Preview Roundups
October 01, 2016
Syracuse at Notre Dame 12:00 PM ET
Notre Dame has played its way out of the Top 25 and out of contention for the College Football Playoff, and defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder was the first to fall as the blame spreads. The Fighting Irish will try to avoid a fourth loss when they face Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday.
Florida at Vanderbilt 12:00 PM ET
No. 21 Florida might have to play without quarterback Luke Del Rio for a second consecutive week when it travels Saturday to Vanderbilt, but the other side of the football is the bigger concern for the Gators. Florida – which came into Saturday with the nation’s top-ranked defense – gave up 38 consecutive points in blowing a 21-0 lead last week at Tennessee, dropping the Gators out of the top spot in the SEC East.
Central Florida at East Carolina 12:00 PM ET
Special teams have been anything but special for East Carolina early in the season. The Pirates, who allowed a punt return for a touchdown and had two kicks blocked last week, look to rebound from a humbling loss at Virginia Tech when they open play in the American Athletic Conference against visiting UCF on Saturday.
Southern Methodist at Temple 12:00 PM ET
After exciting shootouts in each of the last two meetings, Temple and visiting SMU will renew acquaintances Saturday in the American Athletic opener for both squads. Last year's encounter saw Temple win 60-40, and the previous matchup was a 59-49 Mustangs' victory in 2013.
Texas at Oklahoma State 12:00 PM ET
No. 25 Texas will get a chance to show what it learned on its week off when it travels to Oklahoma State on Saturday. Coach Charlie Strong vowed to use the bye after a 50-43 loss to California to get the Texas defense back on track before facing a string of high-scoring Big 12 opponents.
Rutgers at Ohio State 12:00 PM ET
There will be plenty of familiar faces on both sidelines Saturday when second-ranked Ohio State hosts Rutgers in a Big Ten clash. The Buckeyes have posted three impressive victories this season, dominating on both sides of the ball throughout the month of September.
Northwestern at Iowa 12:00 PM ET
Iowa looks to shake off two straight underwhelming performances and a crippling injury as it hosts Northwestern on Saturday in a critical Big Ten game for both teams. The Hawkeyes edged Rutgers 14-7 last week after getting upset by FCS member North Dakota State and leading receiver Matt VandeBerg is out indefinitely after suffering a foot injury in practice Monday.
Miami at Georgia Tech 12:00 PM ET
No. 14 Miami (Fla.), which had a week off to soak in its dominant 3-0 start behind a surprisingly stout defense, faces its first ACC test Saturday as it travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will be looking to rebound from a 26-7 loss to No. 3 Clemson in which their usually prolific running game was held to only 95 yards.
Baylor at Iowa State 12:00 PM ET
Baylor will try to start 5-0 and 2-0 in Big 12 Conference play for the fourth straight year when it visits Iowa State on Saturday. It won't be easy as the 13th-ranked Bears, who have yet to play a game outside the state of Texas this season, have dropped two of their last three games at Jack Trice Stadium.
Alcorn State at Arkansas 12:00 PM ET
Arkansas missed out on a chance to make an early statement in the SEC West with a loss to Texas A&M last week but still has an opportunity to get things right before facing off against No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 8. The 22nd-ranked Razorbacks will tune up for that battle by hosting FCS Alcorn State off campus at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark., on Saturday.
Virginia at Duke 12:30 PM ET
Duke is coming off a massive road win but will be forced to contend with another serious injury when it hosts Virginia in ACC action on Saturday. The Blue Devils, who won 38-35 at Notre Dame last Saturday to snap a two-game slide, lost safety and fifth-year captain DeVon Edwards to a torn ACL and MCL, which will end his college career.
Buffalo at Boston College 1:00 PM ET
Boston College will try to avoid looking too far ahead when it hosts Buffalo on Saturday in the second of four straight home games. The Eagles are coming off a 42-10 rout of Wagner last week and will host third-ranked Clemson under the lights at Alumni Stadium on Oct. 7, all part of a wacky schedule that took the team to Ireland, Virginia and nearby Foxborough before it finally settled in at home last week.
Oregon State at Colorado 2:30 PM ET
Colorado will be out to
follow up on one of the biggest wins in the program’s recent history when it hosts
Oregon State on Saturday. The Buffaloes entered last week’s game at Oregon as
three-touchdown underdogs and backup quarterback Steven Montez under center but
came away with an eye-opening 41-38 win in Eugene.
Navy at Air Force 3:30 PM ET
Navy and Air Force enter their annual meeting undefeated for the first time, adding to the significance of Saturday's game at Falcon Stadium as the winner also gains the inside track on claiming the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy. The Midshipmen also put their 19-game undefeated streak against unranked opponents on the line and look to start 4-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1978-79, while Air Force last started a campaign 4-0 in 2003.
Tulane at Massachusetts 3:30 PM ET
Tulane is coming off a dramatic, four-overtime home win but is ready to quickly turn the page to its next challenge. The Green Wave will try to earn their first road victory Saturday when they visit Massachusetts, which put a scare into an SEC team last week.
UL Monroe at Auburn 3:30 PM ET
Auburn gets a break from its challenging
early-season schedule Saturday when it welcomes ULM of the Sun Belt Conference to
Jordan-Hare Stadium. It’ll be homecoming for the Tigers and a much-needed
respite after tangling with Top 25-teams Clemson, Texas A&M and LSU in
three of the season’s first four weeks.
Tennessee at Georgia 3:30 PM ET
Tennessee put together its best half of football in recent memory during last week’s stirring comeback over Florida, but the 11th-ranked Volunteers have to remedy their habit of slow starts entering Saturday’s road contest at No. 20 Georgia. The Volunteers have been outscored 34-10 in the first quarter this season, and while they rallied from 21 points down to beat Florida 38-28 and grab first place in the SEC East, coach Butch Jones says the Volunteers remain a work in progress.
North Carolina at Florida State 3:30 PM ET
No. 23 North Carolina looks to build off the emotion of a thrilling, last-second victory when it goes on the road to battle No. 12 Florida State on Saturday. Mitch Trubisky’s school-record fifth touchdown pass with two seconds remaining gave the Tar Heels a 37-36 victory over Pittsburgh and the talented junior quarterback next tries to end Florida State’s FBS-best, 22-game home winning streak.
Wake Forest at North Carolina State 3:30 PM ET
Despite a 4-0 start which includes a conference road victory, Wake Forest is not being given much of chance in Saturday's ACC game at North Carolina State. The Demon Deacons, fresh off a win at Indiana, are double-digit underdogs against the Wolfpack, who have yet to play a Power Five team.
Kansas State at West Virginia 3:30 PM ET
Someone may finally have to take notice - of either Kansas State or West Virginia - after the teams meet Saturday in their Big 12 opener in Morgantown, W.Va. Both teams have received moderate national attention as West Virginia is one of two undefeated teams left in the conference and Kansas State is starting to turn heads with one of the nation's best defenses.
Purdue at Maryland 3:30 PM ET
Unbeaten Maryland, which won just three games a year ago, can surpass that total on Saturday when it hosts Purdue in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. The Terrapins, who have had two weeks to prepare for the contest, have scored 123 points through their first three games, the second-most in program history to start a season.
Wisconsin at Michigan 3:30 PM ET
Fifth-ranked Michigan hosts No. 8 Wisconsin for the first time since 2010 in a battle of Big Ten unbeatens on Saturday. The Wolverines rushed for 326 yards and six touchdowns in the 49-10 thrashing of Penn State last week and have scored at least 45 points in each of their first four games, but will face their biggest test of the season against Wisconsin, which is ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense (11.8).
Illinois at Nebraska 3:30 PM ET
Nebraska entered Big Ten play this year with a chance to avenge five painful conference losses last season - contests decided by a total of 23 points - and cashed in its first opportunity last weekend. The 15th-ranked Cornhuskers eye a similar result in their second such game Saturday as they host Illinois.
Minnesota at Penn State 3:30 PM ET
“Linebacker U” has been devastated in recent weeks and it appears Penn State’s defense will again come under fire Saturday when unusually high-powered Minnesota visits to battle for the Governor’s Victory Bell. The Nittany Lions were without all three starting linebackers against No. 5 Michigan last week. lost one replacement to a targeting foul and another to a season-ending injury in the 49-10 demolition.
Texas A&M at South Carolina 4:00 PM ET
Texas A&M has plenty of reasons to believe October will be kinder this time around, beginning with its first opponent of the month. The 10th-ranked Aggies hope to avoid what has become their customary October swoon when they travel to South Carolina to face a struggling Gamecocks team Saturday.
Oklahoma at Texas Christian 5:00 PM ET
Oklahoma is about to play its first Big 12 contest of the season but the
overwhelming consensus is that it is already a lost season for a
program that has dropped two of its first three games. Sooners coach Bob
Stoops proclaims otherwise and looks to refocus his squad toward
notching an important victory when it visits No. 19 TCU on Saturday.
Utah at California 6:00 PM ET
Utah’s impressive defense faces another stiff test Saturday as the 18th-ranked Utes visit California, which ranks third in the nation in total offense at 594.5 yards per game. The Utes improved to 4-0 for the second straight season with last Saturday’s 31-27 comeback victory over USC, while Cal yielded 41 points in the second half of a 51-41 loss at Arizona State.
Kentucky at Alabama 7:00 PM ET
Top-ranked Alabama seeks to extend the nation's longest winning streak
to 17 games when it hosts Kentucky on Saturday in SEC play. The streak
is the second longest during the tenure of coach Nick Saban behind a
19-game stretch in 2009-10 and the seventh longest in Crimson Tide
history.
Memphis at Mississippi 7:00 PM ET
Racing out to huge early leads in high-profile games hasn't been a problem lately for Ole Miss, but sealing the deal has, at least prior to last weekend. It's an issue that reared its ugly head in a shocking loss at Memphis last season, and one the 17th-ranked Rebels hope to avoid again Saturday when they host the Tigers.
South Florida at Cincinnati 7:00 PM ET
South Florida not only ended Cincinnati's hopes for an American Athletic Conference title last season - it did so in emphatic fashion. The Bearcats have waited more than 10 months for a shot at revenge, and they'll get that opportunity Saturday night as they entertain the Bulls in a battle of 3-1 teams.
Marshall at Pittsburgh 7:30 PM ET
No team in FBS has surrendered more yards passing in the last three weeks than Pittsburgh. After tough losses in consecutive weeks, the Panthers can't afford a letdown when Marshall quarterback Chase Litton leads another high-powered passing attack into Heinz Field on Saturday for the first meeting ever between the schools.
Missouri at Louisiana State 7:30 PM ET
For the first time in nearly a dozen years, LSU will take the field without Les Miles on Saturday when the Tigers host Missouri in SEC action. LSU fired Miles as coach earlier this week following a heartbreaking loss to Auburn that dropped the team to 2-2 and sent it spiraling out of the Top 25.
San Diego State at South Alabama 8:00 PM ET
San Diego State brings a 13-game winning streak into Saturday’s road game against South Alabama, which is seeking its second major upset of the season. South Alabama opened with a 21-20 win at Mississippi State but will be hard-pressed to slow down senior Donnel Pumphrey, a Heisman Trophy candidate who has carried the 24th-ranked Aztecs to a 3-0 start while leading the nation with 599 rushing yards and a 199.7-yard average.
Louisville at Clemson 8:00 PM ET
The last time Louisville and Clemson squared off, it turned into a defensive struggle. A repeat would be quite a surprise when two of the nation’s most dynamic offenses meet in a showdown of top-five teams Saturday night at Clemson.
Michigan State at Indiana 8:00 PM ET
Two teams coming off their first losses of the season clash in a Big Ten battle when No. 16 Michigan State hits the road to face Indiana on Saturday night. The Spartans were dominated by Wisconsin in their conference opener a week ago, while the Hoosiers lost a shootout to Wake Forest.
Arizona State at Southern California 8:30 PM ET
USC will finish September below .500 for the first time since 2001, but the Trojans are still double-digit favorites for Saturday's Pac-12 game against unbeaten Arizona State at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum. USC's four losses this season have been by a combined 14 points, while Arizona State's hot start is somewhat misleading as the Sun Devils have allowed an average of 34.3 points through their first four games.
Oregon at Washington State 9:30 PM ET
Oregon is saddled with a losing streak for the first time since 2007 when it visits Washington State on Saturday, but hopes the return of star running back Royce Freeman turns its season around. The junior suffered a leg injury during the Ducks' 35-22 loss to No. 15 Nebraska on Sept. 17 and did not play in Oregon's 41-38 setback to Colorado last week, but assistant coach Gary Campbell said Tuesday that the junior fully participated in practice.
Arizona at UCLA 10:30 PM ET
UCLA coach Jim Mora has owned Arizona since he took over as head coach four years ago; he'll try to improve to 5-0 against the Wildcats when they travel to the Rose Bowl for a Pac-12 game Saturday night. Mora has shown he can run up the score against Arizona, as he did in a 66-10 win in 2012 and a 56-30 victory last season, but also come out on top in a defensive battle, evident by UCLA's 17-7 victory at the Rose Bowl in 2014.