Weekend Preview For Sept. 10-11

September 8, 2021 by Staff

82 games take place this week involving 127 of the 130 FBS schools.The only idle programs are UCLA, San Jose State and Louisiana-Monroe.

Meanwhile, another 82 games are on the slate involving 114 of the 128 FCS programs, and 8 of the 14 idle schools are in the Ivy league which commences play next week. The other teams taking the week off are Alabama A&M, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Marist, MVSU, Southern Utah and Wofford.

Virtually all of this week's games will take place on Saturday. The exceptions are a pair of FBS matchup featuring UTEP at Boise State and Kansas at Coastal Carolina, along with two FBS-FCS games that send North Carolina A&T to Duke and North Dakota to Utah.

FBS

Here's a list of games involving ranked teams:

#1 USC (Congrove Computer Rankings, #14 AP, Coaches, Super 16) hosts rival Stanford in a PAC-12 crossover game. The Trojans (1-0)  are a 17.5-point favorite in the sportsbooks and an 18.29-point computer pick over the #45 Cardinal (0-1). This is a series that has seen more than its fair share of upsets with the underdog taking 6-of-9 from 2007 to 2015. Last year was the first in which the two teams did not meet since 1945. USC leads the series 64-33-3, but only 17-15 since 1990.

#2 Texas A&M (CCR, #5 AP, Coaches, Super 16) heads to Denver to face #20 Colorado (NR in the polls) in an intersectional matchup. The Aggies (1-0) and Buffaloes (1-0) haven't met since 2009. Colorado exited the Big 12 the following year to join the PAC-12 which ended this Big 12 rivalry. A&M leads the series 6-3 and is favored by 17 points in the sportsbooks, but just 7.88 by the computer.

#3 Iowa State (CCR, #9 AP, #10 Coaches, #9 Super 16) hosts rival Iowa (#7 Computer, #10 AP, #12 Coaches, #13 Super 16). This game had taken place every season since 1977 until Covid ended the uninterrupted string last year.  The Cyclones took 3-of-4 from 2011-2014, but the Hawkeyes have won the last 5 and lead the all-time series 45-22, including 29-14 since the rivalry resumed in 1977 after a 43-year hiatus. Iowa State is a 4-point favorite and a 5.27-point computer play.

#4 Oklahoma (CCR, #4 AP, Coaches, Super 16) hosts Western Carolina (0-1) which is ranked 120th in the FCS. The Catamounts lost 31-28 at home to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. The computer takes the Sooners by 58.09.

#5 Alabama (CCR, #1 AP, Coaches, Super 16) hosts Mercer (1-0) which is ranked 49th in the FCS. The Bears won 69-0 over NAIA member Point in their opener, and could get beat 69-0 this week. The computer favors the Tide by 47.20.

#6 Utah (CCR, #21 AP, #18 Coaches, #20 Super 16) visits rival BYU (#66 CCR, #38 AP, #31 Coaches, NR Super 16). This will be the 95th edition of the Holy War between these Beehive State institutions that are located just 50 miles apart. The Utes have won 9 straight in the series to extend their lead to 59-31-4 over the Cougars. This week, Utah is a 7-point betting pick and a 15.75-point computer favorite.

#8 Texas (CCR, #15 AP, #15  Coaches, #16 Super 16) heads to Fayetteville to face Arkansas after both teams won their respective opener.. The former Big 12 rivals haven't met since Arkansas whipped the Longhorns 31-7 in the 2014 Texas Bowl. Texas leads the series 56-22 but the Hogs have won 4 of the last 6. Texas is a 6-point favorite and a 9.01-point computer pick.

Other games of note this week:

Cal at TCU. Cal will try to recover from a 22-17 upset loss to Nevada in the opener.

Illinois at Virginia. The Illini beat Nebraska to start the season, then fell to UTSA last weekend.

Missouri at Kentucky. An early SEC east battle that might, but probably won't matter down the road.

South Carolina at East Carolina. Shane Beamer's first game as Carolina's head coach against a FBS school. The Gamecocks plowed over FCS member Eastern Illinois 46-0 this past Saturday with a graduate assistant coach at QB.

Washington at Michigan. The Huskies plummeted from 16th to 31st in the CCR after Saturday's 13-7 loss to FCS member Montana. Michigan is ranked 24th by the computer, but is listed as a 2.32-point underdog.

NC State at Mississippi State. The ACC stunk up the joint over the Labor Day weekend and needs a win to avoid looking completely hapless against the SEC.

Oregon at Ohio State. Maybe the Ducks were looking ahead because they barely survived Fresno State. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes looked like a top 4 team as they won 45-31 at Minnesota on Thursday. Ohio State is a 14-point favorite in the sportsbooks, but only a 0.12-point computer pick.

FCS

Here's a list of games involving ranked teams:

#1 James Madison (CCR, #3 Stats Perform) hosts Maine as a 20.44 point computer pick.

#2 Sam Houston State (CCR, #1 SP) host SE Missouri as a 15.97 computer favorite,

#3 Montana (CCR, #4 SP) hosts Western Illinois as a 24.07 point pick.\

#4 North Dakota State (CCR, #5 SP) is a 17.97-point home choice over a Valparaiso team that lost 28-10 at NAIA member Indiana Wesleyan.  This one could get ugly in a hurry.

#5 Alabama A&M -idle

#6 Delaware (CCR, #6 SP) hosts St. Francis as a 15.72-point computer pick.

#7 South Dakota State (CCR, #2 SP) D2 school Lindenwood as a 21.25-point favorite. In its first game since 2019, Lindenwood lost 40-20 at home to Angelo State in its opener.

Also, Jackson State and Tennessee State will battle in Memphis as Deion Sanders takes on Eddie George. Oddsmakers have listed TSU as a 7.5-point favorite, but the computer has JSU by 6.54.

FCS vs. FBS

2 teams will play 2 FCS teams this fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams will play 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups.

There were a whopping 38 FBS-FCS games over the Labor Day weekend and FBS schools went 32-6. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS teams are now 1,501-134 (.918) through Labor Day weekend.

The are 37 FBS-FCS games this week.

Last year, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33).

Here are the FCS wins in 2021:
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tusa 17
September 2: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33 (2 OT)
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, Washington 7
September 4: ETSU 23, Vanderbilt 3

This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10

In 2019, FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) in such games. These were the only FCS wins that season:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)

Streaks

ALABAMA - Won 15 straight games overall (FBS longest).
Last: Won 44-13 vs. Miami in Chick-fil-A kick-off in Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Next: Hosts Mercer (FCS) on Saturday, Sept. 11.

OHIO STATE - Won 22 straight conference games (FBS longest). Won 10 straight road games (FBS longest). Won 22 straight regular season games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 45-31 at  Minnesota on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Next: Hosts Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 11.

CLEMSON - Won 28 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 10-3 vs. Georgia in Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Next: Hosts South Carolina State (FCS) on Saturday, Sept. 11.

NEW MEXICO - Lost 13 straight road games (tied with Akron for FBS longest).
Last: Won 27-17 at home over Houston Baptist (FCS) on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Next: Hosts New Mexico State on Saturday, Sept. 11.

AKRON - Lost 13 straight road games (tied with New Mexico for FBS second-longest).
Last: Lost 60-10 at Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Next: Hosts Temple on Saturday, Sept. 11.

KANSAS - Ended a FBS-longest 13-game over-all losing streak with a 17-14 win over South Dakota. The win also snapped a 6-game home losing streak. The Jayhawks still have a 13-game losing streak to FBS schools.
Last: Won 17-14 at home over South Dakota (FCS) on Friday, Sept. 3.
Next: Visits Coastal Carolina on Friday, Sept. 10.

ARIZONA - Lost 13 straight over-all (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 24-16 vs. BYU in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Next: Hosts San Diego State on Saturday, Sept. 11.

UTEP - Lost 15 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 38-28 vs. FCS member Bethune-Cookman at home on Saturday, Sept. 4.
Next: Visits Boise State on Friday, Sept. 10.