How To Football: Week 9 | New Orleans Sports Today

Let’s…battle for first place in the SEC…?

Navy-Notre Dame: As fun as the Navy thing has been so far, I think this is the terminal stop on the hype train. Since losing to NIU, Notre Dame has quietly been taking care of business and doing it a neat and orderly fashion.
Washington-Indiana: I’ve already wasted my one Penix joke above, but the *conference game* between his two schools is getting the Gameday treatment this weekend but I quietly think this game won’t be particularly close with the way the two teams have been playing.
Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech: It’s a firmly mid-card ACC matchup, but a big game for both programs who don’t have a lot of love lost between them. The loser is left to deal with a fourth ACC loss with a tough road to break even on the conference slate. Both may end up bowling, but this is a win both coaches desperately want to keep whatever momentum they have behind them.
Georgia Southern-App State: Speaking of two teams who are having brutal years and would love nothing more than to get one over on their hated rival, someone is going to get their first conference win of the season here and the other is going to be sitting an ugly 0-4 in conference play.

Maryland-Minnesota: This afternoon shift is full of mid matchups that should produce halfway decent games, even if the helmets are a hard sell to a college football casual.
BYU-UCF: Like this one.
Missouri-Alabama: And this one. Just a bunch of mid teams everywhere, but sometimes those mid teams can produce fun results when paired with other mid teams.
Oklahoma State-Baylor: Interesting one here. These teams aren’t mid, they are bad. Oklahoma is a stunning 3-4 and winless in conference play despite having Ollie Gordon and are woefully underperforming pre-season expectations. Baylor, though, looked to be an abject disaster in September and Aranda heading for the can. But looking at the results, they’ve quietly been there, losing a heartbreaker thanks to Colorado’s comeback, an increasingly impressive one-score loss to BYU before getting punked by Iowa State. But then, when things looked the most bleak up out of nowhere they dropped 59 on Texas Tech and looked good doing so. I’m just saying, we still have a pulse on Aranda’s Baylor.

LSU-Texas A&M: The full contingent of the Golden Band from Tigerland is making the trip to College Station, which means A&M fans get to see a good band play in Kyle Field for a change.
Penn State-Wisconsin: I, as always, am overwhelmingly suspicious of Penn State.
South Dakota-South Dakota State: Last week the Jackrabbits lost a tight one in the Fargodome to see the Dakota Marker remain up north, but they’re back this week against the dangerous in-state rival Coyotes in what’s projected to be a two-point game. Life in the Big Sky is not for the faint of heart.
West Virginia-Arizona: It will be ugly garbage football, but it has potential to be close and exciting garbage football.

Cincinnati-Colorado: You know the deal about Colorado. It’ll probably be a banger of a game.
Washington State-San Diego State: PAC-12 After Dark is dead. Long live PAC-12 After Dark
Nevada-Hawaii: ALOHA FRIENDS