Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news in college football, where Bill Belichick (!) engaged in a little whimsy by wishing the University of North Carolina happy birthday. First Quarter: Mamas, Don’t Let Your Sons Grow Up to Be Five-Star QBs. Second Quarter: We Regret to Inform You That Your Team Is a Bust. Third Quarter: Promotion/Relegation Fantasy Island.
Fourth Quarter: Home Games of Great Consequence
We are heading toward another big weekend in the sport, with several Saturday matchups carrying extra payload for the home team. The Dash list, with picks:
Notre Dame at BYU (32)
Biggest home game in Cougars history? It might be. BYU fans have long pointed to a 1990 game against No. 1, defending national champion Miami as the biggest, with the Cougars’ win over the Hurricanes helping launch Ty Detmer to the Heisman Trophy. This one seemingly comes with bigger trappings.
It’s the first matchup of top-10 teams in Provo, Utah, with the Fighting Irish coming in at No. 2 and the Cougars at No. 8. The College Football Playoff implications are massive for both teams, since neither has played a ranked team to date. Big 12 credibility is also very much at stake, with the league’s only true take-notice win in nonconference play being Oklahoma State over Oregon. College GameDay will be there for the first time since 2009.
Line: Notre Dame by 10.
Dash pick: Notre Dame 21, BYU 12. This should be a low-scoring slugfest, with both teams in the top 10 nationally in total defense and scoring defense. The Irish have the better firepower, and the better defense.
Ohio State at Indiana (33)
The only thing that could compare to this in Indiana home game history might be the 1967 Old Oaken Bucket game against No. 3 Purdue. The Hoosiers won that one as a major underdog on their way to their first Rose Bowl—and only Rose Bowl until last season. This is the first matchup of top-five teams Indiana has ever hosted.
Past Ohio State visits to Bloomington, Ind., have been virtual home games for the Buckeyes, with their massive fan base flooding west into neighboring Indiana and taking over. That’s not likely to be the case this time, now that the Hoosiers have discovered football fever.
Line: Ohio State by 3.5.
Dash pick: Indiana 23, Ohio State 21. Jeremiah Smith is a matchup nightmare for anyone, the Hoosiers included. But that was also the case last year in the Big Ten championship, when Smith had eight catches for 144 yards but no touchdowns. Indiana’s defense near the goal line was the difference in that game and it will have to be good again to win this game.
Wisconsin at UCLA (34)
The Big Ten showdown nobody saw coming, and hopefully one that a few Bruins fans will bother to see in person. (Undefeated, 12th-ranked UCLA is averaging 31,446 fans per home game, which is 72nd nationally. That ranks behind nine schools from outside the Power 4.)
The Badgers’ only loss was in the opener to Notre Dame. With a win, Luke Fickell would add another layer of support for extending his tenure. If UCLA wins, Bob Chesney might be asked to coach the Chargers, too.
Line: UCLA by 3.5.
Dash pick: Wisconsin 17, UCLA 14. That line may move considerably with the news that Bruins QB Nico Iamaleava is reportedly out for the season. Cal Poly transfer Ty Dieffenbach is a great story, and he did a fine job as an emergency fill-in at Oregon, getting his first FBS game action in four years as a collegian. But a Wisconsin defense that has allowed just one rushing touchdown might be able to load up on UCLA’s formidable running game.
Alabama at Tennessee (35)
What happens when the Crimson Tide goes to Knoxville, Tenn.? The goalposts come down. Tennessee fans made off with them in 2022 and tossed one in the river outside Neyland Stadium, then took one down again in ’24 but never got it out of the stadium. The school has been quite cavalier about paying SEC fines for field storms in the past, but the price tag is now a half-million per storm.
Line: Alabama by 8.5.
Dash pick: Alabama 27, Tennessee 17. The Vols are a struggling offensive unit and the Tide should be coming in hot after losing in controversial fashion to Georgia. Kalen DeBoer has never lost back-to-back games at Alabama, and has done so only twice in his 150 games as a college head coach.
Kansas at Kansas State (36)
This game is not noteworthy for any impact on the national scene, or even the Big 12 race—both are 0–2 in the league. The storyline is whether the Wildcats can extend their incredible ownership of the Jayhawks to an 18th straight meeting. Last time Kansas won in the Sunflower Showdown was 2008, when current K-State coach Collin Klein was sitting out the season as a redshirt freshman for the Wildcats.
Line: Kansas State by 4.5.
Dash pick: Kansas State 35, Kansas 28. Wildcats quarterback Avery Johnson is mercurial, but he’s lit up the Jayhawks the last two years and should do it again Saturday.
Reunion games (37) in Eugene, Ore.; Oxford, Miss.; and East Lansing, Mich. Oregon QB Dylan Raiola—whose place on the Ducks’ depth chart is quite uncertain at this point—faces his old team, Nebraska. Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons faces his old team, Mississippi, where he was Wally Pipped out of the lineup by Trinidad Chambliss. And Northwestern takes on its former coach, Pat Fitzgerald, at Michigan State.
Lines: Oregon by 7.5; Mississippi by 6; Northwestern by 7.5.
Dash picks: Oregon 24, Nebraska 17; Ole Miss 38, Missouri 35; Northwestern 31, Michigan State 21.
Coach Who Earned His Comp Car This Week
Kirk Ferentz (38), Iowa
Sure, his comp car is probably a perfectly sensible Ford Taurus, but let him have what fits his personality. He’s doing some classic Ferentzian coaching with the current Hawkeyes, who are 5–1 coming off delivering a woodshed whipping to Washington. Floyd of Rosedale is on the line at Minnesota on Saturday, and that brings out the best in Ferentz. His team has won the bronze pig 10 of the last 11 years.
Coach Who Should Take the Bus to Work
Mike Norvell (39), Florida State
When you’re on the hot seat and you make a dubious coaching decision that completely turns around a game you were dominating, that’s not good. Norvell did that at Louisville on Friday night, up 14–0 and facing a fourth down inside the 5-yard line. Instead of kicking the field goal to take a three-score lead and maintain the Seminoles’ opening role, they went for it and were stopped. One play later, Louisville scored on a 97-yard run and erupted for a 44–20 blowout. Tallahassee bus drivers might not even open their doors for Norvell this week.
Point After
When hungry and thirsty in Atlanta, The Dash recommends the wings and cajun fries at Clay’s Sports Cafe (40), which looks modest on the outside in a Sandy Springs strip mall. But the wings have a unique sauce and plenty of spice, and the Friday afternoon clientele will probably be talking about college football. Check it out and thank The Dash later.
PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.
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