPN. Into this mess comes Texas, which is hoping to show it has beefed up in the second year of Head Coach Tom Herman. If the Horns can’t hook the Terps, then it’s going to be a long year for the Longhorns. Winner: Texas
• Washington vs. Auburn (Noon, ABC – at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta)
The Wolves are howling but there’s no moon in the Mercedes-Benz Dome and the last time the Tigers were here, they were giving Central Florida reason to claim a false national title. The no-so-slick Cats from the Plains are better when they sneak up on opponents rather than going in as favorites and while Jarrett Stidham has an NFL arm he’s mentally as soft as a pillow case. U-Dub can’t match the talent level but the Dogs have the better coaching and that will be the difference. Winner: Washington
• Tennessee vs. West Virginia (Noon, CBS – at Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte)
It was the rockiest year on Rocky Top since the first moonshine still was installed, and if there’s one thing UT fans can use as a rallying cry in 2018 it’s “this year can’t be any worse than last year!” The Couch Burners are out to impress this game as some “experts” have pegged them as a possible playoff team. Certainly having a former Florida quarterback playing against Tennessee will be enough to torment the Vols. Winner: West Virginia
• UNLV at USC (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
The coach named Clay is trying to mold his team into contenders but sometimes he acts as if he’s a kid playing with Play-Doh. He fumbled his last quarterback situation and his teams often lack the discipline to keep from committing boneheaded penalties. Of course, against the visitors from Vegas this won’t hurt their odds of winning, but it could be rolling the dice the next week with Stanford on the horizon. Winner: USC.
• Cincinnati at UCLA (4 p.m., ESPN)
Chip Kelly gets to chip away at whatever might become his legacy at UCLA as it’s the Baby Bears against the Bearcats. Get a big win and he gets a big bear hug. Act as if it’s hibernation season, however, and he might have to wake up snoozing fans and alumni. The cats from Cincinnati, tho, aren’t cool enough to hang with the hosts in LaLa Land. Winner: UCLA
• Michigan at Notre Dame (4:30 p.m., NBC)
The Fighting Harbaughs and the Fighting Irish are fighting for national respect, and one will get it at least for a few weeks after this game. The Wolverines are hoping Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson transfers well to the UM offense, tho the Johnny Football-replica fits about as well with the Harbaugh system as teetotaler at a tailgate party. The Domers are hoping – again – that the hype meets the reality. But they know better. Still, the luck of the Irish still lives in Notre Dame Stadium. Even tho it has that danged fake grass. Winner: Notre Dame
• Alabama vs. Louisville (5 p.m., ABC – at Camping World Stadium, Orlando)
The Pachyderms are stomping into this game with their fans worried more about who will be the quarterback than whom is facing them on the other side of the ball. Frankly it doesn’t matter because this team is more loaded than the biggest partier at the alumni tailgate gathering. The Cards will be trying to play all their cards but without Lamar Jackson they will be have to be like magicians trying to fool Penn & Teller. The Tide’s new defense may get tricked a few times but the there will another kind of red tide rolling through Florida on this night. Winner: Alabama
Sunday, Sept. 2
• Miami vs. LSU (4:30 p.m. ABC – at Jerry’s World, Dallas)
There’s a storm brewing in South Florida and also one in Baton Rouge. But they are two different storms – in Miami it’s a possible surge of “the U” while on the bayou it’s the possible swamping of the program with all sorts of player issues. Coach O can either gain some job security here or become Coach Chaos. Winner: Miami
Monday Sept. 3
• Virginia Tech at Florida State (5 p.m., ESPN)
The Lunch Pails put on the hard hats and hit the road to see up close whether the Willie Taggarts are going to look more like the traditional Spears or the Blazing Saddles character named Taggart. Things have been quiet in Blackburg this summer as its coach quietly tries to build a contender. The Prognosticator is hearing the Gobblers might be getting a leg up on some teams this year so keep and eye on them like a turkey cooking in the oven if they stomp the Seminoles. Winner: Virginia Tech
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