College Football Saturday Week 9 Open Thread

Welcome back to another week of College Football. It is just over two weeks since the demoralizing loss against Stanford and three weeks since the unredeemable loss to ASU. And, while Stanford sits atop the Pac 12 North, and ranked in the Top 10 nationally, ASU sits at 5th in the Pac 12 South. While they took Oregon to triple overtime last night, eventually falling 61-55, we must remember there are no moral victories in College Football. What does this mean for us? The same thing it always does, we must handle our business if we want to claw our way back into the Pac 12 Championship game. There is a zero margin of error for us with Utah and Southern California looming ahead.

Luckily, we are in the "easy" part of our schedule, facing Colorado (last in the P12 South) today, and Oregon State (last in the P12 North) next week. This is as good a time as any to sit and rest players like Paul Perkins, Isaako Savaiinaea, and Devin Fuller. There are those who would like to see them play this weekend. But, I have to believe this is a golden opportunity to get healthy, and give the youngers some meaningful playing time. Last time I checked Eldridge Massington was still on the team. He's not exactly lacking in game experience. But, the really big question will be the RB position.All of which is to say, we don't know what we're going to get. Or who. And, that is one of CFB's greatest attractions. The uncertainty.

Take a look below for various storylines being played out in games across the country today.

USC at California - 12pm, FOX

~ USC climbed out of a two game loss streak. California comes in with a two game loss streak, but they play at home. You gotta figure the Trogans are the favorites in this one. But, stranger things have happened.

Colorado at UCLA - 12pm, PAC12

~ It will be good to get back to normality; that is, football on Saturday. It's homecoming, so if you're in the area, you might consider heading out to the Rose Bowl. I know I will.

Georgia at #11 Florida - 12:30pm, CBS

~ The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is one for the bucket list. It's on mine, that's for sure. Quite possibly the only rivalry game being played this weekend. Florida is ranked and sits on top of the SEC East and Georgia is squarely behind them. Winner gets fast tracked to the SEC Championship game.

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech - 12:30pm, ESPN

~ The Cowboys are undefeated and climbing the polls. Texas Tech has only quality losses on it's resume, and they pushed TCU to the very end.

Michigan at Minnesota - 4pm, ESPN

~ How will Michigan handle that demoralizing and odds defying loss against Sparty? My guess is they will steam roll the Gophers. The real reason to watch is Jim Harbaugh. He did it at Stanford. He did it with the 49ers. And, here he goes again. Ahead of schedule, even.

#9 Notre Dame at #21 Temple - 5pm, ABC

~ The only match up this weekend featuring two ranked teams. Notre Dame needs to keep the winning streak going if they hope to knock on the playoff door. Temple wants to play the role of spoiler, not to mention they won't want to let down the home crowd.

#8 Stanford at Washington State - 7:30pm, ESPN

~ Stanford sits atop the Pac 12 North. The surprise of the conference, Washington State is right behind them. Watching Wazzu will be a first for me this season. I'll be interested in seeing what the Pirate Mike Leach has done in Pullman.

You may also check in on some of our sister sites and see what they have to say about some of today's games from the insiders point of view.

Thu, Oct 29, 2015
7:00 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	North Carolina	at	(23) Pittsburgh
7:30 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	West Virginia	at	(5) TCU
7:30 PM ET CBSS	Western Michigan	at	Eastern Michigan
7:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Buffalo	at	Miami (OH)
7:30 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Texas State	at	Georgia Southern
10:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	Oregon	at	Arizona State
Fri, Oct 30, 2015
7:00 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Louisville	at	Wake Forest
7:00 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	East Carolina	at	Connecticut
8:00 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	Louisiana Tech	at	Rice
10:15 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Wyoming	at	Utah State
Sat, Oct 31, 2015
12:00 PM ET FSNFoxSportsGo	Western Kentucky	at	Old Dominion
12:00 PM ET ESPNNWatchESPN	UCF	at	Cincinnati
12:00 PM ET CBSS	South Florida	at	Navy
12:00 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Illinois	at	Penn State
12:00 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Nebraska	at	Purdue
12:00 PM ET BTNBTN2Go	Rutgers	at	Wisconsin
12:00 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(19) Mississippi	at	Auburn
12:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	South Carolina	at	Texas A&M
12:00 PM ET ABC	Syracuse	at	(17) Florida State
12:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Virginia Tech	at	Boston College
1:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Massachusetts	at	Ball State
2:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Central Michigan	at	Akron
2:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	UTEP	at	Southern Miss
3:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Georgia Tech	at	Virginia
3:00 PM ET FOXFoxSportsGo	USC	at	Cal
3:00 PM ET PAC12Pac-12 Live	Colorado	at	(24) UCLA
3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN2WatchESPN	(3) Clemson	at	NC State
3:30 PM ET CBSSEC Live	(11) Florida	at	Georgia
3:30 PM ET FSNFoxSportsGo	Marshall	at	Charlotte
3:30 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	(14) Oklahoma	at	Kansas
3:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(12) Oklahoma State	at	Texas Tech
3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN2WatchESPN	Maryland	at	(10) Iowa
3:30 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Boise State	at	UNLV
3:30 PM ET CBSS	San Diego State	at	Colorado State
3:30 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Troy	at	Appalachian State
4:00 PM ET ESPNNWatchESPN	Tulsa	at	SMU
4:00 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Tennessee-Martin	at	Arkansas
5:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Louisiana-Monroe	at	Louisiana-Lafayette
7:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Georgia State	at	Arkansas State
7:00 PM ET CBSS	Tulane	at	(16) Memphis
7:00 PM ET PAC12Pac-12 Live	Oregon State	at	(13) Utah
7:00 PM ET ESPN2WatchESPN	Vanderbilt	at	(18) Houston
7:00 PM ET ESPNUWatchESPN	Miami (FL)	at	(22) Duke
7:00 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(15) Michigan	at	Minnesota
7:00 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	Texas	at	Iowa State
7:00 PM ET ASN	Texas-San Antonio	at	North Texas
7:30 PM ET SECNWatchESPN	Tennessee	at	Kentucky
8:00 PM ET ABC	(9) Notre Dame	at	(21) Temple
8:00 PM ET ESPN3WatchESPN	Idaho	at	New Mexico State
10:30 PM ET CBSS	Air Force	at	Hawaii
10:30 PM ET ESPNWatchESPN	(8) Stanford	at	Washington State
11:00 PM ET FS1FoxSportsGo	Arizona	at	Washington