Week 7 Football: What to Watch

Last weekend looked like it was going to be a great one, and boy did it live up to that expectation. So many upsets and so many good games!

I doubt this week will live up to the craziness of last week, but it’s still looking to be a great one - and we get a random midweek game, too!

It’s not MACtion (TM), but we have what should be a great Tuesday night game between App State and the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana. App and Louisiana aren’t what they have been the last few years, but they’re both still in that top tier within the Sun Belt. App also needs this game to keep up with Coastal Carolina in the East Division. Louisiana is the easy favorite in the West Division, even if they take an ‘L’ tonight.

Thursday night there... well... there’s football. A bunch of bad college teams, plus an NFL game.

Friday features a lot of games that should be over by halftime, but at least one of those is an ACC game with Clemson travelling to Syracuse. ‘Cuse has looked better of late since their loss to Rutgers. Beat the pants off FCS Albany, then a three point win over a pretty good Liberty squad, followed by back-to-back three point heartbreaking losses to Florida State and Wake Forest.

Saturday is when the real fun starts. OK-State vs Texas is a great one to start the day, along with Auburn-Arkansas. UCF-Cincinnati sounds like it would be the must-watch G5 game of the week, but UCF is pretty bad this year. Cincy should win in a cake walk.

The mid-day slate features a surprisingly undefeated Kentucky squad facing off with the nation’s best team, Georgia. The winner most likely wins the SEC East, so this is a big one. Also, I’d bet the ranch on Georgia.

Continuing in that mid-day slate are some other great match-ups. BYU-Baylor looks great. A Pitt team that the advanced metrics love gets to face off with a VT group that has played better than their ratings indicate. Winner of that one is in the Coastal Division drivers’ seat.

Speaking of the Coastal Division, two evenly-matched ACC squads face off with Miami at UNC, although Miami is at a significant disadvantage sans D’Eriq King. Still...

Go Hurricanes!

In the evening, we’ve got that huge State game up in Boston. If you’ve got a second screen going, tune into that Ole Miss vs Tennessee game. Or see if Mike Leach can send Nick Saban into a tirade of epic proportions.

And if you’re looking for Saturday late night action, Arizona State vs Utah has you covered. That’s a gift for the insomniacs among us.

Happy Footballing, y’all! Go Pack!

Rankings for SP+ Ratings and Sagarin Ratings listed, respectively, ahead of each team’s name.

Tuesday

41/40 Appalachian State @ 74/76 Louisiana - 7:30pm - ESPN2

Thursday

102/107 Navy @ 79/89 Memphis - 7:30pm - ESPNU

120/122 Georgia Southern @ 110/126 South Alabama - 7:30pm - ESPNU

[NFL] Buccaneers @ Eagles - 8:20pm - FOX/NFLN

[MLB] Dodgers @ Giants (Winner-take-all NLDS Game 5) - 9:07pm - TBS

Friday

5/11 Clemson @ 52/80 Syracuse - 7:00pm - ESPN

51/85 Marshall @ 113/138 North Texas - 7:00pm - CBSSN

75/86 California @ 39/16 Oregon - 10:30pm - ESPN

42/56 San Diego State @ 87/108 San Jose State - 10:30pm - CBSSN

Saturday

33/14 Oklahoma State vs 8/6 Texas - 12:00pm - FOX

29/20 Auburn vs 28/23 Arkansas - 12:00pm - CBS

53/63 UCF vs 13/8 Cincinnati - 12:00pm - ABC

4/9 Florida vs 58/38 LSU - 12:00pm - ESPN

18/17 Texas A&M vs 66/78 Missouri - 12:00pm - SECN

24/36 Nebraska vs 38/49 Minnesota - 12:00pm - ESPN2

73/96 Tulsa vs 118/116 USF - 12:00pm - ESPNU

78/100 Duke vs 45/55 Virginia - 12:30pm - ESPN3

30/21 Kentucky vs 1/1 Georgia - 3:30pm - CBS

43/37 BYU vs 23/25 Baylor - 3:30pm - ESPN

47/66 Purdue vs 16/5 Iowa - 3:30pm - ABC

26/57 Miami vs 21/46 North Carolina - 3:30pm - ACCN

10/15 Pittsburgh vs 49/51 Virginia Tech - 3:30pm - ESPN2

3/2 Alabama vs 27/41 Mississippi State - 7:00pm - ESPN

37/28 NC State vs 35/42 Boston College - 7:30pm - ACCN

34/29 TCU vs 9/4 Oklahoma - 7:30pm - ABC

19/18 Ole Miss vs 14/27 Tennessee - 7:30pm - SECN

89/45 Stanford vs 80/71 Washington State - 7:30pm - ESPNU

36/39 UCLA vs 54/43 Washington - 8:30pm - FOX

101/90 Louisiana Tech vs 103/134 UTEP - 9:00pm - ESPN+

56/44 Air Force vs 61/33 Boise State - 9:00pm - FS1

12/19 Arizona State vs 25/30 Utah - 10:00pm - ESPN

90/109 Hawaii vs 68/52 Nevada - 10:30pm - CBSSN