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It's Thursday afternoon and five games have already taken place this week with four of those involving all of the CUSA teams in action this week. The other was a Sun Belt affair.
Get all of those scores and the complete schedule, with odds and the Weekly Picks from the Congrove Computer Rankings.
There are 59 games on this week's slate with 16 teams idle.
We get two more tonight, including Boston College at Virginia Tech, and four on Friday, leaving a comparatively light 48-game lineup for Saturday.
Thursday:
Boston College at Virginia Tech
Georgia State at Marshall
Friday:
Oklahoma State at BYU
Florida State at Duke
Fresno State at Nevada
Oregon at Purdue
Eleven teams will continue their bids to remain perfect. Well, actually eight because Penn State (6-0), Pittsburgh (6-0) and Liberty (5-0) are all on a bye week.
BYU gets first crack at 7-0 when the Cougars host OK State tonight.
On Saturday, Indiana (6-0) draws a team that is almost as surprising as the Hoosiers when a 5-1 Nebraska squad comes to town.
Meanwhile, the two military schools of past Heisman winners such as Doc Blanchard (Army, 1945) and Roger Staubach (Navy, 1963) will also look to stay in the race for a CFP Playoff spot. The Black Knights get East Carolina (3-3) while the Midshipmen welcome Charlotte (3-3)
Miami (6-0) visits Louisville (4-2), Oregon (6-0) goes to Purdue (1-5), Iowa State (6-0) hosts UCF (3-3).
Last, but not least, there's Texas (6-0) hosting Georgia (5-1) which is easily one of the top betting picks for this week,
Is Georgia still among the small handful of serious national championship contenders? We’re about to find out Saturday night.
The Dawgs travel to Austin for the college football game of the week. Georgia is unusually vulnerable this season, unable to outclass opponents the way it has in recent years under Kirby Smart. Having already lost to Alabama, the Dawgs will be playing this one with a palpable sense of urgency. Texas has looked every bit like the top-ranked team, winning six games by an average score of 43-6. Plus, Quinn Ewers was able to shake off some rust in Saturday’s Oklahoma win. As good as the Horns D has been, it has yet to see a quality quarterback, facing true freshmen the last two weeks. It’ll be fascinating to see how they fare against Carson Beck, who’s a future NFL Draft pick.
There a multitude of ways to play bet Georgia-Texas at FanDuel.com.
The Huskers and the Hoosiers in Bloomington for the Big Ten game of the week. That is not a misprint.
Nebraska and Indiana are two of the country’s biggest surprises so far this season. IU, behind new coach Curt Cignetti and new QB Kurtis Rourke, is off to its best start since 1967. Plus, the Hoosiers haven’t even been challenged late in games. However, Nebraska is the best team they’ll face through the first seven weeks. Big Red hasn’t bowled since 2016, but that streak will end with an upset Saturday. The Huskers have allowed more than 10 points in just one game, so this will be a very interesting test for Rourke & Co.
Bama-Tennessee always matters. But this chapter of the rivalry really matters.
The Tide and the Vols are playoff contenders, but neither has looked like it in recent weeks. So, who flinches Saturday at Neyland Stadium? Since halftime of the Georgia game, Alabama has gotten exposed defensively, lost to Vanderbilt, and nearly blew a home game to South Carolina. Meanwhile, Tennessee was upset by Arkansas in Week 6 and needed to rally Saturday to beat a Florida team that lost starting QB Graham Mertz. The offense has gone into hibernation and the program will also be battling history, having lost 16 of the last 17 to the Tide.
The Fighting Irish have regrouped with authority since the Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. But the Yellow Jackets have had this game circled for a very long time.
Georgia Tech keeps growing under Brent Key, pulling to within a victory of bowl-eligibility after Saturday’s exciting win at North Carolina. The offense is averaging 33 points per game and the defense is much improved from a year ago. Beating Notre Dame would be a nationally significant signature win for the program. However, that will be a heavy lift against the Irish. ND features one of the nation’s top defenses at 11.7 points per game allowed, and the offense is gradually becoming more balanced around QB Riley Leonard.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best player with the Maxwell Award. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the voting panel.
Here’s a look at some of last week’s standout performances on offense.
Sonny Cumbie might have his quarterback of the future, which is cause for much-needed optimism in Ruston. The Bulldogs totaled a season-high 551 yards and seven touchdowns in Thursday night’s 48-21 rout of Middle Tennessee. Bullock was responsible for six of those TDs. The redshirt freshman from Anna, Tex. threw for 290 yards and five scores on 18-of-25 passing.
Saturday night versus Ohio State, Gabriel was everything the Ducks thought he’d be when they nabbed him from the portal. The former Oklahoma Sooner (and UCF Knight) was the poised and accurate presence Oregon needed him to be, piloting a thrilling 32-31 win over the second-ranked Buckeyes. Gabriel accounted for three TDs and 368 yards against the elite OSU D, while engineering the game-winning 74-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.
The Hawkeyes rung up 40 points on a solid Washington defense, most of it generated from the legs of Johnson. The junior, who’s been the next best thing to Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty at running back this year, ran 21 times for 166 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Johnson also caught three passes for 22 yards and another TD, and now leads the Big Ten in scoring.
Leonard has found his groove as the Fighting Irish quarterback, and all is right in South Bend. Notre Dame has now won four straight since losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2, pummeling Stanford Saturday, 49-7. Leonard had his best passing day with the program, completing 16-of-22 for 229 yards and three TDs while adding 31 yards and another score on the ground.
For the third time this season, the Orange won a one-score game to move to 5-1 under first-year coach Fran Brown. Syracuse withstood a late rally from NC State to win in Raleigh, 24-17, Saturday night. McCord continued his hot start in his debut with the program, completing 31-of-42 passes for 346 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.
A year after going 3-9, Kenny Dillingham has ASU 5-1 and a bona fide Big 12 contender. Skattebo has one of the driving forces of the turnaround in Tempe. The Sun Devils spoiled the return of Utah QB Cam Rising with Friday night’s 27-19 win in front of an electrified home crowd. LB Caleb McCullough intercepted two of Rising’s passes and Skattebo had two clutch TD runs to go along with 199 total yards from scrimmage.
See what happens when you tap into your roots, Wisky? The Badgers went old-school on Rutgers Saturday in Piscataway, running the ball 47 times in an unexpectedly lopsided 42-7 win. Walker has emerged as the feature back since injuries forced Chez Mellusi to step away from the game. He went for a personal-best 198 rushing yards and three TDs against the Scarlet Knights, and he’s now scored eight times in the last three games.
The Nittany Lions earned one of their biggest wins under James Franklin, rallying from two touchdowns down to beat USC in the Coliseum, 33-30. Warren delivered an historically impressive effort in the victory. The senior set the Penn State record with 17 receptions as well as the school record for tight ends with 224 receiving yards. Warren also completed a pass, ran for four yards, and caught a TD pass on a play that began with him snapping the ball.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the voting panel.
Here’s a look at some of last week’s standout defenders.
Berger had the game of his college career Saturday, as Ball State defeated Kent State, 37-35, for its first FBS win of the season. The senior from Indianapolis, who only became a starter this season, invaded the Golden Flashes’ backfield for three sacks and three quarterback hurries. It was the first multi-sack game of Berger’s career in Muncie.
If you’re not already on the BYU bandwagon, it might be too late. The Cougars have been one of this season’s biggest surprises, opening 6-0 and rising to the top of the Big 12. In Week 6, BYU disposed of Arizona, 41-19, on the backs of the big-play D. Glasker added to his breakout sophomore season with his best game in Provo. The rangy 6-5, 235-pounder had five tackles, two stops for loss, a strip-sack, a pick-six, a pass breakup and two hurries of Noah Fifita.
The Longhorns wanted revenge for last year’s loss to rival Oklahoma. They got it and then some Saturday afternoon in Dallas, 34-3. The Sooners were clearly overmatched, with a rookie under center and a MASH unit at wide receiver. Hill, the blue-chip recruit from 2023, took full advantage with one of his best efforts at Texas. He was all over the field and finished with a game-high 11 tackles, 3.5 stops behind the line, two sacks, and a forced fumble.
Even at 1-5, the Bruins are playing their hearts out for rookie head coach Deshaun Foster. That’s no more evident than in the play of No. 49. Schwesinger had a career night against Minnesota in a game the defense allowed just 234 total yards and played well enough to get the win. The junior racked up 12 solo stops, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks while earning a stellar 90.3 grade from Pro Football Focus.
The Panthers have stayed unbeaten and cracked the Top 25 behind the offense this season. However, on Saturday with Cal in town they won with defense. Pitt yielded just 15 points and harassed Bear QB Fernando Mendoza from wire to wire. Scott was not the only defensive catalyst, but he was the most ferocious one in the 17-15 win. The sophomore had six tackles, 3.5 of his team’s 11 tackles for loss, and a career-high three sacks.
Who saw this coming? Northwestern went into College Park Friday night as a heavy underdog and hammered Maryland, 37-10. It was the fewest points scored by Maryland in two years. Uihlein anchored the defensive effort from middle linebacker with 13 tackles, 11 of which were solo stops. The junior also chipped in a forced fumble and a pass breakup in coverage.
Death Valley at night. LSU doesn’t lose these games very often. The Tigers rallied to beat Ole Miss in overtime Saturday night, 29-26, in what amounted to a likely playoff elimination game. Garrett Nussmeier threw the clincher to Kyren Lacy, but Weeks and DE Bradyn Swinson were the defensive stars that held the Rebels in check. Weeks was everywhere for the Bengals with 18 tackles, two stops for loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup.
The Rebels needed to rebound quickly from last week’s first loss of the year. Woodard was determined to take care of business from his side of the ball Friday night at Utah State. The senior, who’s playing as well as any linebacker in the country right now, was all over the field for UNLV. Playing like a true three-down defender, Woodard had a game-high 12 tackles and was in on three turnovers, a fumble recovery and two interceptions.
The Maxwell Football Club supports former Alabama and Seattle Seahawks star RB Shaun Alexander in annually naming the top college freshman.
The Boilermakers lost a heartbreaker in Week 7 and found a quarterback of the future. Browne filled in for the injured Hudson Card and nearly led an upset of No. 23 Illinois. In his first start, the redshirt freshman produced 49 points, five more than Purdue scored in the previous four games. Browne went 18-of-26 for 297 yards and three touchdowns, adding a game-high 118 yards on the ground. He became the first Boilermaker to pass for more than 200 yards and run for over 100 yards since Mike Phipps in 1969.
No FBS-FCS games are scheduled for the third straight week.
FBS schools are 108-6 in such games this season, and a collective 1,908-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there are 121 scheduled scheduled matchups between FBS and FCS schools with 119 schools playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
This year, 15 schools do not play a FCS opponent and 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, are repeats from last year's list of schools that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
ARMY - Won 10 straight overall.
Last: Won 44-10 at home over UAB on Saturday, October 12.
Next: Hosts East Carolina on Saturday, October 19.
LIBERTY - Won 17 straight regular season games.
Last: Won 31-24 at home over FIU in overtime On Tuesday, October 8. It was the first game for the Flames in 17 days after serving a bye week and an unexpected off week when the game at App State was scratched due to Hurricane Helene.
Next: Visits Kennesaw State on Wednesday, October 23 (15 days after their last game).
GEORGIA - Won 28 straight home games.
Last: Won 41-31 at home over Mississippi State on Saturday, October 12.
Next: Visits Texas on Saturday, October 19.
TULANE: Won 14 straight conference games.
Last: Won 71-20 at UAB on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Hosts Rice on Saturday, October 19.
TEXAS: Won 8 straight true road games (at opposition venue).
Last: Won 34-3 over Oklahoma in Dallas on Saturday, October 12.
Next: Hosts Georgia on Saturday, October 19.
KENT STATE - Lost 15 straight over-all. Lost 7 straight home games (tied with UTEP).
Last: Lost 37-35 at home to Ball State on Saturday, October 12.
Next: Visits Bowling Green on Saturday, October 19.
UTEP - Lost 7 straight home games.
Last: Lost 44-17 at Western Kentucky on Thursday, October 10.
Next: Hosts FIU on Wednesday, October 16.
STANFORD - Lost 10 straight home games to FBS foes.
Last: Lost 49-7 at Notre Dame on Saturday, October 12.
Next: Hosts SMU on Saturday, October 19.
TEMPLE - Lost 17 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 29-20 at UConn on Saturday, October 5.
Next: Hosts Tulsa on Saturday, October 19.
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Rich Cirminiello is the VP of College Awards at Maxwell Football Club. He can be followed on Twitter at @Rich Cirminiello