Bye Week College Football Viewing Guide
No Derrick Henry this weekend, so find out who else you should be watching.
Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Well folks it’s officially the darkest week of the football season; the Crimson Tide’s bye week. I’m sure the players need the bye week, so we’ll have to sacrifice one weekend of manically cheering on the Tide so they can get good and rested up for LSU.
In the meantime; we’ll just have to settle for a rather down weekend throughout the rest of College Football. There is only one ranked v. ranked matchup this weekend and that’s Notre Dame versus Temple; which doesn’t exactly scream matchup of the century.
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Hopefully you already have Halloween plans this Saturday evening because trying to stomach all of these bad games in one day could be hazardous for the body. Oh and for the record; showing up drunk to a party and claiming you’re Steve Sarkisian is a perfectly acceptable costume.
So being that it’s our duty as red-blooded Americans to consume all the college football we can; no matter how bad the games, it’s time to get your calendar app ready and start penciling in your College Football Saturday.
8:00 am Central:
ESPN’s College Gameday of course. This week they’ll be in Philly for the aforementioned Temple and Notre Dame game. It definitely won’t be as exciting as last week’s at James Madison, but Philly is a cool city and there should be some interesting characters show up.
Can Gameday live up to their performance at James Madison this week in Philly? Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
If you have a second TV:
SEC Nation – ESPN – 9am Central:
Maybe you just can’t get yourself amped up for Temple and Notre Dame no matter how good College Gameday is; that’s alright because Tess and the gang will be coming to you live from Lexington to get your SEC fix in.
Morning Games:
Ole Miss @ Auburn – ESPN – 11:00am Central:
Yikes, two 11 o clock games in a row for the barn? No thank you. Auburn is fighting for the right to play in a bowl and Ole Miss is still trying to control their own destiny to get to Atlanta. People may tell you to root for Auburn in this game because it puts Alabama back in the driver’s seat. Do not do that. Root against Auburn, always. Ole Miss will still have plenty of chances to lose with games against Arkansas, LSU and Mississippi State.
Last year’s Auburn Ole Miss game was crazy; can this year provide some more of the same magic?
Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
If you have a second TV:
South Carolina @ Texas A&M – SEC Network – 11am central:
Again, this should tell you exactly how rough this weekend is when this is the second best game in the early window. Although there is some intrigue here with Texas A&M coming off two rough loses and South Carolina needing a win desperately.
Afternoon Games:
Florida v. Georgia – CBS – 2:30pm Central:
Ahh the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (I will forever call it this; NCAA rules be damned). Florida is the favorite coming in to this, and no one could’ve predicted that preseason. Both teams are off a bye and you can usually expect something interesting to happen in this game. Plus, the winner will control their own destiny to get to Atlanta.
If offense is more your thing then the USC/Cal game is for you.
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
If you have a second TV:
USC @ California – FOX – 2pm Central:
I actually think this could be the more intriguing of the two afternoon games. USC is coming off a huge win against Utah and Cal is coming off a second straight loss after a 5-0 start. If you like offense this game may be more for you than the Florida Georgia matchup.
Night Games:
Notre Dame @ Temple – ABC – 7pm Central:
I’ll be completely honest; I could not be any less excited about this game. Temple may be a feel good story at 7-0 but let’s be honest does anyone really expect them to be competitive in this game? Vegas certainly doesn’t, they have Notre Dame as a 10-point road favorite on Saturday night. This being the game of the night shows you exactly how weak this Football Saturday is.
If you have a second TV:
Tennessee @ Kentucky – SEC Network – 6:30pm Central:
I mean I guess? Definitely not the most exciting SEC matchup on paper, but Tennessee really needs this to potentially get to a bowl so that alone could make it interesting.
Kentucky and Tennessee could prove to be a fun matchup. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Keep your remote handy for:
Michigan @ Minnesota – ESPN – 6pm Central:
I’m not calling for the outright upset yet, but this game could be very interesting.
Could Washington State possibly pull the upset on Saturday? Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Late Night Games:
Stanford @ Washington State – ESPN – 9:30pm Central:
The Notre Dame/Temple game probably won’t be over by kickoff of this game, but I can almost guarantee you’ll already be bored to tears by it. This one should keep you entertained for a half at least.
If you have a second TV:
Arizona @ Washington – Fox Sports 1 – 10pm Central:
More #Pac12AfterDark where something crazy almost always happens. Worth staying up for, or at least keeping a TV on it at your Halloween party.
So yeah as you may can tell this isn’t the ideal week for Alabama to have a bye in terms of good football to watch. Although these are usually the weekends when something crazy happens; at least we won’t have to worry about that happening to the Tide. Be sure to stay safe this weekend folks, and hopefully you can find some college football to make you happy on Saturday!