College Football Cheat Sheet: October Showdowns

Another college football Saturday has arrived. October typically brings us some big games. We have some showdowns locked in for Week 7.

Indiana gets another chance for a big win, Missouri has a chance to record a landmark home victory, and another chapter of Red River has plenty of intrigue. Conference races across the landscape are slowly beginning to clear up.

We’re here to set the table.

The Slate

No. 24 USF at North Texas	7:30pm (Friday)	ESPN2
Rutgers at Washington	9:00pm (Friday)	FS1
Fresno State at Colorado State	9:00pm (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
UCF at Cincinnati	Noon	FS1
Charlotte at Army	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Miami (Ohio) at Akron	Noon	ESPN+
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 17 Illinois	Noon	FOX
UCLA at Michigan State	Noon	Big Ten Network
No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri	Noon	ABC
Pittsburgh at No. 25 Florida State	Noon	ESPN
Stanford at SMU	Noon	The CW
Houston at Oklahoma State	Noon	TNT
Toledo at Bowling Green	Noon	ESPNU
Louisiana at James Madison	Noon	ESPN2
Washington State at No. 4 Ole Miss	12:45pm	SEC Network
Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan	1:00pm	ESPN+
UMass at Kent State	2:30pm	ESPN+
NC State at No. 16 Notre Dame	3:30pm	Peacock
Old Dominion at Marshall	3:30pm	ESPN+
Ball State at Western Michigan	3:30pm	ESPN+
Appalachian State at Georgia State	3:30pm	ESPN+
Air Force at UNLV	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
TCU at Kansas State	3:30pm	FOX
No. 22 Iowa State at Colorado	3:30pm	ESPN
Wake Forest at Oregon State	3:30pm	The CW
Virginia Tech at No. 13 Georgia Tech	3:30pm	ACC Network
No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Texas (Dallas)	3:30pm	ABC
Northwestern at Penn State	3:30pm	FS1
Nebraska at Maryland	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
No. 7 Indiana at No. 3 Oregon	3:30pm	CBS
Navy at Temple	4:00pm	ESPN2
Arkansas at No. 12 Tennessee	4:15pm	SEC Network
UAB at Florida Atlantic	6:00pm	ESPN+
ULM at Coastal Carolina	7:00pm	ESPN+
San Jose State at Wyoming	7:00pm	CBS Sports Network
Florida at No. 5 Texas A&M	7:00pm	ESPN
Iowa at Wisconsin	7:00pm	FS1
No. 15 Michigan at USC	7:30pm	NBC
Purdue at Minnesota	7:30pm	Big Ten Network
No. 10 Georgia at Auburn	7:30pm	ABC
Clemson at Boston College	7:30pm	ACC Network
Kansas at No. 9 Texas Tech	7:30pm	FOX
Rice at UTSA	7:30pm	ESPNU
South Carolina at No. 11 LSU	7:45pm	SEC Network
No. 18 BYU at Arizona	8:00pm	ESPN2
Troy at Texas State	8:00pm	ESPN+
New Mexico at Boise State	9:45pm	FS1
No. 21 Arizona State at Utah	10:15pm	ESPN
San Diego State at Nevada	10:30pm	CBS Sports Network
Utah State at Hawaii	Midnight	Mountain West Network

Gambling Corner

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— Luckett’s Locks: October is for Big Ten unders

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Indiana is on the big stage again

Curt Cignetti is 16-2 through 18 games during his Indiana tenure. When the Hoosiers win, they typically blow people out. But when they have played true national championship contender, they have been handled twice with the game decided by the time we got to the fourth quarter.

IU will get another swing on Saturday afternoon in Eugene.

Dan Lanning is 40-6 through 46 games at Oregon and has another national title contender in 2025. A case can be made that the Ducks are the team to beat in college football. Now they get a chance at a marquee home win when Indiana rolls to town.

This is a measuring stick game for the Hoosiers. Are they national title good or do they still have some work to do?

The biggest Missouri game ever?

Eliah Drinkwitz was 17-19 through his first three seasons at Missouri. But the NIL era took off and so did this SEC program. The Tigers are now 26-5 over their last 31 games with 12-5 mark in SEC play. That has set the stage for one of the biggest home games in program history.

Alabama is rolling into town after consecutive top-25 victories against Georgia and Vanderbilt in two emotional games. Ty Simpson looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the country, but the gas tank could be running empty, and a huge rivalry game against Tennessee awaiting next week.

Missouri has a great chance to record a historic win in Columbia on Saturday afternoon.

What is going on with John Mateer?

The second SEC edition of the Red River Rivalry is back. Everyone is hoping that this year’s game at the Cotton Bowl is closer than last year’s. However, a big storyline is hovering over this game.

Just what exactly is going on with John Mateer?

Will the star Oklahoma quarterback actually play or is this all just elite level gamesmanship from Brent Venables to try and give his team an edge? Regardless, this is a huge spot for Texas after this team took two losses in the first five games.

Oklahoma has a chance to unofficially end their hated rivals’ highly anticipated season in October. It would be sweet to do it with Mateer but it would be even sweeter to do it with a backup quarterback.

Bobby Petrino is back

There are much more bigger games than Arkansas-Tennessee on this weekend’s college football card but perhaps none are more interesting. The man who got a second chance at Louisville is now getting a second change at Arkansas. What a sport.

Bobby Petrino takes over the head coach controller with a top-15 offense and a star quarterback. This team will score some points. Off a bye week, the Hogs will probably be locked in. We are in for some fireworks at Neyland Stadium.

A swing game in Los Angeles

Michigan and USC are still in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff hunt. However, the loser will probably be unofficially out of the race on Saturday night. This is a big spot for the Wolverines and Trojans.

Michigan is trying to grow with a young quarterback. Lincoln Riley might have the best offense in college football again and desperately needs a big win after two consecutive disappointing seasons in Los Angeles.

That makes this a very important — and intriguing — helmet game at the Coliseum.

Now or never for Hugh Freeze

Hugh Freeze is now 14-16 through his first 30 games at Auburn. The Tigers are just 5-13 in SEC play. This program is now beginning an October stretch that includes games against Georgia, Missouri, and Arkansas. The results will likely tell us if the Tigers are going through another coaching search in December or not.

Freeze desperately needs a big win. Georgia looks very vulnerable right now. This surprisingly could be a get-right spot for the Auburn passing game. Freeze needs to deliver. The pressure is mounting.

The rest of the college football card

— A classic Big Ten clash will occur in Seattle on Friday night when Washington hosts Rutgers. The Huskies have a chance to improve to 5-1 to set up a big game at the Big House against Michigan next week. This a matchup between two of the best offenses in the conference. We could see as shootout.

— Another big Friday night game will occur in the American. After Tulane recorded a solid home win to potentially set the floor for a 7-1 or better conference run, South Florida and North Texas will attempt to keep pace. Alex Golesh and Eric Morris will both be up for head coaching jobs this cycle. Both teams play with tempo. Expect basketball on grass in Denton.

— Illinois has passed every test this season outside of the collapse against Indiana. Now they will get a chance to go toe-to-toe with the best team in college football. Ohio State has looked excellent all season. The defense looks like a juggernaut. Can the Fighting Illini hang around or will this Big Noon game before over by halftime?

— Kansas State is having a disastrous season. TCU is a prime contender in the Big 12. The Frogs better be careful. It’s homecoming in Manhattan and K-State is clearly the best two-win team in college football. The Wildcats can beat anyone in that conference and could play spoiler down the stretch.

— Nebraska is also attempting to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive. They’ve entered a big stretch on the schedule with consecutive road games against Maryland and Minnesota. The Huskers are better than both of these teams on paper. Will that mean a 2-0 road run? We’re about find out. The Terps are very salty on defense and could give the Nebraska passing game some problems.

— Billy Napier has his back against the wall again. Can the Gators make another run in the SEC out of nowhere? Florida just pulled off a big win against Texas where DJ Lagway looked much improved. Can they do it again this week against an undefeated Texas A&M squad in College Station? If they don’t, will Florida pull the plug? Never a dull moment in Gainesville.

— Texas Tech is rolling. Kansas can score points in bunches but has some defensive issues. The expensive roster in Lubbock could be ready to roll to another big victory but this matchup could produce some offensive fireworks.

— One of the best games of the day was dealt a blow when Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt was ruled doubtful for Saturday night’s game against Utah. This will give the Utes a chance to pick up a big home win in a matchup of two teams in the thick of the Big 12 race.