College football TV/streaming schedule guide, Week 7: The games we wait for all year

Best option: BYU at UCF, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN

Spread: UCF -3.5
Read: Vanquish the Foe, Underdog Dynasty

Last week at this time, this game had fringe College Football Playoff implications, with BYU threatening to run the table in a season where not a whole lot of teams are going to do the same. Then against Utah State, the Cougars lost both QB Taysom Hill to a broken leg and the game itself. UCF is re-righting its own ship, winning its last two games to get back to 2-2. But its offense is still struggling mightily, and BYU’s defense will have its ears pinned back. Hill was the BYU offense, and UCF being favored tells you all you need to know about how badly his injury affects this game.

Also on: Hampton at North Carolina A&T, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU, WatchESPN; Minnesota State at Winona State, 8 p.m. ET, CBSSN

Best option: Washington State at No. 25 Stanford, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN, WatchESPN

Spread: Stanford -17
Read: Coug Center, Rule of Tree

Plan B: Fresno State at UNLV, 10 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network, CBSSports.com

Fresno State’s looking to rebound from a rough start to the year — we’re pretty sure Bulldog Stadium has been renamed “Ameer Abdullah’s House,” and no, there’s nothing Fresno can do about it; that’s just how it is — and the Bulldogs are now on a three-game winning streak. UNLV is, well, not a conference contender, but a season-wrecking upset is the goal.

Keep it in mind: San Diego State at New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU, WatchESPN

It’s like Fresno-UNLV, but without the points.

Best option: No. 11 Oklahoma vs. Texas at Cotton Bowl, Dallas

Spread: Oklahoma -14.5
Read: Crimson and Cream Machine, Burnt Orange Nation/Barking Carnival

The Red River game is one of the nastiest rivalries in college football, as neither team has any compunction about running the score all the way up on the other. Only three margins of victory have been in single digits since 1998, and OU has dropped at least 55 on the ‘Horns four times in that span. Upsets are rare; only twice since ‘98 has the lower-ranked team won, but it’s been Texas pulling the upset both times.

Oklahoma would love to get back on track after last week’s loss at TCU, while Charlie Strong desperately needs some good news for his program in a rough first year. The talent’s still there (albeit spread more thinly than one would like) in Austin, so this might be a tough one. If Bob Stoops gains the upper hand, though, don’t expect him to let off the gas pedal.

Plan B: No. 13 Georgia at No. 23 Missouri

The SEC East is, gently and charitably, an absolute tire fire. Missouri is leading the division at 1-0, ahead of a trio of teams at 2-1 that just so happens to include Georgia. The Dawgs are favored, but only by a field goal. It would be wild and more than a little disconcerting if Mizzou pulls this one out, as that would make a team that lost to Indiana the favorite in an SEC division race, with only Kentucky and Florida as serious contenders.

Keep it in mind: No. 1 Florida State at Syracuse

Unless Florida State goes full Cumberland on Syracuse (and I mean full; don’t come at me with anything less than a 200-point margin of victory), this could be the Seminoles’ last week at No. 1, for reasons that will become clear in the next round of games. It’s a road game, so perhaps FSU lets ‘Cuse hang around for longer than necessary, but you should be surprised if this makes it down to the wire.

In case of emergency: Indiana at Iowa

Indiana should always be on your radar, if only for the fourth quarter shenanigans that routinely ensue with the Hoosiers. The spread is Iowa by only three points, so look for a crazy finish when Indiana somehow fumbles a ball through Iowa’s goalposts or what have you. Can’t rule anything out.

Best option: No. 2 Auburn at No. 3 Mississippi State

Spread: Auburn -3
Read: College And Magnolia, For Whom the Cowbell Tolls

Oh, just your run-of-the-mill “Winner Might Be Your New No. 1” game on a nice October afternoon. Mississippi State is looking for its third straight win over a top-10 school, and the first two games were only somewhat close on the scoreboard. Nobody has a resume to match the Bulldogs’ thus far, and if they take this one too, the sky’s the limit; only Alabama and Ole Miss remain as serious challenges on the schedule. Auburn, meanwhile, is just getting into the teeth of a backloaded schedule that’s borderline murderous, but it’s also playing the best football of anybody in the nation (the gap between No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Oklahoma in the Sagarin ratings is bigger than the gap between No. 2 OU and No. 6 Texas A&M).

This is serious game-of-the-year territory, folks. It’s why we tolerate everything else, all the nonsense, all the September blowouts, Paul Finebaum’s continuing existence. We’re all just waiting for games like this.

Plan B: No. 12 Oregon at No. 18 UCLA

This may well decide whether the Pac-12 gets a team into the Playoff. Oregon and UCLA were the division leaders coming into the season, and each will still have plausible roads to titles regardless of the outcome. It’s just that the loser will fall to 4-2 (1-2) on the season, and even winning out from there would not guarantee a spot in the top four. That’s pretty crazy to think about for these two, who looked as solid as anyone two weeks ago.

Keep it in mind: No. 9 TCU at No. 5 Baylor

It’s finally time to find out if TCU is legit. The win over Oklahoma was just wacky enough that doubt can creep in, though the Horned Frogs’ 30-7 wrecking of Minnesota looks better and better as the Gophers sit at 4-1. If the TCU defense is the real deal, it’ll give Baylor a tough game; if not, Baylor has a nasty habit of letting games like these get out of hand in a hurry. Art Briles would love to add a high-profile victory to his team’s resume.

In case of emergency: Louisville at Clemson

The ACC Atlantic belongs to Florida State until further notice (let’s revisit in 2017 or so), but these teams are there to at least keep the ‘Noles honest. A win still keeps Louisville in contention for the division, but if we’re being realistic, this is a fight for the inside track to the Orange Bowl bid that FSU would vacate if/when it joins the Playoff.

Best option: No. 3 Ole Miss at No. 14 Texas A&M

Spread: Texas A&M -2
Read: Red Cup Rebellion, Good Bull Hunting

Ole Miss is riding high after taking down Alabama, then taking down its goalposts and taking them through town, and for good reason! This is the first time in half a century Ole Miss has been ranked this high (the Rebels were the preseason No. 1 AP pick in 1964). Though the Aggies got blown out, 48-31, at Mississippi State, remember that they kept fighting for two late scores and that, without a ton of dropped passes earlier, the game might’ve been close at that point.

Plan B: USC at No. 10 Arizona

You look at Arizona at 5-0, in the top 10 and coming off a win at Oregon at home and facing a reeling, two-loss USC ... no-brainer, right? Well, USC’s favored, and Vegas isn’t in the business of making obvious mistakes.

Keep it in mind: No. 7 Alabama at Arkansas

Alabama hasn’t lost two consecutive regular-season games since 2007, Nick Saban’s first year in Tuscaloosa. Sure enough, Alabama’s favored. A 10-point line isn’t exactly a gimme; it’s in Fayetteville; Arkansas would likely be a Top 25 team in any other conference; the Razorback running game is merciless; the Crimson Tide might still be missing Kenyan Drake’s presence on offense ... the little factors add up.

But again, Alabama’s favored by 10 and just doesn’t lose these types of games. Or at least, it hasn’t in the past.

In case of emergency: Washington at California

There’s been no wackier team in college football than California, which somehow sits alone atop the Pac-12 North after a three-game stretch in which it 1) gave up 36 points in the fourth quarter and lost to Arizona on a Hail Mary; 2) gave up 56 points to Colorado and still won in triple overtime; 3) allowed the most single-game passing yardage in Division I history to Wazzu and still won, 60-59, after the Cougars failed to make a 19-yard field goal in the closing seconds. California’s so unpredictable, it makes the original #CHAOSTEAM, Indiana, look like topiary.

Best option: Wyoming at Hawaii, 12 a.m. ET, TheMW.com

Spread: Hawaii -4
Read: Mountain West Connection

Oh, just go to bed already.