Iowa-Arizona tops soft college football TV schedule
After last Saturday's menu of huge matchups, this week's schedule is not nearly as attractive.
But there are some intriguing games. There are plenty of ranked teams hitting the road this week. Will one of them suffer an upset?
You'll need to stay up pretty late to see the best game of the weekend. In a battle of unbeatens and the only game this week involving two ranked teams, No. 9 Iowa travels to No. 24 Arizona (10:30 p.m., ESPN).
An Iowa win would be a huge statement to the rest of the country. This game should be a good indicator of where Iowa stands on the national stage and the national title race.
"None of us really know how good we are at this point," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said during his weekly news conference on Tuesday. "It's going to be a heck of a test. Regardless of who we played the last two weeks or who they played, they're an excellent football team. We hope to be a good team.
"And we certainly are going to learn a lot about our football team this week. It's a challenge in all areas, including special teams. They've got some really good specialists as well. So we're going to have to be at our absolute best to have a chance in this one. And that's a challenge at hand for us right now."
Of course, the Hawkeyes will need to overcome the late start and probable hot weather.
This game will also be good preparation for Iowa before heading into a rugged Big Ten schedule. The Hawkeyes have a tough three-game stretch coming soon: vs. Penn State on Oct. 2, at Michigan on Oct. 16 and vs. Wisconsin on Oct. 23.
Arizona's defense has given up just eight points. OK, it's been against The Citadel and Toledo. The Wildcats' offense has been very potent. Nick Foles has completed 83 percent of his passes and Nic Grigsby has five rushing touchdowns. It should be an interesting matchup against Iowa's stout defense, led by Adrian Clayborn.
Should be a good one and a game definitely worth staying up late to watch.
Also on Saturday:
No. 12 Arkansas at Georgia (noon, ESPN): Arkansas hasn't been challenged yet so we'll get a better idea about the Razorbacks after this SEC clash. This starts a brutal stretch of games for Arkansas. After Georgia, the Razorbacks get No. 1 Alabama, then Texas A & M at home and at No. 16 Auburn.
No. 1 Alabama at Duke (3:30 p.m., ESPN Gameplan): Heisman winner Mark Ingram will play. That, coupled with Trent Richardson ripping through defenses, is bad news for Duke.
No. 8 Nebraska at Washington (3:30 p.m., ESPN Gameplan): Going out west to play is never an easy game. The Cornhuskers' defense will need to shut down Jake Locker.
No. 10 Florida at Tennessee (3:30 p.m., Ch. 2): Florida's offense has struggled, and the Gators will be without Chris Rainey. Tennessee hung with Oregon for a half last week. Then the Ducks unleashed their offensive firepower and won big. Still, it's an SEC road game for the Gators.
No. 18 USC at Minnesota (3:30 p.m., ESPN): USC has hung on for its two wins - Hawaii and at home last week against Virginia. The Trojans may have an easier time this week. Minnesota lost to South Dakota at home last week.
No. 6 Texas at Texas Tech (8 p.m., Ch. 7): Texas hasn't been back to Lubbock since the infamous Michael Crabtree winning touchdown in 2008. The Longhorns have been emphasizing the run. New Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville has his roots in the SEC, which means running the ball and defense. Not sure we'll see a lot of fireworks through the air in this one.
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Other top games this week: We'll learn a lot more about Michigan State, off to a 2-0 start. The Spartans host Notre Dame on Saturday night (8 p.m., Ch. 7). If Michigan State beats Notre Dame, the Spartans should be 4-0 heading into the Big Ten schedule. Could be a big statement game for Michigan State . . . Maryland and West Virginia are off to 2-0 starts. The Terps visit Morgantown on Saturday (noon, ESPNU) . . . It will be interesting to see how Florida State looks against BYU at home on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPNU). Will the Seminoles allow last week's thrashing at Oklahoma to impact their play on Saturday? . . . Oklahoma, which shut down Florida State last week, gets a whole different challenge when Air Force comes to town. Air Force is averaging 423 yards on ground, tops in the nation . . . Virginia Tech looks for its first win against unbeaten East Carolina on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN3.com). The Pirates are averaging 50 points thus far, but allowing 38 points per game . . . Finally, Clemson visits Auburn on Saturday night (7 p.m., ESPN). Both teams are 2-0. I'm interested to see how Auburn plays. Auburn escaped with a 17-14 win at Mississippi State last Thursday. I think Auburn, with quarterback Cameron Newton, could be a sleeper in the SEC. After Clemson, there's an intriguing showdown at home against South Carolina.
