How to watch Thursday night college football: Game guides, TV schedule, live stream

There are two college football game on television Thursday night, each posing a very different kind of matchup.

Thursday’s first game looks on paper to be a blowout, as the unranked 1-5 UConn Huskies travel to take on the No. 18 5-1 East Carolina Pirates. The Pirates hold big wins over Virginia Tech and North Carolina (and a close loss to South Carolina), but haven’t quite lived up expectations during conference play. They recorded fairly easy wins over SMU and South Florida in their first pair of AAC games, but failed to cover the spread in either.

The Pirates are 27.5-point favorites in this one, and it’s easy to see why -- UConn’s only win this season under first-year head coach Bob Diaco was a three-point victory over FCS Stony Brook. East Carolina has one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, most notably in the passing attack with quarterback Shane Carden and wide receiver Justin Hardy, while UConn is averaging 12.8 points per game (ahead of only SMU nationally).

Connecticut at No. 18 East Carolina: 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU. Stream: WatchESPN.

Miami at Virginia Tech: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN. Stream: WatchESPN.

The second game of the night sees two ACC Coastal contenders square off when 4-3 Virginia Tech hosts 4-3 Miami. The Hokies recorded a marquee win in early September, defeating Ohio State 35-21 in Columbus, but have since lost three of the four games they’ve played against teams with winning records (the one win came against Western Michigan). Virginia Tech continues to play good defense (although Hokie fans worry how they’ll fare against the run), but they’ve struggled to put up points in a consistent fashion this season.

Miami’s had a disappointing start to the season, but the Coastal remains open enough that Hurricane fans are able to ask if they can still win the division. They’re 1-2 in conference play (a win over Duke, losses to Louisville and Georgia Tech), but a strong running game bolstered by improving true freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya could make them a dangerous team in the late season.