Saturday, September 23, 2017

College Football: What to Watch in Week 4

You’re an Army Football fan, and you’re wondering what to watch this weekend.  I’m here to help.

Thursday, September 21
Time
Matchup
Network
7:30 PM
#21 South Florida 43, Temple 7
ESPN
This one wasn’t much of a game after the first quarter.  The Owls turned it over six times and rushed for a net -4 yards.  Ouch!
Saturday, September 23
Time
Matchup
Network
12:00 PM
Army @ Tulane
CBS Sports
2:00 PM
Ohio @ Eastern Michigan
ESPN3
3:30 PM
Cincinnati @ Navy
CBS Sports
7:00 PM
17 Mississippi State @ 11 Georgia
ESPN
7:00 PM
22 San Diego State @ Air Force
CBS Sports
7:00 PM
Bowling Green @ Middle Tennessee
ESPN3
7:00 PM
Florida Atlantic @ Buffalo
ESPN3
7:30 PM
Florida International @ Rice
Stadium
8:00 PM
UTEP @ New Mexico State
ESPN 3
The Tulane game is the obvious one.  If you’re an Army fan, you already know about that one.


Ohio at Eastern Michigan is my Underappreciated Game of the Week (UGW).  Eastern Michigan is 2-0 with a win over Rutgers.  They look good.  They’ll be at Michie Stadium September 14th, for a game I expect will be a barn-burner.

 Navy’s game will be an interesting test.  The Mids look like they might’ve lost a step, but if they trounce Cincinnati like they did last year, then maybe that’s not as true as we might’ve hoped.  The line in this game is an astonishing Navy (-11)!
#17 Mississippi State at #11 Georgia is the best game of the weekend, in my personal opinion.
Like Navy, if Air Force beats #22 SDSU at home, then the reports of their regression will have been greatly exaggerated.  The line opened at SDSU (-7), but it’s moved towards AFA.  As of this writing, it’s SDSU (-3.5).
Bowling Green at MTSU probably appeals only to me.  My folks were from Tennessee, just south of MTSU.  Growing up, I always thought MTSU was a tiny regional college.  It’s weird that they suddenly have an occasionally good D1 football team.  I would very much like for Army to add some games against MTSU to their schedule.

 FAU at Buffalo is another game that might appeal only to me.  Are Lane Kiffin and his crew ever going to amount to anything?  Is Buffalo improved?  I suspect the Bulls will wind up with a respectable season, which may very well start this weekend.  The line is Buffalo (-2.5).  I’ll be really surprised if they don’t cover.
FIU at Rice is wholly uninspiring, but Army faces the Owls in just a couple of weeks’ time.  We’ll be looking at the stats from this game then, but I doubt the game itself has a lot to offer.  Unless you’ve always wanted to stream a football game via Facebook.  FB is hosting the game via its Stadium streaming platform.
UTEP at NMSU features Army’s next opponent.  The Miners would bad last year, and they look like they’ve regressed.  I guess we’ll see.
Sunday, September 24
Time
Matchup
Network
12:00 PM
East Carolina @ Connecticut
ESPNU
The line is UConn (-4.5), which seems a little generous given the Huskies' recent history.  I guess their once-and-future coach Randy Edsall has the team moving in the right direction.  

 Eh.  The Huskies are 1-1; the Pirates are 0-3.  Still, this game might prove more exciting that the Giants tilt with Philly.  Big Blue’s O-Line is a pile of dog-shit.
Works Cited
College Football TV Schedule: Week 4, 2017, http://506sports.com/ncaaf.php?yr=2017&wk=4.
The OddsShark iPhone app.
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