The Triple Option: Saturday Night’s Alright

Congratulations Baylor fans! You made it to Week 2! Liberty is once again a great virtue rather than a fear-inducing opponent!

This week features several great evening games between top 15 teams, which of course sucks if you’re a Baylor fan since our game is going on at the same damn time. But alas, here is how we recommend you navigate through the thicket of College Football Saturday.

Early Slate - You Could Probably Still Take A Nap

First Option: Northwestern at Duke, ESPNU. Here’s an early scouting opportunity for you as Duke will be Baylor’s Week 3 opponent. The Blue Devils opened with a 60-7 win over NC Central last week and now step up in class to take on a Northwestern team that I think may be a darkhorse in the Big Ten West. Keep an eye on Duke QB Daniel Jones if you want to be frightened at the idea of our secondary next weekend. And yes, this is another awful 11:00 slate if this is the “headliner”.

Second Option: Iowa at Iowa State, ESPN2. ¡VIVA EL ASSICOOOOOOO! Iowa and Iowa State butt heads with one another for the 65th time as they battle for something called a Cy-Hawk trophy. Iowa State actually won their FCS game this year (must be nice) and now they aim for their first 2-0 start since 2012. Iowa has been the gold standard in that state but Matt Campbell appears to have Iowa State on the come up. We’ll probably learn a lot about both of these teams in this one.

Third Option: Louisville at North Carolina, ESPN. Louisville almost lost to Purdue last week and UNC lost at home to Cal. You would think this would probably be awful football and there’s a chance that it will be. But Lamar Jackson still plays for Louisville and he racked up 485 total yards last week. Plus, a UNC LB decided to talk trash about Jackson which lol. North Carolina might have the Jumpman on it’s unis, but they’re about to get dunked on a lot.

Afternoon Slate - Because...Football?

First Option: TCU at Arkansas, CBS. Here’s our first opportunity to see TCU play an actual football team this year as they head up to Fayetteville to face the Hogs. There’s been a lot of talk about the Frogs potentially being a bounce back team in the Big 12 this season, but I think it will all still come down to QB play. At least they know Kenny Hill will be at his Heisman candidate best in an SEC West stadium. I figure this will be a physical game that goes right down to the wire. It’s also gonna be real weird to see a CBS game without ol’ Uncle Verne at the mic.

Second Option: Pittsburgh at Penn State, ABC: Penn State hopped up into the top 5 this week after a season opening 52-0 win over Akron, but now they get to deal with 2016’s finest dream crusher in the Pitt Panthers. On paper, this is a game that looks to have all the makings of a Saquan Barkley dance party. However, it’s not as if Pitt has never pulled off a stunning upset of a highly ranked rival on the road, right West Virginia?

Third Option: Nebraska at Oregon, FOX. Come for Oregon’s incredibly awesome uniforms that are going towards a great cause. Stay for what is bound to be some hilariously awful defense. There will be points. Also, if you have never been to Autzen Stadium, put it on your college stadium bucket list because it’s one of the best out there. Baylor plays Oregon in Eugene in 2028...

Evening Games - Post Baylor Game Tailgate Watching

*Note - This blog is completely counting on you to pay full attention to the Baylor game. But sometimes there are commercial breaks...

First Option: Oklahoma at Ohio State, ABC. An absolutely loaded evening slate is headlined by a top 5 matchup in the Horseshoe between the Sooners and Buckeyes. Ohio State mollywhopped Oklahoma last year in Norman so there will be a lot of attention paid to this game not just for OU, but for the perception of the entire Big 12. The Sooners looked awfully impressive last week in their win over UTEP, but clearly this is a big step up in competition. I’ll be very interested to see how Baker Mayfield is able to attack a young Ohio State secondary and if OU will be able to match the Buckeyes’ physicality up front.

Second Option: Auburn at Clemson, ESPN. The defending national champs rolled over Kent State last week and now they get to deal with our old buddies Jarrett Stidham, Kam Martin and the Auburn Tigers. Both teams lack a lot of experience at the skill positions on offense but both are stacked up front so I expect this game will be quite the brawl in the trenches. Death Valley should be rocking.

Third Option: Stanford at USC, FOX. I bought the annual USC hype in the preseason but they looked awfully vulnerable against a P.J. Fleck-less Western Michigan in their season opener. The Trojans gave up 263 yards rushing to a WMU team that didn’t appear interested in featuring a passing game. Luckily, Stanford doesn’t want to pound you in the running game (actually they do!). The Cardinal have had USC’s number in recent years and they might be playing the Trojans at a good time early in the season. This is another game that I could see going either way.

PAC 12 AFTER DARK SPECIAL!!!1!

9:30 - Boise State @ Washington State, FS1