If you can only clear one window on your DVR this weekend, make it Saturday Early. Four games, an average game rank of 5.0, and nothing else on the slate comes close to that kind of quality packed into a single window. Everything else this weekend is scattered, some of it strong and some of it a reach, but that early Saturday slot is the one stretch where you genuinely cannot go wrong with the remote.
One quick note: these rankings are pulled from the AP Poll for now. The Precedent College Football Ratings take over in the coming weeks, once there’s enough game data to make them meaningful.
* All times Central
Game of the Week
#1 Ohio State at #4 Texas - Saturday, 6:30 PM, ABC
Every single first-place vote in the country belongs to Ohio State right now, and the Buckeyes are taking that unanimous ranking on the road to a Texas team that jumped a spot to #4 after its own opener. Both sides are 1-0. Nothing else on the board this week even pretends to be a matchup between two ranked teams. If you watch one game, this is it.
Friday Evening
Avg. Game Rank: 32.0
(19) - Missouri (23) at Kansas (NR) - 7:00 PM, FOX
(45) - Rutgers (NR) at Boston College (NR) - 6:30 PM, ESPN2
Missouri climbed two spots after its opener, but like Kansas, that win came against an FCS opponent, so Friday is really the first look at either team against real competition. Rutgers-Boston College is the rougher watch of the two: both teams are 0-1 with no poll support on either side, and it’s on the slate mostly because someone had to fill the window.
Saturday Early
Avg. Game Rank: 5.0
(2) - Oklahoma (11) at Michigan (28) - 11:00 AM, FOX
(4) - Arizona State (41) at Texas A&M (10) - 11:00 AM, ABC
(6) - Western Kentucky (NR) at Georgia (2) - 11:45 AM, SEC Network
(8) - Oregon (6) at Oklahoma State (NR) - 11:00 AM, ESPN
Oklahoma heads into Ann Arbor against a Michigan team that fell all the way out of the numbered rankings this week, a rough landing for a squad that opened the season at #16. This is Michigan’s chance to argue the drop happened too fast. Down in College Station, Arizona State visits a Texas A&M team that slid two spots to #10. Georgia hosting Western Kentucky is as lopsided as it looks on paper. The one worth circling back to is Oregon at Oklahoma State: the Ducks actually won their opener and still fell four spots, which tells you the voters wanted more proof before trusting them again.
Saturday Afternoon
Avg. Game Rank: 6.5
(3) - Arizona (29) at BYU (15) - 2:30 PM, FOX
(5) - Memphis (30) at Boise State (26) - 5:00 PM, USA Network
(7) - Rice (NR) at Notre Dame (3) - 2:30 PM, NBC
(11) - Alabama (12) at Kentucky (NR) - 2:30 PM, ABC
Arizona carries only a handful of votes into Provo against a BYU team settling in at #15. Rice at Notre Dame is a lopsided road trip for a Fighting Irish team that moved up to #3. Alabama’s visit to Kentucky is its first real road test of the year after climbing a spot itself. But the one to actually watch is Memphis at Boise State, buried in this window without a numbered rank on either side. Memphis is a perfect 2-0, a full game ahead of most of the country, and nobody’s talking about it yet.
Saturday Evening
Avg. Game Rank: 8.0
(1) - Ohio State (1) at Texas (4) - 6:30 PM, ABC - see Game of the Week
(9) - Louisiana Tech (NR) at LSU (8) - 6:30 PM, SECN+
(10) - Charlotte (NR) at Ole Miss (9) - 6:45 PM, ESPN2
(12) - Texas Tech (13) at Oregon State (NR) - 6:30 PM, CBS
LSU jumped three spots to #8 this week, the biggest riser inside the current top ten, and hosts Louisiana Tech in what should be a comfortable step up in national standing. Ole Miss is a home favorite over Charlotte, holding steady at #9. Texas Tech slipped a spot to #13 and heads on the road against an unranked Oregon State squad.
Saturday After Dark
Avg. Game Rank: 24.0
(13) - Louisiana (NR) at USC (14) - 10:00 PM, BTN
(17) - Arkansas (NR) at Utah (20) - 9:15 PM, ESPN
(28) - North Dakota State (NR) at Air Force (NR) - 9:00 PM, FS1
(38) - Sacramento State (NR) at Fresno State (NR) - 9:30 PM, CBSSN
USC is the only 2-0 team on the board in this entire window, but don’t mistake that for a marquee matchup. Louisiana carries no poll presence at all. Arkansas travels to a Utah team that nudged up a spot to #20. The late slate closes with North Dakota State-Air Force and Sacramento State-Fresno State, four teams with zero poll standing between them.
Sleeper of the Week
Memphis at Boise State, Saturday at 5:00 PM. Perfect record, real production, and almost nobody outside Memphis is paying attention yet. Worth the flip during a commercial break in a bigger game.
Storyline to Watch
Michigan falling out of the rankings entirely after a preseason #16 slot is the most interesting subplot of the weekend, and it has nothing to do with the scoreboard. A ranked win over Oklahoma changes that conversation fast. A loss, and the questions about this Michigan team start sounding a lot louder.
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Written by Bob Sloop