Georgia vs. Alabama
· This is a rivalry that has favored the Crimson Tide in years past, especially in the regular season. Kirby Smart is 2-7 against the team from Tuscaloosa. Kalen Deboer’s fortunes have turned quite a bit since that embarrassing defeat to Mike Novell’s Florida State Seminoles to begin last season. Overwrought followers of the Alabama program were actually advocating paying an eye-popping $70 million dollars to send Deboer back west. His career record in ranked matchups as an FBS head coach stands at 17-5. Go figure. Although Keelon Russell has been very impressive for Deboer’s squad, I’d still give Georgia the advantage at the quarterback position. Gunner Stockton has been through more battles like this one looks to be. Both teams have played well on defense. Georgia has been more dominant defensively but against weaker competition. Right now this game does not appear to be significantly impacted by Hurricane Isaias, although wind will be a factor in the game.
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FSU v. Louisville
· Speaking of Norvell, his team’s 1-2 start after last year’s collapse seemed to have his tenure in Tallahassee in major jeopardy. Since then, FSU easily dispatched of Central Arkansas and then, quite impressively, blew out a pretty good Virginia team 38-7. If the Seminoles can beat Louisville tonight, Norvell may quiet the waters a little. If they do not, then they’ll be 3-3 heading to South Beach next week to face the 4th ranked Miami Hurricanes.
UCLA vs. Oregon
· It was an inauspicious start to the season for the ducks. They pulled out an uninspiring win against Boise State in game one and then proceeded to give up 39 points in a road loss to Oklahoma State in game two. The ducks have gone undefeated since, including a big road conference win over USC, behind their backup quarterback. UCLA has been a surprise team this year in college football. They are averaging a staggering 44.75 points per game. I suspect there are still plenty of doubters of the team from Westwood, but as Bill Parcells once said, “you are what your record says you are.” The Bruins are 4-0. Look for points in this one.
USC vs Penn State
· It's the annual white out game in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions lost last year's white out game to Oregon. It is their only loss in a whiteout game since 2019, which includes a 2021 win over Auburn, in a game of enormous frustration to loyal Tiger fans that attended it in droves. This will be the first true road game for the Trojans in a season where they have not looked the part of a championship team that Lincoln Riley was hired to produce. Penn State comes in off a pretty humiliating beat down by Northwestern last week. Conventional wisdom would give USC the edge in this game. They really have to have it given what remains on their schedule. Unfortunately, Beaver Stadium does not always cooperate with the visitors in games like this. I would not be at all surprised if Penn State keeps it close or even pulls off the upset.
Texas vs. Oklahoma
· The Texas State fair serves as the backdrop for the Red River rivalry. Texas leads this series overall 65-51-5. However, Oklahoma has won 11 of the last 17. The Longhorns appear to be the better team top to bottom, but they have struggled to get going offensively against the strong defensive units of Ohio State and Tennessee. Oklahoma, for all its problems on offense, does have a strong defense. For that reason, the Sooners may well keep the game competitive deep into the contest, but I look for Texas to pull away late.
Other headlines
· UMass looks to rebound at home against Miami (OH) after their first loss last week.
· North Dakota State looks to stay unbeaten as they head to Vegas to take on UNLV.
· Bill Belichick looks for ACC win number one on the season at Pitt.
· Missouri looks to avoid a trap game at home against Texas A&M.
· Georgia Tech will try and hand Duke their first loss on The Flats.
· A week after losing a heartbreaker on a field goal they still believe was good; James Franklin and the Hokies head cross-country to Berkeley to take on the Cal Bears.
· College football's bad boy Lane Kiffin and his LSU Tigers are on the bluegrass against a rejuvenated Kentucky team under first year coach Will Stein.
· In late night action, Hawaii leaves the islands behind for the desert of Tempe, AZ as the Rainbow Warriors battle the Sun Devils.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
