#Akron Baptist Temple

[wutbju]

This is an eerie, ominous look at an abandoned fundamentalist church, Akron Baptist Temple. It was, of course, a church where Bob Jones, Inc. hobnobbed. Bob Jr. helped them ring in the New Year in 1963:

[middleland]

OH Akron - Abandoned Akron Baptist Temple by Ken

[noisyfiremusic]

ABANDONED MEGA CHURCH - Akron Baptist Temple

[blackfreethinkers]

Sunday service had just ended, but Noah Tillman-Young called his small congregation back for another prayer. Shots had been fired at a rural church just down the road — a church a lot like theirs.

As his 30-some parishioners stood in a circle asking God for protection, something changed for the pastor of Joyful Heart. An act of mass violence in his Stockdale, Tex., church was no longer unthinkable. Ten miles away, 26 people were dead at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, the deadliest shooting at a house of worship in the country’s modern history.

That night, Tillman-Young and parish leaders held a vigil for their neighbor church. The next day, they decided to arm their own.

“It’s nothing you ever imagine could happen, but when it hits so close to home, you have no choice — you can’t ignore it and you have to prepare,” Tillman-Young said. “It’s the reality that houses of worship are increasingly becoming targets.”

With a new team of private security officers and an armed corps of volunteers, Joyful Heart joined the wave of small and midsize places of worship adopting security measures to gird against the rising threat of violent attacks.

'This community will heal': A small town mourns an enormous loss Residents of Sutherland Springs, Tex., grappled with the mass shooting that took 26 lives from the community in November 2017. (Alice Li/The Washington Post) While there is no definitive tracking of shootings or other attacks on houses of worship, several researchers and the federal government have documented a significant rise in targeted acts — particularly those with high death tolls.

FBI statistics show a 35 percent increase in hate crimes at churches, synagogues, temples and mosques from 2014 to 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. The nonprofit Faith Based Security Network found a 60 percent increase in “non-accidental deaths” at such sites from 2014 to 2017. And of the 88 people killed in mass shootings at places of worship since 1966 — defined as incidents in which four or more people were killed — more than half the deaths came in the last five years, according to The Washington Post’s mass shootings database.

This spike has prompted several state legislatures to write or revise firearm laws to make it easier for people to carry guns in houses of worship.

Since the Sutherland Springs shooting in November 2017, lawmakers in 14 states have introduced 40 bills, according to a Post analysis using Quorum, a database of state and federal legislation. Several are still being debated and six have been enacted, from Louisiana to North Dakota.

In the first weeks of 2020, legislators, most of them Republicans, have introduced 13 bills allowing armed security in places of worship. The flurry of lawmaking began just days after a gunman killed two people in late December at a church in White Settlement, Tex., before an armed volunteer shot and killed him. The volunteer’s action won praise for a state law that allows parishioners to carry firearms.

Laws under consideration in Florida and Missouri would allow anyone with a concealed-carry permit to bring a firearm into a religious building. In New Jersey, a proposed law would allow houses of worship to select one person to carry a handgun for security. And in Virginia, Republicans have introduced four bills to repeal a law that bars the carrying of weapons in a place of worship “without good and sufficient reason.”

Experts say that churches, synagogues and mosques, with their typically welcoming environments and looser safety measures, can make for easier targets, especially as businesses and schools ramp up security. But more places of worship are turning to surveillance equipment and armed guards, especially volunteers from the congregation, who blend in and save the parish money, said Carl Chinn, president of the Faith Based Security Network.

Chinn and other security consultants said they’re getting more inquiries from nervous congregations. Business is always busier after a shooting, and Chinn said recent incidents were “a wake-up call.”

“Churches are waking up to the fact that the way to stop a bad person with a dangerous weapon is a good person with a weapon and training,” he said.

Gun-control advocates balk at the idea that more weapons will create safer spaces, and others suggest that armed security — especially volunteers — may actually bring more risk.

“Whenever firearms are present, there’s always room for error and the possibility that the guns which are intended to protect become liable to endanger,” said James Densley, a criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota. “Arming parishioners so they can make the kind of split-second decisions that police get wrong worries me a little bit.”

But Chinn, who has tracked the use of deadly force in churches since 1999, said he hasn’t seen an instance in which innocent people were hit by a volunteer’s gunfire.

“There’s risks anytime you have defenders,” he said. “Of course, the risk is that innocent people might get hurt. But here’s what I tell people: That has not happened. We shouldn’t get wrapped around the axle of ‘what ifs.’ It’s not even comparable to the number of times people were hurt and nobody was there to protect them.”

Security teams can minimize the risks by training often and schooling themselves in more than firearm marksmanship, said Steve Padin, a retired police officer who is a chief consultant for the Watchman’s Academy, a church security firm.

The volunteers that Padin sees, mostly men, often have a background in the military or law enforcement. And when they don’t, Padin said, they need to learn to think like those who do.

A well-trained security guard should be versed in de-escalation and disarming tactics, be able to recognize suspicious behavior and be ready to act quickly, said Padin, who travels the country training security teams at churches and synagogues.

“You should not get to the point where you have to use a firearm,” he said.

At Beth Tikkun Messianic Fellowship in Akron, Ohio, Vic Agosta and his small team of volunteer security guards huddle outside the sanctuary before Saturday service. They all carry guns, and every weekend they pray they won’t need to use them.

Agosta helped form the team eight years ago, when the congregation of 200 was growing quickly. Agosta, who is a lineman for a power company, doesn’t have a background in law enforcement or the military like some of his fellow volunteers. But he does have family in the pews, including a daughter with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair.

“Just the thought of someone coming into a service of ours and opening fire on us,” he said. “My daughter couldn’t run for cover.”

In Ohio, places of worship must give permission before attendees can bring in concealed handguns — a restriction that Agosta, a Second Amendment advocate, supports.

“I think you should be able to carry a weapon, but I like the control that private entities have, like churches or places of business, to say who can and cannot carry,” Agosta said.

His church asks congregants to leave their guns at home and trust in the security team.

“We don’t want you to carry,” Agosta said. “But we’ll protect you the best we can.”

At Grace Fellowship, a small born-again Christian church in suburban Omaha, Greg Eckert runs a volunteer team with four other men. He’s recruiting more volunteers from the church’s 97 members, but some have trouble passing his test. It has two questions: Will you give up your life for the congregation, and will you kill for it?

“It sounds like a silly thing to ask for a Christian believer, but God doesn’t lay down for that stuff,” Eckert said. “There were people in the Bible who had to kill at God’s command. If they can’t answer yes to that, I don’t want them.”

He requires his team to practice shooting once a month, and he tests their accuracy four times a year, keeping their bullet-pocked targets on file and dated. In Nebraska, only designated security personnel are permitted to carry concealed handguns in houses of worship — and only if the leadership has given permission and informed the congregation.

“I don’t believe any church should be just an open-carry-type situation,” Eckert said. “But I don’t think it would be prudent to have a law that you could never carry in church, either.”

Outside New York City, which has its own gun laws, New York state has no laws prohibiting firearms in places of worship. And parishioners are better off for it, said Jim Woods, the head of security at the nondenominational Niagara Frontier Bible Church, not far from the famous falls. He’s one of 10 volunteers who greet newcomers at the door, keep an eye on the parking lot and carry a weapon.

“Years ago, it wouldn’t even have crossed my mind [that] you would need to defend yourself in church,” Woods said.

One of the most notorious attacks at a place of worship was the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where Ku Klux Klan members detonated dynamite, killing four children and injuring 22 people.

Since then, attacks at places of worship have been divided into two categories: hate-fueled assaults and those related to domestic violence. Both types are increasing in frequency and deadliness, said Densley, who also co-founded the Violence Project, which tracks mass shootings.

In 2012, a neo-Nazi killed six people at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, south of Milwaukee. Three years later, a white supremacist hoping to start a race war killed nine at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. And in 2018, anti-Semitic online screeds were connected to the man accussed of bursting into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and killing 11.

These were some of the deadliest and most high-profile shootings at American houses of worshipBut more common are shootings that are extensions of intimate-partner violence or domestic disputes, like the massacre in Sutherland Springs. In those cases, Densley said, the shooter is usually a member of the congregation.

“We’re often afraid of the stuff we don’t know and don’t understand that’s outside of us, when really the biggest risk is right in front of us,” he said.

At Joyful Heart Church, the new security measures have also inspired Tillman-Young and his wife and fellow pastor, Allison, to look inward. They’ve spent more time getting to know their members and their families.

“When you’re in the community, you see those red flags, and you see them before they come to a head and get ugly,” he said. “That kind of intentional connection, that relationship, showing people love — it helps to prevent that kind of stuff.”

But more than looser gun laws and armed guards, Tillman-Young said it’s his faith that makes him feel safe.

“We’re packing,” he said, “but we’re also packing the power of God and trusting in God to keep us protected.”

[thecollegefootballguy]

The Real 2020 Season: Week 1

Hey everybody, welcome to Week 1 of The Real 2020 Season! We’re imagining how things would have gone in the 2020 football season if COVID hadn’t ruined everything.

Week 0 was fun just because football was back on but it didn’t offer a whole lot. Week 1 is when things really get going. We have a big matchups featuring some blue bloods right off the bat. Of course this is balanced out by most other teams hosting bodybag games against scrub opponents from the G5 or the FCS. But hey, let’s look at the fun parts. There aren’t as many ranked games as other past Week 1′s, but football is being played so it’s all good.

If you want to check out my Week 0 post first click here.

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The Rankings

Preseason AP Poll

1. Clemson 0-0 (0-0) 2. Ohio State 0-0 (0-0) 3. Alabama 0-0 (0-0) 4. Georgia 0-0 (0-0) 5. Oklahoma 0-0 (0-0) 6. LSU 0-0 (0-0) 7. Penn State 0-0 (0-0) 8. Florida 0-0 (0-0) 9. Oregon 0-0 (0-0) 10. Notre Dame 1-0 11. Auburn 0-0 (0-0) 12. Wisconsin 0-0 (0-0) 13. Texas A&M 0-0 (0-0) 14. Texas 0-0 (0-0) 15. Oklahoma State 0-0 (0-0) 16. Michigan 0-0 (0-0) 17. USC 0-0 (0-0) 18. North Carolina 0-0 (0-0) 19. Minnesota 0-0 (0-0) 20. Cincinnati 0-0 (0-0) 21. UCF 0-0 (0-0) 22. Utah 0-0 (0-0) 23. Iowa State 0-0 (0-0) 24. Iowa 0-0 (0-0) 25. Tennessee 0-0 (0-0)

We’re still working with the preseason AP poll so nothing changed since last week. The SEC and Big Ten are still well represented in the polls, and are followed by the Big 12. The ACC and PAC-12 only managed to fit in three teams each although Clemson being the #1 team certainly helps the ACC’s image. Notre Dame claims the #10 spot which feels pretty spot on for the Irish coming out of 2019.

The G5 is represented only by Cincinnati and UCF of the AAC. Pretty standard stuff for a preseason poll.

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The Narrative

I wrote out a much more in-depth preseason 2020 narrative last week so check it out to get the big scoop. The short version is that the usual suspects are once again the most serious contenders. Alabama and Georgia are favored to win their divisions and once again and then duke it out for the SEC title. Ohio State is favored for the Big Ten ahead of PSU, Michigan, and Wisconsin, Oklahoma is the favorite in the Big 12, and Clemson winning the ACC shouldn’t even be a question. These five favorites from these four conferences will most likely make up the Playoff field, or at least 3 of the 4 spots. What can I say? We’ve been in a bit of a rut regarding putting new teams in the Playoff since that first 2014 season.

The PAC-12 is the only Power conference without a clear favorite and without a real clear path to the Playoff. The G5 of course will probably never be let into the Playoff but the AAC champ is once again favored to snag the auto-bid for the NY6. UCF is the money favorite based on the past several seasons but Cincinnati had a good showing in 2019 and is set to challenge the Knights.

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The Games

Week 1 features several high profile matchups and a bunch of uninteresting bodybag games. I’ll list all of the games and then break down the big matchups.

Winning teams are highlighted in bold.

Austin Peay at #20 Cincinnati Rice at Houston Arkansas State at Memphis SMU at Texas State South Florida at #14 Texas Temple at Miami FL Southeastern Louisiana at Tulane Toledo at Tulsa #18 North Carolina at #21 UCF Syracuse at Boston College #1 Clemson at Georgia Tech Florida State vs West Virginia (Atlanta, GA) NC State at Louisville Wake Forest at Old Dominion Middle Tennessee at Duke Miami OH at Pittsburgh #4 Georgia vs Virginia (Atlanta, GA) Liberty at Virginia Tech Baylor vs Ole Miss (Houston, TX) South Dakota at #23 Iowa State New Hampshire at Kansas Buffalo at Kansas State Missouri State at #5 Oklahoma Oregon State at #15 Oklahoma State TCU at California Texas Tech at UTEP Indiana at #12 Wisconsin Towson at Maryland #16 Michigan at Washington Michigan State at Northwestern Bowling Green at #2 Ohio State Kent State at #7 Penn State Monmouth at Rutgers Illinois State at Illinois Northern Iowa at #24 Iowa Florida Atlantic at #19 Minnesota Purdue at Nebraska Charlotte at #25 Tennessee Jacksonville State at FIU Chattanooga at Western Kentucky Louisiana Tech at UNLV Houston Baptist at North Texas South Alabama at Southern Miss New Mexico State at UAB UTSA at #6 LSU Youngstown State at Akron North Carolina Central at Ohio Maine at Ball State San Jose State at Central Michigan Eastern Michigan at Kentucky Rhode Island at Northern Illinois Colgate at Western Michigan Duquesne at Air Force Georgia Southern at Boise State Colorado at Colorado State New Mexico at Mississippi State Washington State at Utah State Weber State at Wyoming UCLA at Hawaii Nevada at Arkansas Sacramento State at San Diego State North Dakota State at #9 Oregon William & Mary at Stanford Portland State at Arizona Northern Arizona at Arizona State #3 Alabama vs #17 USC (Arlington, TX) BYU at #22 Utah Eastern Washington at #8 Florida Central Arkansas at Missouri Coastal Carolina at South Carolina Mercer at Vanderbilt Nevada at Arkansas Alcorn State at #11 Auburn Abilene Christian at #13 Texas A&M Morgan State at Appalachian State Murray State at Georgia State Arkansas Pine-Bluff at Troy McNeese State at Louisiana Cal Poly at Louisiana-Monroe Bucknell at Army Massachusetts at Connecticut

Nobody came close to upsetting the Top 5, though the games weren’t all severe beatdowns either. #1 Clemson of course stomped rival Georgia Tech in Atlanta and #2 Ohio State and #5 Oklahoma handled their business against patsy opponents. #3 Alabama once again thoroughly torched #17 USC in Dallas. #4 Georgia beat Virginia in Atlanta but the Bulldogs’ offense didn’t exactly look promising.

The other kickoff games saw West Virginia defeating Florida State in the other Chick-fil-A matchup and Ole Miss edged out Baylor in Houston. Boy, don’t you wish both of those games were being played in 2015 and not 2020? The other ranked vs ranked game of the week featured #21 UCF outpacing #18 North Carolina in Orlando, it wasn’t unexpected but it’s still an important symbolic win for the Knights and for the AAC.

A few other games had consequential results for the Big Ten in particular.  Indiana pulled off a shocking upset of #12 Wisconsin, a crippling blow for the Badgers who were once again the favorites to win the Big Ten West. Out West, #16 Michigan lost handily to Washington, likely ruining the Wolverines’ Playoff hopes.

More than a fair share of home teams won against easy opponents, it’s more or less a Week 1 tradition, but there is always intrigue and surprising results on a chalky week like this. Liberty scraped past Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, embarrassing the Hokies in their home opener. Buffalo beat Kansas State with surprising efficiency while Coastal Carolina gutted out a win over South Carolina in Columbia. As usual, a few FCS teams were able to dish out some damage. Jacksonville State beat FIU while Youngstown State was able to down rival Akron and keep their old travelling trophy, the Steel Tire.

A couple other rivalry games to note before moving on. #22 Utah was able to fend off rival BYU in another fierce chapter in the Holy War. AAC squads Houston and Memphis were able to shut down Rice and Arkansas State respectively in their regional rivalry matchups. Colorado travelled to Fort Collins for the first time since 1996 and beat their little brothers in the 92nd Rocky Mountain Showdown. Finally, a bad UConn team eked out a win against a worse UMass squad.

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The Standings

There were only a few conference games played in Week 1, mostly in the ACC and Big Ten. We won’t see full conferences playing until at least Week 4 when the Big Ten, Big 12, and PAC-12 begin their 9-game league schedules. There isn’t much to say about the standings this early in the season, but then again it’s fun to see Nebraska leading the Big Ten West.

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The Big Picture

Week 1 sometimes sees a few earth-shattering outcomes with all of the Kickoff Games and the odd crucial upset. That didn’t happen this year with so few high profile games. It’s not like Alabama curb-stomping USC was unexpected. Probably the most significant events were Michigan and Wisconsin losing to Washington and Indiana. That leaves Ohio State and Penn State as the only real Big Ten teams with a serious shot at the Playoff only a week into the season.

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The New Rankings

Following Week 1 the AP Poll didn’t change a whole lot in the top 15 thanks to a very chalky week. Alabama’s win over USC helps the Tide leap over Ohio State into 2nd place but not yet to first because Clemson did of course completely humiliate their own P5 opponent. Wisconsin and North Carolina fall out of the rankings. USC’s loss to Alabama is more or less forgiven because, hey, basically everybody loses to the Tide so the Trojans only fall a few spots. Michigan nearly tumbled out of the poll but just barely cling on after falling 9 spots to #25. Washington and Indiana both climb into the polls, though of course the Huskies are treated with a bit more respect than the Hoosiers, whose presence is treated more like a novelty.

1. Clemson 1-0 (1-0) 2. Alabama 1-0 (0-0) 3. Ohio State 1-0 (0-0) 4. Georgia 1-0 (0-0) 5. Oklahoma 1-0 (0-0) 6. LSU 1-0 (0-0) 7. Penn State 1-0 (0-0) 8. Florida 1-0 (0-0) 9. Oregon 1-0 (0-0) 10. Notre Dame 1-0 11. Auburn 1-0 (0-0) 12. Texas A&M 1-0 (0-0) 13. Texas 1-0 (0-0) 14. Oklahoma State 1-0 (0-0) 15. Washington 1-0 (0-0) 16. UCF 1-0 (0-0) 17. Minnesota 1-0 (0-0) 18. Utah 1-0 (0-0) 19. Indiana 1-0 (1-0) 20. USC 0-1 (0-0) 21. Cincinnati 1-0 (0-0) 22. Iowa State 1-0 (0-0) 23. Iowa 1-0 (0-0) 24. Tennessee 1-0 (0-0) 25. Michigan 0-1 (0-0)

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Week 1 is in the books. The 2020 college football season is finally under way! And don’t worry if this is somewhat less interesting than you expected one week in, Week 2 will be much more interesting! Stay tuned!

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 1, part 3

Time to kick back and stop writing so much. I’ve earned it. I’m not going through all of my gambling advice to see if I did really awesome. Pretty sure Georgia Tech beat the spread against Clemson. Direct hit! So I am your guru.

Gambles with me and find the worst college football a viewer can find, I says. That’s the best way to live on a Saturday in the fall. Well, close enough.

What is there to say about this slate of games that hasn’t already been said? The schedules are per FBSchedules. The gambling infos are per Vegas Insider. If you lose money that’s on you. If you win money I’ve earned a commission. I’m just going ahead and taking this all the way through Monday because I’m already bored of this season.

Saturday, August 31

Matchup                                                               Time (ET)          TV/Mobile

South Alabama at 24 Nebraska                          12:00pm              ESPN

Nebraska is ranked. USA is probably not the team to expose them but that’s a mistake. Scott Frost is going to have to rely on an even lower tier of Florida talent to win in a tougher conference. He’s got believers for now.

Indiana vs. Ball State (in Indianapolis, IN)           12:00pm              CBSSN

Indiana is a 17 point favorite. Is that a typo?

Toledo at Kentucky                                               12:00pm               SECN

There are way too many footballs for me to deal with right now. I’m just gonna start listing off winners and throwing out numbers that have nothing to do with betting lines. Kentucky by 4!

University of Mississippi at Memphis                  12:00pm                ABC

Memphis by 18!

Northern Iowa at 21 Iowa State                              12:00pm                FS1

I was wrong about David Montgomery! Sort of. I said he wouldn’t go as the first running back and wouldn’t go in the first round. Direct hits!

Indiana State at Kansas                                          12:00pm                FSN

Oh, shit, here we go! I actually stopped to look this one up because of course I’m interested in Les Miles at Kansas. His presence has probably changed this from a pick ‘em to a -4.5 for Kansas. Plus: Kansas is favored! Minus: Indiana State has one good athlete in school history and he played basketball for them 40 years ago. And Kansas is only favored by 4.5.

Mississippi State vs. Louisiana (in New Orleans, LA)   12:00pm       ESPNU

Never going to learn which directional LA school goes by Louisiana. Miss State by 1!

Howard at Maryland                                                 12:00pm               BTN

Talent usually wins out. Howard by 14.

Florida Atlantic at 5 Ohio State                               12:00pm               FOX

FAU by 35.

East Carolina at NC State                                        12:00pm              ACCN

NC State by something.

Boise State at Florida State                                     12:00pm          ESPNews

LOL - this was such a good game when it was scheduled. Who would have guessed that neither team would be ranked and it would air as an ACCNe alternate? Boise by 20.

Akron at Illinois                                                         12:00pm              BTN

Poor poor Illinois.

James Madison at West Virginia                               2:00pm             ATTSN

Not sure I’m ready for the next chapter of WFV football, tbch.

Rhode Island at Ohio                                                   2:00pm             ESPN+

Is ESPN+ considered a higher tier or lower tier than ESPNNews?

Bucknell at Temple                                                       3:00pm            ESPN3

Finally, the Manny Diaz Era kicks off for Temple football.

Eastern Washington at 13 Washington                       3:00pm           Pac-12N

Jacob Eason is going to get drafted over Jake Fromm. UDub by 58.

Eastern Michigan at Coastal Carolina                         3:30pm            ESPN+

CCU by 32. Book it.

Georgia State at Tennessee                                          3:30pm           ESPNU

Tennessee still sucks. At least we all have that.

Holy Cross at Navy                                                        3:30pm            CBSSN

Navy has been destroyed by injuries the last couple of seasons but maybe they can get some good luck this year and get back to winning 10 and beating Notre Dame? Middies by 600 rushing yards.

ETSU at Appalachian State                                            3:30pm            ESPN+

Appy State by 32.

South Carolina vs. North Carolina (in Charlotte, NC)    3:30pm            ESPN

Mack Brown is back in Chapel Hill but there isn’t a lot of talent there. There’s a decent amount of talent at USCe but Coach Boom is still there. Sakerlina by 12.

Duke vs. 2 Alabama (in Atlanta, GA)                               3:30pm             ABC

Bammers by 64, Tua back in the good graces of Heisman voters.

Colgate at Air Force                                                         3:30pm         ESPN3

Toothpaste by 8.

Idaho at 15 Penn State                                                    3:30pm           BTN

Idaho self-relegated and rewarded themselves with a trip to Stepford. Penn State is going to win by 80.

Portland State at Arkansas                                             4:00pm          SECN

Virginia Tech at Boston College                                    4:00pm           ACCN

This might be two good teams. I’m not sure. 

Northwestern at 25 Stanford                                           4:00pm          FOX

I don’t think I can do any more of this. Let me check back in the morning to see if I want to update the rest of these.

IN THE MEANTIME ENJOY OUR HOLD MUSIC

CONTINUED!!!!!!

Montana State at Texas Tech                                         4:00pm          FSN

Lubbock is less handsome this year but they could be better for it. Montana State by 3.

Campbell at Troy                                                               6:00pm     ESPN+

This is a huge rivalry between former frat brothers. Troy by 27.

Incarnate Word at UTSA                                                   6:00pm        ESPN3

Isn’t Incarnate Word working towards D-1A or some nonsense? The FKA Cokers are still ESPN3 material, which means they’re better than FSU and Boise State. UTSA by 33.

Sam Houston State at New Mexico                                 6:00pm       MWN

New Mexico is only a 9 point favorite. That seems bad. Sam Houston State Houston Sams with the big upset here. 5 point win, 8-3.

22 Syracuse at Liberty                                                       6:00pm      ESPN+

I have no doubt in my mind that Bernie guy actually was a child molester but ESPN’s story was based on a guy saying they had sex when he was like 21 years old. I never understood that. Anyway, you absolutely hate to see Syracuse ranked in any sport. It’s an affront against god and man. Liberty is also an affront against god and man. But at least the Falwell’s pay their young male escorts exceptionally well. Liberty by 12.

UC Davis at California                                                       6:30pm   Pac-12N

Berkley vs. Davis. At least one of these starting QBs will be a mid-round prospect next year that some NFL fan base is forced to pretend they’re excited about.

VMI at Marshall                                                                  6:30pm     Stadium

Marshall by 47.

Monmouth at Western Michigan                                     7:00pm     ESPN3

Monmouth in a blowout, 14-13.

Stephen F. Austin at Baylor                                              7:00pm    ESPN+

As much as I want the Six Million Dollar Men to beat the only athletic program as hateful as Sparty or Penn State, I don’t think they have the bionic powers to do it. Six million dollars isn’t really very much for a football player in Texas.

SMU at Arkansas State                                                     7:00pm       ESPN+

Oh, yeah, Arkansas State is the one that’s FBS-level, not Central Arkansas. Oh, well, nothing we can do about that now. Fade SMU and take the over. Whatever that may mean.

Norfolk State at Old Dominion                                          7:00pm    ESPN3

Soon to be the state’s premier football rivalry, no doubt. The ODU #45s are the obvious favorite here. I bet they win by 22 points. So gamble accordingly.

Nicholls at Kansas State                                                     7:00pm     ESPN+

The excitement is palpable! Can Les Miles lead his gang of criminals to victory over the world’s premier screenwriting fellowship? YOU COULDN’T WRITE A BETTER UNDERDOG STORY THAN THAT!

Illinois State at NIU                                                             7:00pm   ESPN+

Fuck this game. NIU by 3 or so, I guess.

Alcorn State at Southern Miss                                            7:00pm      ESPN+

25 years ago Air McNair II was leading Alcorn State and he should have won a Heisman and I have no other thoughts on this.

Abilene Christian at North Texas                                       7:30pm       ESPN+

Go Spencer’s school! Beat the fucking Christians! I hate Christians!

16 Auburn vs. 11 Oregon (in Arlington, TX)                         7:30pm       ABC

Oh, this is why they were showing the “for all the Tostitos” game yesterday. Well, my gut tells me the War Eagle Tigers are a better team than the Ducks but that’s just SEC bias, to be honest. Patrick Nix’s kid starts as a true freshman which, if history serves, means he’ll ball out tonight, get progressively worse through the season, get benched at some point, then get humiliated when he comes back as the starter in a rivalry game (the rivalry game in all of college football tbch) and then he’ll show up somewhere else next year with immediate eligibility because he’s not moving for some frivolous reason like his mom is dying and his family’s going bankrupt.

3 Georgia at Vanderbilt                                                         7:30pm     ESPN

Vandy got the homefield for this one. Weird opener UGA. But a “tough” conference win in the early going is worth some #1 votes. Georgia by 84.

Georgia Southern at 6 LSU                                                  7:30pm       SECN

LSU has the best player in college football this year. Expect him to be injured either this week or next.

Miami (Ohio) at 20 Iowa                                                        7:30pm            FS1

Iowa has some shiny NFL prospect on their roster but I forget who it is. Is this where the ePenis plays? Whatever, this game is for the kids. Every Iowa home game is for the kids. Hawkeyes by 23.

Middle Tennessee at 7 Michigan                                          7:30pm         BTN

I have an inexplicable fondness for Jim Harbaugh but I can’t deny the joy I would get from seeing the Wolverines crash and burn in week 1. That’s always fun for everybody.

Missouri at Wyoming                                                             7:30pm   CBSSN

Mizzourah by 46.

Virginia at Pitt                                                                          7:30pm      ACCN

I could have sworn UVA was ranked. Guess not. Pitt is the pits (!!!) so the Hoos should dominate. Virginia by 6.

Louisiana Tech at 10 Texas                                                     8:00pm        LHN

Horns at #10 seems dangerous. That’s a bad idea, isn’t it? I’ve got Texas unranked until proven otherwise. And UT losing week 1 would be even funnier than Michigan doing it.

Grambling State at ULM                                                          8:00pm     ESPN3

So Monroe isn’t the one that goes by “Louisiana” now.

Houston Baptist at UTEP                                                       8:00pm      ESPN+

Oh, come on. This game does not need to exist. UTEP -17.5 is probably fine.

UAPB at TCU                                                                            8:00pm       FSN

TCU is unranked so they’ll go undefeated this year. Arkansas-Pine Box is going to get buried by 50+.

Weber State at San Diego State                                            9:00pm  Facebook

Oh, yeah, here comes the fun stuff. The dumb stuff. Let’s hear it for the Mountain West! What SDSU rusher will capture my heart this season?

Southern Utah at UNLV                                                        10:00pm   ��MWN

Last home opener at Sam Boyd Stadium, a place hated by all who ever visited it. I am not in that number yet but when it cools down I might feel compelled.

New Mexico State at 23 Washington State                        10:00pm Pac-12N

The very heart of Pac after darkness. Mike Leach has a new QB. Now what? Wazzou will still score but they will probably go back to stopping nobody. A year further removed from Alex Grinch is not going to help.

Fresno State at USC                                                            10:30pm     ESPN

USC had a real solid opportunity to fire Clay Helton but didn’t because it would have been too expensive. Think about how stupid that is. Go (CS)FSU.

Sunday, September 1

Matchup                                                                           Time (ET)    TV/Mobile

Houston at 4 Oklahoma                                                   7:30pm        ABC

Holgo to Houston feels like a circle is being completed somehow. Will the ghost of Jack Pardee smile down on the Cougs? D’Eriq King could go a long way towards becoming a national name with any sort of highlights in this one and, remember, Oklahoma’s defense has been remarkably bad the last several seasons. The o/u for this game is 83! Houston plus the points, baby, do it!

Monday, September 2

Matchup                                                                             Time (ET)  TV/Mobile

9 Notre Dame at Louisville                                                 8:00pm        ESPN

Brian Kelly really got a kid killed and the university paid his way out of it and he’s still coaching there and they’ll probably win 10+ games again this year. What a terrible world we live in.

[auburnfamilynews]

After eight long months, we’re so ready for some football. And there is plenty on tap this first week of the 2019 college football season with games stretching from Thursday night through Labor Day on Monday. Saturday, the No. 13 Auburn Tigers face the No. 11 Oregon Ducks in the AdvoCare Kickoff Classic in Dallas.

Both teams are said to have outstanding quarterbacks. Auburn will be led by Bo Nix, last year’s “Mr Football” in the state of Alabama. The former five star recruit will be the first Auburn true freshman to make his debut in game one of the season. On the other side Oregon have a potential first round NFL Draft pick in Justin Herbert. The senior turned down millions of dollars pay day last season to play one more year for the Ducks.   The game is being billed as the Tiger defensive line verses the Duck offensive line, and with good reason. The Ducks’ O-line has made 153 starts together and is loaded with experienced talent including preseason all-Americans Shane Lemieux and Calvin Throckmorton, On the other side of the ball, Auburn’s defensive line is loaded veterans with three potential top draft picks in Derrick Brown,  Marlon Davidson, and Nick Coe. So this game could well come down to Auburn’s defensive front versus Oregon’s offensive line. And of course the same is true in reverse. Win it or lose it in the trenches With two teams that like to play fast this also could shape up to be, (to quote the late great Jim Fyffe) “A wild and wooly shootout” in Dallas’s AT&T Stadium. So, are you ready for some football?

For your convenience we have listed below the TV broadcast schedule for all games for Friday through Monday for your College Football viewing guide. Game times are Central Daylight, and all SEC games as well as those involving top 25 teams are underlined.

Games on ESPN/ABC can be viewed by clicking here , and games on ESPN3 can be viewed by clicking on this link.

Acid Reign will be at the keyboard running the TET Open Thread for all to be able to ventilate. So be sure to check back here and join in discussion of the game as it unfolds.

War Eagle, and … Beat the Ducks! Thursday Aug. 30 (All times Central) 6:00 pm UCLA @ Cincinnati – ESPN Robert Morris @ Buffalo – ESPN+ Albany @ Central Michigan – ESPN3 Morgan State @ Bowling Green – ESPN3 Wagner @ Connecticut – ESPN3   Friday August 31 5:00 pm Rice @ Army – CBSSN 6:00 No. 19 Wisconsin @ South Florida – ESPN Tulsa @ No. 18 Michigan State – FS1 Massachusetts @ Rutgers – BTN See the rest of the weekend schedule after the jump: 6:30 Gardner-Webb @ Charlotte – ESPN+ 7:00 Utah State @ Wake Forest – ACCN 9:30 Purdue @ Nevada – CBSN 10:00 Colorado vs Colorado State – ESPN 10:30 Oklahoma State @ Oregon State – FS1 Saturday August 31 11:00 Ole Miss @ Memphis – ABC FAU @ No. 5 Ohio State – Fox South Alabama @ No. 24 Nebraska – ESPN Northern Iowa @  No. 21 Iowa State – FS1 ULL vs Mississippi State (in New Orleans) – ESPNU Toledo @ Kentucky – SECN| Akron @ Illinois – BTN

Stephen F. Austin @ Baylor – ESPN+ Monmouth @ Western Michigan – ESPN3 Norfolk State @ Old Dominion – ESPN3 6:30 No. 15 Auburn vs No. 11 Oregon (in Dallas TX) – ABC Miami (OH) @ No. 20 Iowa – FS1 Georgia Southern @ No. 6 LSU – ESPNU No. 3 Georgia @ Vanderbilt – SECN Middle Tennessee @ No. 7 Michigan – BTN Akron @ Illinois – BTN East Carolina @ NC State – ACCNIndiana vs. Ball State (In Indy) – CBSSN Indiana State @ Kansas – FSN Regional

1:00 James Madison @ West Virginia – AT&T Sports (wvusports.com) Rhode Island @ Ohio – ESPN+ 2:00 Eastern Washington @ No.13 Washington – P12N Bucknell @ Temple – ESPN3 2:30 No.2 Alabama vs. Duke (in Atlanta) – ABC North Carolina vs. South Carolina (in Charlotte) – ESPN Georgia State @ Tennessee – ESPN Idaho @ No.16 Penn State – BTN Holy Cross @ Navy – CBSSN East Tenn, State @ Appalachian State – ESPN+ Eastern Michigan @ Coastal Carolina – ESPN+ Colgate @ Air Force – ESPN3 3:00 Northwestern @ No.25 Stanford – ESPN Portland State @ Arkansas – SECN Virginia Tech @ Boston College – ACCN Montana State @ Texas Tech – FSN Regional 5:00 Campbell @ Troy – ESPN+ No.22 Syracuse @ Liberty – ESPN+ Incarnate Word @ UTSA – ESPN3 Sam Houston @ New Mexico – MWC Digital 5:30 UC-Davis @ California – P12N

6:00 Boise State vs. Florida State (in Jacksonville) – ESPN Alcorn State @ Southern Mississippi – ESPN+ Illinois State @ Northern Illinois – ESPN+ Nichols State @ Kansas State – ESPN+ Southern Methodist @ Arkansas State – ESPN+ Virginia @ Pittsburgh – ACCN Missouri @ Wyoming – CBSSN Abilene Christian @ North Texas – ESPN+ 7:00 UAPB @ TCU – FSN Regional Louisiana Tech @ No.10 Texas – Longhorn Network Houston Baptist @ UTEP – ESPN+ Grambling State @ ULM – ESPN3 9:00 New Mexico State @ No. 23 Washington State – P12N Southern Utah @ UNLV – MWC Digital 9:30 Fresno State @ USC – ESPN

Sunday September 1 6:30 Houston @ No. 4 Oklahoma – ABC Monday September 2 7:00 No. 9 Notre Dame @ Louisville – ESPN

The post Are You Ready for Some Football? – Here’s Opening Weekend Broadcast Schedule appeared first on Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog.

from Track 'Em Tigers, Auburn's oldest and most read independent blog http://trackemtigers.com/are-you-ready-for-some-football-heres-opening-weekend-broadcast-schedule/

[akronarchangels]

Pastor William C. Bunton at Hills Temple 6/10/2014 Akron, OH

Pastor William C. Bunton of Mt. Olive Baptist Church, Akron, OH at Hills Temple Church June 10, 2014 More info on Pastor William C. Bunton at Hills Temple 6/10/2014 Akron, OH from Akron City Guide https://www.akronarchangels.com/lifestyle/pastor-william-c-bunton-at-hills-temple-6-10-2014-akron-oh/

[drrus]

Second Move of the Prophetic: Opening Wombs

During prayer on Mother's Day this year I sensed the Lord saying; "I am opening wombs of the barren this day, planting seeds and raising up the next generation of a prophetic people. Those who have been barren will see life formed in their wombs and they will set them apart to serve the Lord." One particular Scripture immediately came to mind. 1 Samuel 1 describes the birth of Samuel who grew up into a great Prophet in the nation of Israel. He also represents God's transition from a season when the "Word of the Lord was rare", to a time of when God spoke through his Prophet Samuel. (1 Samuel 3). In 1 Samuel 1 we discover Hannah was barren. The passage actually says "the Lord had closed her womb" (1 Samuel 1:5). However, she did not give up praying for a son! She actually made a vow to God saying, "Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head" (1 Samuel 1:11). The passage goes on to say Hannah "found favor" and "in the course of time she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, saying, 'Because I asked the Lord for him'" (1 Samuel 1:20). The chapter closes with Hannah presenting Samuel to Eli at the temple. In other words, Hannah "gave him to the Lord and he - Samuel - worshipped the Lord there" (1 Samuel 1:28). I shared the above word via text with a couple leaders after receiving it during Sunday morning prayer on May 13, 2018. God quickly confirmed His word as they responded back saying God was speaking the same thing to them. The leader in Akron, Ohio said the same word came forth during their service after about 20 minutes of worship. The second leader in New Mexico shared how the Lord placed Luke 1 on her heart for the message. It's here we discover two birth narratives. The first is John the Baptist and the second is none other than Jesus. In both cases, God moved supernaturally in order to bring life, ushering in a season of transition for His plans on earth. What exactly is God up to? I believe He's telling us we are entering into a season of transition and He is preparing to raise up a prophetic people as part of what I started referring to about two years ago as The Second Move of the Prophetic. In September 2017 while ministering in Erie, Pennsylvania I released the word in connection with Ezekiel 37 and The Valley of Dry Bones. After the message I was told by a number of people at the conference that Bishop Bill Hamon from Christian International has been releasing the same word. Again, we see how God is confirming His Word in this day. Amos 3:7-8 says; "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets. The lion has roared, who will not fear? The Sovereign Lord has spoken, who can but prophesy?" In this day, God is "opening wombs"! This is an encouraging word to Christian couples throughout the world. If you've been praying for kids, I hear the Lord saying, "Make preparations as soon your house will be filled with the giggling and laughing of sons and daughters. Make preparations for I am raising up the next generation of a prophetic people who will truly hear My voice and know where the Spirit is about to go. All you need to do is keep praying and determine to raise the child I am about to gift you with as one who follows after Me." Keep encouraged! Dr. Rus Read the full article

[wutbju]

Pastor James C. Douglas, 96, originally from Akron, OH, left his earthly home in Upper Arlington, OH to meet his Savior face-to-face for the first time on Monday, July 10, 2023 at 11:21am. He was surrounded in his last days by family, friends, and care-givers. His pastor, Bryan Dahlke, asked him on Sunday evening if he was ready to meet Jesus and he replied with a hardy “yah”.

At the age of 12, Jim was the marbles champion at Fairlawn Elementary School. He accepted Christ as his savior at the age of 15, graduated from Buchtel High School in Akron, OH and graduated from college in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the School of Religion at Bob Jones University. He has been the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atwater in Atwater, OH, an associate pastor of Columbus Baptist Temple in Columbus, OH as well as the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Sciotoville, OH. Finally, he was the founding pastor of Capitol City Baptist Church in Columbus, OH where he remained pastor for 21 years and then retired becoming Pastor Emeritus.

Throughout his lifetime, he was known for singing hymns out loud and delivering the gospel to anyone who wanted to listen, (and even to those who didn’t). By God’s grace, he reached as many people as he could with a gospel tract or by just starting a conversation with “did you know Jesus loves you and He died for you so that you could spend eternity with Him?”. His ministry for his Savior was his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents Helen (Hogan) and Clady Jewett Douglas. His brother Glen Hogan Douglas; sister, Lois Virginia (Douglas) Davis, Faye Elizabeth Hill (Douglas); wife, Dorothy Dare (Robertson) Douglas; brother, Hoyt Dean Douglas; 2nd wife June Luellen (Hollowell) Douglas.

Pastor Douglas was survived by his daughter Susan Douglas Fultz; grandson James Paul Hadinger; granddaughters Shannon Suzanne (Hadinger) Copley and Jessica Dare (Fultz) Kazee; great-grandson Gary Nathan Hadinger; great-granddaughters Kaylee Ann (Hadinger) Elswick, Addison Marie Hadinger and Lily Beth Arthur. Sister-in-Law Valene Douglas and many nieces, nephews, and great-nieces & nephews.

[junker-town]

155 of college football’s amazing rivalry nicknames, sort of ranked

Soooo many bizarre Battles, Brawls, Wars, and Cups, all with local bragging rights on the line.

A few quick rules:

I’m not pondering the quality of your rivalry, just the poetry of its name.

Many rivalries have trophies, but not names. If teams don’t really refer to their game as the “Battle for the ____” or whatever, then they belong on a separate list.

At least one school has to have used the name. A separate section on fan-created names follows.

Series that can no longer call themselves by defunct trophies (like the EKU-Morehead State Old Hawg Rifle or Kentucky-Tennessee Beer Barrel) can’t be included.

I don’t care if these teams haven’t met in a while.

These groups are loosely ranked amongst themselves, but I’m not assigning numbers to all eleventy million, until the very top group.

Now let’s get right to it, going from lesser names to the actual great names.

Boooring names

Governors Cup (Eastern Washington-Montana, though lots of other rivalries also have trophies with names like this.)

The Academic Bowl (Carnegie Mellon-Case Western)

The Courage Bowl (Rochester-St. John Fisher)

Battle Line Rivalry (Arkansas-Missouri)

The Civil War (Oregon-Oregon State, with demerits for wildly overselling.)

Battle of the Border (Lamar-McNeese State)

The Border War (Colorado State-Wyoming and Oregon-Washington. These are the Border Wars not named after actual wars.)

The Game (Michigan-Ohio State, Harvard-Yale, and Hampden-Sydney vs. Randolph-Macon, with bonus points for pomposity.)

The Big Game (Cal-Stanford)

Ram-Crusader Cup (Fordham-Holy Cross)

Aggie-Eagle Classic (North Carolina A&T-North Carolina Central)

Tommie-Johnnie Game (St. John’s-St. Thomas)

Battle of the Blue (Delaware-Villanova)

Black and Blue Bowl (Memphis-Southern Miss, with slight bonus points for the hard-hitting connotations of “black and blue.”)

“We are in the same large area”

The Mid-America Classic (Eastern Illinois-Illinois State)

Rivalry in Dixie (Louisiana Tech-Southern Miss)

The Battle for Nevada (Nevada-UNLV)

Constitution State Rivalry (Central Connecticut-Sacred Heart)

Commonwealth Cup (Virginia-Virginia Tech)

Capital Cup (Richmond-William & Mary)

Empire State Bowl (Columbia-Cornell)

Empire Clash (Albany-Stony Brook, with demerits for sounding like a cell phone app.)

The Liberty Cup (Columbia-Fordham)

Florida Classic (Bethune-Cookman vs. Florida A&M)

Battle of I-75 (Bowling Green-Toledo)

Battle of I-10 (New Mexico State-UTEP)

The Palmetto Bowl (Clemson-South Carolina)

Battle of the Palouse (Idaho-Washington State)

Battle on the Bayou (UL-Lafayette vs. ULM)

Dakota Marker (North Dakota State-South Dakota State)

Battle of the Piney Woods (Sam Houston State-Stephen F. Austin)

Grand Canyon Trophy (Northern Arizona-Southern Utah)

Colonial Clash (New Hampshire-UMass)

Rio Grande Rivalry (New Mexico-New Mexico State)

“We have something beyond very general location in common, even if it’s just a more specific location!”

The Bill Walsh Legacy Game (San Jose State-Stanford)

Shula Bowl (FAU-FIU)

Causeway Classic (Sacramento State-UC Davis)

The Southwest [Conference] Classic (Arkansas-Texas A&M)

The Tiger Bowl (Auburn-LSU)

The Sunshine Showdown (Florida-Florida State, with demerits for being difficult to say.)

The Mayor’s Cup (Temple-Villanova)

Friends of Coal Bowl (Marshall-West Virginia)

Two Rivers Classic (Fayetteville State-UNC Pembroke)

Great Valley Classic (Shepherd-Shippensburg)

The NSU Challenge (Nicholls State-Northwestern State, with bonus points for making me laugh three times while making this list.)

The Fountain City Classic (Albany State-Fort Valley State)

Labor Day Classic (Prairie View A&M-Texas Southern)

Bridger’s Battle (Utah State-Wyoming, named after a local frontiersman)

The Territorial Cup (Arizona-Arizona State, because the state was a territory at the time, you see.)

The Apple Cup (Washington-Washington State)

Battle of the Ravine (Henderson State-Ouachita Baptist)

Battle of the Bay (Hampton-Norfolk State)

Battle of the Brazos [River] (Baylor-Texas A&M)

The Magnolia Bowl (LSU-Ole Miss)

The West Texas Championship (Texas Tech-TCU)

Battle in Seattle (Central Washington-Western Washington)

Red River Valley Showdown (Minnesota-Crookston vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead)

Battle of the Valleys (Grand Valley State-Saginaw Valley State)

Route 1 Rivalry (Delaware-Delaware State)

Southern Heritage Classic (Jackson State-Tennessee State)

State Fair Classic (Grambling State-Prairie View A&M)

The Bayou Classic (Grambling State-Southern)

Military Classic of the South (The Citadel-VMI)

Miner’s Bowl (Missouri Southern-Pittsburg State)

The Sunflower Showdown (Kansas-Kansas State)

The Coal Bowl (IUP-California University, a far superior name to the “Friends of Coal Bowl.”)

River City Rivalry (Cincinnati-Pitt)

I didn’t have any group to put this game in

The Bronze Derby (Newberry-Presbyterian)

Battles for objects, Tier III

Battle for the Heartland Trophy (Iowa-Wisconsin, with major demerits for not daring to just call it “Battle for the Heartland” or “Battle for the Neutered Bull.”)

Battle for the President’s Cup (Central Oklahoma-Northeastern State)

Battle for the Bell (Marshall-Ohio and Southern Miss-Tulane)

Battle for the Victory Bell (Cincinnati-Miami (Ohio))

River Bell Classic (Nicholls State-Southeastern Louisiana, which isn’t technically a “Battle for ___,” but had to be alongside its bell brethren.)

Battle for the Ol’ School Bell (Jacksonville State-Troy)

Battle for the Red Belt (Murray State-Western Kentucky)

Battle for the Wagon Wheel (Akron-Kent State)

Battle for the Rag (LSU-Tulane)

Battle for the Oil Can (Fresno State-San Diego State)

Battle for the Black Diamond Trophy (Virginia Tech-West Virginia)

Battle for the Victory Barrel (East Carolina-NC State, with bonus points for the student governments just deciding this game had a trophy, out of nowhere.)

Battle for the Brice-Cowell Musket (Maine-New Hampshire, with slight demerits for naming the musket after football coaches, rather than historical figures.)

They just named the whole damn game after the second sentence of its encyclopedia entry

The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry (Auburn-Georgia)

The South’s Oldest Rivalry (North Carolina-Virginia, with bonus points for being technically incorrect but claiming it anyway, the most college football behavior of all.)

The Third Saturday in October (Alabama-Tennessee)

Battles for objects, Tier II

Battle for the Paniolo [Hawaiian word for “Cowboy”] Trophy (Hawaii-Wyoming)

Battle for the Megaphone Trophy (Michigan State-Notre Dame)

Battle for Chief Caddo (Northwestern State-Stephen F. Austin, with bonus points for trophy size: “Chief Caddo is the world's largest sports trophy, standing 7-foot-6 and weighing over 320 pounds.”)

Battle for the Peach Basket (Valdosta State-West Georgia)

Battle for the Conestoga Wagon (Dickinson-Franklin & Marshall)

Battle for the Paddle (Nicholls State-Texas State)

Battle for the Belt (South Alabama-Troy, with bonus points for rasslin’ belt trophy.)

Battle for the Palladium (Middle Tennessee-Troy, with bonus points for contrived backstory. It’s a Greek statue, playing on Troy’s nickname, with Odysseus being described as a “Raider of Cities” in MTSU game notes, in order to give the Blue Raiders a connection.)

Battle for the Bronze Stalk Trophy (Ball State-Northern Illinois)

Battle for the Golden Horseshoe (Cal Poly-UC Davis)

Battle for the IlliBuck (Illinois-Ohio State, with bonus points for IlliBuck being a wooden turtle that replaced a live turtle almost 100 years ago.)

Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket (Indiana-Purdue)

Battle for the Golden Boot (Arkansas-LSU, with bonus points for it being an enormous gold statue.)

Very good names

Beehive Bowl (Southern Utah-Weber State; yes, that’s just the state’s nickname, but I like that an FCS rivalry claimed it.)

Battle of the Bluegrass (Eastern Kentucky-Western Kentucky, following the same principle as the Beehive Bowl.)

The Fall Classic (Northwest Missouri State-Pittsburg State, following the same rule as above. A Division II game stole the nickname of the damn World Series.)

The Chowder Bowl (Mass Maritine-SUNY Maritime, with bonus points for cleverness, but demerits for chowder being bad.)

Gate City Soup Bowl (Greensboro-Guilford)

The Egg Bowl (Mississippi State-Ole Miss)

The Cranberry Bowl (Bridgewater State-Mass Maritime, the Buccaneers’ far more delicious food bowl rivalry.)

Battle of the Brothers (Utah-Utah State)

Granite Bowl (Dartmouth-New Hampshire; yes, this is much higher than other state nicknames, because granite is better than commonwealths and magnolias.)

The Cuyahoga Gold Bowl (Baldwin-Wallace vs. John Carroll)

Rumble in the Rockies (Colorado-Utah)

Textile Bowl (Clemson-NC State)

Turnpike Tussle (Emporia State-Washburn)

26th Street Tussle (Augustana-Sioux Falls)

Cajun Crown (McNeese State vs. UL-Lafayette)

Anchor-Bone Classic (Ferris State-Grand Valley State)

Rocking Chair Classic (Hamilton-Middlebury)

The Old Hickory Stick Game (Northwest Missouri State-Truman State)

The Bronze Turkey Game (Knox-Monmouth)

Battle of the Firsts (Cheyney-Lincoln, both of whom claim to be the country’s first HBCU.)

War on I-4 (UCF-USF)

The Magic City Classic (Alabama A&M-Alabama State)

The Arch Rivalry (Illinois-Missouri ... because the St. Louis Arch is between them, you see.)

The Crab Bowl Classic (Maryland-Navy)

The Bayou Bucket Classic (Houston-Rice)

The Cereal Bowl (Carleton-St. Olaf)

Deeper than Hate (Appalachian State-Georgia Southern)

Top Dog Game (Butler-Indianapolis. Their mascots are dogs. Defunct since 1992. Don’t care.)

Battles for objects, Tier I

Battle of the Bricks (Miami (Ohio)-Ohio)

The Battle for the Cannon (Illinois-Purdue)

Battle for the Victory Cannon (Central Michigan-Western Michigan)

Battle for the Iron Skillet (SMU-TCU)

Battle for the Border Claw (East Texas Baptist-Louisiana College)

Battle for the Milk Can (Boise State-Fresno State)

Battle for the Old Mountain Jug (Appalachian State-Western Carolina, with bonus points for the jug being a moonshine jug.)

Battle for the Bones (Memphis-UAB, with bonus points for the greatest rivalry trophy of all time: a 100-pound, bronzed rack of ribs.)

Wikimedia Commons

The 20 best, actually ranked

20. The Biggest Little Game in America (Amherst-Williams)

19. The Holy War (Boston College-Notre Dame and BYU-Utah)

18. The Backyard Brawl (Pitt-West Virginia and Millsaps-Mississippi College)

17. The Iron Bowl (Alabama-Auburn)

16. The Soul Bowl (Alcorn State-Jackson State)

15. The Dam Cup (Eastern Washington-Portland State)

14. The Red Beans and Rice Bowl (Central Arkansas-McNeese State)

13. The Real HU (Hampton-Howard. Lots of schools argue about acronyms. Putting it on the line > yapping.)

12. Seafaring Scuffle (Merchant Marine-SUNY Maritine)

11. Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate (Georgia-Georgia Tech)

10. The BoomBox Classic (Jackson State-Southern)

9. The Border War (Kansas-Missouri ... like, they named it after a literal war.)

8. Red River Shootout (the name of Oklahoma-Texas, no matter what they try to tell you.)

7. The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (the name of Florida-Georgia, no matter what they try to tell you.)

6. Battle for the Keg of Nails (Cincinnati-Louisville)

5. The Rivalry (Lafayette-Lehigh, the only rivalry that could possibly attempt such a name, seeing as it’s the sport’s oldest ongoing series.)

4. The Black Hills Brawl (Black Hills State-South Dakota School of Mines)

3. 100 Miles of Hate (Middle Tennessee-Western Kentucky)

2. Bedlam (Oklahoma-Oklahoma State)

1. Brawl of the Wild (Montana-Montana State)

I’m sure I’m missing lots of good names.

Drop them in the comments, and I’ll get caught up on categorizing them at some point. If you can, include evidence of a team using the name.

And, in ABC order, some rivalry names that aren’t exactly recognized, but not for lack of trying by the internet.

Battle for the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy (Minnesota-Nebraska)

Battle for the Golden Screwdriver (Fresno State-Hawaii)

The BUTT Bowl (Baylor-Texas Tech)

The Civil ConFLiCT (UCF-UConn)

¡EL ASSICO! (Iowa-Iowa State)

Farmageddon (Iowa State-Kansas State)

The Khaki Bowl (Ole Miss-Vanderbilt)

The Quadrangle of Hate (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin)

Techmo Bowl (Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech)

[prophetjerry]

I'm from: #CantonOhio was born in the old Timken Mercy hospital, played football in front of Lathrops grade school, attended Martin Elementary, Hartford jr high, Timken Voc High. Attended Church with my parents and uncle Pastor Julius Sanders at Shiloh Baptist and S.E. Church of Christ with Pastor Rufus Carven and Uncle Delbert Brunner, Pentacostal Temple COGIC with Pastor Lee Nucklos. Went Cray Cray at Kings Island, Cedar Point and TurkeyFoot Lake. Partied/Belly-Flopped & Swam at Jackson pool. Danced at Roosevelt school on Fri/Sat nites. Did waaaay to much in Massilon and Boogied/Oops Danced on Sun nites at The 6th st Downtown YWCA. And I've definitely Done right [and] wrong in The Three Duces, Smart Set and Chillies, made wild money in Akron. And Loved hard and should've loved Godly. And will always, though I live in Texas, my love is for OHIO! “Some Of My Childhood Memories” †PJB (at Canton, Ohio)

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to 2017 college football TV watch ‘em ups: week 1, part 2

Welcome back for the rest of “Week 1″ of college football! I’m not sure what the dumb gimmick of calling everything from last Saturday through this Monday “Week 1″ is but it’s only bested by MLB having four days of Opening Day in sports scheduling nomenclature ignominy.

There are a million games this week but it sort of feels like bowl season because of the FSU - Alabama game. Is everything else irrelevant in national scope? Not at all. It’s just crazy that we have #3 playing #1 in the first week. I could have sworn Miami’s 31-0 beat down of FSU in 1988 was a #1 vs. #2 matchup but Miami was actually ranked sixth in that preseason.

So far we’ve seen nothing that gives us any indication of how this season is going to play out and we aren’t going to see much today that will either. But that’s no reason not to hop around like lunatics and over-react to every single big play and upset and shutout and close game. It’s all the best ever and always will be.

You already know what this is. Times are eastern. Shouts out to whoever the fuck puts together FBSchedules for making a format that’s relatively easy to copy and tweak for these posts.

Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017

Matchup                                                      Time (ET)                         TV

Akron at (6) Penn State                                 Noon                           ABC

Look at all this pathetic MACtion going on first thing in the morning (Westsiiiiiide!!!!) on the first full day of college football in 2017. Word to the wise: don’t trust a Penn State running back to make it to the NFL unscathed.

Ball State at Illinois                                        Noon                            BTN

Holy shit. This is truly awful. I think officials at the state, city and university levels all missed a big chance to cancel this game on account of the flooding in Texas.

Bowling Green at Michigan State                Noon                          ESPNU

How bad is Michigan State, really? You can’t tell how good anybody is in week 1 but you might be able to figure out how bad they are. I can’t remember if Sparty had just one awful recruiting class or if the whole thing is about to crumble.

Kent State at (5) Clemson                             Noon                          ESPN

I can’t see Kent State and not think of that Buffalo Springfield song about the massacre. Clemson’s ridiculously stacked defensive line might actually make this fun to watch but it might also just be really sad. That’s as much thought as I can muster about this game.

Maryland at (23) Texas                                   Noon                           FS1

This game makes me sad for all of the resources diverted here that could be better used on literally any other thing.

Missouri State at Missouri                            Noon                         SECN

I feel like Missouri should just drop athletics and maybe stop even being a school.

Wyoming at Iowa                                             Noon                           BTN

Get in on the ground floor of thinking Josh Allen kind of sucks way before you forget who he is later in the year and start buying into the hype for his arm because you aren’t watching his games.

California at North Carolina                           12:20 pm                    ACCN

This is a weird matchup between two teams that are starting over in very different senses of the phrase. I’ll probably give it a few minutes.

Bethune-Cookman at (18) Miami, FL             12:30 pm                    RSN

One of a number of games that should illustrate precisely nothing in terms of what to expect from the big name program involved. I’ll watch it because it’s Miami but I might check out once I see if Malik Rosier has developed the ability to throw a ball accurately over more than about 23″. My gut says he hasn’t.

Youngstown State at Pittsburgh                    1:00 pm                  ACCNExtra

Qadree Ollison shouldn’t see more than 5 touches in this one before shutting down for protective purposes.

Portland State at Oregon State                       2:00pm                      Pac-12N

I’m half sure this game already happened last week.

VMI at Air Force                                                 2:00 pm                      ESPN3

This is prime drinking football.

NC State vs. South Carolina (at Charlotte, NC)  3:00 pm                       ESPN

An unwatchable force meets an unlikable object. Coach Boom somehow recruits like a motherfucker even though he has shown no capability to do anything positive as a head coach.

Alabama A&M at UAB                                           3:30 pm                   Stadium

UAB stands for U Are Back! The first game back as a football program should be an easy win but I honestly have no idea what they have on the roster.

(11) Michigan vs. (17) Florida (at Arlington, TX)  3:30 pm                     ABC

I actually like both coaches in this game and still expect to be bored to tears if I end up watching it.

Nevada at Northwestern                                      3:30 pm                     BTN

This is well scheduled because nobody should ever think of watching it and there are lots of other games on.

Temple at Notre Dame                                          3:30 pm                      NBC

I hope like hell we are seeing the last year of Brian Kelly’s coaching career but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion he’s due for a late October contract extension instead.

UTEP at (7) Oklahoma                                            3:30 pm                     FOX

Oklahoma may be fraudulent and still go 12-0 this year just because there isn’t really any coaching necessary in their conference and they’ve still got a ton of talent even with Big Game Bob gone.

William & Mary at Virginia                                      3:30 pm            ACCNExtra

UVA has two or three “first round prospects” on their defense this year and yet I can’t help expecting this to be the only time all season where they’re favored to win a game.

Troy at Boise State                                                 3:45 pm                  ESPNU

I’m passingly interested in this one because I’m not entirely sure what to think of Boise these days. Troy isn’t bereft of talent but might struggle playing pretty far from home here.

Charleston Southern at Mississippi State           4:00 pm                   SECN

Great chance to see Nick Fitzgerald get in 20 minutes of practice before the season starts.

Eastern Washington at Texas Tech                       4:00 pm                     FSN

Eastern Washington’s offense isn’t totally different from Texas Tech. This could be the most Big XII game possible featuring a D1-AA program.

Kentucky at Southern Miss                                    4:00 pm                CBSSN

Watch how stupid things can get if Kentucky picks up votes for destroying a shell of a program.

Stony Brook at (19) USF                                          4:00 pm                 ESPN3

USF is easing into this whole Charlie Strong Era. If anybody is gonna put up 100 points this week it’s USF but it won’t even feel like it counts against Stony Brook.

Western Michigan at (4) USC                                  5:15 pm              Pac-12N

USC opens up yet another season of unfairly high expectations against a MAC school. Adjust your perception of the outcome appropriately.

Albany at Old Dominion                                            6:00 pm                ESPN3

These two schools might also feature in a play-in game during March Madness.

James Madison at East Carolina                             6:00 pm                ESPN3

I still can’t believe ECU fired Ruffin McNeill. Fuck that school. Go JMacs!

NC Central at Duke                                                    6:00 pm         ACCNExtra

I’ve got NC Central straight up in this one.

Appalachian State at (15) Georgia                            6:15 pm                ESPN

There isn’t much you can do to prove you’re good in most week 1 games but I would not be shocked to see Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs make themselves look really bad in week 1. If that is correct, don’t mistake that as a lack of talent. It will simply be poor coaching that got them in this mess.

Miami, OH at Marshall                                                 6:30 pm            Stadium

Marshall, you may remember, is in Conference USA.

Central Arkansas at (20) Kansas State                      7:00 pm  K-StateHD.TV

Kansas State is ranked but playing on closed circuit TV available only on campus. Somehow this makes sense.

Eastern Kentucky at WKU                                           7:00 pm    FloSports.TV

The winner of this game gets ownership of the Middle of Kentucky Trophy.

Hampton at Ohio                                                           7:00 pm            ESPN3

Go Hampton.

Houston at UTSA       —        Postponed

I believe the plan is to make this up in October or November.

Houston Baptist at Texas State                                   7:00 pm            ESPN3

Great chance to test your skills at the popular “Guess the Division 1-A program!”

Lamar at North Texas                                                    7:00 pm            ESPN3

The Fightin’ 096ers are playing against the javelin thrower from Revenge of the Nerds. My money is on the nerd.

Liberty at Baylor                                                            7:00 pm              FS2

Watching this game is actually a Title IX violation so if you have kids and this is on your TV those kids are already ineligible to compete in NCAA-sponsored athletics. If you choose to watch this game you should not let anybody know.

Northwestern State at Louisiana Tech                        7:00 pm           ESPN3

Louisiana Tech, weirdly enough, lost a shitload of good players from last year’s team. I’m kind of intrigued to see what this year’s models can do for them.

SE Louisiana at UL Lafayette                                        7:00 pm            ESPN3

Oh, yeah, this is the great battle to determine if you can figure out which direction you’re facing in Louisiana. One of college football’s most prestigious rivalries.

SE Missouri at Kansas                                                  7:00 pm             JTV

A good sign of things ahead for Kansas is that they’ve started to beat out SE Missouri for the high school cream of the crop.

Stephen F. Austin at SMU                                             7:00 pm          ESPN3

ms621 will be at this game so if you see somebody in the crowd, that’s him. SMU might even be favored in this one so it’s pretty prime watch ‘em up filler.

UMass at Coastal Carolina                                            7:00 pm         ESPN3

UMass is one of the lucky handful of teams that gets to play two games in “week 1.” That’s really all there is to say about this game.

Cal Poly at San Jose State                                             7:30 pm         No TV

I guess technically I shouldn’t put this game in the post but I chuckled when I got to No TV for the TV listing.

Georgia Southern at (12) Auburn                                 7:30 pm           SECN

I’ve got all of my money and considerable reputation riding on Jarrett Stidham getting benched at some point this season due to ineffective play.

(16) Louisville vs. Purdue (at Indianapolis, IN)              7:30 pm             FOX

I don’t know how much you can really win on it but I feel like taking a prop that Lamar Jackson wins another Heisman is not bad in the scheme of things. I have this very strong premonition that he’s going to be even better this year than last year. This is the first of 9 games in this stadium in 2017 where the visiting team has the only NFL-caliber QB on the field.

South Alabama at University of Mississippi, Oxford   7:30 pm       ESPNU

USA! USA! USA! The bad guys are 22.5 point favorites and I have some trouble believing they’re going to beat anybody by that much this year.

Abilene Christian at New Mexico                                  8:00 pm        No TV

No TV is my new favorite network.

Arkansas State at Nebraska                                           8:00 pm          BTN

Reminder! We are still a couple of years from Nebraska being worth your time unless you are very partisan. Maybe even if you are very partisan.

(3) Florida State vs. (1) Alabama (at Atlanta, GA)           8:00 pm          ABC

GAME OF THE YEAR OF THE WEEK! There are some dummies in the world that think this is an easy win in the making for Bama and I have no clue where that kind of certainty comes from. The Tide should be better along the lines but FSU is hardly hurting for talent. I’m kind of excited to see what freshman RB Cam Akers can do for the Seminoles and also Derwin James, the safety who missed almost all of last year and is generally considered the best player on their team.

Grambling State at Tulane                                               8:00 pm       ESPN3

How bad do you think the teams that have no coverage feel when they look up and see this game getting the ESPN 3 treatment? I hope it’s plenty bad. Frankly those kids should have given up football rather than accepting scholarships from their sad programs.

Jackson State at TCU                                                        8:00 pm          FSN

You laugh but this is actually one of the toughest out of conference games that any Big XII team scheduled for 2017.

Northern Iowa at Iowa State                                            8:00 pm  Cyclones.tv

As I’m writing this it appears to me that there’s still no spread for this game. I’m going to choose to believe that means it is a pick ‘em and Northern Iowa is effectively equal in stature and talent to Iowa State.

Vanderbilt at Middle Tennessee                                      8:00 pm       CBSSN

The Richie James RTARLsman train starts a-rollin’ right here over the Vanderbilt Glorias. MTSU by 30 seems like the safe bet to me.

Southern Utah at Oregon                                                 8:15 pm     Pac-12N

Seems a shame that more of the country doesn’t have access to seeing the birth of the Willie Taggert era for the Ducks.

UC Davis at San Diego State                                            8:30 pm      Stadium

No, I do not know what SDSU is doing on this thing that broadcasts via facebook instead of the their comfortable home on CBS Sports.

Howard at UNLV                                                                 9:00 pm         MWN

UNLV being named “Rebels” has always been weird to me. Nevada was a Union state that didn’t really have much in the way of material impact Civil War (it became a state with less than one year left in the conflict) and yet they chose a wolf in a Confederate uniform as their first mascot. And here they are competing against a historically black college in their home opener. It’s all odd.

BYU vs. (13) LSU (at New Orleans, LA)                              9:30 pm        ESPN

I’m super sure that this time LSU is really gonna have a much better offense. Les Miles is gone after all so, yeah, I’m totally buying that. Noted offensive genius Ed Orgeron is definitely gonna have them on the right path.

Incarnate Word at Fresno State                                     10:00 pm       No TV

/ googles “what channel is No TV”

Montana State at (24) Washington State                        10:30 pm         FS1

Washington State apparently has a “FCS curse” that I had never heard of until I went looking to see if Montana State is supposed to be good. Montana State is not supposed to be good. Keep that in mind as you’re searching for commercial filler.

NAU at Arizona                                                                   11:00 pm    Pac-12N

I checked to make sure Donavan Tate isn’t starting for Arizona and he appears to be the third man in a two man race for the position. If I know my RichRod that means he might be a WR prospect at best.

Western Carolina at Hawaii                                      11:59 pm  Spectrum PPV

Regardless of the quality of the product (usually pretty low) Hawaii home games will always be the absolute apex of Degenerate Football as a concept. Nothing feels weirder than watching a game in the middle of the night that is being played live in broad daylight. This is the game that truly signals football is back for me.

Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017

Texas A&M at UCLA                                                       7:30 pm              FOX

Remember last year when I said UCLA vs. Texas A&M could be a game between the 2017 and 2018 #1 overall draft picks? Well, the first part of that came true when Myles Garrett went #1 this year. The second part won’t come true because Jim Mora, Jr. is a horrible coach and even if Josh Rosen is fully healed from his injuries last year there’s no way JMJ and staff have coached him up even a little on technique or mental processing.

(22) West Virginia vs. (21) Virginia Tech (at Landover, MD)  7:30 pm   ABC

I’m glad to see the shitty stadium that D.C.’s NFL team plays in is now considered Landover. Landover was always a punchline growing up because the Bullets and Capitals played there and it is nowhere close to being in D.C. It’s basically the same as the Angels being referred to as “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.” On the other hand, Raljon, MD is one of the great triumphs of really stupid corporate ownership of all resources. A beacon to the rest of well-moneyed assholery that anything can be yours and named for your incompetent sons, even if you don’t trust them to actually maintain your legacy and plan to liquidate all of your assets upon your own death.

Monday, Sept. 4, 2017

(25) Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech (at M-B Stadium)   8:00 pm           ESPN

This is a weird choice for this of all games to stand alone on the only Monday night that college football gets to itself this year. Maybe the thinking is more along the lines of “this is the only way we can trick people into watching this game.” I have some mostly inexplicable affinity for Georgia Tech and there is a lot to be said for watching UT struggle, so go Ramblin’ Wreck!

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[madpicks]

New Post has been published on https://www.madpicks.com/sports/ncaaf/full-college-football-schedule-guide-2017-week-1-tv-streaming-watch/

Full college football schedule guide, 2017 Week 1: TV, streaming, and what to watch

College football’s 2017 opening weekend (technically, its second weekend, after a handful of games on Aug. 26 and such) is here, stretching from Thursday night all the way through Labor Day.

Below, the full TV schedule, with times and streaming info, and all sorted according to watchability in each time slot. This should help steer you toward the best games at each time.

This Week 1 might not look quite as huge as last year’s, but it’s still pretty well-stocked with good games and has one big trump card over every other opening week ever: the biggest opening game of all time, per the rankings. Alabama-Florida State in the new Atlanta stadium that’ll host this season’s National Championship is gonna be a spectacle.

So here come five straight nights of college football, with only three days off until a loaded Week 2 starts. Let’s have a pretty good 2017.

Thursday, Aug. 31 college football schedule

Time (p.m. ET) WATCH THIS Maybe watch It’s football 6 FIU at UCF CBSSN, CBSSports.com 6:30 Presbyterian at Wake Forest ACC Network, WatchESPN 7 Buffalo at Minnesota BTN, BTN2Go Austin Peay at Cincinnati WatchESPN Rhode Island at CMU WatchESPN Tenn. State at Georgia State WatchESPN Elon at Toledo WatchESPN 7:30 Tulsa at Oklahoma State FS1, Fox Sports Go Holy Cross at UConn WatchESPN 8 Ohio State at Indiana ESPN, WatchESPN FAMU at Arkansas SEC Network, WatchESPN 9 Sac. State at Idaho WatchESPN ULM at Memphis CBSSN, CBSSports.com 10:30 NMSU at Arizona State Pac-12 Networks

For most people, this will count as 2017’s Opening Night.

College GameDay is at Indiana for the season’s first Power 5 conference game, with Kevin Wilson as Ohio State’s OC against his old team. OSU’s right behind Bama on the Playoff favorites list, but this could be a fun test.

Not much is happening otherwise, other than P.J. Fleck doing something GIF-worthy in his Minnesota debut or Tulsa-Oklahoma State trying to crack 100 points by halftime.

Friday, Sept. 1 college football schedule

Time (p.m. ET) WATCH THIS Maybe watch It’s football 6 Fordham at Army CBSSN, CBSSports.com 6:30 Charlotte at EMU WatchESPN 7 Cent. Conn. at Syracuse ACC Network, WatchESPN 8 Colorado vs. Colorado State Pac-12 Networks Navy at FAU ESPNU, WatchESPN Washington at Rutgers FS1, Fox Sports Go 9 Utah State at Wisconsin ESPN, WatchESPN 9:30 Boston College at NIU CBSSN, CBSSports.com

In most years, Colorado-CSU is a MAYBE game, but both teams are good now! CU is the reigning Pac-12 South champ, even though it’s taking a step back, and CSU could win the Mountain West. Also, they hate each other!

The undercard on this day: bizarre meetings. Lane Kiffin stumbles into yet another head coaching job while taking on the stately Ken Niumatalolo, and Washington has to go from Playoff glory to the depths of Rutgers.

Saturday, Sept. 2 college football schedule

Time (p.m. ET) WATCH THIS Maybe watch It’s football Noon Wyoming at Iowa BTN, BTN2Go Missouri State at Missouri SEC Network, WatchESPN Maryland at Texas FS1, Fox Sports Go Ball State at Illinois BTN, BTN2Go Bowling Green at Michigan State ESPNU, WatchESPN Akron at Penn State ABC, WatchESPN Kent State at Clemson ESPN, WatchESPN 12:20 Cal at North Carolina ACC Network, WatchESPN 12:30 Bethune-Cookman at Miami ACC Network, WatchESPN 1 YSU at Pitt ACC Network, WatchESPN 2 Portland State at Oregon State Pac-12 Networks VMI at Air Force WatchESPN 3 NC State vs. South Carolina ESPN, WatchESPN 3:30 Florida vs. Michigan ABC, WatchESPN Temple at Notre Dame NBC, NBCSports.com UTEP at Oklahoma Fox, Fox Sports Go Nevada at Northwestern BTN, BTN2Go William & Mary at Virginia ACC Network, WatchESPN 3:45 Troy at Boise State ESPNU, WatchESPN 4 Kentucky at Southern Miss CBSSN, CBSSports.com Stony Brook at USF WatchESPN EWU at Texas Tech FSN, Fox Sports Go Charleston S. at Mississippi State SEC Network, WatchESPN 5:15 WMU at USC Pac-12 Networks 6 JMU at ECU WatchESPN NC Central at Duke ACC Network, WatchESPN Albany at Old Dominion WatchESPN 6:15 Appalachian State at Georgia ESPN, WatchESPN 7 Liberty at Baylor FS2, Fox Sports Go Hampton at Ohio WatchESPN SE Louisiana at UL-Lafayette WatchESPN Houston Baptist at Texas State WatchESPN SE Missouri State at Kansas JTV Stephen F. Austin at SMU WatchESPN UMass at Coastal Carolina WatchESPN 7:10 Central Ark. at Kansas State K-statehd.tv 7:30 Georgia Southern at Auburn SEC Network, WatchESPN South Alabama at Ole Miss ESPNU, WatchESPN Louisville vs. Purdue Fox, Fox Sports Go 8 Alabama vs. Florida State ABC, WatchESPN Arkansas State at Nebraska BTN, BTN2Go Jackson State at TCU Fox, Fox Sports Go Vanderbilt at MTSU CBSSN, CBSSports.com Northern Iowa at Iowa State Cyclones.tv Grambling at Tulane WatchESPN 8:15 Southern Utah at Oregon Pac-12 Networks 9:30 BYU vs. LSU ESPN, WatchESPN 10:30 Mont. St. at Washington State FS1, Fox Sports Go 11 NAU at Arizona Pac-12 Networks

OH HELL YEAH WE’RE BACK

Things start slow, as is custom, and Cal-UNC should be on your radar just because it’s gonna go way wrong.

Florida-Michigan in JerryWorld is the season’s first actual big game. It might not have postseason ramifications, but it’ll teach us a lot about each team’s offense. And now one new story line: how many Gators will be suspended?

After that, one of the year’s biggest, loudest, most talent-packed, and best games is the easiest MUST-WATCHer on the board. Six things to know about the tactics in Bama-FSU, and why the Noles have a shot.

BYU-LSU in New Orleans should be a great closeout game, just thumping everyone off to bed.

Sunday, Sept. 3 college football schedule

Time (p.m. ET) WATCH THIS Maybe watch It’s football 1:30 SC State at Southern ESPN2, WatchESPN 6:30 Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia ABC, WatchESPN Texas A&M at UCLA Fox, Fox Sports Go

The rule of the schedule grid: only one WATCH THIS game at a time. I’m picking the Black Diamond Trophy rivalry over A&M-UCLA. For one thing, it’s a ranked vs. ranked rivalry. For another, it should have a much hotter crowd than the L.A. game, with rowdy VT and WVU fan bases both nearby.

Labor Day college football schedule

Time (p.m. ET) WATCH THIS Maybe watch It’s football 8 Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee ESPN, WatchESPN

Like Bama-FSU, this is at Atlanta’s new origami bomb of a stadium. It’ll be full, loud, and contentious, with GT striving to hit a 4-0 streak against the SEC East and UT trying to keep Butch Jones from getting fired. What fun!