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Ahh, college football. How we’ve missed you.
The first week of the year is always an interesting one. There are usually a few marquee games on the schedule but, for the most part, the good teams tend to ease into the season with a weaker opponent before the true non-conference bangers take place. This year is no different with only one matchup between AP Top 25 teams on the slate for the entire day, and, with that being in the late slate, that means we’re stuck trying to scrounge around for meaning here in the early games.
If there is anything representing a clear highlight of this early slate, it’s probably the #25 Stanford Cardinal hosting the Northwestern Wildcats. Stanford is certainly not the team it was at its pinnacle, but it’s still a formidable team that has aspirations to win the Pac-12 North. Northwestern, meanwhile, is coming off a Big 10 West division championship. The last time these two teams met was the infamous “body clocks” game, where Stanford coach David Shaw complained that the early 9am kickoff had hurt the Cardinal and they had never adjusted to the time shift. So, I’m excited to see if Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will use the same excuse should his Wildcats lose.
There are some smaller storylines at play in the early slate as well. The country will get their first look at Georgia Bulldogs transfer Justin Fields as he takes over for the #5 Ohio State Buckeyes, who are under new head coach Ryan Day. The #2 Alabama Crimson Tide, fresh off a humiliating loss in last year’s National Championship Game, open the year against an actual Power 5 opponent! Yes, that opponent is the Duke Blue Devils, but that has to count for something! Especially because, of the eight ranked teams kicking off before 4:00 pm PT, only them and Stanford are playing a Power 5 team. The rest, including the #13 Washington Huskies, are all playing cupcake opponents, the best of which is probably Eastern Washington.
If you’re looking for a fun early game, you can’t go wrong with the Memphis Tigers hosting the Ole Miss Rebels. At 12:30 pm, we have the return of Mack Brown to college coaching when he leads the North Carolina Tar Heels against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Charlotte. Quick aside: neutral site games early in the season are a pox on this earth.
Here is the full Saturday lineup:
College Football Saturday, August 31 2019
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
---|---|---|---|
Matchup | Time (PT) | TV | Streaming |
Florida Atlantic at #5 Ohio State | 9:00 AM | FOX | FoxSportsGo.com |
Northern Iowa at #21 Iowa State | 9:00 AM | FS1 | FoxSportsGo.com |
South Alabama at #24 Nebraska | 9:00 AM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
Akron at Illinois | 9:00 AM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
Indiana vs. Ball State | 9:00 AM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Howard at Maryland | 9:00 AM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
Indiana State at Kansas | 9:00 AM | Fox Sports Net | FoxSportsGo.com |
Toledo at Kentucky | 9:00 AM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Ole Miss at Memphis | 9:00 AM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Mississippi State vs. Louisiana | 9:00 AM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
East Carolina at NC State | 9:00 AM | ACC Network | WatchESPN.com |
James Madison at West Virginia | 11:00 AM | AT&T SportsNet | None |
Rhode Island at Ohio | 11:00 AM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Eastern Washington at #13 Washington | 12:00 PM | Pac-12 Networks | Pac-12.com |
Bucknell at Temple | 12:00 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
Duke vs. #2 Alabama | 12:30 PM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Idaho at #15 Penn State | 12:30 PM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
Colgate at Air Force | 12:30 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
Holy Cross at Navy | 12:30 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina | 12:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
South Carolina vs. North Carolina | 12:30 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
Georgia State at Tennessee | 12:30 PM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
East Tennessee State at Appalachian State | 12:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Northwestern at #25 Stanford | 1:00 PM | FOX | FoxSportsGo.com |
Portland State at Arkansas | 1:00 PM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Montana State at Texas Tech | 1:00 PM | Fox Sports Net | FoxSportsGo.com |
Virginia Tech at Boston College | 1:00 PM | ACC Network | WatchESPN.com |
#22 Syracuse at Liberty | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Sam Houston State at New Mexico | 3:00 PM | None | None |
Incarnate Word at UTSA | 3:00 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
Campbell at Troy | 3:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
UC Davis at California | 3:30 PM | Pac-12 Networks | Pac-12.com |
VMI at Marshall | 3:30 PM | Stadium | WatchStadium.com |
Norfolk State at Old Dominion | 4:00 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
Alcorn State at Southern Mississippi | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Illinois State at Northern Illinois | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Monmouth at Western Michigan | 4:00 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
SMU at Arkansas State | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Boise State vs. Florida State | 4:00 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
Nicholls at Kansas State | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Stephen F. Austin at Baylor | 4:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
#3 Georgia at Vanderbilt | 4:30 PM | SEC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Georgia Southern at #6 LSU | 4:30 PM | ESPNU | WatchESPN.com |
Middle Tennessee at #7 Michigan | 4:30 PM | BTN | FoxSportsGo.com |
#11 Oregon vs. #16 Auburn | 4:30 PM | ABC | WatchESPN.com |
Miami (OH) at #20 Iowa | 4:30 PM | FS1 | FoxSportsGo.com |
Missouri at Wyoming | 4:30 PM | CBSSN | CBSSports.com |
Abilene Christian at North Texas | 4:30 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Virginia at Pittsburgh | 4:30 PM | ACC Network | WatchESPN.com |
Louisiana Tech at #10 Texas | 5:00 PM | Longhorn Network | WatchESPN.com |
Houston Baptist at UTEP | 5:00 PM | ESPN+ | ESPN+ |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at TCU | 5:00 PM | Fox Sports Net | FoxSportsGo.com |
Grambling at UL Monroe | 5:00 PM | ESPN3 | WatchESPN.com |
Weber State at San Diego State | 6:00 PM | None | None |
New Mexico State at #23 Washington State | 7:00 PM | Pac-12 Networks | Pac-12.com |
Southern Utah at UNLV | 7:00 PM | None | UNLVRebels.com |
Fresno State at USC | 7:30 PM | ESPN | WatchESPN.com |
This is your College Football Saturday open thread.
Go Bruins!