2024 Games of the Slot: Week 9
Breaking down which game to watch at each time slot this weekend
We talked brackets yesterday and highlighted some games to watch with major Playoff implications, but that doesn’t mean that the conference races and some other matchups aren’t going to be entertaining as well.
Which games will require your attention this weekend? And which ones are you most excited for?
Let’s get into it! As always, all times are in Eastern.
Friday Night
Game of the Slot: 15 Boise State at UNLV (10:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
This may be the single most impactful game this weekend on the playoff race. As we discussed in yesterday’s Bracketology article, Boise State is in the driver’s seat for a playoff bid. UNLV is really good, though, so a loss here would shake up everything about the fifth conference champion spot.
For Boise State, the story this season has been and will continue to be Ashton Jeanty. The junior tailback is putting up laughably insane numbers like 1,248 yards, 17 touchdowns and a 9.9 yards per carry average through six games and is one of two Heisman favorites. He’s firmly in Barry Sanders Watch territory and until a team can stop Jeanty - or somehow make Dirk Koetter take the ball out of Jeanty’s hands down the stretch like Oregon did - they’ll be tough to stop.
UNLV, though, may have the recipe to stopping Jeanty - they can kill the clock. Barry Odom’s Rebels don’t have a top-shelf rusher like Jeanty, instead it’s a team effort that carries the nation’s sixth best rushing attack. If the Rebels can bleed the clock and consistently turn their drives into points, they may be able to keep Jeanty off the field. That may be their best chance to win this game.
Multi-Box Games: Louisville at Boston College (7:30 p.m., ESPN2), Rutgers at USC (11 p.m., FOX)
The ACC matchup between Louisville and Boston College may be as close to an elimination game as we’ve got. Both programs would need some chaos in a crowded ACC field, but a loss here all but guarantees they’re out of the conference championship and playoff race. Rutgers-USC is an interesting program matchup. Rutgers is on the upswing under Greg Schiano and playing some really solid football. USC was supposed to be a golden child of realignment in the Big Ten, but Lincoln Riley’s Trojans haven’t done much. Is the seat starting to get warm?
Saturday - 12 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 13 Notre Dame at 24 Navy (ABC/ESPN+)
If you asked me before the season if this game would mean anything at all in the context of the playoff race, I’d laugh and say “of course not, it’s Notre Dame and Navy!”
Well, here we are. In my bracketology, Notre Dame is two spots out of the last at-large bid, but has a solid win over Texas A&M on their resume. As they look to build that and keep the winning streak going, Navy is going to be a tough challenge. The Fighting Irish have relied on a strong defense all season that ranks fifth in the nation with only 11.9 points allowed per game, but is that enough to shut down a surprisingly competent Navy offense?
For the Midshipmen, the onus is on their offense. They’re scoring at a breakneck pace, especially for an option-based team, averaging 44.8 points per game on the season and topping the 50-point mark twice (vs. Memphis and vs. Charlotte). Notre Dame’s defense is by far the best Navy’s come across this season, but this is the best Navy offense we’ve seen in years and they still run a hard to stop triple option scheme. Can that be enough to sneak past the Notre Dame defense? And can the Navy defense shut down Riley Leonard?
Multi-Box Games: Washington at 12 Indiana (ESPN), Nebraska at 5 Ohio State (FOX), Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (ACC Network)
Indiana is within striking distance of the Big Ten championship race and a playoff birth, but they’ll have to rely on backup quarterback Tayven Jackson against Washington. Jackson’s been really solid in relief of Kurtis Rourke, but Washington will gameplan for him to start and the Huskies have perhaps the best offense the Indiana defense has come across this season. Ohio State is tasked with getting right after a loss to Oregon two weeks ago, but Nebraska isn’t going to roll over. Look to see if the Buckeye defense - their pass rush in particular - steps up this week to make Dylan Raiola uncomfortable. Georgia Tech desperately needs this win over Virginia Tech to stay alive in the ACC race, but the Yellow Jackets have no updates on quarterback Haynes King’s availability. Virginia Tech is starting to get hot and with only one in-conference loss, they still control their ACC destiny. Behind Kyron Drones and a strong running game, the Hokies will have to capitalize on a hobbled or out King to steal a win here.
3-4 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 20 Missouri at 17 Alabama (3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+)
At some point, you’ve got to put up or shut up. It’s that point this Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
For the visiting Tigers, their playoff and SEC hopes can weather a loss, but they’d be hanging on by a thread. Missouri was able to get a narrow win last week after Brady Cook literally went to the hospital, came back and willed his team to victory. The offense has been surprisingly flat after being one of the nation’s most explosive a year ago. If the Tigers want to be legitimate contenders in the conference and in the playoff race, they need to show that this weekend. Brady Cook needs to find his downfield passing attack. Luther Burden needs to embarrass some Tide defenders. The Missouri defense needs to get after Jalen Milroe. If those don’t happen, kiss this Missouri season goodbye.
Things are even more dire in Tuscaloosa, with Alabama sitting at 5-2 overall, 2-2 in league play, and 1-2 in their last three games. It’s only been eight games in the post-Saban era in Alabama, but you can already feel the heat turning up on Kalen DeBoer. And there’s reason for the angst among Tide faithful - Jalen Milroe has taken a serious step back in the past three games and is struggling with turnovers, the running game has been ineffective outside of Milroe’s scrambling ability. Outside of freshman phenom Ryan Williams, the Alabama offense suddenly looks inept. DeBoer’s calling card is his offense and he has to get this right. It has to happen this week, otherwise Alabama is going to be an afterthought in the first 12-team field and in the SEC race for the first time in recent memory.
Multi-Box Games: 23 Illinois at 1 Oregon (3:30 p.m., CBS), 7 Texas at 21 Vanderbilt (4:15 p.m., SEC Network/ESPN+), Bowling Green at Toledo (3:30 p.m., ESPN+)
So Oregon had no big win hangover against Purdue, that’s great. Let’s see how they do against a solid Illinois team. I think the Illini are overmatched here, but their strong defense and balance offense could pose a challenge to Oregon if the Ducks aren’t careful. Back in the SEC, this is the biggest Vanderbilt home game in their history. The Commodores are in the thick of the SEC race behind magician Diego Pavia and they’ll get the chance to prove it against Texas. The Longhorns have to bounce back after a tough loss to Georgia where the defense played admirably, but the offense was ineffective with both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning under center. Ewers and Steve Sarkisian need to erase that from their memories and move on, otherwise Pavia and the Commodores will take advantage of them. We’ll end the slot on some MACtion in a do-or-die rivalry match between Bowling Green and Toledo for the Battle of I-75. There’s already been off-field drama, as Toledo won’t allow Bowling Green’s band to travel the 20 minutes up I-75 to the Glass Bowl, so both fanbases are primed and ready to go. More importantly, both programs need this win to keep their MAC title hopes alive. Expect this one to be a crazy finish like we’ve seen recently.
Wondering where these rankings are coming from? Check out this week’s SID Sports Top 25 and Players of the Week!
6-8 p.m. EST
Game of the Slot: 11 LSU at 14 Texas A&M (7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN+)
There are two SEC teams unbeaten in conference play. They take the field this weekend in Bryan-College Station.
LSU has really shaken off their Week One debacle against USC and turned into a strong team down the stretch. The offense has always been playing well, but the defense has really stepped things as of late. The Tiger defense has held strong rushing Arkansas to 10 points and 38 rushing yards last week and made Ole Miss’s offense look common in a 29-26 overtime win. If they want any chance against Texas A&M, they’ll need to find a way to shut down the Aggie rushing attack and pressure Conner Weigman into making mistakes in the passing game. As long as they do those things and get a typical strong Garrett Nussmeier outing, the Tigers will be in great shape to claim sole position atop the SEC.
For Texas A&M, the formula is similar, except they need to stop the LSU passing game. With a strong secondary like the Aggies are sporting, I feel better about that matchup. Mike Elko’s defense has been stout, allowing only 17.7 points per game. Mississippi State did get the Aggies, putting up 24 points last weekend, but if Texas A&M can get back to the groove of a defense that allowed only 10 points to Missouri and the offense can run the ball against LSU’s defense, Texas A&M may be the top dog of the SEC.
Multi-Box Games: 16 SMU at Duke (8 p.m., ACC Network), 3 Penn State at Wisconsin (7:30 p.m., NMC/Peacock), Michigan State at Michigan (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network)
There’s been two major ACC contenders that have really flown under the radar and they’ll meet in Durham this weekend. SMU is the ACC’s only other unbeaten team in league play, joining Clemson and Miami. A two-point loss to 10 BYU is the only mistake on their docket, but the Ponies are really good. Duke, on their own right, has been really good so far as well. They’ve got a stout defense, giving us a solid strength-on-strength matchup here. I fully expect Penn State to get a solid win over Wisconsin, but the Badgers are rounding into form as of late. Luke Fickell has the defense rocking and the offense has topped 40 points in tow of their last three games. They’ll give Penn State a fight, but can they catch the Nittany Lions looking ahead to Ohio State next weekend? Finally, Michigan-Michigan State isn’t going to be the best game. But there’s a ton of rivalry hate here and it’s the first major rivalry game for the Wolverines post-natty. It’s in Ann Arbor, but don’t think the toxicity won’t travel from East Lansing to make this a wonderfully horrendous environment.
West Coast After Dark
Game of the Slot: Cincinnati at Colorado (10:15 p.m., ESPN)
So, uh, this is a big game? Seriously, these teams are both 3-1 in the Big 12 and a win here lets them keep pace with unbeaten BYU and Iowa State.
Cincinnati has been a revelation in year two of the Scott Satterfield era. They’re throwing the ball well with sophomore Brendan Sorsby posting a 79.8 QBR that ranks 15th in the nation. But this isn’t a one-sided team, seeing as they’re running for 172.4 yards per game and the defense is only allowing 19.3 points per game. They’ve lost their two major tests against Pittsburgh and Texas Tech, but the Bearcats can right the ship and point the wheel towards Jerryworld with a win in Boulder.
Colorado has been quiet this year, which is good because they’re actually putting up solid results. I’ll admit, I wrote off the Pat Shurmur offense simply because it was run by Pat Shurmur, but the Buffs are looking good. Shedeur Sanders is tearing up opposing defenses and is staying relatively upright, posting a 72.3 QBR - ranks 35th in the nation - and has only been sacked 24 times. That’s not great, but it’s improvement. A key for Colorado is to keep Sanders upright - two of the three games he’s been sacked at least four times are the two losses on Colorado’s docket. If Sanders has time to throw, they’ll be tough to stop.
Multi-Box Game: Washington State at San Diego State (10:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network)
There’s only one other late night televised game (I couldn’t find a TV network for Nevada at Hawaii), but it’s going to be a solid one. San Diego State has two consecutive 27-24 wins over Wyoming and Hawaii and are rounding into form behind tailback Marquez Cooper. Washington State, however, is primed up to run away with this game. They’re really good and if it wasn’t for Ashton Jeanty, they may be undefeated and running towards the playoff.
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Biggest home game in Vandy history is quite the statement!
I also can’t believe Schurmer (however it’s spelt) has the CU offense humming.