Thursday
Best option: No. 11 UCLA at No. 15 Arizona State, 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, FoxSports.com
Spread: UCLA -4
Read: Bruins Nation, House of Sparky
There are 18 games involving ranked teams this week; 17 of them are against unranked foes, and then this lone Top 25 matchup, which might steal the whole weekend's show. UCLA has looked talented but vulnerable, even as it chugs along at 3-0. The Bruins' highest margin of victory was eight points at Virginia, and if superstar QB Brett Hundley's not at 100 percent, it might be difficult for UCLA to keep pace with Arizona State's spread attack, which also has a banged-up quarterback.
Plan B: Texas Tech at No. 24 Oklahoma State, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN
This isn't really an either-or situation, as the two games are two-and-a-half hours apart, and you'll know by the kick of the UCLA-ASU game whether this one's worth sticking around to see the final gun or not. Oklahoma State QB Daxx Garman has been stellar in relief of injured starter J.W. Walsh, but after seeing Arkansas smash the Red Raider defense on the ground in Week 3, the Cowboys are likely eager to get a big day out of RB Rennie Childs.
Keep it in mind: Appalachian State at Georgia Southern, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU, WatchESPN
The Sun Belt is the Fun Belt, and on Thursday it welcomes its two newest members to the joys of mid-week national television attention. Georgia Southern is surprisingly stout and really should have beaten Georgia Tech and NC State earlier this year, while Appalachian State is ... well, it's not about to beat an ACC team anytime soon.
Friday
Best option: Fresno State at New Mexico, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2, WatchESPN
Spread: Fresno State -3
Read: Mountain West Connection
It's one of the nation's most pass-committed offenses (Fresno) and one of the nation's most run-committed offenses (UNM) and a pair of utterly miserable defenses tasked with stopping them. I don't know if you were expecting the Super Bowl on a Friday night in September, but how anyone can complain about a pillow fight with an over/under of 73 points frankly escapes me.
Plan B: Middle Tennessee State at Old Dominion, 8 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, FoxSports.com
MTSU-Old Dominion! For when Fresno State and New Mexico is just too much to handle!
Saturday
| Time | Road | Home | TV | Streaming |
| Noon ET | Tennessee | No. 12 Georgia | ESPN | ESPN3.com |
| Noon ET | USF | No. 19 Wisconsin | ESPNU | ESPN3.com |
| Noon ET | UTEP | No. 25 Kansas State | FSN, SSO | foxsports.com/foxsportsgo |
| Noon ET | Wyoming | No. 9 Michigan State | ESPN2 | ESPN3.com |
| Noon ET | Northwestern | Penn State | Big Ten Network | BTN2Go.com |
| Noon ET | Iowa | Purdue | Big Ten Network | BTN2Go.com |
| Noon ET | Tulane | Rutgers | ESPNews | ESPN3.com |
| Noon ET | TCU | SMU | CBSSN | |
| Noon ET | Vanderbilt | Kentucky | SEC Network | ESPN3.com |
| 12:30 p.m. ET | Colorado State | Boston College | RSN, NESN, ROOT | nesn.com/live-stream |
| 12:30 p.m. ET | Western Mich | Virginia Tech | ACC Network | ESPN3.com |
| 1 p.m. ET | Army | Yale | FCS-Atlantic | |
| 1:30 p.m. ET | Maryland | Indiana | Big Ten Network | BTN2Go.com |
| 1:30 p.m. ET | Akron | Pittsburgh | ESPN3.com | |
| 2 p.m. ET | Eastern Illinois | Ohio | ESPN3.com | |
| 3 p.m. ET | Bowling Green | Massachusetts | ESPN3.com | |
| 3:30 p.m. ET (Arlington, TX) | Arkansas | No. 6 Texas A&M | CBS | CBSSports.com |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | FIU | UAB | ASN, CSN | |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Kent State | Virginia | ESPN3.com | ESPN3.com |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Miami (Ohio) | Buffalo | ESPN3.com | |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Minnesota | Michigan | ABC | ESPN3.com |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | No. 1 Florida State | NC State | ABC/ESPN2 | ESPN3.com |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Wake Forest | Louisville | ESPNU | ESPN3.com |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Western Kentucky | Navy | CBSSN | |
| 4 p.m. ET | Louisiana Tech | No. 5 Auburn | SEC Network | ESPN3.com |
| 4 p.m. ET | Colorado | California | Pac-12 Network | pac-12.com/live |
| 4 p.m. ET | Temple | Connecticut | ESPNews | ESPN3.com |
| 4 p.m. ET | Texas | Kansas | FS1 | foxsports.com/foxsportsgo |
| 4:15 p.m. ET | No. 16 Stanford | Washington | FOX | foxsports.com/foxsportsgo |
| 5 p.m. ET | UTSA | FAU | ||
| 5 p.m. ET | South Alabama | Idaho | ESPN3.com | |
| 5 p.m. ET | Southern | Alcorn State | ESPN3.com | |
| 6 p.m. ET | Cincinnati | No. 22 Ohio State | Big Ten Network | BTN2Go.com |
| 7 p.m. ET | Boise State | Air Force | CBSSN | |
| 7 p.m. ET | North Carolina | Clemson | ESPN U | ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. ET | Missouri | No. 13 South Carolina | ESPN | ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. ET | Rice | Southern Miss | FCS | |
| 7 p.m. ET | Central Michigan | Toledo | ESPN3.com | |
| 7 p.m. ET | Troy | ULM | ESPN3.com | |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | New Mexico State | No. 17 LSU | SEC Network | ESPN3.com |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | Duke | Miami | ESPN2 | ESPN3.com |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | Memphis | No. 10 Ole Miss | FSN | foxsports.com/foxsportsgo |
| 8 p.m. ET | No. 7 Baylor | Iowa State | FOX | foxsports.com/foxsportsgo |
| 8 p.m. ET | UNLV | San Diego St | ESPN3.com | |
| 8 p.m. ET (East Rutherford, NJ) | No. 8 Notre Dame | Syracuse | ABC | ESPN3.com |
| 8 p.m. ET | Texas State | Tulsa | ESPNews | ESPN3.com |
| 8 p.m. ET | Washington State | Utah | Pac-12 Network | pac-12.com/live |
| 9 p.m. ET | Illinois | No. 21 Nebraska | Big Ten Network | BTN2Go.com |
| 10:30 p.m. ET | Nevada | San Jose State | CBSSN | |
| 10:30 p.m. ET | Oregon State | No. 18 USC | ESPN | ESPN3.com |
Early shift
Best option: Tennessee at No. 12 Georgia
Spread: Georgia -17
Read: Rocky Top Talk, Dawg Sports
Todd Gurley has reached appointment-viewing territory. Georgia's nowhere near out of the Playoff picture at this point, so count on a spirited effort with Tennessee visiting. The Vols have looked competitive, and at some point a team that hangs around and hangs around and hangs around is going to pick off one of these good teams. Careful, Dawgs.
Plan B: Vanderbilt at Kentucky
It's not great competition, but basement-level SEC football is still probably better than middle-of-the-pack football in most other conferences, so you can at least have that. Vandy showed a pulse last week for the first time all season before South Carolina overwhelmed the 'Dores. Kentucky's also looking to get into the SEC win column for the first time, having dropped a heartbreaker to Florida in three overtimes, but the 20-3 win over Ohio prior to that was a solid win (seriously!).
Keep it in mind: Maryland at Indiana
Indiana, by dint of losing to Bowling Green then going to Missouri and beating the reigning SEC East champs, should always be on your radar because there's no telling what the Hoosiers are capable of on any given week—just that it'll be close and probably heartbreaking. The Hoosier defense looked surprisingly capable last week, and it'll have its hands full again with arguably the best WR corps in the Big Ten, led by Maryland's superman Stefon Diggs.
In case of emergency: Wyoming at No. 9 Michigan State; South Florida at No. 19 Wisconsin, UTEP at No. 25 Kansas State
I mean, maybe one of these will be close? Or maybe you just want to watch a merciless blowout. Well, if you're that kind of sadist, this trio of ranked games is your Golden Corral Endless Pain Buffet.
Middle shift
Best option: Arkansas vs. No. 6 Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Spread: Texas A&M -8.5
Read: Arkansas Fight, Good Bull Hunting
This'll be the Razorbacks' and Aggies' fourth year playing in Jerry Jones' billionaire playground, and it's a continuation of one of the Southwest Conference's best rivalries. More than that, it should be an entertaining game, with Kevin Sumlin's explosive spread offense facing Bret Bielema's bruising ground game. Arkansas isn't the pushover it was in 2013, but A&M has also proven it's not simply the Johnny Manziel Show by trouncing all foes with Kenny Hill at QB. Should be fun.
Plan B: No. 16 Stanford at Washington
Up in the Pac-12 North, Oregon's happy to see any losses that someone else can hand to its rivals. Stanford's a legit contender to that division title, and Washington ... well, no. But the Huskies are serious contenders to wreak a little havoc, and knocking off Stanford is a plausible part of that.
Keep it in mind: No. 1 Florida State at NC State
The Wolfpack faithful will be aching for an upset in this one, and if the Wolfpack pull it off, it would make FSU 1-4 in its last five trips to Carter-Finley Stadium. But even with the Jameis Winston saga entering weirder, sordid-er territory, Florida State is by far the more talented team.
In case of emergency: Minnesota at Michigan
Well, watch it on TV if you didn't buy your two Coca-Colas first, anyway. Also, the Wolverines are favored by double digits, so there's no way they can get thumped at home again ... right?
Late shift
Best option: Missouri at No. 13 South Carolina
Spread: South Carolina -5.5
Read: Rock M Nation, Garnet and Black Attack
This was a much more compelling game before Mizzou let Indiana waltz into Columbia and steal a victory, but that upset didn't have a direct effect on the SEC East race, so the stakes are the same as they were before. "GameDay" is in Columbia (the one in South Carolina, obviously), so the atmosphere's going to be rocking. The SEC East has already been a little weird this year; let's shoot for pants-on-head crazy.
Plan B: Cincinnati at No. 22 Ohio State
The problem with college football slates like this week's isn't that there won't be any exciting, compelling games; it's that it's sort of difficult to intuit which ones will be good and which will be meh. If there are five games with 14-point spreads, odds are fine that one of them will be an upset. Now pick which one ahead of time. Not really that easy. Cincy's still got Butch Jones' guys, Ohio State's still got a freshman at quarterback -- weirder things have happened.
Keep it in mind: Oregon State at No. 18 USC
Beavers QB Sean Mannion is one of the most prolific passers in Pac-12 history, and he's looking to add some signature wins to his resume. This would qualify, and USC's defense is just porous enough that it's a possibility. Then again, the Trojans are favored for a reason, and the top-to-bottom talent level at the Coliseum is flat-out better.
In case of emergency: No. 7 Baylor at Iowa State
This was a 71-7 massacre last year, but remember, Iowa State won (by 14!) the last time the teams tangled in Ames. ISU is awfully young on offense and in its secondary, so as much as anything the Cyclones are hoping Baylor comes out flat — an A-level performance by the Bears, and this one's over, no matter how well ISU is prepared.