[ColoradoTree]

Things should feel a little more normal this week, with all Pac-12 matchups on Saturday. 

As usual, all kickoffs in Pacific Time.  Note: the rankings below are from the coaches' poll rather than the AP (the only reason being they came out first).   

Saturday, September 9

Pac-12 matchups

* Texas State @ Colorado (-35.5) (11:00am, Pac-12 Network)
* Nebraska @ Oregon (-14) (1:30pm, FOX). The line opened at -9.5, so some early action on Oregon.  Is Oregon really two touchdowns better than Nebraska?  Maybe talent-wise, but
* Hawaii @ UCLA (-23) (2:00pm, Pac-12)
* Weber State @ Cal (2:00pm, Pac-12)
* Montana @ #7 Washington (no line) (5:00pm, Pac-12)
* #14 Stanford @ #5 SC (-7) (5:30pm, FOX). The line seems to be moving SC's way.  But SC gave up 263 yards rushing to Western Michigan, which bodes well for us.  Darnold was mostly fine, and he was reasonably efficient on the day, but 2 picks against 0 TD passes (he did run one in) could lead to him coming out wanting to prove naysayers wrong. 
* Minnesota @ Oregon State (-2) (7:00pm, FS1).  How Oregon State is favored in this game, I'll never know.  The movement is based on pro-OSU action, since it started as a pick 'em.  I mean, Minnesota has at least beaten an actual FBS team.
* #23 Utah @ BYU (-1.5) (7:15pm, ESPN2).  Assuming I'm not depressed by how our game went, I'll happily switch over to this one. 
* Boise State @ #22 Washington State (-10) (7:30pm, ESPN).  It just seems weird to see Wazzu favored by 10 over Boise State.  All kinds of reasons why it shouldn't--Power 5 team, playing in Pullman, etc.--but it still just seems weird. 
* Houston (-2) @ Arizona (7:30pm, ESPNU).  I know the Cougars are going through a crazy and traumatic time right now given Hurricane Harvey, and they may still be practicing in Austin, but it's hard for me to comprehend how they're only a 2-point favorite over a pretty bad Arizona team.  This feels like a blowout. 
* San Diego State @ Arizona State (-4.5) (8:00pm, Pac-12).  Some good tape to watch to prepare for the Aztecs. 

Other Top 25 games

Morning window

* Florida Atlantic @ #11 Wisconsin (-32) (9:00am, BTN). Can Lane Kiffin shock the world??  I mean, probably not. 
* Cincinnati @ #8 Michigan (-34) (9:00am, ABC). 
* #16 Louisville (-10) @ North Carolina (9:00am, ESPN)
* #20 South Florida (-17.5) @ Connecticut (9:00am, ESPNNews)
* UNC Charlotte @ #19 Kansas State (-36.5) (9:00am, TV unknown)

Early afternoon window

* Fresno State @ #1 Alabama (-43.5) (12:30pm, ESPN2). Is this line even high enough? 
* Pittsburgh @ #4 Penn State (-20.5) (12:30pm, ABC)
* #17 Miami (-14.5) @ Arkansas State (12:30pm, ESPNU). Weird to see Miami traveling to Arkansas State, but good on Arkansas State for landing this game at home.
* Delaware @ #18 Virginia Tech (12:30pm, ACC Network)
* Indiana State @ #21 Tennessee (1:00pm, SEC Network)

Late afternoon window

* Louisiana Monroe @ #9 Florida State (-33) (4:00pm, ACC Network)
* #13 Auburn @ #3 Clemson (-5.5) (4:00pm, ESPN)
* #6 Oklahoma @ #2 Ohio State (-7.5) (4:30pm, ABC). Kudos to these two schools for scheduling each other in an actual home-and-home series, rather than a neutral one-off game.  Unsurprisingly, this is where College GameDay is this week. 
* Chattanooga @ #12 LSU (no line) (4:30pm, SEC Network)
* #15 Georgia @ #25 Brian Kelly and the Irish (-4.5) (4:30pm, NBC)
* Northern Colorado @ #24 Florida (no line) (4:30pm, SEC Network)

Viewing Guide:

Morning window: Go hiking or something.  If you're like me, you'll want to burn off some nervous energy anyway.  None of these games are really worth your time, unless you have a rooting interest at one of those schools.

Early afternoon: Nebraska at Oregon, maybe?  Again, I wouldn't judge you if you wanted to sit this round out. 

Late afternoon:  So, obviously, your evening is booked from 5:30 onward, but there are some nice appetizers also involving Top 15 matchups.  Auburn @ Clemson starts at 4, and then you can (and should) switch to Oklahoma @ Ohio State at 4:30, taking you through our kickoff.  While it's frustrating that our game will be competing against these others, we should see a big surge of attention once those other games finish up, as we'll be the only big game going for about the last hour of our game. 

Evening: Once our game is over, and assuming you're happy enough to still watch football, you should be able to catch the second half of the Holy War.  All in all, a pretty darn good Saturday. 

GameDay Watch:

This is already Ohio State's second GameDay stint this year, if we count GameDay being in Bloomington, Indiana during Week 0.  Last week was in Atlanta for Florida State-Alabama, which was all well and good.  This week is also sensible, with the show going to the best game, rankings-wise.  But it might not always be so sensible, so here's a running tally of schools and conferences with number of appearances for each:

Ohio State: 2
Oklahoma: 1
Alabama: 1
Florida State: 1
Indiana: 1

Big Ten: 3
Big 12: 1
SEC: 1
ACC: 1
Pac-12: 0

As far as Stanford's chances, this week would have been as good as any, but as long as we keep winning, possible weeks include Week 7 vs. Oregon and Week 11 vs. UW (though that game is a Friday on FS1, and we've seen that neither Friday games nor FOX games tend to do well in garnering GameDay).  Week 11 also has Florida State-Clemson and Georgia-Auburn, while Week 7 has Oklahoma-Texas and Auburn-LSU.

[ColoradoTree]

Things should feel a little more normal this week, with all Pac-12 matchups on Saturday. 

As usual, all kickoffs in Pacific Time.  Note: the rankings below are from the coaches' poll rather than the AP (the only reason being they came out first).   

Saturday, September 9

Pac-12 matchups

* Texas State @ Colorado (-35.5) (11:00am, Pac-12 Network)
* Nebraska @ Oregon (-14) (1:30pm, FOX). The line opened at -9.5, so some early action on Oregon.  Is Oregon really two touchdowns better than Nebraska?  Maybe talent-wise, but
* Hawaii @ UCLA (-23) (2:00pm, Pac-12)
* Weber State @ Cal (2:00pm, Pac-12)
* Montana @ #7 Washington (no line) (5:00pm, Pac-12)
* #14 Stanford @ #5 SC (-7) (5:30pm, FOX). The line seems to be moving SC's way.  But SC gave up 263 yards rushing to Western Michigan, which bodes well for us.  Darnold was mostly fine, and he was reasonably efficient on the day, but 2 picks against 0 TD passes (he did run one in) could lead to him coming out wanting to prove naysayers wrong. 
* Minnesota @ Oregon State (-2) (7:00pm, FS1).  How Oregon State is favored in this game, I'll never know.  The movement is based on pro-OSU action, since it started as a pick 'em.  I mean, Minnesota has at least beaten an actual FBS team.
* #23 Utah @ BYU (-1.5) (7:15pm, ESPN2).  Assuming I'm not depressed by how our game went, I'll happily switch over to this one. 
* Boise State @ #22 Washington State (-10) (7:30pm, ESPN).  It just seems weird to see Wazzu favored by 10 over Boise State.  All kinds of reasons why it shouldn't--Power 5 team, playing in Pullman, etc.--but it still just seems weird. 
* Houston (-2) @ Arizona (7:30pm, ESPNU).  I know the Cougars are going through a crazy and traumatic time right now given Hurricane Harvey, and they may still be practicing in Austin, but it's hard for me to comprehend how they're only a 2-point favorite over a pretty bad Arizona team.  This feels like a blowout. 
* San Diego State @ Arizona State (-4.5) (8:00pm, Pac-12).  Some good tape to watch to prepare for the Aztecs. 

Other Top 25 games

Morning window

* Florida Atlantic @ #11 Wisconsin (-32) (9:00am, BTN). Can Lane Kiffin shock the world??  I mean, probably not. 
* Cincinnati @ #8 Michigan (-34) (9:00am, ABC). 
* #16 Louisville (-10) @ North Carolina (9:00am, ESPN)
* #20 South Florida (-17.5) @ Connecticut (9:00am, ESPNNews)
* UNC Charlotte @ #19 Kansas State (-36.5) (9:00am, TV unknown)

Early afternoon window

* Fresno State @ #1 Alabama (-43.5) (12:30pm, ESPN2). Is this line even high enough? 
* Pittsburgh @ #4 Penn State (-20.5) (12:30pm, ABC)
* #17 Miami (-14.5) @ Arkansas State (12:30pm, ESPNU). Weird to see Miami traveling to Arkansas State, but good on Arkansas State for landing this game at home.
* Delaware @ #18 Virginia Tech (12:30pm, ACC Network)
* Indiana State @ #21 Tennessee (1:00pm, SEC Network)

Late afternoon window

* Louisiana Monroe @ #9 Florida State (-33) (4:00pm, ACC Network)
* #13 Auburn @ #3 Clemson (-5.5) (4:00pm, ESPN)
* #6 Oklahoma @ #2 Ohio State (-7.5) (4:30pm, ABC). Kudos to these two schools for scheduling each other in an actual home-and-home series, rather than a neutral one-off game.  Unsurprisingly, this is where College GameDay is this week. 
* Chattanooga @ #12 LSU (no line) (4:30pm, SEC Network)
* #15 Georgia @ #25 Brian Kelly and the Irish (-4.5) (4:30pm, NBC)
* Northern Colorado @ #24 Florida (no line) (4:30pm, SEC Network)

Viewing Guide:

Morning window: Go hiking or something.  If you're like me, you'll want to burn off some nervous energy anyway.  None of these games are really worth your time, unless you have a rooting interest at one of those schools.

Early afternoon: Nebraska at Oregon, maybe?  Again, I wouldn't judge you if you wanted to sit this round out. 

Late afternoon:  So, obviously, your evening is booked from 5:30 onward, but there are some nice appetizers also involving Top 15 matchups.  Auburn @ Clemson starts at 4, and then you can (and should) switch to Oklahoma @ Ohio State at 4:30, taking you through our kickoff.  While it's frustrating that our game will be competing against these others, we should see a big surge of attention once those other games finish up, as we'll be the only big game going for about the last hour of our game. 

Evening: Once our game is over, and assuming you're happy enough to still watch football, you should be able to catch the second half of the Holy War.  All in all, a pretty darn good Saturday. 

GameDay Watch:

This is already Ohio State's second GameDay stint this year, if we count GameDay being in Bloomington, Indiana during Week 0.  Last week was in Atlanta for Florida State-Alabama, which was all well and good.  This week is also sensible, with the show going to the best game, rankings-wise.  But it might not always be so sensible, so here's a running tally of schools and conferences with number of appearances for each:

Ohio State: 2
Oklahoma: 1
Alabama: 1
Florida State: 1
Indiana: 1

Big Ten: 3
Big 12: 1
SEC: 1
ACC: 1
Pac-12: 0

As far as Stanford's chances, this week would have been as good as any, but as long as we keep winning, possible weeks include Week 7 vs. Oregon and Week 11 vs. UW (though that game is a Friday on FS1, and we've seen that neither Friday games nor FOX games tend to do well in garnering GameDay).  Week 11 also has Florida State-Clemson and Georgia-Auburn, while Week 7 has Oklahoma-Texas and Auburn-LSU.