After a rough Week 4 for BYU, here's the best games to watch in each time slot. This won't necessarily always be the top game since I'm looking at this as a BYU fan, meaning that BYU games, future BYU opponents, and conference play will get a slight bonus. And in this week, just getting a decent game will be a challenge so we'll see what happens
Pre-Saturday
Normally, this one is pretty limited in good games, but thie week there's two with the biggest (of course) being Cincinnati @ BYU (Friday 8:15, ESPN). A matchup of new Big 12 teams, both seeking to be the first to win a Big 12 conference game and both looking at a crossroads for how the season may go. Should be a great game as well, with BYU favored by 1. If you're looking to whet your appetite before that, #10 Utah @ #19 Oregon St (Friday 7 PM, FS1) is a ranked on ranked matchup with Oregon St favored by 4.
Saturday Morning (Pre-Noon Mountain)
Theis is a pretty week slot for this week, and it's mostly built on hopes of schadenfreude. Probably the most meaningful game from a BYU perspective is Texas A&M @ Arkansas (10 AM, SECN). Right now Arkansas is our marquee win...but they're 2-2 and the only victories are over Western Carolina and Kent St. Of course, they've only lost to us and LSU so this game gives a great idea of where their season will stand. A&M is favored by 6, but a loss here leaves Arkansas a tough path to bowl eligibility
Other, less BYU-relevant options include:
- #22 Florida @ Kentucky (10:00, ESPN) - After an ugly week 1 loss to Utah, Florida has looked very good (including beating up on Tennessee) and is now ranked. Kentucky hasn't played anyone (opened SEC play against Vandy), but is 4-0 and favored by 1. Shoud be a good game and should give a lot of insight into what both teams really are.
- Clemson @ Syracuse (10 AM, ABC) - Clemson is 2-2...but both losses are to Top 25 teams. Syracuse is 4-0...but their best win is against Purdue. FPI likes Syracuse, Vegas likes Clemson by a touchdown. Is Clemson for real? Is Syracuse? Great chance to find out
- #8 USC @ Colorado (10 AM, FOX) - Continuing the theme, USC is 4-0 but hasn't beaten a quality team yet (Arizona St and Stanford don't count)...but is ranked #8. Everyone knew Colorado was bad, then they beat TCU and they were good. Then they were obliterated by Oregon and now they're maybe bad again? Who knows. USC is favored by 21.5, so this one shouldn't be close
Saturday Afternoon (Noon-3 Mountain)
This window normally has a lot of great games. This week is not normal. The one we'll all be watching is #24 Kansas @ #3 Texas (1:30 PM, ABC). Feels weird to root for Kansas immeidatley after they beat us, but it would be great for our reputations and for the conference. Plus, it'd be nice if Texas looked a bit closer to mortal. It's also the lone ranked-on-ranked matchup here. It might not be great though - Texas is favored by 16.
If it gets out of hand, here's some other options
- Houston @ Texas Tech (1:30, FS2) - Houston is pretty clearly not a good team, but Texas Tech was expected to be a dark horse in the conference. A 1-3 start (with the only victory over FCS Tarleton St) pretty much put the lie to that, so it'll be interesting to see if they can get their season back somewhat on the rails before playing BYU. They're favored by 8.5
- Honestly, I can't find a good third game here. The best is probably #1 Georgia @ Auburn (1:30 PM, CBS). Georgia is favored by 14.5 and I don't think it'll be good... but it's likely the best team Georgia has played so far. If you want to support the Big 12, you can watch Baylor @ UCF (1:30 PM, FS1) where UCF is favored by 10.5, but it's a bit less interesting since we don't play either of those teams this season.
Saturday Prime (3-5:30 Mountain)
I'm generally going to lean towards Big 12 games...but this slot just doesn't have any good ones, so here we'll prioritize good football over relevance. One of the best games of the day is #13 LSU @ #20 Ole Miss (4 PM, ESPN). Ranked on ranked, both 3-1, FPI likes Ole Miss, Vegas has LSU by 2.5. It's not relevant, but it should be a great game
If that's not your choice, other options include:
- #11 Notre Dame @ #17 Duke (5:30, ABC) - kind of the same idea as the primary choice in this slot, two ranked teams in a tight game, with Notre Dame 4-1 and Duke 4-0 heading into the game. This one may not quite as even though as FPI and Vegas both like Notre Dame, albeit in a fairly close game with ND favored by 5.5
- Iowa St @ #14 Oklahoma (5:00, FS1) - If football doesn't exist to you beyond BYU, this is the relevant game you're looking for. Iowa St is bad. Oklahoma is good. Not sure we'll see a lot more than that...but these are two future BYU opponents, so even if Oklahoma is favored by 20, it could be interesting to watch.
Saturday Evening (6-8:30 Mountain)
There's only 7 games in this timeslot..and somehow multiple of them are pretty relevant. The best is West Virginia @ TCU (6 PM, ESPN2) - a matchup of two future BYU opponents who both looked bad in Week 1 and then have won out since. TCU is favored by 10.5, but WVU keep surprising. They were expected to be towards the bottom of the conference, but have already beat Pitt and Texas Tech, with their only loss to Penn St.
Other games to note include:
- Pitt @ Virginia Tech (6 PM, ACCN) - Of course, the question is how much does it mean to beat Pitt. We already know Texas Tech has disappointed and Pitt is 1-3, having only beat Wofford. They're probably the best victory for West Virginia and Cincy though and going up against a bad 1-3 Virginia Tech, so here's their chance to get an FBS win. They're favored by 2.5
- #12 Alabama @ Mississippi St (7 PM, ESPN) - Alabama hasn't shown much this season. Neither has Mississippi St, but this is a chance to assess Alabama a bit more closely. It's not a great game, but the line (Alabama by 14.5) is closer than any of the other ranked games in this windows (Washington by 18.5 over Arizona; Fresno St by 24.5 over Nevada)