On the Line: Oh my goodness, this weekend's schedule is absolutely loaded

The magic of college football is just how fast a team, a program, a university's fortunes can change. In this case, it's three weeks. 

Three weeks ago today, exactly no one was looking forward to South Florida at Miami. We know that because the ACC designated the game to air on The CW Network. But Miami beat Notre Dame and, more importantly, South Florida beat Boise State and Florida, and suddenly we're all looking forward to a No. 18 at No. 5 game, and arguably the biggest game in USF history.

For the Bulls, it's inarguably the biggest game since Nov. 24, 2017, when Charlie Strong's 9-1, 22nd-ranked squad faced Scott Frost's undefeated, 13th-ranked UCF Knights in the War on I-4 with the AAC East Division championship on the line. UCF won that game, 49-42, and went on to claim a national title. South Florida played in the Birmingham Bowl and hasn't sniffed a conference title since. If not 2017, it's USF's biggest game since Oct. 18, 2007, when a No. 2-ranked Bulls team, coached by Jim Leavitt, faced Rutgers in a Thursday night ESPN game, back before the NFL claimed that piece of television real estate. USF also lost that night, a 30-27 decision on a field goal at the buzzer. 

The difference between this Bulls outfit and the others is that, even if they had won those games, South Florida would not have played for a national championship. Times are different now, obviously. And the irony here is USF doesn't need to win this game for that statement to still be true. Wins over the defending Mountain West champ and G5 CFP rep and on the road at Florida are probably enough to get Alex Golesh's team in the 12-team field, so long as they win the American. But who are we kidding? South Florida has a chance to pull off arguably the most 3-0 start in college football history and play their way into an at-large bid even if they don't capture the first conference title in the program's 29-year history.

I heard a national pundit this week speculate USF could treat this game as found money, even hinting the Bulls could hold players out, in pursuit of the larger goal of winning the American. C'mon. We saw last week how important these games against the Big Three are for USF. To follow up a win at Florida to win at Miami? This game is too important to the University of South Florida not to go all-in.

The Elko Opportunity. We all know how proud Texas A&M is of Kyle Field and the environment there in. It's kind of their whole thing. And the argument for Kyle Field's inclusion among college football's most intimidating home venues despite the home team's 25-19 record vs. Power 4 opponents since Johnny Manziel's departure (note: this excludes the 2022 App State) loss is Yeah, but you should compare that record to how bad we are on the road. I swear this is not a back-bend shot at A&M, I've seen actual, maroon-blooded Aggies make this argument online with a straight face.

And, well, they're not wrong. No. 16 Texas A&M's trip to No. 8 Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) is a chance for Mike Elko to score his team's biggest road victory since 2014. And 2002. And 1979.

With a schedule that calls for future trips to Arkansas, No. 3 LSU, No. 25 Missouri and No. 7 Texas, the Aggies will never get where they want to go if they can't make it off Highway 6 without blowing a tire. 

Meanwhile, Notre Dame needs this game just as much, if not more, than A&M. Last year's team overcame the Northern Illinois loss by rattling off 13 straight wins to ultimately play in the title game. With an 0-2 start, Notre Dame again would need to win out to return to the CFP -- against a schedule that, for better and worse, does not feature a current AP Top 25 opponent after this week. That means even 10-2 may not be enough to get Marcus Freeman and company back in the bracket, depending on how the next 11 weeks shake out. 

Georgia-Tennessee. What's significant about this play? It's the only time Tennessee has beaten a Kirby Smart-coached Georgia team.

Since that Obama-era win, Georgia has won all eight meetings by a cumulative score of Red 303, Orange 104. No game has been within 14 points. 

Last year's meeting, a 31-17 Bulldogs win, saw Tennessee out-rush Georgia, but the Dawgs won because Nico Iamaleava (167 yards and no touchdowns on 33 attempts) could not match Carson Beck, who went 25-of-40 for 347 yards with 2 TDs vs. 0 INTs. Both QBs have since moved on to greener (pun intended) pastures, and this game will be determined by whether Joey Swaguilar can scale his performance after throwing for 9.1 ypa with 5 TDs and 0 INTs against Syracuse and East Tennessee State, while Gunner Stockton must threaten the Tennessee secondary after needing 58 throws to compile 417 yards on Marshall and Austin Peay. 

Josh Heupel manages to scheme receivers open down the field against everyone but Smart. In four games against Georgia, Tennessee quarterbacks have posted yards-per-attempt numbers of 5.1, 5.9, 4.1 and 6.6. Heupel has to find a way to fix that for Tennessee to win.

Rich Rod returns to the scene of the crime (his own home). There is not a single loss more damaging to a program than Pitt 13, West Virginia 9 on Dec. 1, 2007. There probably isn't a close second. 

Pitt and WVU have Backyard Brawled a handful of times since then, but Rich Rod hasn't seen the Panthers since that awful (or wonderful) night. "It was the worst moment of my professional career from a game standpoint. I tried to move past that a long time ago, but from that regard, it'd be good to get a win, but it's not going to ease the pain for that," Rodriguez said.

Look at it this way, how many other regular-season games from 18 years ago are still being talked about today?

Winning a non-conference game (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a season where WVU's ceiling is probably 6-6 is not going to wash away the results of 12-1-07. But it would certainly beat the alternative.

Additional Games

Colorado at Houston (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): It's (likely) the debut of Ryan Staub at quarterback for CU. This season for Colorado is about remaining on the level they reached last season, and for Houston it's about taking a step forward after two straight 4-8 seasons. Both theories of the case require a win on Friday night.

New Mexico at UCLA (10 p.m. ET, BTN): Before a crowd of hundreds and an audience of thousands, DeShaun Foster must get his team hyped to play an opponent that absolutely can beat them or his Bruins may not win a game this season. 

No. 4 Oregon at Northwestern (noon ET, Fox): You know why GameDay is still the Pregame Show of Record in college football and Big Noon is not? GameDay will go to Texas at Ohio State, but Big Noon is at Oregon-Northwestern in a game where the biggest game is clearly Georgia at Tennessee (or South Florida at Miami). ESPN's pre-game show promotes college football, while Fox's pre-game show promotes Fox's coverage of college football. There's a massive difference there. 

No. 12 Clemson at Georgia Tech (noon ET, ESPN): Brent Key's biggest game at Georgia Tech? Brent Key's biggest game at Georgia Tech. 

No. 13 Oklahoma at Temple (noon ET, ESPN2): We know KC Keeler's 2-0 Owls expect to compete with Oklahoma, but did you know this was a battle of the nation's most efficient quarterback... and John Mateer? Evan Simon is 27-of-35 for 422 yards with 9 TDs and 0 INTs thus far, while OU is limiting opposing passers to 43.2 percent completions for 4.0 yards per attempt and has yet to allow a touchdown pass. Irresistible force, meet immovable object. Also, who knew there was beef between Temple and OU media?

Wisconsin at No. 19 Alabama (noon ET, ABC): Wisconsin makes its maiden voyage to Bryant-Denny, looking to play the Tide closer than 35-17 (the score of their 2015 opener in Dallas) or 42-10 (the score of last year's game in Madison). I don't think they will.

Central Michigan at No. 23 Michigan (noon ET, BTN): Biff Poggi will lead Michigan in this one, which makes him the sixth different man to serve as an acting head coach for the Wolverines since the beginning of the 2023 season -- a period in which Michigan has only had two head coaches, with the second being an internal replacement of the first. It's the most unstable, stable environment one could possibly imagine, all because Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore have each been suspended while serving as Michigan head coaches.

Memphis at Troy (noon ET, ESPNU): When the "bigger" games in the noon window become non-competitive, flip your clicker to ESPNU. U won't regret it.

Villanova at No. 2 Penn State (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1): The fifth of eight consecutive Penn State non-conference games against Group of 5 or FCS opponents.

USC at Purdue (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS): On that point, why is USC-Purdue airing on CBS and Oregon-Northwestern the Big Noon game? This is why. 

This is an opportunity for Barry Odom to plant a yardstick showing that things are different in West Lafayette. Purdue had the least threatening pass defense in the Power 4 last year, allowing completions on nearly two-thirds of attempts for 9.2 per, with nearly 7 TDs for every INT. USC's Jayden Maiva comes in a hair behind Temple's Evan Simon as the nation's most efficient passer in this young season.

Washington State at North Texas (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU): Eric Morris takes on his old team in the first meeting between Old Crimson and the Mean Green. This game takes place in Denton, Texas, but Washington State apparently thinks it's flying into Tucson, Arizona.

Florida Atlantic at FIU (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+): In the 23rd edition of the Shula Bowl, FIU looks for its first win since 2016. FAU leads the all-time series 17-5. 

Arkansas at No. 17 Ole Miss (7 p.m. ET, ESPN): Sam Pittman is 14-28 in SEC games, with a high-water mark of 4-4, way back in 2021. Needless to say, that can't continue forever. Therefore, this is as close to a must-win game for an unranked 2-0 team as one can be. 

Ohio at No. 1 Ohio State (7 p.m. ET, Peacock): First, it's darkly funny that Ohio State finally gets a home night game, and it's on Peacock. The Big Ten clearly loves money more than its fans. Second, this is a celebration of my favorite moment in college football history and I'm not even a little bit kidding.

"Literally, the sole purpose of me doing the mascot thing was to tackle Brutus Buckeye," Brandon Hanning -- aka Rufus the Bobcat -- later told The Athletic. 

Florida at No. 3 LSU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC): What does that loss to South Florida mean for Billy Napier? It turns a really, really-hard-to-win environment -- on the road, at night, against the No. 3 team in the country -- into a near must-win game. I still believe DJ Lagway is the most talented player in this game in a vacuum, but this game won't be played in a vacuum, it'll be played before 90,000 rowdy Louisianas. This isn't something I imagined saying a few weeks ago, but I think Brian Kelly rides his defense to a 10-14-point victory.

Vanderbilt at No. 11 South Carolina (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network): For my money, this may be the hardest-hitting, most competitive game in a weekend absolutely packed full of them. If you're South Carolina and you have at No. 25 Missouri, at No. 3 LSU, vs. 13 Oklahoma, vs. No. 19 Alabama, at No. 16 Texas A&M and vs. No. 12 Clemson ahead of you, home against Vanderbilt is an absolute must-win. And if you're Vanderbilt and you have at No. 19 Alabama, vs. No. 3 LSU, vs. No. 25 Missouri, at No. 7 Texas, vs. No. 24 Missouri and at No. 15 Tennessee ahead of you... at No. 11 South Carolina isn't a must-win, but Clark Lea's team will walk into Williams-Brice believing there's no reason they can't win. Both quarterbacks are completely unafraid to lower their shoulder into an oncoming linebacker. This game should be absolute cinema.  

Duke at Tulane (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2): Let's not sleep on how odd this game is. Tulane's franchise quarterback was money-whipped away to a Power 4 school (not at all odd), but that school was Duke and Duke visits Tulane the very next season. Duke and Tulane have played each other five times, ever! “It’s definitely going to be a little bit weird going over there with my old team,” Darian Mensah said. 

Boston College at Stanford (10:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network): This is a conference game. I know that's old news by this point, but I can't get over Boston College going across the country to play at 10:30 local time kickoff for a conference game. 

Minnesota at Cal (10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN): Minnesota hasn't won a road non-conference game since 2021. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has literally never lost a college game. You know what they say, folks: Something's gotta give.

Texas State at Arizona State (10:30 p.m. ET, TNT): Last year, Texas State gave Arizona State absolutely everything they could handle; that Arizona State team was better than this one. The Sun Devils have played like they're waiting for Cam Skattebo to save them all season long but, to quote former Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino, Skat isn't walking through that door. Speaking of the NBA, I assume we'll get EJ, Kenny, Chuck and Shaq riffing until 2 a.m. after this one, right?