The Tip Sheet: Big House, Little Problem

Conference play ramps up around the country this week, which is a great thing for college football, provided you are not a Mississippi State or Florida fan.

Fortunately, there aren’t many of those left, so the vast majority of college football fans are ready to enjoy another fun week of the best sport around. There are four games this week between ranked opponents, which is a nice change of pace from the smattering we’ve seen the last couple of weeks.

Expansion finally gets to take center stage this week as Oklahoma makes its SEC debut by hosting Tennessee, and USC makes its Big Ten debut by traveling to Ann Arbor.

There is no word yet on if USC will show up to the game in a Trojan horse, but if they do, it wouldn’t be the first deceptive horse on the Michigan sidelines over the last few years.

Friday September 20

Teams: #24 Illinois (3-0, 0-0) at #22 Nebraska (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 8:00 pm (FOX)
Interest: 4
Line: Nebraska -7.5
Cheer For: Nebraska

This is the most anticipated Illinois-Nebraska game in rivalry history. It is just the second time these two teams have been ranked when playing each other. The last time it happened was 1985, which ended in a 52-28 win for No. 18 Nebraska over No. 18 Illinois. The Huskers own the series with a 14-6-1 record, winning for the first time in four years against their former division-mates last season. This will be the stiffest test yet for Nebraska freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who is completing 73.8 percent of his passes so far this season. The Illini defense forced three interceptions from Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels two weeks ago. They’ll have something special for Raiola, but this crowd will have something for the Illinois offense. I’ll take the home team but don’t be shocked when Bret Bielema spoils the day for the Huskers.

Nebraska 24 – Illinois 19

Saturday September 21

Teams: Marshall (1-1) at #3 Ohio State (2-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (FOX)
Interest: 5
Line: Ohio State -40
Cheer For: Ohio State

The standard is the standard for Ohio State this year, which means another 50+ points scored and zero touchdowns allowed by the defense. Anything less than that should mean stadium steps at 5:00 am Sunday morning. It’s what Woody would do if he was still coaching the Buckeyes today. Also, if Woody was still coaching the Buckeyes today, his $40,000 per year salary would make him the lowest-paid coach on the staff and place him about 73^rd among the players. His part-time job as an Uber driver would be rocky because his driver rating would fluctuate with his win-loss record. If he beats Michigan, he can drop a fare headed to the airport on the side of 270 with luggage scattered all along the shoulder and still get five stars. If he loses to Michigan, he can forget about tips altogether. People would order rides just to yell at him. It would be like the John Cooper call-in show 30 years ago but in person and in traffic.

Review: “1 star. Can’t drive, drive on down the field for s***. I should have ordered Lyft Fickell instead.”

Ohio State 52 – Marshall 3

Teams: North Carolina State (2-1, 0-0) at #21 Clemson (1-1, 0-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (ABC)
Interest: 1.5
Line: Clemson -18.5
Cheer For: North Carolina State

You’re cheering for North Carolina State because your grandfather once took you on a tour of his factory job in Akron and told you that one day he was gonna make enough money to take the family out of Akron so that you could all live together on a piece of land in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It always sounded great. He saved his money. Your parents saved their money. It was always at the forefront of your upbringing. You and your grandfather talked about it frequently on overnight fishing trips. Then, one day in February when you were 12 years old, your grandfather announced that the family had finally saved enough money to purchase the land. You were excited to be leaving the Rust Belt. It was then revealed to you that your grandfather was planning to use the land to start a cult. You were shocked to hear the news, but thrilled that he took your advice.

Clemson 34 – North Carolina State 13

Teams: Florida (1-2, 0-1) at Mississippi State (1-2, 0-0)
Time (TV): 12:00 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 1
Line: Mississippi State +6
Cheer For: Mississippi State

I am only putting this game on the Tip Sheet so that you are aware of it and neither you nor your children stumble upon it while switching around on Saturday. Sure, you’ll be focused on the Ohio State game, but with the influx of commercials nowadays, you’re going to be looking around for something else to watch. Just please be aware that this game is airing on ESPN. Life is depressing enough as it is. You don’t need to make it any worse by flipping it over to this game. Maybe try a parental block after Gameday just to be safe. Or maybe just get rid of cable altogether. You’ve been thinking of cutting the cord for years now. Let this be your sign to make the move. “An ounce of prevention” and all that.

Florida 20 – Mississippi State 16

Teams: Ohio (2-1) at Kentucky (1-2)
Time (TV): 12:45 pm (SECN)
Interest: 2
Line: Kentucky -20
Cheer For: Ohio

For the second week in a row Kentucky is hosting a team from Athens. This game will probably go differently than last week’s one-point loss to Georgia, but the Wildcats could also be in line for a pretty big letdown. Head coach Mark Stoops will need to keep an eye on his team. He’ll also need to be careful not to allow his coaching to get in the way of his team winning this week. I don’t expect him to coach scared this week, but I’ve almost been wrong before.

Kentucky 30 – Ohio 13

Teams: #11 USC (2-0, 0-0) at #18 Michigan (2-1, 0-0)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (CBS)
Interest: 5
Line: Michigan +4.5
Cheer For: USC

Alex Orji is going to be Michigan’s starting quarterback, which has Wolverine fans concerned. Orji has completed 3-of-6 passes this season, with four of those attempts coming last week after starter Davis Warren was benched. The Michigan coaching staff has been reticent to throw the ball with Orji, which has made the Wolverine offense too predictable according to fans. They believe that predictability has made them easier to defend, but I don’t know why Michigan fans would get upset if a defense knows a running play is coming. The defense still has to stop the play, right? From what those same fans have said for almost a year now, there is no real advantage to knowing whether or not a run or pass is coming. You still have to make the play. So I don’t really know why they’d suddenly change their tunes now. As for the outcome of this game, everything we have seen so far points to a double-digit victory for the Trojans. Picking Michigan to win this game is more hope than analysis. There is a hope that the Michigan running game will be able to operate against USC’s defense. There is a hope that Orji will be able to throw the ball. There is no evidence that either of those things are going to happen, however. This will be the first real defense USC quarterback Miller Moss has faced this year, so that could become something to watch.

USC 30 – Michigan 17

Teams: Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-1) at #19 Louisville (2-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 3:30 pm (ESPN2)
Interest: 1.5
Line: Louisville -10.5
Cheer For: Louisville

Louisville is a college football NPC. It’s just there to provide missions for other players and advance the rest of the ACC’s storyline.

Louisville 31 – Georgia Tech 20

Teams: UCLA (1-1) at #16 LSU (2-1)
Time (TV): 3:40 pm (ABC)
Interest: 1
Line: LSU -22.5
Cheer For: UCLA

This one is going to be ugly. If UCLA can give up 42 points at home to Indiana, then they can at least give up 28 points to LSU on the road. Things are not going well for the Bruins, who are fortunate to be 1-1 at the moment. There is a population of UCLA fans that are hoping the university will return to the new Pac 12 currently being created. I think there would be quite a bit of irony if they actually did return to the Pac 12 because there are so many stories of Hollywood hopefuls moving from the Midwest to Los Angeles, only to have to move back home after failing to accomplish their starry-eyed dreams. Here, you’d have the Hollywood native failing to find success in the Midwest and opting to move back home. It’s actually pretty depressing when you think about it. I’m sorry I brought it up. On a more positive note, maybe Brian Kelly can turn UCLA into a winner when he’s coaching there in 2026.

LSU 42 – UCLA 13

Teams: #12 Utah (3-0, 0-0) at #14 Oklahoma State (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 4:00 pm (FOX)
Interest: 4
Line: Oklahoma State -2.5
Cheer For: Whomever

This line was Oklahoma State +2 just a couple of days ago, but a swing the other way is apparently due to Utah quarterback Cam Rising possibly being held out once again with an injury. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson played well in his first start last week for the Utes, but this is going to be a much different environment than last week’s home tilt against Utah State. Utah’s defense should keep them in this, but expect a costly turnover at some point from Wilson.

Oklahoma State 24 – Utah 20

Teams: #8 Miami (3-0) at South Florida (2-1)
Time (TV): 7:00 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 2
Line: Miami -17
Cheer For: USF

This game features two of the three best football programs in the state of Florida right now — and for the foreseeable future. With Florida State and Florida currently stuck in the linen closet, Miami, USF, and UCF are all the state has. With a win in this game, the Canes will be a virtual lock for the state championship — aka The Bath Salts Belt. The Bulls put up a temporary fight against Alabama two weeks ago. Can they ride the home crowd to a similarly close loss this week? Miami quarterback Cam Ward has been worth his contract so far, as he’s thrown for over 300 yards in each of the Hurricanes’ first three games. He’ll make it four in a row this week.

Miami 38 – USF 21

Teams: California (3-0, 0-0) at Florida State (0-3, 0-2)
Time (TV): 7:00 pm (ESPN2)
Interest: 2.5
Line: Florida State -2.5
Cheer For: California

This game is listed here because, for all of our qualities, we just can’t get rid of our morbid curiosity. Imagine slipping into a coma 10 years ago and waking up today. After being told everything that has happened in the world over the past decade, the one thing that you’d ask for further clarity on would be a 3-0 Cal Bears team coming into Tallahassee to face an 0-3 Florida State team in a conference game.

California 31 – Florida State 28

Teams: #6 Tennessee (3-0, 0-0) at #15 Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 7:30 pm (ABC)
Interest: 5
Line: Oklahoma +6.5
Cheer For: Tennessee

Tennessee’s defense has been more impressive than its offense, which is something that I don’t believe has ever been said in the Josh Heupel era. The Vols’ schedule this year has not presented either side of the ball with any kind of challenge. The Oklahoma offense may not change that fact this week. The Sooner defense, however, will provide Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava with the toughest test of his career. A lot of people are expecting a Tennessee blowout here, which might be the perfect time to lean the other way. But I just don’t trust the Oklahoma offense or head coach Brent Venables. Josh Heupel will gain his revenge on being fired by Bob Stoops as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator after the 2014 season. This is not going to be the welcome to the SEC that Oklahoma was expecting. Don’t be surprised if at some point in this game the Oklahoma crowd is chanting “We Want Heupel,” as he was the quarterback of the Sooners’ last national title team.

Tennessee 31 – Oklahoma 23

Teams: Iowa (2-1, 0-0) at Minnesota (2-1, 0-0)
Time (TV): 7:30 pm (NBC)
Interest: 3
Line: Minnesota +2.5
Cheer For: Iowa

If you’ve got a newborn that has had some trouble sleeping, put them in front of this game for a bit. The kid might not fall asleep but you will and you’ll never hear the crying. Iowa and Minnesota play for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, which is a bronze pig and is the result of one of the best stories of college football and American history there ever was. Floyd of Rosedale is one of 19 pig-based rivalry trophies among Big Ten teams, and that’s not even including the Crabagool Trophy, which is a half crab, half pig trophy that Maryland and Rutgers play for. If Iowa is going to pretend to be the playoff challenger that some people had them as, then they can’t afford to lose Floyd for a second year in a row. With Minnesota running back Darius Taylor healthy and the defense pitching back-to-back shutouts, I am incorrectly going to side with the Gophers in this one.

Minnesota 20 – Iowa 17

Rutgers players hoist The Crabagool Trophy following a 31-24 win over Maryland in 2017.

Teams: Michigan State (3-0) at Boston College (2-1)
Time (TV): 8:00 pm (ACCN)
Interest: 2.5
Line: Boston College -6.5
Cheer For: Michigan State

Michigan State already got away with one at Maryland. They’re not going to get this one too. The Spartans offense is not great, but that’s okay because Boston College’s defense is pretty average. If Michigan State can avoid the turnovers, they can keep this one close. This is the Red Bandana Game for Boston College, so all of the emotions will be on the BC side of things.

Boston College 24 – Michigan State 16

Teams: #13 Kansas State (3-0, 0-0) at BYU (3-0, 0-0)
Time (TV): 10:30 pm (ESPN)
Interest: 3.5
Line: BYU +7
Cheer For: Kansas State

You’re cheering for Kansas State because it’s best to just root for the favorites in most Big XII games. You don’t want a bracket buster sneaking their way into the playoffs until you know your team is in comfortably. This could be a fun nightcap. BYU has wins at both SMU and Wyoming, while Kansas State blew out a ranked Arizona last week and snuck out of Tulane with a 7-point win the week before. This is a big week in the Big XII as conference play gets fully underway and teams that were expected to contend start notching losses. I don’t think BYU has the offense to get this one done.

Kansas State 28 – BYU 21

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