How to College Football: Week 5

We have reached the most incredible point in the football calendar. In October and November, every day will have a minimum of one NFL or college football game. Since these pieces drop on Thursdays, I’ll be including the games that’ll be played on Tuesday and Wednesday of the following week at the bottom.

Thursday

There are two choices for the game tonight, but one of them is Western Kentucky at New Mexico State at 7 on CBSSN, a game that isn’t worth your time.

8:00 p.m. on ESPN: North Texas at Tulsa

This could be an interesting game. These two teams are good-ish, and The American is a crab bucket this year.

Friday

There are two very good options that overlap before the evening finale. I suggest you tune into both.

6:00 p.m. on ESPN: Pitt at Virginia Tech

For the first time in history, two power conference teams enter a game at 4-0 and neither team is ranked. VT could be quite the team this year under James Franklin, but Pitt can drag teams into the muck and make things interesting.

7:00 p.m. on Fox: Penn State at Northwestern

Northwestern almost beat Indiana in part because of some missed deep balls by the Hoosiers. Penn State is coming off an embarrassing home collapse against Wisconsin. This game is also the first game at the reimagined Ryan Field.

9:30 p.m. on ESPN: Montana State at Idaho

This should be an easy win for Montana State in another national showcase.

Saturday morning

There are some intriguing (good and bad) games in the early slate, and they all kick at 11 a.m.

ABC: #7 Alabama at #16 Mississippi State

Mississippi State hasn’t beat Alabama since 2007 and is on a 16-game losing streak to the Tide. Kamario Taylor is as dynamic a QB as the Bulldogs have had since Dak Prescott, if not more. If it happens, things get crazy.

Fox: Michigan at Minnesota

Are either of these teams any good? Probably not, and that’s why I love this game. Winning says nothing, but losing says everything.

CBS: Navy at Air Force

Air Force has a 6’0, 245 lbs. QB. I already love him. Navy is coming off a surprising loss to UAB, and a loss here would hurt even more.

ESPN: #3 Notre Dame at North Carolina

This is a quintessential “intriguing (bad)” game. North Carolina is better than they were last year, but it seems that’s also true for Notre Dame. I’m here for the shots of Bill Belichick being miserable.

Saturday afternoon

There are ranked vs ranked massive games in this window. There are also a lot of games that aren’t. I have my eye on three of those other ones, but let’s start big.

2:30 p.m. on CBS: #5 Ohio State at #14 Iowa

This game will test the Iowa defense more than any game in the last few years. Ohio State has a generational receiver by Ohio State’s lofty standards. If they neutralize him, this game gets very winnable.

2:30 p.m. on ABC: #8 Florida at #25 Missouri

Missouri shouldn’t have a chance in this game if Florida’s as good as they’ve shown so far. I won’t put it past the Tigers to find some magic, though.

2:30 p.m. on ESPN2: Virginia at Florida State

Virginia looked like world-beaters out the gate, but then everyone figured out that NC State is bad. Now both of these teams need a win here to have good feelings about their seasons going forward. The obvious intrigue comes from Mike Norvell’s future, but it’s worth remembering that UVA is still 1-0 in the ACC.

2:30 p.m on ESPN+: Eastern Michigan at UMass

UMass is 4-0. Yes, two of those wins are over FCS teams, but I counter with the fact that this is UMass. Anyway, back to the focus here: UMass has never won more than four games since jumping to FBS in 2012. A win here is historic and also extremely possible.

2:45 p.m on ESPNU: Marshall at James Madison

JMU looks very good under first-year coach Billy Napier. If they keep winning, they’ll move into the running for the G6 playoff spot.

Saturday evening

Nothing in this slate jumps off the page, but it’s there while LSU is crushing McNeese.

6:00 p.m. on ESPN2: Arkansas at Texas A&M

Arkansas is extremely bad, but Texas A&M doesn’t have a functional QB. This is likely to be ugly in a fun way.

6:30 p.m. on ABC: #4 Miami (FL) at Clemson

This is as intriguing at the Notre Dame-UNC game. If Clemson pulls this off, I will be dumbfounded.

6:30 p.m on CBSSN: Utah State at #22 Boise State

Utah State is in a weird down year, and Boise State is humming like usual with a great backfield duo. This is worth watching to see them zoom.

7:00 p.m on BTN: #6 Indiana at Rutgers

I just think this game is funny.

Robert Keukala Memorial Shift

Are you a bad enough dude to-wait, I used that line already. Anyway, these are the late kicks.

9:30 p.m. on ESPN: Baylor at Arizona State

Baylor didn’t lose to Colorado. They now have to go face an Arizona State team that is probably going to beat them and make Dave Aranda sadder.

9:30 p.m. on The CW: Texas State at San Diego State

Texas State has a fun offense that can score a lot of points. San Diego State doesn’t have a good offense. This is also a Pac-12 game. Sure.

10:00 p.m. on Fox: Cincinnati at Arizona

Cincinnati is 4-0, and a win here would put them one away from bowl eligibility. I still don’t know if they’re any good.

10:59 p.m. on MW+: San Jose State at Hawaii

Mahalo America! Hawaii’s had a rough go of things lately and is coming off a really bad loss at Wyoming. This one is a match-up of two teams that love to throw the ball, so prepare for some points.

Tuesday

For the weekday games, I’ll just be listing the games.

7:00 p.m. on ESPN2: Southern Miss at Troy

Wednesday

6:00 p.m. on CBSSN: Jacksonville State at Kennesaw State

6:30 p.m. on ESPN2: New Mexico State at FIU

Source: Yahoo Sports