Which Team Will Win Clemson-Notre Dame And Welcome To The Party, Pac-12
Usually, the crazy things in college football happen on the field.
But in this odd year, they are taking place both inside and outside of the white lines and some of the happenings are clearly out of bounds.
For example, we’ve seen Darth Vader trying to get his empire to strike back at justifiable critics, the Pac 12 has been sleepwalking but now must get up way too early, and officials continue to fumble calls that cost teams victories. The latest enabled Tulsa to topple East Carolina. Perhaps the crew lost their bearings and thought they were officiating an Auburn game.
There’s also been a brawl (Florida-Missouri), a call (for Tom Herman to get fired) and big falls (LSU, Michigan).
Now onto this week’s games. Which, again, does not include Wisconsin because its game against Purdue has been canceled due to the team’s continued COVID-19 cases. The Alabama Pachyderms are off this week, for those wondering why they are not included here.
All times are Pacific because The Prognosticator lives in San Diego.
Friday, Nov. 9
BYU at Boise State (6:45 p.m., FS1)
The potential of a big bowl berth is on the line here and the Blue Turfs are hoping their magic carpet will swoop them into Atlanta, Dallas Miami or Phoenix for the New Year. To get there, they have a quarterback who once had his eyes on the Rose Bowl, former USC golden boy Jack Sears. In the way is a big cat which has been feasting on smaller prey this season. Can they swallow up a bigger foe? Winner: Boise State
Saturday, Nov. 10
Michigan at Indiana (9 a.m., FS1)
The Khaki Coach turned green this past week after losing to Little Brother and oh, brother, has that caused some red faces in Ann Arbor. Once the toast of Big Blue he’s about to be toast if he can’t beat rivals and ranked teams. He’s up against one of the latter this week and the Hoosiers are howling over their team’s early success. If UM can’t win this one, then things will be really blue for Big Blue. Winner: Michigan
Arizona State at USC (9 a.m., FOX)
When this one kicks off, the rowdy students of ASU will still be asleep in their dorm rooms and a few Trojans may still be staggering home from a socially-distanced frat party. Having a 9 a.m., game on the West Coast makes about as sense as playing the season’s first game in November. After all, this isn’t Breakfast at Wimbledon. Because of the insane start time, this game will likely be decided by which team wakes up first on the field. Winner: USC
Liberty at Virginia Tech (9 a.m., ACC Network)
There was a time when schedule makers were shouting “give me Liberty or give me, er, UT-C” or some other creampuff. But now the Flames are not only 6-0 and ranked 25th, they have just received a commitment from a highly sought-after 5-star recruit. The program is definitely Freeze-ing and if the 4-2 Lunch Pails are to stage a Lane Stadium Freeze out, they had better bring their bring their heat blankets along with their hard hats. Winner: Virginia Tech
Florida vs. Georgia (12:30 p.m., CBS, Jacksonville, FL)
Traditionally, this is the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party but this year it’s more like a small mixer with the limited crowd due to COVID-19 restrictions. The biggest geek at it is Dan Mullen, who has been acting like a mullethead lately. And while it’s not likely that Kirby Smart will be the life of any party, he doesn’t have his head stuck in the Jax Beach sand, either. The Dawgs do come in limping on one hind leg with all their defensive injuries and that’s not good because the Mullenheads can score like Sean Connery playing James Bond. But this party will be over for the Swamp Creatures before the booze runs dry. Winner: Georgia
Texas A&M at South Carolina (4 p.m., ESPN)
This is no time for the Cadets to get cocky as they head into the Gamecocks’ territory, even if the Muschumps can’t put up a fight against a bugle player, let alone an entire battalion from State College. The not-so-game Cocks have little chance against the rising Jimbos. Winner: Texas A&M
UCLA at Colorado (4 p.m., ESPN2)
The Baby Bears open their season in a bowl game of sorts, the Karl Dorrell Bowl. This is hardly the same as the Rose Bowl, but it sure beats being in hibernation for the entire season. What kind of team emerges from the den in Westwood remains to be seen but it should be better than what comes out of the buffalo pen. Winner: UCLA
Clemson at Notre Dame (4 p.m., NBC)
The feisty Felines come marching into South Bend without the Lawrence of Clemson leading them in their charge. In his place, the can-you-pronounce-it D.J. Uiagalelei gets the keys to Dabo’s race car with instructions to keep the pedal to the metal. Trying to slow down this speeding machine is a Domer defense that is hoping it has enough road blocks to give its low-revving offense a chance. The Irishmen just don’t have the horsepower to make it to the checkered flag in P1. Winner: Clemson
Rutgers at Ohio State (4:30 p.m., Big 10 Network)
The Nuts are back home after rolling all over Happy Valley last weekend and have little fear of being cracked open by the charging Red Knights. They have a tough exterior that’s going to take a lot more than what the State University of New Jersey can serve up to get roasted. Winner: Ohio State
Stanford at Oregon (4:30 p.m., ABC)
That Ducky feeling is back in Eugene, the Quackers looking for a conference championship and, if things land just right in the pond, a shot at the big prize. Fans are looking into their Cristobal hoping for good fortune this season and it all starts against the Reds, who have not exactly been playing to the recent standards of Stanford. In a game that will be played in weather conditions that’s fit for a duck, it will be a good start for the hosts. Winner: Oregon
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