It’s going to be fun when Tennessee travels to Oklahoma in a rare meeting heightened by playoff implications, when Utah and Oklahoma State fight for pole position in the Big 12, when USC plays its first Big Ten game at Michigan.
But that won’t come until next week.
It is a tougher sell this week, when Saturday’s only matchup of ranked teams (Missouri-Boston College) features a spread of more than two touchdowns.
But maybe we’ll be surprised.
We are days removed from Northern Illinois celebrating in front of Touchdown Jesus, from Boise State’s near-upset at Oregon, from Houston pushing Oklahoma to the brink of embarrassment, from Bowling Green holding a second-half lead at Penn State.
Wisconsin hopes to do the same when it hosts Alabama.
Though the Crimson Tide’s visit to Madison is novel, the host won’t encounter anything it hasn’t already seen. Last year, the Badgers covered as a huge home underdog against No. 3 Ohio State, before closing the season with another cover as a nine-point dog against LSU.
The moment should not be overwhelming for Tyler Van Dyke, who will be making his seventh career start against a ranked opponent. In those matchups, Wisconsin’s new — and Miami’s former — quarterback has thrown 17 touchdowns and three interceptions, passing for at least 325 yards five times.
WISCONSIN (+16.5) should continue to grow in its second season under Luke Fickell — the only coach to lead a Group of Five team to the College Football Playoff, who took Cincinnati from four wins to 11 wins in his first two seasons with the Bearcats, who should open the playbook against their toughest opponent of the season. When betting on this game opened last month, Alabama was a 9.5-point favorite. Not enough has changed to justify the Badgers being handed another touchdown at home.
Arizona (+7.5) over KANSAS STATE
Arizona’s nine-game winning streak is the longest in the nation, featuring five victories against ranked teams. A suspect K-State secondary — which ranked 117th in passing yards allowed last season and just allowed 342 yards passing against Tulane — will struggle to slow Noah Fifita, who threw for 311 yards per game as a starting freshman.
SOUTH CAROLINA (+7) over Lsu
The Tigers offense inspired little faith in the season-opening loss to USC. Their defense surrendered 21 points in just over one half to Nicholls State. The Gamecocks — coming off a 31-6 win at Kentucky — have a chance to pull the upset behind a pass rush that ranks fifth in the nation in sack percentage.
MISSOURI (-17) over Boston College
It’s easy to forget how good the Tigers were last year because they’re always overshadowed in the SEC, but the talent is in place — beating Murray State and Buffalo by a combined score of 89-0 — for another top-10 finish.
PURDUE (+10) over Notre Dame
Irish fans were concerned about their inexperienced offensive line. The bigger problem has been who it is protecting. Riley Leonard leads one of five teams in the country without a passing touchdown, while also throwing two interceptions. In his past five games, the Duke transfer has thrown for 129 yards per game, with one touchdown and five interceptions, completing less than 52 percent of his passes.
OREGON STATE (+16.5) over Oregon
Thankfully, the Civil War continues. The end of their in-conference rivalry gives the Beavers a well-timed swing at the Ducks, whose preseason title hopes appear fanciful after a pair of near-upsets. The Beavers have won the past two meetings in Corvallis — and three of the past four — where the crowd will be felt after being buried in the wreckage of the Pac-12.
Texas A&M (-4.5) over FLORIDA
Billy Napier stumbled into the future when low-ceiling senior Graham Mertz suffered a concussion and electric, five-star freshman DJ Lagway emerged to throw for 456 yards and three touchdowns. This week, Napier plans to use both quarterbacks. It’s another reason why the coach won’t be around to see Lagway become a star.
Washington State (+4.5) over Washington
The new-look Huskies have struggled out of the gates without Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Kalen DeBoer, failing to score in the first quarter of their first two games against low-level competition. That won’t cut it against a Cougars offense averaging more than 50 points per game — led by new quarterback John Mateer, who ran for 197 yards in a win against Texas Tech and threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns the week prior.
Tulane (+13.5) over OKLAHOMA
The Sooners had to go to the SEC. In this rapidly-changing, multi-billion dollar business, Oklahoma had no other option. The price is a generation of Sooners fans being raised without knowing the joy of winning a conference championship.
UTAH STATE (+20.5) over Utah
This is the game that live betting was made for. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said he will not provide an update on the injury sustained by quarterback Cam Rising last week. Wait until learning who is starting for the Utes, who failed to score a point without Rising in the second half of last week’s win over Baylor.
Ole Miss (-23.5) over WAKE FOREST
Ride the Rebels, who won their first two games by a combined score of 128-3, until given reason not to.
Utsa (+35.5) over TEXAS
Following last year’s early season win at Alabama, the Longhorns returned home to collect an underwhelming victory over Wyoming. After beating the defending champs at the Big House, Texas won’t put the pedal to the floor against the Roadrunners — who are coming off a 49-10 loss to Texas State, but have gone 4-0 (under Jeff Traylor) in games following losses by at least 21 points.
KENTUCKY (+24.5) over Georgia
The Bulldogs have failed to cover four straight road games against unranked Power Four opponents, including a 16-6 win by the 2022 national champs in Lexington. Mark Stoops’ team has covered four of the past five meetings against Kirby Smart, only once losing by more than 21 points in the past six encounters.
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Ucf (-2.5) over TCU
The Knights’ FBS-best 419 rushing yards per game has been inflated by meetings with New Hampshire and Sam Houston, but their ground game should be even better than last year’s fourth-ranked attack, with the addition of longtime Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson. The Horned Frogs defense — which last year ranked 81st in the nation in rushing yards allowed and 92nd in points allowed — isn’t up for the challenge.
Kent State (+48.5) over TENNESSEE
The Vols are the No. 7 team in the nation but ranked sixth among SEC members. The loathsome prospect of a super-conference era is approaching more rapidly than many realize.
Best bets: Arizona, Washington State, Tulane
This season: 18-12 (3-3)
2014-23 record: 1,272-1,206-30
