Another week another full slate of college football games. While some of the 18S Staff may want to take this weekend off, I personally think college football is something to celebrate! There are some fun games this week, renewed rivalries, up and coming programs looking to establish themselves. Let’s dive into all of the week 3 action.

This crop of weekday football might be the best we see all season, at least that does not include MACtion. On Thursday, an explosive offense in Texas State looks to firmly establish themselves in the national spotlight as they host Arizona State. Texas State already made some noise in the G5 space by knocking off UTSA last Saturday. San Marcos will be rocking. The next night, UNLV looks to do similar damage to the Bobcats as they make a trip to Lawrence for a showdown with Kansas. Also on Friday, Arizona and Kansas State played a ranked non-conference game among Big 12 teams. It will show both of them where they stand in the pecking order before conference play.

Noon Slate

The Big Noon Fox game sees Alabama play west of the Mississippi in their first trip to Madison in almost a century. After letting USF hang around for a couple quarters, this will be another big test for DeBoer to prepare his team for the raucous atmosphere. The only other ranked against ranked matchup also falls in our noon window, as Boston College looks to bring momentum as they make a trip to Missouri. Speaking of Boston College, Florida State regroups their improbable 0-2 start with a trip against a game Memphis team looking to bolster its resume for a potential AAC and CFP run. Finally, we have the College Gameday game, where South Carolina hosts LSU. Honestly, any result seems on the table for this game, so it’s important to keep an eye on it.

Afternoon Slate

I’m sure most Irish fans will be watching CBS with hands through their eyes as the Irish look to rebound against Purdue on the road. Elsewhere, however, we have multiple rivalries playing in this window. The Apple Cup will be in the Seahawks stadium and on Peacock for those looking for a second screen. The former Civil War will again take place despite realignment woes on Fox in Corvallis. Oregon needs a get right game, but need to get right as quick as possible in this game as the Oregon State fans will almost certainly be bringing a certain type of venom toward the program. Finally, the Backyard Brawl continues its modern series on ESPN2. It’s unclear how good either of these teams are, but it should be a fun type of manball regardless of result.

Primetime Slate

I will be honest, this is one of the lightest primetime windows in terms of interesting games but there could be a gem in the following four games. Sickos will have the rematch of last year’s classic between Colorado and Colorado State. Much like SC-LSU, anything seems on the table for that game, especially since it is in Fort Collins. Elsewhere, the Defunct Annual Longhorn Network (RIP) game moves to ESPN as UTSA licks its wounds suffered by Texas St and goes into Austin to take on the second ranked Longhorns. Vanderbilt has a chance to go 3-0 before Alabama makes a trip to Nashville! Georgia State could be an interesting foil for Clark Lea et al., but could be fun window dressing. Finally, we take a trip to Clanga Country as Toledo looks to add a P4 result on its potential resume for a longshot CFP invite.

After Dark

The After Dark slate is truly limited to three games this Saturday. That means college football fans only have a small selection if they want to consume the most games. The one with the most juice appears to be Cal’s return to Berkley post SEC win. The Bears host San Diego State. If nothing else is true, this game could easily be a 14-10 Sicko fest to fall asleep too. Let me know what I missed in the comments. Remember, we only get a dozen or so of these weeks, let’s cherish them!