On twelve Thursdays this fall, we are blessed to have college football games. From a UGA perspective, Thursday night college football is something I never want to see. But for someone else, it is great fun. Usually, there are nice games on Thursday nights to help get the football weekend kicked off right.
This season, there are some intriguing match-ups, but overall the slate of games are pretty sub par. Here are the games ranked (note, I only included ESPN family of network games; as much of a junkie as I am, I don’t care to watch games on the Pac-12 Network):
- October 13, Navy at ECU
I mean, I’ll watch, but who cares?
- October 6, Temple at Memphis
Temple was money for me ATS last year, and the degenerate in me will be the only reason I’ll care. Which is reason enough.
- September 29, UConn at Houston
Houston plays three times on Thursday nights this season! Of the three times, this is the least intriguing.
- October 27, Cal at USC
Cal isn’t very good. USC won’t be that good either in Year 1ish of Clay Helton. Not ranked lower because it is at least a Power 5 matchup.
- September 15, Houston at Cincinnati
IF Houston can somehow pull off an upset against Oklahoma, they could this year’s Boise State. We’ll see. Ranked higher than UConn because of Tuberville. Tuberville usually has them as a 9 win team, and one of the better in the American Conference. Last year was disappointing, so we’ll see if our old rival coach can rebound.
- November 3, Oklahoma at Iowa State
Only because Oklahoma could be a playoff team, and while Iowa State tries hard not to be, this is still a Power 5 matchup. Barely.
- October 27, Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh
How will Justin Fuente do in Year 1 after replacing Frank Beamer? Pitt was secretly decent least year.
- November 10, UNC at Duke
Hasn’t been competitive the last couple of years, but UNC should score a lot of points and be fun to watch. Plus, it’s always nice to watch teams Georgia plays to compare and contrast.
- October 27, App State at Georgia Southern
If you know Georgia Southern fans, you know that this is akin to their Florida game for us.
- September 22, Clemson at Georgia Tech
Nothing says college football like a game under lights on the Flats. Tech will be better and it’s always fun to watch Deshaun Watson and Tech lose.
- November 7, Louisville at Houston
I expect Louisville to contend for their division in the ACC, and Houston should be coming in with only one loss.
- September 1, South Carolina at Vanderbilt
With apologies to Cal and Hawaii, this is the first game of the college football season and I always look forward to getting an early look at the Gamecocks. This could be a 3-2 Mississippi State/Auburn kind of game, and watching Boom on the sideline blackout in anger is must-see-TV.
- October 20, Miami at Virginia Tech
Will Coach Richt have the U back to prominence? Important division game, as both programs are hitting the reset button and should be excited about the future. This is the third game in a tough 4 game stretch for Miami, coming off FSU, UNC and having Notre Dame the next week. The Richt factor alone makes this must-watch.
- Thanksgiving, LSU at Texas A&M
Saved the best for last. Two teams that should be pretty good this season, and if Alabama takes a step back, this very well could decide who plays in Atlanta.. Or, it could be the last game for one, or both, head coaches with all the Les Miles and Kevin Sumlin hot seat drama. After a long day of eating, driving, and dealing with family, this will be a nice way to cap off Thanksgiving.
Corbindawg
[su_spacer size=”30″]
[su_spacer size=”40″]
MMCSDAWG Thanks!
Nice rundown of the Thursday games…thanks!
I liking watching but I hope we never play on Thursday — really surprised to see Oklahoma doing it.
Welcome to BI! Look forward to your contributions! Please keep up the Barbecue reports as well! Been following you guys for a long time and you picked a great spot to move to! Welcome aboard! Enjoyed the Lewis tribute yesterday over at the Tree as well!