Another week of an LSU early game means there’s a lot of football to watch afterward, especially since the Tigers are on the road. Y’all know the drill by now, so let’s get into it.

Thursday

There are two games on at roughly the same time. I don’t have anything to say about either one.

6:00 p.m. on ESPNU: James Madison at Appalachian State

6:30 p.m. on ESPN2: ECU at Memphis

Friday

This slate is full of football. Most of it isn’t great football, though.

4:00 p.m. on ESPN2: NC Central at Delaware State

It’s a weird time, but it’s something to get the night started. This is the MEAC opener for both teams. Delaware State has DeSean Jackson as their head coach. That is all.

6:00 p.m. on ESPN: Duke at Virginia

Wikipedia calls this a rivalry game, though the biggest intrigue comes from it being a rematch of the 2025 ACC Championship Game. Neither one of these teams is all that good, and Duke should win, but it’s there.

6:00 p.m. on CBSSN: UMass at UConn

The battle for the Southwick Jug is back. UMass is on a three-game slide after their best start in over two decades, while UConn is coming off their bye week. Enjoy it.

9:30 p.m. on ESPN: NC State at Stanford

Somebody has to win this game. This is some truly incredible football (derogatory).

Saturday morning

While LSU’s playing, here are three other games to keep an eye on that also kick at 11 a.m.

Fox: #6 Indiana at Michigan

Michigan benched Bryce Underwood during last week’s win over Penn State. Indiana is coming in annoyed after losing to Ohio State.

FS1: #8 Texas Tech at Cincinnati

This slate isn’t filled with great games, and this is a prime example. Is this interesting? Maybe, it all depends on if Cincinnati wants to show up or not.

ESPN2: West Virginia at TCU

This is a game ripe for some chaos. Both of these teams are weird in the best way, so it should be fun.

Saturday afternoon

This 2:30 slate is much better.

ESPN: #11 Tennessee at South Carolina

This is a classic trap game. Tennessee is coming off a big win and traveling to face a team who isn’t great but is good enough to cause some havoc thanks to their defense.

FS1: #15 Iowa at Minnesota

The weird football alarm was built for games like this. Iowa may be good, but nobody should count Minnesota out if they can get the offense rolling.

CBS: Michigan State at #9 UCLA

The only undefeated team in the SEC or Big 10 is UCLA, a team who is starting their back-up QB for the rest of the season. Michigan State should be an easy foe for this marauding defense, but I’m more interested in the Bruins’ offense.

ABC: Texas A&M at #13 Alabama

The classic “Do you want to see a dead body?” game of the week pits a Bama team coming off consecutive losses against a Texas A&M team that got a much-needed win over The Citadel. The Aggies are still bad, though.

Saturday evening

There are four interesting 6:30 games worth watching.

ABC: #7 Ole Miss at #19 Texas

Steve Sarkisian said they’re giving the back-up QB more reps. To quote a famous comic, “Yes, ha ha ha, YES!!” Ole Miss should blow this team out if the Missouri game is any indication, but the SEC is a giant crab bucket this year. Trying to predict this game is essentially useless.

ESPN2: Iowa State at #25 Arizona

It seems that Arizona is decent this year. Since that’s something that I’ve overlooked, this is a great opportunity to see just how good they are against a slightly dangerous Iowa State team.

NBC: #16 USC at Wisconsin

USC is a bit of a mess this year, but they keep winning games. Wisconsin is a far better team than in the past couple of years and could have the juice to pull off a solid upset.

SECN: Vanderbilt at #12 Kentucky

This game probably won’t be good, but it allows me the chance to point out that Kentucky is tied at the top of the SEC with Georgia and has a decent chance of making it to Atlanta.

Robert Kekaula Memorial Shift

There are only two games kicking off after 8:00, and both of them are big.

9:00 p.m. on The CW: North Dakota State at New Mexico

This game has MWC implications. This game would’ve been a lot bigger had NDSU avoided a loss to UNLV, but it still looks like it could determine the championship. Also, this should be a great environment in Albuquerque.

9:15 p.m. on ESPN: #14 Houston at #10 Utah

This game has massive Playoff implications. If Houston wins, they could be on track to make the playoff even if they miss the Big 12 Championship Game (undefeated Texas Tech and BYU would go over them). If Utah wins, their playoff resume gets something good on it for the first time this year.

Tuesday

6:00 p.m. on CBSSN: Delaware at WKU

7:00 p.m. on ESPN2: Sam Houston at Missouri State

Wednesday

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

7:00 p.m. on ESPN2: Jacksonville State at New Mexico State