The Rose Bowl in September?
Michigan State heading West?
A top-10 matchup this early in the season?
Thankfully, for all college football fans across the nation, the answer to these questions is a resounding “YES!”
Well, kind of.
The Rose Bowl is still being played in January, but in a matchup featuring No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Michigan State, the game in Eugene, Oregon can’t help but have a rosy-like feel to it.
In an otherwise boring Saturday of college football, only two of the 74 games being played this week feature two nationally ranked teams, none bigger than the Ducks-Spartans showdown.
To help cope with this Saturday, I’m going to tell you how to best spend your day and what games are worth watching. And yes, I said “games” as in plural.
Morning games: 9-9:30 a.m.
In all honesty, there isn’t a single game worth watching so your best bet would be to sleep in, get a nice breakfast and maybe a quick workout in before the afternoon games hit. Because once they do, you won’t be moving from your couch.
Here are two games that won’t completely bore you to death.
No. 2 Alabama vs. Florida Atlantic: The only reason worth watching is to see if the Crimson Tide comes out and plays to their potential.
Tulsa vs. No. 4 Oklahoma: See above, but replace Crimson Tide with Sooners.
Afternoon games: 12-12:30 p.m.
No. 13 Stanford vs. No. 14 USC: While Oregon and Michigan State are getting all the headlines, this matchup between Pac-12 foes has the potential to be the best game of the day. No matter what, the winner of the game will put itself into serious consideration for one of the four playoff spots available. The Trojans, under new head coach Steve Sarkisian, opened up the year with a dominating 52-13 win over Fresno State, while the Cardinal dismantled FCS foe UC Davis 45-0. USC was very impressive as Cody Kessler threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns, and three different players rushed for a touchdown.
Primetime games: 3:30-4 p.m.
No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 Michigan State: The game of the week, and potentially the year, will bring together two teams with vastly different styles. The only similar thing you’ll find between the Ducks and Spartans is that both teams have the color green in its school colors, but even then, the greens are different shades. The question remains, will Michigan State’s punishing style of play be too physical for Oregon to handle, or will the Ducks fly too fast for the Spartans to react and stop them?
Night games: 7-7:30 p.m.
Just like the morning, there’s nothing worthy of spending three hours glued to a television. In the unlikely chance that you want some more college football, here’s the game worth watching.
No. 11 UCLA vs. Memphis: Can the Bruins, led by Heisman-contending quarterback Brett Hundley, get back on track offensively against a weak Memphis squad?
PS – Don’t forget to set your fantasy football lineups; the season starts Sunday