Our Honor Defend

Not too much to choose from this week, but there are still some interesting matchups out there for the college football fan.  Most everyone is into conference play now, meaning that you may have to just be from the area to be interested in those matchups, but there’s a marquee nonconference matchup to watch as well.

So, what’s on?

Thursday

• USC @ Oregon State (ESPN, 9:00PM ET).  We’re in week 5 and USC will just now get around to playing it’s 3rd game.  The bigger question for me, though, is if USC is that starved for media exposure that it feels the need to play on Thursdays.  Playing on Thursdays is something Louisville or Rutgers does, not something the no. 1 team in America does.  That said, it’s probably a clever ploy by the Pac 10 conference because if this game is scheduled for Saturday instead of Thursday, Fox Sports Net (one of the 4 or 5 FSN affiliates in California) almost inevitably picks it up, meaning most of America won’t watch the Trojans.  Being on national television might be just motivation the Trojans need to make sure they don’t repeat the performance from the last time they were in Corvallis.

Friday

• Connecticut @ Louisville (ESPN2, 8:00PM ET). Connecticut? Louisville? Friday night? ESPN2? Chris Spielman in the booth with that cueball announce partner of his? Sounds about right.  Nothing like Big East football, is there?

Saturday

• Minnesota @ Ohio State (BTN, 12:00PM ET). This should be the last time the Buckeyes are on the Big Ten Network for the rest of the season. Thank God.  The gang and I will be out at the local bar scene to support the Bucks, made possible by the fortuitous fact that Alabama will be on the road as well. Again: Thank God. Apparently Glen Mason will be part of the broadcast crew and will be honored on the field in some way (former Buckeye player, assistant coach).  Minnesota promises to be MUCH better this year than they were last year, but if we don’t cover the spread, especially with what’s essentially a very green left side of their offensive line, I won’t be optimistic heading into next week’s match against the Badgers.
• Michigan State @ Indiana (ESPN, 12:00PM ET).  This will be on concurrent to the Buckeyes, but I’ll probably give it a cursory glance and just be really jealous of Mark Dantonio’s defense. Meeeemmooorrieeeeees…
• North Carolina @ Miami (FL) Tha U (ESPN2, 12:00PM ET).  Also on concurrent to the Buckeyes, so it won’t get that much of my time.  Worth noting that (I think) this is Butch Davis’ first return to Miami since returning to the college football coaching ranks.
• Arkansas @ Texas (ABC, 3:30PM ET).  An old throwback to the Hogs and Horns matchups of the SWC days (I miss the SWC and all its creamy deliciously corrupt goodness).  This is also the game where the SEC is guaranteed to look awful in a nonconference matchup.  Arkansas just blows this year.
• Wisconsin @ Michigan (ABC, 3:30PM ET). Michigan fans (and presumably the players) knew of their expectations and their ceiling entering the 2008 season, but if there was any game that they had circled as a maybe-just-maybe potential upset, it was probably this one (and the finale at Ohio State, just because it’s a rivalry game).  Most pundits would even agree that if Michigan, given their limitations, could have a season-defining upset victory, it might be this one.  Will it happen? I’ll be watching to find out.
• Tennessee @ Auburn (CBS, 3:30PM ET).  They lost badly to the Gators, but Tennessee still has that toxic effect lingering around them after the upset loss to UCLA and UCLA’s subsequent poor performance.  Let’s be frank: Tennessee football is offensive and it makes baby Jesus cry.  If they can beat Auburn after Auburn’s letdown against LSU, it would be pretty sweet.
• Fresno State @ UCLA (ABC, 3:30PM ET). Speaking of UCLA, they get to play host to Fresno State.  The Rose Bowl might actually be 30 percent full for this game. Oh boy.
• Colorado @ Florida State (ABC, 3:30PM ET). It ain’t intramurals, brother, but you wouldn’t know that from watching Florida State play.  They bullied up two 1-AA cupcakes and lost 12-3 at home to Wake f’n Forest.  This is supposed to be a neutral site matchup… neutral in that the game will be played in Jacksonville, just two and a half hours from Tallahassee.  Bobby Bowden might actually leave the game just before half to get the early bird dinner special at Denny’s.
• Purdue @ Notre Dame (NBC, 3:30PM ET).  Purdue should win this game, but a lot of Purdue fans seem to be having anxieties that this season is 2002 all over again (great play for 55 minutes, disastrous collapses in the final 5 minutes).  Hail Purdue: Conference pride and all that.
• Mississippi State @ LSU (ESPN2, 7:30PM ET). Mississippi State fans: assume crash position.
• Alabama @ Georgia (ESPN, 7:45PM ET). Return matchup from Georgia’s overtime win in Tuscaloosa last year.  Georgia has declared a “blackout” for this game, and will be wearing those stupid gimmick jerseys that they wore last year against Auburn and Hawaii. On that note, however, can we just stop this [insert color here]-out nonsense? It was cool and original when Penn State did it against us in 2005 (ed. the end result of that kinda sucked, though), but now everyone else doing it is annoying.  I’ve seen white-outs, scarlet-outs, crimson-outs, maroon-outs, blue-outs, black-outs, maize-outs and indeed everything just shy of sienna-outs and chartreuse-outs.  Diminishing returns, people.  Oh, and Georgia: those black jerseys are an annoying gimmick.  Please stop with those.
• Illinois @ Penn State (ABC, 8:00PM ET). Speaking of coloring out stuff, Penn State — the originator of the concept — has declared a white-out in Happy Valley for the Illini game.  Illinois’ defense is awful, so it may not be the perfect litmus for me to judge how capable Penn State’s offense really is against better competition.  Credit Penn State for looking much better than we did against our nonconference patsies, but Temple, Coastal Carolina and Syracuse are not really good measures for how well this “Spread HD” works.  That said, it worked well against Oregon State, so props are given there.
• Virginia Tech @ Nebraska (ABC, 8:00PM ET). I think this is the first national exposure for the Pelini-era Huskers this season.  If Illinois-Penn State gets too boring, I might channel surf between these two games.