The general sentiment among Buckeye fans may be to call a timeout on all football-related activities until Ohio State's offense can gain some traction and its conference can do something other than be beaten like a piñata by power conference teams and the national media. Alas, we continue with what looks to be a somewhat bleak week for college football.
This week has just one game between ranked teams. No. 6 Georgia visits no. 24 South Carolina in what has become a somewhat traditional conference-opener for both, though South Carolina already has one conference game under its belt.
The Big Ten has an interesting schedule this weekend. Illinois and Nebraska are making West Coast trips to Washington and Fresno State. Minnesota is heading south to play Texas Christian. Others, like Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State, are eating MAC snacks. Rutgers and now postseason-eligible Penn State will play a conference game this weekend.
Oklahoma hosts Tennessee in primetime, but the schedule is grim. When ESPN's College Gameday is making a Week 3 visit to Fargo, North Dakota, the FBS schedule is uninspiring.
I give your Week 3 viewing guide here. To continue a theme from last year's guides, your TV Guide cover for the week honors Kent State's ability to send some of its graduates to success in Hollywood. Prominent alumni from Kent State University include Drew Carey and, the subject for this week's guide, Arsenio Hall. Woof, woof, woof.
Thursday
Louisiana Tech at North Texas (CBS Sports Network, 8 p.m.). Fresh off crushing Southern Methodist 43-6 and forcing the resignation of June Jones, North Texas hosts Louisiana Tech in Denton.
Houston at Brigham Young (ESPN, 9 p.m.). Houston has fallen off the college football map in the three short years since Kevin Sumlin left for Texas A&M. However, could Brigham Young be caught napping here? The Cougars just annihilated Texas in Austin by a score of 41-7. It's a short week for both.
Friday
Friday will be the long awaited quarterback debut of Gunner Kiel.
Toledo at Cincinnati (ESPNU, 7 p.m.). Cincinnati, Ohio State's next opponent, is playing its first game of the season tomorrow night. It will also be the much anticipated debut of quarterback Gunner Kiel.
Baylor at Buffalo (ESPN, 8 p.m.). No. 8 Baylor set up a home-and-home series with a MAC school. I don't have much to add to that.
Saturday
East Carolina at Virginia Tech (ESPN, 12 p.m.). Sigh... do us some sense of good going forward, Virginia Tech. East Carolina is no slouch, though. Ask South Carolina.
Central Florida at Missouri (SEC Network, 12 p.m.). This game would have been a bit more compelling last year. Missouri may not have skipped a beat from last year's performance, but UCF, in its one game this season, has.
Kent State at Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2, 12 p.m.). Ohio State looks to rebound in a game against its lone MAC snack this season. I hope it's delicious. Stay tuned to Eleven Warriors for comprehensive coverage of this game.
Boise State at Connecticut (ABC/ESPN2, 12 p.m.). This is with whom Ohio State is sharing an ABC/ESPN2 slot? Oy.
Indiana at Bowling Green (ESPNU, 12 p.m.). Big Ten teams that play true road games against MAC schools should get demerits or something.
Pittsburgh at Florida International (FOX Sports 1, 12 p.m.). Am I wrong to think Pitt is on the verge of becoming a somewhat decent football program under Paul Chryst? His group travels to Florida International to play Ron Turner's Panthers.
Yes, some college football program believes Ron Turner is still employable, even after a 14-12 season-opening loss to Bethune-Cookman.
West Virginia at Maryland (BTN, 12 p.m.). I like that Maryland still makes it a point to schedule West Virginia. I don't know why I like that but I do.
It's probably because, three years ago, this was an ACC-Big East affair. Now, it's a Big Ten-Big XII series. College football is weird.
Maryland, for reasons, is wearing these uniforms for this game.
Georgia at South Carolina (CBS, 3:30 p.m.). Your 3:30 viewing options are going to be grim. This is the best of the bunch and the only game of the weekend involving ranked teams.
South Carolina has been a thorn in Georgia's side for years.
This used to be the de facto conference-opener for both teams before things got reshuffled with the expansion of the SEC in 2012. This was a feature of the SEC that I rather liked and wished the Big Ten would emulate. Georgia would traditionally open with South Carolina. Alabama would open conference play with Arkansas. Florida would open with Tennessee as well. It's a nice way to ring in the conference schedule and an organic way to manufacture a sense of rivalry among programs.
I think the Big Ten could do something similar with Ohio State-Michigan State and Penn State-Rutgers to some fanfare. It's already doing something similar with Nebraska and Illinois for the next five seasons. I don't know why the Big Ten is doing that with these two particular programs, but I can get behind it.
On this game, the fortunes of both programs changed in one week from their preseason projections. South Carolina was the preseason favorite in the SEC East and Georgia was the team in the AP Preseason Top 25 for which there was the most disagreement.
South Carolina got steamrolled in its opener while Georgia mauled Clemson. Now, the scripts have been flipped.
That said, the script usually has South Carolina playing spoiler to Georgia. The Gamecocks could right their ship with a win on Saturday.
Miami (Ohio) at Michigan (BTN, 3:30 p.m.). Speaking of righting the ship, Michigan hopes to return to Paul from Toledo's good graces with a win against lowly Miami of Ohio. The last time Michigan was blanked was the first term of the Reagan Administration.
Arkansas State at Miami (Florida) (ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.). I can't imagine there's any demand for this game. I can offer a few comments. First, Arkansas State may be less the slouch than Miami at the moment. Two, there might be triple-digit attendance this week in Miami. Three, Miami visits Nebraska next week.
North Carolina State at South Florida (CBS Sports Network, 3:30 p.m.). Again, your viewing options are abysmal at 3:30.
Arkansas at Texas Tech (ABC, 3:30 p.m.). Heart says Texas Tech at home. Brain says Arkansas on the road, possibly big. Beyond Kliff Kingsbury's veneer is a 35-year-old former college star still becoming a college coach. I like what I have seen so far from Arkansas in its second year under Bert.
Iowa State at Iowa (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.). Iowa State is total garbage this year, which probably means Iowa is losing this game. Iowa is prone to finding creative ways to lose to its in-state rival.
Louisiana-Lafayette at Mississippi (SEC Network, 4 p.m.). If the SEC Network is trying to pitch its value during football season, I'm not sure it has yet with games like these.
Minnesota at Texas Christian (FOX, 4 p.m.). This is one of a few games in which the Big Ten could help its beleaguered image nationally.
Minnesota, 2-0 on the season, travels to Texas Christian to put its run game to the test. David Cobb already has 291 rushing yards in a two-game season. However, Gary Patterson's Horned Frogs run a nickel defense that has been adept at using five defensive backs to stop even traditional running games.
Illinois at Washington (FOX, 4 p.m.). This is the return leg of a home-and-home that started last season, though the Illinois leg in 2013 was played in Chicago.
Tim Beckman may need this win if he's going to justify his current job in Champaign.
This is not a pivotal game for the Big Ten's image (though it could help). It may be crucial for Tim Beckman, who is 8-18 in 2+ seasons at Illinois. His squad is again 2-0 to start the season. However, this time last year saw the Illini implode shortly after a hot start punctuated with a surprise defeat of Cincinnati. If the Illini go down in flames again, Tim Beckman may as well.
Illinois again getting bombed by a Pac-12 team would be the trendy pick for the game if not for the poor start to the season for Washington, the preseason no. 25 team. In two games against one of the worst programs in FBS and an FCS program, Washington has won by a combined eight points.
Louisiana-Monroe at LSU (ESPNU, 7 p.m.). I'm sure LSU will someday play an interesting football team again. It just won't be this week.
Purdue vs. Notre Dame (NBC, 7:30 p.m.). The last game between Purdue and Notre Dame for the foreseeable future will be played in the Indianapolis Colts' home stadium. It's the closest Purdue will ever get to playing in the Big Ten Championship Game.
If Notre Dame shut out Michigan as convincingly as it did last week, I can only imagine what it will Purdue. Purdue is playing football on par with Dartmouth, SUNY Albany, and Southern Utah. It's time for Purdue to be held accountable.
Kentucky at Florida (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.). Kentucky is still searching for that first SEC win since 2011. If we are to be so bearish on the Gators this season, this could be it. I'm not sure I agree with that, but #BBN is huffing and puffing about it. So are Kentucky players.
Kentucky last beat Florida in 1986.
Tennessee at Oklahoma (ABC, 8 p.m.). This game interests me even if all signs point to Oklahoma beating in Tennessee's skull with a frying pan.
OU last played Tennessee in the 1968 Orange Bowl, a 26-24 Sooners win.
Bob Stoops' Sooners had lost three consecutive matchups against the SEC (two in a national championship game and a thumping from Texas A&M in the 2013 Cotton Bowl) before slaying the SEC's Big Bad, Alabama, in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. Bob Stoops, appropriately, is making hand-wanking gestures at programs in the SEC and the national media enamored with the conference.
In short, he's living the B1G's dream.
We'll know more about Tennessee from this game than we did from its season-opening win against Utah State. Tennessee played 21 true freshmen in that game. The youth movement is there in Knoxville.
Alas, it's youth and Oklahoma is experienced. Oklahoma is also hosting this game at night.
USC at Boston College (ESPN, 8 p.m.). This is a return leg of a home-and-home first played last year in the Coliseum.
I do find that I'm envious of USC's scheduling quirks, which resemble an exhibition game you'd play on your college football video game. Previous road trips for USC have included unusual landing spots like Virginia, Minnesota, and Syracuse (in MetLife Stadium).
UCLA vs. Texas (FOX, 8 p.m.). This game looked a bit more interesting in the preseason than it does now. UCLA is plugging along but hasn't played to the preseason billing afforded to it. Meanwhile, Texas is fresh off its second consecutive butt-kicking by BYU.
This game will be played in Jerry World because Jerry Jones is in the process of turning his palace into the Rose Bowl for 21st century college football's newfound decadence.
Penn State at Rutgers (BTN, 8 p.m.). This is Rutgers first Big Ten game, a night contest against a natural rival in Penn State.
It's also the first game for Penn State since the NCAA got tired of grounding it.
Rice at Texas A&M (ESPN2, 9 p.m.). I had to look this up, but Texas A&M doesn't play an interesting game until October 11th, when it hosts Ole Miss. It follows it with Alabama, a bye preceding Louisiana-Monroe, and finishes at Auburn, home to Missouri, and home to LSU. Its schedule so back-loaded.
Arizona State at Colorado (ESPNU, 10 p.m.). Colorado barely beat Massachusetts last week and was trailing at half. To Massachusetts.
Colorado's fall from grace is one of the more interesting (if undiscussed) changes to college football in our lifetime (assuming you're near or older than 30). Colorado has won a national championship (1990) more recently than Notre Dame and Penn State, if you can believe that.
Nebraska at Fresno State (CBS Sports Network, 10:30 p.m.). The hope is Nebraska doesn't need one monumental display of raw unbridled willpower to defeat Fresno State like it needed to defeat an FCS program last week.
If Nebraska loses, at least no one will be awake to see it.
