Remember when Alabama Coach Nick Saban bemoaned “rat poison,” the term he used for the hype that surrounds a top-tier program? North Carolina Coach Mack Brown, who has crafted the Tar Heels into something resembling top tier this season, may have topped Saban. “You can’t sit around and eat the poisonous cheese,” he said this week about his undefeated team. “You can’t listen to the talk.”
All times Eastern.
No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State | ||
Central Florida at No. 6 Oklahoma | ||
No. 22 Air Force at Navy | ||
Mississippi State at Arkansas | ||
Memphis at Alabama Birmingham | ||
Boston College at Georgia Tech | ACC Network | |
Rutgers at Indiana | Big Ten Network | |
Western Michigan at Ohio | CBS Sports Network | |
Washington State at No. 9 Oregon | ||
No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama | ||
Minnesota at No. 24 Iowa | ||
Oklahoma State at West Virginia | ||
North Texas at No. 23 Tulane | ||
South Carolina at No. 20 Missouri | SEC Network | |
Pittsburgh at Wake Forest | ACC Network | |
Northwestern at Nebraska | Big Ten Network | |
Wisconsin at Illinois | Fox Sports 1 | |
South Florida at Connecticut | CBS Sports Network | |
No. 8 Texas at Houston | ||
Toledo at Miami (Ohio) | ||
Virginia at No. 10 North Carolina | CW Network | |
No. 13 Mississippi at Auburn | ||
TCU at Kansas State | ||
Texas Tech at BYU | Fox Sports 1 | |
Appalachian State at Old Dominion | NFL Network | |
Utah State at San Jose State | CBS Sports Network | |
No. 2 Michigan at Michigan State | ||
No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State | ||
Army at No. 19 LSU | SEC Network | |
No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC | ||
Clemson at Miami | ACC Network | |
Georgia State at Louisiana | ||
Nevada at San Diego State | Fox Sports 2 | |
Arizona State at No. 5 Washington | Fox Sports 1 | |
No. 25 UCLA at Stanford |
Saturday starts off fast with Penn State-Ohio State in Columbus, where the Nittany Lions haven’t won since 2011. The series has featured generally close games in recent years, however, with the past six meetings — all Buckeyes wins — decided by 13 points or fewer. Penn State hasn’t lost since last year’s 44-31 defeat, a game it led in the fourth quarter before allowing Ohio State to score 28 points over a six-minute span. This might be the year the Nittany Lions finally get over the hump thanks to a dominant defense that ranks in the top 10 in a sizable number of statistical categories and an offense that will not excite anyone but also doesn’t make a ton of mistakes: Penn State is 129th out of 133 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in plays that have gained at least 20 yards and only has had one play gain at least 40 yards, but quarterback Drew Allar also has yet to throw an interception in 241 career pass attempts. …
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The Minnesota-Iowa game is notable if only so we can list all the ways the Hawkeyes’ offense is so very bad. The over-under total for this one is 31.5, a preposterously low number for a major college football game that isn’t going to be affected by lousy weather or key injuries. In last weekend’s 15-6 win over Wisconsin, Iowa somehow did not snap the ball once inside the Wisconsin 20-yard line (the Hawkeyes’ lone touchdown came on an 82-yard run, and they averaged only 2.5 yards on their other 47 rushing attempts). Iowa ranks 94th or worse in the nation in yards per play (128th out of 133 teams), passing yards per game (131st), yards per pass (132nd), rushing yards per game (100th), yards per carry (94th) and points per game (114th). Keep in mind, the Hawkeyes are 6-1. … Alabama hosts Tennessee, and Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe didn’t sound too worried about the Volunteers’ pass rush, which is averaging four sacks per game. “We’re going to have a lot of fun,” Milroe told reporters this week. “We don’t care about none of that. It’s just another opportunity for us to have fun. We get to play in front of our fans this weekend, so we’re excited for that. A lot of energy will be in the air with playing a great opponent.” Alabama quarterbacks have taken 31 sacks this season, the highest number of any Power Five team not named Colorado. …
Duke has never beaten Florida State in 21 all-time meetings, and its prospect of a first victory probably would be grim without quarterback Riley Leonard, who suffered a high-ankle sprain on the last play of a Sept. 30 loss to Notre Dame and missed last weekend’s victory over North Carolina State. Blue Devils Coach Mike Elko seemed to suggest this week that Leonard will be back to take on the Seminoles, and that’s probably a good thing: In the win over the Wolfpack, backup quarterback Henry Belin IV completed only 4 of 12 passes for 107 yards, with 69 of them coming on one first-quarter touchdown pass. … USC looks to bounce back against Utah, seven days after coming undone against Notre Dame. For once, it wasn’t defense that let the Trojans down: They held the Fighting Irish to just 5.1 yards per play, their second-lowest mark of the season. Instead, USC committed five turnovers — one of which, a fumble, Notre Dame returned for a touchdown — and allowed a 99-yard kickoff return for a score. The Utes’ offense has been dismal this year, averaging just 4.8 yards per play (only Northwestern and Iowa are worse among Power Five teams), but its defense has been great (third nationally in expected points allowed per play and seventh in success rate allowed).
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