Spread Offense 10/5/17: College Football Week 6 Preview

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta

Per usual, let's start off with my current top 10 ballot and a little week 5 recap.

WEEK 6 TOP TEN

10.Washington State (last week: NR)
9. Ohio State (last week: 10)
8. TCU (last week: 9)
7. Michigan (last week: 8)
6. Washington (last week: 7)
5. Oklahoma (last week: 4)
4. Georgia (last week: 5)
3. Penn State (last week: 3)
2. Alabama (last week: 2)
1. Clemson (last week: 1)

The big "upset" over the week was Washington State defeating USC. The Trojans have been flirting with disaster all year basically and their issues with turning the ball over finally caught up to them. Of course, this was the week that I thought they would put it all together and really show how talented they are, but they continued their sloppy play and they did so against a team that was talented enough to take advantage of their mishaps. Hats off to Washington State for capitalizing on the moment and making a big statement, they jump into my top 10 now after that win.

Aside from that, the only real movement other than USC exiting the top 10 and those behind them moving up a spot was a flip flop of Oklahoma and Georgia. Georgia put it on Tennessee 41-0 and if you watch them, you can tell how good their skill position players are along with how tough that defense is and right now I can't leave them out of the top 4. Nothing against Oklahoma and we still have a lot of games left to be played, but Georgia has been impressive with knocking teams around so far and if season ended today then I can't leave them out of the playoffs.

Clemson once again shows that they are the #1 team in the country, a solid beat down of Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium further proves that this team is as good, if not better, than they were last season.


HEISMAN WATCH

5. Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
4. Luke Falk, QB, Washington State
3. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
2. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

Saquon Barkley takes over the #1 spot as he once again took over the game for Penn State. The Iowa game last week seemed to be a turning point, where PSU is getting away from anything other than making sure Barkley touches the ball as often as possible and he started the game on Saturday against Indiana with a 98 yard punt return. His 56 yards rushing is a bit deceiving, he also had 51 yards receiving on 4 catches and the already mentioned 98 yard punt return, Penn State is finding ways to get him as many touches as possible and he is the reason why Penn State is currently undefeated and a playoff team.

Sam Darnold is officially out of the top 5 after yet another rough outing. USC had all the capability in the world to defeat Washington State but Darnold's poor QB play, topped off with a fumble to end the game, lost them the game. Replacing him is Stanford RB Bryce Love, who has been tearing it up this season and just had himself a 301 yard 3 TD game against Arizona State last Saturday. On the season, he's already over 1,000 yards rushing and the worst game he's had has been a 160 rushing yard performance.








WEEK 6 PREVIEW



#17 Louisville at #24 NC State - Thursday 8:00 PM

NC State started the season with some hype as the "sleeper" pick in the ACC, and that hype train was quickly derailed in week 1 after a 35-28 loss to South Carolina. Since then though, the Wolfpack have regrouped nicely and have won their last 4 games. With some hype around them coming back, it is now their chance to validate themselves as they welcome a tested and proven Louisville team. They'll need QB Ryan Finley to continue his mistake free play, having yet to throw an interception on the season, and will need to find a way to slow down Louisville's QB, Lamar Jackson. Jackson is the defending Heisman trophy winner and absolutely scorched the Wolfpack last season, putting up 4 first half touchdowns en route to a 54-13 win. NC State must find an answer for him, they'll need to slow him down big time and also be able to put up points on offense in order to pull the upset off.

PREDICTION: Louisville 48-24


#13 Miami at Florida State - 3:30 PM

This may not seem like a big game, but rivalry games are so tricky to predict that this may end up being a lot better than some people may think. Florida State has won the last 7 games against rival Miami, but that streak is very much in doubt. The Seminoles have been struggling ever since QB Deandre Francois went down with a season ending injury, losing to NC State then escaping with a win against Wake Forest. Miami comes in with a 3-0 record, as it seems Head Coach Mark Richt has this team thinking of a possible ACC Championship this season. Miami hopes to have starting RB Mark Walton healthy and available for this game, and this could really help out FSU if he is either unable to play or plays but is hampered by his ankle injury. The Hurricanes definitely have playmakers elsewhere though with the passing game of QB Malik Rosier and they are also getting back WR Ahmond Richard for this game as well. Florida State will need star safety Derwin James to be everywhere out there and on offense, the Seminoles have to get the running game going. Last year's contest came down to a blocked extra point, expect anything when these rivals meet up.

PREDICTION: Miami 23-20


#23 West Virginia at #8 TCU - 3:30 PM

The lone Saturday game of the week that features 2 ranked teams here, TCU looks to remain perfect as they host the West Virginia Mountaineers. TCU is coming off a huge win at Oklahoma State two weeks ago and after a bye week last weekend, looks to continue their momentum here. This game will be about the offenses, West Virginia has the 2nd ranked offense in the entire country and QB Will Grier and RB Justin Crawford look to balance it out and do what Oklahoma State was unable to, put up the necessary points against the Big 12's 2nd best defense. TCU will also rely on their QB-RB combo, with QB Kenny Hill and RB Darius Anderson leading the way for the Horned Frogs offense. If they play like they did against Oklahoma State then this will be extremely tough for West Virginia to pull off the upset. This game should have plenty of offense and do not be surprised if we see another road upset in the Big 12 here.

PREDICTION: West Virginia 44-37


Michigan State at #7 Michigan - 7:30 PM

Much like the Miami-Florida State game, this is also a rivalry which on paper seems to be a lopsided game. Michigan State is 3-1 this season, totaling their wins from a horrific 2016 season. QB Brian Lewerke seems to have a lot of upside and they'll need him to come up big against a tough Michigan defense in order to bring the Paul Bunyon Trophy back to East Lansing. The biggest issue for MSU this season has been their running game, Lewerke is also the leading rusher on the team even though he only has 248 yards total in 4 games and RB LJ Scott is averaging under 4 yards a carry. It won't get any easier to establish a run game for MSU, as they'll face a Michigan defense that's only allowing 69.3 yards a game(and that includes a rush heavy triple option Air Force team.) Michigan will be without QB Wilton Speight as John O'Korn will get the start, and he'll basically be asked to just manage the game and make some plays when available while the run game and defense will be tasked to win the game. For the first time ever, this rivalry will be played under the lights, and is the primetime game of the week.

PREDICTION: Michigan 27-13

Spread Offense 9/14/17: College Football Week 3 Preview

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta

Plenty of statements were made in week 2, as there are definitely some shake ups in my top 10 after a week that featured 4 big games.


WEEK 3 TOP TEN

10. Oklahoma State (last week: NR)
9. Louisville (last week: 10)
8. Michigan (last week: 9)
7. Washington (last week: 5)
6. Georgia (last week: 8)
5. Clemson (last week: 6)
4. Oklahoma (last week: 7)
3. Penn State (last week: 4)
2. USC (last week: 3)
1. Alabama (last week: 1)

Clemson, Georgia, USC and Oklahoma all picked up some monster wins over the weekend. Clemson answered a huge test as they stifled Auburn, Georgia went on the road with a true freshman QB to squeak out a win over Notre Dame, USC showed their potential in an impressive showing against Stanford and Oklahoma got revenge on the Buckeyes to the tune of 31-16. So with all that happening last Saturday, the rankings are jumbled up from the previous week, with Alabama the only team that didn't move as they remain the #1 team in the country.

Ohio State was the big loser of the weekend, falling from 2nd to out of the top 10. The Buckeyes are probably at 11 or 12 to me and have as much talent as any team in the country, but the offensive struggles have carried over from last season and will need to show improvement before they can truly be considered an elite team. Taking their spot in the top 10 are the Oklahoma State Cowboys, whose offense can outscore anyone and they may be finding a pretty good defense to go along with that.

Washington moved down a bit only due to not playing a good team yet while others all proved a point that they should be in the top 5. Their time is coming soon though and we will find out about the Huskies down the road.


WEEK 3 HEISMAN WATCH

5. Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA
4. Saquan Barkley, RB, Penn State
3. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
2. Sam Darnold, QB, USC
1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

After a slow week 1, the QB's all picked it up big time in week 2. Under normal circumstances, a big win on the road to the #2 ranked team in the country would bolster Baker Mayfield's Heisman hype, but Sam Darnold gashed a good Stanford defense for 4 TD's and 316 yards while Lamar Jackson put on a show against UNC with 3 passing and 3 rushing TD's.

Only change is UCLA QB Josh Rosen now making the list at #5, replacing UGA RB Nick Chubb. Rosen led a huge 34 point comeback win over Texas A&M in week 1 with a 491 yard and 4 TD performance, and followed it up with a 326 yard and 5 TD performance against Hawaii. This combined with UGA seemingly wanting to be a RB by committee team, as RB Sony Michel had more carries and rushing yards against Notre Dame, means that Rosen is in while Chubb is out.


WEEK 3 PREVIEW

#23 Tennessee at #24 Florida - 3:30 PM

One of the biggest rivalries in the SEC kicks off here, with the Tennessee Volunteers headed to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. Last season, Tennessee broke an 11 game losing streak to the Gators as they made a big 28 point comeback to win 38-28. Their season collapsed after that however, so this season they are really needing this one in order to be on the track of making the SEC title game. The Volunteers will look to their offense to put up the points, they've score 40+ in both outings this season. Florida has to figure something out at QB, they've only played one game due to last weeks game being cancelled, but they put up some atrocious numbers in their opener against Michigan. If Florida cannot find any consistency on offense then this could be a long game, and long season for them.

PREDICTION - Tennessee 28-16


#3 Clemson at #14 Louisville - 8:00 PM

This game has electric written all over it. Clemson passed their first big test last week, with a 27-6 win over Auburn. The offense still looks good and QB Kelly Bryant is finding his stride at QB. Louisville's defense has not been impressive this season so far, so Clemson has the ability to put up some big numbers in this game and put it out of reach. But the big matchup in this game will be Louisville QB Lamar Jackson against the front 7 of Clemson. The Tigers kept Auburn in check all last week, the defensive line especially dictated the entire game. They now face the most electric dual-threat QB in the country in Lamar Jackson, who is eyeing his 2nd Heisman trophy. If he is able to find a rhythm and beat the pressure that Clemson will be sending then this game will be going Louisville's way. The game will undoubtedly come down to who gets the better of who between Jackson and the Clemson front 7, expect this one to be a pretty high scoring affair.

PREDICTION - Clemson 37-33


Texas at #4 USC - 8:30 PM

This game is only a marquee match-up due to the programs involved and it's the first meeting between them since their epic game for the BCS national championship back in 2005. Texas is still in a growing pains period, and in week 1 they took a lopsided loss at home to Maryland by a score of 51-41. They followed it up with a 56-0 win over San Jose State, but they will be walking into the belly of the beast here Saturday night as they head to Los Angeles. The Trojans showed exactly what they are made of, and their championship talent was on display last Saturday. They took care of Stanford 42-24 with QB Sam Darnold leading the way with 4 TD passes, 2 of them to star WR Deontay Burnett, and they showed off their 2-headed RB tandem with both Ronald Jones II and Stephen Carr going over 100 rushing yards. Texas will need to play lights out here and hope that USC has an off game in order to possibly pull off the upset, again it's a cool game just based on the history of the programs but don't expect another instant classic between them here.

PREDICTION - USC 56-31

TV Tonight 12.28

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

NBA
Clippers @ Pelicans (NBA TV, 8pm)
Raptors @ Warriors (NBA TV, 10:30pm)

NHL
Flyers @ Blues (NBC Sports, 8pm)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Russell Athletic Bowl: West Virginia vs Miami (ESPN, 5:30pm)
Foster Farms Bowl: Indiana vs. Utah (FOX, 8:30pm)
Advocare V100 Texas Bowl: Texas A&M vs. Kansas State (ESPN, 9pm)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wake Forest @ Florida State (ESPN 2, 5pm)
Nebraska @ Indians (Big Ten, 6:30pm)
DePaul @ Villanova (FOX Sports 1, 6:30pm)
Virginia @ Louisville (ESPN 2, 7pm)
Monmouth @ North Carolina (ESPNU, 7pm)
Georgetown @ Marquette (FOX Sports 1, 8:30pm)
UCLA @ Oregon (ESPN 2, 9pm)
Cincinnati @ Temple (ESPNU, 9pm)

====

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC, 8pm)
The Goldbergs (ABC, 8pm)
Undercover Boss (CBS, 8pm)
Lucha Underground (El Rey, 8pm)
Speechless (ABC, 8:30pm)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC, 9pm)
Modern Family (ABC, 9pm)
MacGyver (CBS, 9pm)
Vikings (History, 9pm)
Total Divas (E!, 9pm)
Blackish (ABC, 9:30pm)

Chicago P.D. (NBC, 10pm)
Match Game (ABC, 10pm)
Criminal Minds (CBS, 10pm)

TV Tonight 11.30

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

NBA
Pistons @ Celtics (NBA TV, 7:30pm)
Pacers @ Trail Blazers (NBA TV, 10pm)

NHL
Penguins @ Islanders (NBC Sports, 8pm)
Sharks @ Kings (NBC Sports, 10:30pm)

SOCCER
MLS: Montreal Impact @ Toronto FC (FOX Sports 1, 7pm)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Temple @ Saint Joseph's (CBS SportsNet, 7pm)
Purdue @ Louisville (ESPN, 7:15pm)
Virginia Tech @ Michigan (ESPN 2, 7:15pm)
Rutgers @ Miami (ESPNU, 7:15pm)

North Carolina @ Indiana (ESPN, 9:15pm)
Ohio State @ Virginia (ESPN 2, 9:15pm)
Nebraska @ Clemson (ESPNU, 9:15pm)

MMA & BOXING
The Ultimate Fighter (FOX Sports 1, 10pm)

====

Arrow (The CW, 8pm)
Christmas In Rockefeller Center (NBC, 8pm)
The Goldbergs (ABC, 8pm)
Lethal Weapon (FOX, 8pm)
Survivor (CBS, 8pm)
Total Divas (E!, 8pm)
Lucha Underground (El Rey, 8pm)
Speechless (ABC, 8:30pm)

Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle Of Love (NBC, 9pm)
Modern Family (ABC, 9pm)
Empire (FOX, 8pm)
Criminal Minds (CBS, 9pm)
Frequency (The CW, 9pm)
Blackish (ABC, 9:30pm)

Designated Survivor (ABC, 10pm)
Code Black (CBS, 10pm)
The Real World Seattle: Bad Blood (MTV, 10pm)
South Park (Comedy Central, 10pm)
Legends Of Chamberlain Heights (Comedy Central, 10:30pm)

TV Tonight 11.17

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

NFL
NFL Thursday Night Kickoff (CBS/NFL Network, 8pm)
Saints @ Panthers (NBC/NFL Network, 8:25pm)

NBA
76ers @ Timberwolves (TNT, 8pm)
Bulls @ Jazz (TNT, 10:30pm)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Louisville @ Houston (ESPN, 8pm)
Arkansas State @ Troy (ESPNU, 9:30pm)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arkansas State @ Georgetown (FOX Sports 1, 6:30pm)
Tulane vs. Oklahoma (ESPNU, 7pm)
Pittsburgh vs. SMU (ESPN 2, 7pm)
Rutgers @ DePaul (FOX Sports 1, 8:30pm)
Michigan vs. Marquette (ESPN 2, 9:30pm)

=====

DC's Legends Of Tomorrow (The CW, 8pm)
Grey's Anatomy (ABC, 8pm)
Rosewood (FOX, 8pm)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 8pm)
IMPACT Wrestling (POP, 8pm)
The Great Indoors (CBS, 8:30pm)

Notorious (ABC, 9pm)
Pitch (FOX, 9pm)
Supernatural (The CW, 9pm)
Mom (CBS, 9pm)
Life In Pieces (CBS, 9:30pm)

How To Get Away With Murder (ABC, 10pm)
Pure Genius (CBS, 10pm)
Falling Water (USA, 10pm)
MTV Wonderland (MTV, 11pm)

Spread Offense 11.4.16: College Football Playoff Rankings

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta

The first college football playoff poll of 2016 was revealed on Tuesday night, which garnered quite the reaction from fans across the country. Now, this is just the first one of a weekly poll that culminates on December 3rd, meaning that this poll has practically no bearing on how the playoff seedings will play out. But even though it is currently a meaningless poll, the rankings always get super analyzed and broken down as they create a huge buzz going forward.

I'm normally someone that stays away from hot takes, especially when dealing with a poll that will most likely not look anything like the final product. But what the committee did, or why they are doing it, was too egregious for me to not touch on here. I saw the rankings, sent some texts out about how incredibly ridiculous one ranking in particular was and then stewed for the next day trying to figure out how to justify it and give the committee the benefit of the doubt. I couldn't, because there's no justifying it.

Let's start with the rankings, and what they got right. Alabama is ranked #1, and that is almost universally agreed upon. They are undefeated and have been steamrolling teams this season, they look so good that I've heard some fans of other playoff teams openly talk about how they want no part of playing the Crimson Tide this season. And I know that program stability and previous years shouldn't play a factor, but it's hard to overlook Alabama's program and being the defending national champs as more reason to have them as the top team in the playoffs.

Clemson came in at #2, while Michigan came in at #3. Personally I would have them flip-flopped, but it really splitting hairs over something that doesn't matter. The #2 and #3 seed will play each other on a neutral field in the college football semi-finals so whether Clemson is #2 and Michigan is #3 or vice versa won't change anything. They will play each other with no home field advantage, so no reason to debate here.
Then the #4 ranking was revealed, and myself along with many other college football fans couldn't make sense of it. Texas A&M is ranked #4, meaning they are currently the last team in the college football playoff. It was a stunning move, but not at the same time because college football is known to make such terrible choices with rankings that it becomes more laughable than infuriating.

Texas A&M practically has zero chance of even playing for the SEC title this season, which means they will have no shot at remaining in the college football playoffs. Why even waste time putting them in knowing full well that there will be no way to justify them going forward? They are 2 games behind Alabama in the SEC West(1 game back and the tiebreaker), so they would have to run the table and hope that Alabama loses 2 of their final 3 conference games just to get a shot at the SEC title. In that very unlikely scenario topped off by them winning the conference title game, then they are more than qualified to get into the playoffs, but aside from that then there's no way of putting them in the top 4 when the final rankings are released.

It's not only that they are ranked at #4 with no real chance of staying there or moving up, but it's also about the teams directly behind them, starting with the Washington Huskies who came in at #5. Unlike the Aggies, Washington is undefeated and doesn't need another team to fail in order to win their conference. They are in the driver's seat as long as they continue to win and an undefeated team atop a power 5 conference should always outrank a 1 loss team that needs help to win their conference. Most fans seem to agree, Washington is a clear cut choice for the #4 seed instead of Texas A&M.

Then at #6 are the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have also suffered a loss, and Texas A&M's loss was to a better team, but here's the kicker; Ohio State controls their destiny. OSU lost by 3 at Penn State, who is currently ranked 12th, so while it's a worse loss than Texas A&M's loss to Alabama, it's still a forgivable loss. Add in that if Ohio State wins out then they will be headed to Indianapolis to play for the Big Ten title while the same cannot be said for Texas A&M. I know I keep going back to that point of winning a conference championship, but it's reason to show that Ohio State has a greater inside track at being granted a playoff spot than Texas A&M does.

Louisville ranks at #7, where I feel the Aggies should be ranked. This is more of a compare/contrast with these two teams since they have very similar paths going forward. Louisville is also 2 games behind in their division due to a loss to undefeated Clemson so neither controls their own destiny. Louisville lost at #2 Clemson and Texas A&M lost at #1 Alabama, so a very slight edge goes to the Aggies here. it all comes down to this though, Louisville lost by 6 after they failed to score a touchdown inside the red zone in the final seconds of the game and Texas A&M was dismantled 33-14 by Alabama. It's close, but the only real difference is margin of loss and that heavily favors Louisville in this case, so even if the college football committee was going to let a 1 loss team that didn't win their conference title then they have currently selected the wrong representative.

Texas A&M is ahead of an undefeated team, an Ohio State Buckeye team that controls their fate in the toughest overall conference and a Louisville team that is a mirror image of the Aggies but with a "better" loss. That's the gripe I have with TexasA&M being ranked #4, but really my gripe is with the committee's idea of "fun."

In the previous 2 years, they've also pulled this stunt where they toss a wildcard in the mix all in the name of ratings and sparking conversation. Whether it's ranking 3 teams from the same conference in the top 4 or ranking an undefeated team out of the playoffs and so on, they always seem to focus on that one attention grabbing ranking that gets people up in arms over. So maybe I'm a fool for falling for this, or maybe it's just because I don't care for the committee treating this like it's their own reality show that needs to shock in order to get some attention. College football sells itself, and I'd rather them just have a boring, predictable ranking show from week to week where everyone can break down what each playoff eligible team needs to take care of to ensure their spot in the final 4. Or not do one at all this early, 5 weeks is way too early to really analyze these rankings and their desire to use this as their personal spotlight seems to upset more fans than anything.

How do I know that the committee is just playing along these reality TV show lines and doing things just to get talked about? Because in the 2 years that the playoffs have been around, they have gotten the final 4 right both times. When it comes down to crunch time, the committee all of a sudden figures it out and goes chalk to what practically everyone believes are the rightful 4 teams. And it will happen this year, if Texas A&M continues to win then the committee will dangle the possibility around of them getting in over an undefeated Washington team or a potential Big Ten champion, then the Aggies won't even be in the top 6 or so when the final rankings are released and we will all agree that the committee got it right.

Each week I will continue to hope that the committee stops acting like these rankings are about them instead of the college football teams, and each week I'll more than likely be let down.

TV Weekend 10.28 - 10.29

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

Caught On Camera With Nick Cannon (FRI, NBC, 8pm)
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (FRI, ABC, 8pm)
MacGyver (FRI, CBS, 8pm)
The Vampire Diaries (FRI, The CW, 8pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 8pm)

Dateline NBC (FRI, NBC, 9pm)
Shark Tank (FRI, ABC, 9pm)
Hawaii Five-0 (FRI, CBS, 9pm)
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (FRI, The CW, 9pm)
Z Nation (FRI, Syfy, 9pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 9pm)

Blue Bloods (FRI, CBS, 10pm)
Burgers, Brew & Que (FRI, Food Network, 10pm)
Van Helsing (FRI, Syfy, 10pm)
Quarry (FRI, Cinemax, 10pm)

--

Saturday Night Live Classic (SAT, NBC, 10pm)
Saturday Night Live (SAT, NBC, 11:30pm)

======

2016 WORLD SERIES
Game 3: Indians @ Cubs (FRI, FOX, 8pm)
Game 4: Indians @ Cubs (SAT, FOX, 8pm)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Navy @ South Florida (FRI, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Yale @ Columbia (FRI, NBC Sports, 7pm)
Air Force @ Fresno State (FRI, ESPN 2, 10:30pm)

Louisville @ Virginia (SAT, ABC/ESPN 2, 12pm)
Penn State @ Purdue (SAT, ABC/ESPN 2, 12pm)
Michigan @ Michigan State (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
West Virginia @ Oklahoma State (SAT, FOX, 12pm)
Kent State @ Central Michigan (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 12pm)
UCF @ Houston (SAT, ESPNU, 12pm)

Northwestern @ Ohio State (SAT, ESPN, 3:30pm)
Florida @ Georgia (SAT, CBS, 3:30pm)
Baylor @ Texas (SAT, ABC, 3:30pm)
Miami @ Notre Dame (SAT, NBC, 3:30pm)
Texas Tech @ TCU (SAT, ESPN 2, 3:30pm)
Washington @ Utah (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 3:30pm)
Maryland @ Indiana (SAT, ESPNU, 3:30pm)
Cincinnati @ Temple (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 3:30pm)

Nebraska @ Wisconsin (SAT, ESPN, 7pm)
Kansas @ Oklahoma (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 7pm)
Auburn @ Mississippi (SAT, SEC, 7:15pm)
Tennessee @ South Carolina (SAT, ESPN 2, 7:15
New Mexico State @ Texas A&M (SAT, ESPNU, 7:30pm)
Clemson @ Florida State (SAT, ABC, 8pm)

Washington State @ Oregon State (SAT, ESPN 2, 10:45pm)
Stanford @ Arizona (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 11pm)

NFL
Top 10: Playoff Finishes (FRI, NFL Network, 8pm)
A Football Life: Pat Tillman (FRI, NFL Network, 9pm)

NBA
Cavaliers @ Raptors (FRI, ESPN/FOX Sports Ohio, 7pm)
Warriors @ Pelicans (FRI, ESPN, 9:30pm)

Magic @ Cavaliers (SAT, FOX Sports Ohio, 7:30pm)
Pelicans @ Spurs (SAT, NBA TV, 8pm)
Timberwolves @ Kings (SAT, NBA TV, 10:30pm)

NHL
Blue Jackets @ Ducks (FRI, FOX Sports Ohio, 10:30pm)

Penguins @ Flyers (SAT, NHL, 7pm)

Radio Show 10.5.16: On Browns/NFL Week 5, College Football, Indians & MLB Postseason

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

You can now download the latest episodes of "TripleThreatCLE.com's Radio Show"!

Check us out every Wednesday night, 7pm EST, on NoStaticRadio.com or the Tune-In Radio app. Simply search "No Static Radio" or "Triple Threat CLE"

DOWNLOAD: On Browns_NFL Week 4, Indians & MLB Playoffs, College Football & More (10/5/16)
PLAYLIST DOWNLOAD: TTCLE 10.5.16, Bad Boy Records Playlist
Alternate Link
Stream Here

------
DOWNLOAD: On Browns_NFL Week 4, Indians Clinch, College Football, BET Hip Hop Awards & More (9/28/16)
PLAYLIST DOWNLOAD: TripleThreatCLE 9.28.16, Kanye West Playlist
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns_NFLWeek3, Carson Wentz, Denzel Washington Movies & More (9_21_16).zip
PLAYLIST DOWNLOAD: Triple Threat CLE 9.21.16, 80s Pop & R&B Playlist
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns, NFL Week 2, College Football & Fall TV Shows (9/14/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns, NFL Kickoff, College Football & More (9/7/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns, Colin Kaepernick, Ohio State_College Football & Dwayne Johnson Movies
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns Wk 3, Olympics, Hands Of Stone_Boxing Films, Madden17_Sports Games (8/25/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns v Falcons, Olympics, NBA Schedule, #Fav7Films (8/17/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns, Hall of Fame_PEDs, Olympics, Suicide Squad (8/10/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On MLB Trade Deadline, Browns, Rio 2016, Pro Football Hall of Fame & More (8/3/16)
Alternative Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Indians Trades, Josh Gordon, Sports Conspiracies, MTV Shows & More (7/27/16)
Alternative Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Tim Duncan & Top 10 Power Forwards, Summer Movies & MORE (7/13/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, NBA Free Agency, ESPYs (7/6/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On NBA Free Agency, Team USA, BET Awards & 4th of July Cookout Music (6/29/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On #Cavs, #LeBron, #Kyrie & #NBAFinals, #NBADraft & More (6/22/16)
Alternate Link
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On #Cavs & #NBAFinals, #JimmyButler, OJ Made In America, #E32016 & More (6/15/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Cavs_NBA Finals, Kevin Durant's Future, What A Win Will Mean To You, Anniversary Show Shout Outs & MORE (6/1/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Cavs & OKCvsGSW, Fans and Media, #BBMAs & MORE (5/25/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Cavs & NBA Playoffs, Believeland, Role of the Media & MORE (5/18/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Cavs, NBAPlayoffs, True Fans, Unfulfilled Potential Athletes & More (5/11/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns & NFL Draft, Cavs & NBA Playoffs, Captain America_ Civil War and Summer Movies (5/4/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Browns Trade Down, Cavs & NBA Playoffs & More (4/20/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Kobe Moments, Kobe finale or 73 wins, Cavs Season, NBA Playoffs, Browns & More (4/13/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: On Wrestlemania 32, NXT Dallas, RAW After Mania (4/6/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: With Will Burge; On The Browns, RG3, Cavs, Kyrie Irving, D'Angelo Russell, Shows to Reboot (3/30/16)
Stream Here
--
DOWNLOAD: With RJ The Movie Critic; On The Browns, Hue Jackson; Movies, TV & Games (1/13/16)
Stream Here

Spread Offense, College Football Week 5: Clear Your Weekend Schedule

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta


For most people, the weekends are a time to catch up on things around the house. Whether it's yard work or house work or even a DIY project, most of those chores occur on the weekend since the majority of people usually don't have the time throughout the week. Friday and Saturday night are also popular date nights. Dinner and a movie, maybe a stop at a local bar for a few drinks or a walk in the park even, perfect time to stay out a little bit later and spend some quality time together.

I'm here to tell you to clear that schedule and give yourself a whole weekend of free time in order to watch football. The house work can be done early Saturday morning or pushed to Sunday or even next weekend, it can wait. As for date night, hopefully you are fortunate enough to be with someone that also enjoys college football, maybe even have a date night that is football-centric (can't go wrong with a sports bar). If not, then hopefully he/she understands your passion of football and will understand that you want to just sit home and watch TV all weekend, make it up to them  by taking them out to a Sunday morning brunch and/or buy them something to show your appreciation for their understanding (just some suggestions).

Before we get started, I just wanted to fit in a little paragraph on my thoughts on LSU firing Les Miles. I see some people saying that if they would have snapped the ball just a half second sooner against Auburn then he would still have a job and his only other loss this season being by 2 points to a top 10 team in Wisconsin. Fair points, but after last season where LSU practically fired him then brought him back, he basically had to win a national championship in order to keep his job this season. If a program is sold on not retaining their current head coach then it's much more beneficiary to let him go earlier in the season rather than later, especially for recruiting. Les Miles will land on his feet somewhere, he had a great run at LSU and a coaching career that most would love to have. He'll be fine but the writing was blatantly on the wall that his time was up, LSU made the right call for their program.

Week 5 is loaded with games and you won't want to miss a snap,  here's a rundown of the top games, starting on  Friday night.

FRIDAY SEPT 30TH

We get a battle of 2 top 10 teams on Friday Night. The #7 ranked Stanford Cardinal is 3-0 and every one of their games has been spotlighted so far in my weekly article (Kansas State, USC, UCLA). They face the #10 ranked Washington Huskies in Seattle, who have yet to play a marquee game. The Huskies have a lot of preseason hype and so far their record is beginning to prove themselves, but this will be the big test in truly showing that they belong. Rutgers, Idaho and Portland State followed by an OT win against Arizona have been Washington's current schedule, so while both sides of the ball has looked impressive, many are waiting for this game before giving them credit. To show that they deserve a top 10 ranking, they'll need to slow down Ryan Burns and Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was stifled, for his standards, against UCLA last week but in crunch time the Cardinal found different ways to get the job done. While offensive players like McCaffrey and Washington's QB Jake Browning get a lot of attention, it's been both teams' defenses that have truly been their strong point. Washington leads the NCAA in takeaways while only giving up an average of 14.5 points per game, Stanford is even a bit better there with only 12 points per game. Get ready to see some big plays sprinkled in with an overall defensive game in this highlighted Friday night game.

SATURDAY OCT. 1ST

Ok...so I lied. If there's a time to do some house or yard work then during these noon games would be it. #13 Baylor at Iowa State, #23 Florida at Vanderbilt, #22 Texas at Oklahoma State, #14 Miami at Georgia Tech and Rutgers at #2 Ohio State makes this a somewhat "meh" start to the college football day. By all means still watch but if there's a pressing needs that has to get done then there's definitely some time to take care of it here.

At 3:30 though, we get rolling! #11 Tennessee, coming off their big win over rival Florida, heads to Athens to take on the #25 Georgia Bulldogs. The Vols finally broke the losing streak against Florida (11 straight), are still undefeated and have their sights set on the SEC East title. Georgia was undefeated until last week, where they were outplayed and overmatched by Ole Miss, ending in a 45-14 lopsided loss. Tennessee still has a history of slow starts and one of these games it is going to get them unless they can get it together and start figuring out how to have better starts. They are currently in the gauntlet stretch of their schedule, with Texas A&M and then Alabama looming, so it's time for them to put a full 4 quarters together. Georgia has to find another playmaker other than Nick Chubb to step up in order to win this game. They've scraped by in their first 3 games and then did not have an answer for Ole Miss, it's also time for them to play to their full potential and see what kind of team they truly are or else this could end up being a long season for them.

Also at 3:30 is a battle of 2 of the top teams in the Big Ten, which btw, is the best conference in the NCAA. #8 Wisconsin, coming off a statement win against Michigan State, travels to the mitten again to face the #4 Michigan Wolverines. Wisconsin looked about as a good as a team could look last weekend, their defense stymied the Spartans and their offense continually picked up big first downs on their way to a 30-6 win in East Lansing. MSU and LSU (who Wisconsin defeated in week 1) typically have 2 of the best offensive and defensive lines in the country and the Badgers controlled the trenches all game against both teams. They'll need to do so again if they want to remain undefeated by beating the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan is looking like a well-oiled machine this year, the kind of team we come to expect from Jim Harbaugh. QB Wilton Speight has been way more than a game manager and he throws to 2 of the country's elite WR's (Darboh, Chesson) along with a top Tight End(Butt). The return of CB Jourdan Lewis is big for an already good defense and their LB/DB/KR/PR/WR(practically everywhere) playmaker, Jabrill Peppers, has become of the most electric players in the country. Wisconsin has been battled tested and will go on the road in this one, Michigan looks to pass their first big test by playing and beating a top 10 team, this game has everything a college football fan wants.

Smothered in between the 3:30 and 8pm games is a 5pm kickoff between the Oklahoma Sooners and the #21 TCU Horned Frogs. Not sure if anyone predicted in the offseason that the Oklahoma Sooners, Big 12 champs and college playoff team from last year, would be unranked with a 1-2 record. Fortunately for them, both losses were non-conference games, meaning they still control their own destiny in winning the Big 12. They will need a good defensive game on top of good performances from Mayfield, Mixon and Perine on offense though if they want to avoid 1-3. TCU sits at 3-1, with their lone loss being an OT thriller against Arkansas. Former Texas A&M QB Kenny Hill has been their dual-threat that they need for this offense and RB Kyle Hicks has been a big complement to him in the run game. Both teams leave a lot to be desired on defense though, both giving up more than 380 yards and 25 points a game on average. This game looks to be a offensive firepower game that we are all so used to when it comes to the Big 12.

And then, we arrive at our main event of the evening. #3 Louisville vs. #5 Clemson in a conference clash that takes place in Death Valley. Before we get to the game, be sure to tune in for the pregame where they will almost for certain show the Clemson entrance. It is easily the best entrance in all of college football, they arrive via bus and enter through the stands and run down a hill and onto the field. Trust me, it's worth tuning in early for and if it doesn't get you hyped up for the game then you may not have a pulse. The game will be about the QB's here, Lamar Jackson of Louisville and Deshaun Watson of Clemson. Both are top 5 in the Heisman race with Lamar Jackson right now being the heavy favorite to win it. After a slow start in the first 2 weeks and just when people started to wonder if something is wrong with Clemson, they have turned it up big time and are looking like they are in full form now. Louisville has started off fast and continued a torrent pace of putting up ungodly offensive numbers, including a 63-20 beat down at Florida State. Both defenses have looked good this season as well, Clemson's has kept them in those first two games while their offense struggled and Louisville's just doesn't get the talk that it deserves considering how good their offense has looked. Clemson has one of the best home-field advantages in the country and Louisville has already gone on the road this season and won a big game, this game just looks so close and so good on paper, it's truly a can't miss game.

TV Weekend 9.23 - 9.24

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

Last Man Standing, PREMIERE (FRI, ABC, 8pm)
Hell's Kitchen, PREMIERE (FRI, FOX, 8pm)
MacGyver, PREMIERE (FRI, CBS, 8pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 8pm)
Masters Of Illusion (FRI, The CW, 8pm & 8:30pm)
Dr. Ken, PREMIERE (FRI, ABC, 8:30pm)

Dateline NBC (FRI, NBC, 9pm)
Shark Tank, PREMIERE (FRI, ABC, 9pm)
The Exorcist, PREMIERE (FRI, FOX, 9pm)
Hawaii Five-0, PREMIERE (FRI, CBS, 9pm)
Z Nation (FRI, Syfy, 9pm)

Blue Bloods, PREMIERE (FRI, CBS, 10pm)
Burgers, Brew & Que (FRI, Food Network, 10pm)
Van Helsing, PREMIERE (FRI, Syfy, 10pm)
Quarry (FRI, Cinemax, 10pm)
High Maintenance (FRI, HBO, 11pm)

======

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
TCU @ SMU (FRI, ESPN, 8pm)
USC @ Utah (FRI, FOX Sports 1, 9pm)

Florida State @ South Florida (SAT, ABC, 12pm)
Georgia @ Mississippi (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
Iowa @ Rutgers (SAT, ESPN 2, 12pm)
Nevada @ Purdue (SAT, ESPNews, 12pm)
Colorado State @ Minnesota (SAT, ESPNU, 12pm)
Wisconsin @ Michigan State (SAT, Big Ten, 12pm)
Kent State @ Alabama (SAT, SEC, 12pm)
Syracuse @ Connecticut (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 1pm)

Duke @ Notre Dame (SAT, NBC, 3:30pm)
Penn State @ Michigan (SAT, ABC, 3:30pm)
Florida @ Tennessee (SAT, CBS, 3:30pm)
BYU @ West Virginia (SAT, ESPN 2, 3:30pm)
Miami (OH) @ Cincinnati (SAT, ESPNews, 3:30pm)
Pittsburgh @ North Carolina (SAT, ESPNU, 3:30pm)
Boise State @ Oregon State (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 3:30pm)

LSU @ Auburn (SAT, ESPN, 6pm)
Houston @ Texas State (SAT, ESPNU, 7pm)
Nebraska @ Northwestern (SAT, Big Ten, 7:30pm)
Oklahoma State @ Baylor (SAT, FOX, 7:30pm)
Stanford @ UCLA (SAT, ABC, 8pm)
Louisville @ Marshall (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 8pm)

Arkansas @ Texas A&M (SAT, ESPN, 9pm)
California @ Arizona State (SAT, ESPN 2, 10pm)

NFL
A Football Life: Rodney Harrison (FRI, NFL Network, 9pm)

MLB
White Sox @ Indians (FRI, STO, 7pm)
Yankees @ Blue Jays (FRI, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Giants @ Padres OR Rockies @ Dodgers (FRI, MLB, 11pm)

Royals @ Tigers (SAT, FOX, 1pm)
Yankees @ Blue Jays OR Rangers @ Athletics (SAT, MLB, 4pm)
White Sox @ Indians (SAT, STO, 7pm)
Phillies @ Mets OR Diamondbacks @ Orioles (SAT, MLB, 7pm)
Rockies @ Dodgers OR Giants @ Padres (SAT, MLB, 10pm)

NASCAR & RACING
XFINITIY Series: Visitmyrtlebeach.com 300 (SAT, NBC Sports, 8pm)

MMA & BOXING
Bellator Kickboxing (FRI, Spike, 9pm)

UFC Fight Night: Cyborg vs. Lansberg - Prelims (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 8pm)
UFC Fight Night: Cris Cyborg vs. Lina Lansberg (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 10pm)

SOCCER
English Premier League: Arsenal FC vs. Chelsea FC (SAT, NBC Sports, 12:25pm)

GOLF
2016 TOUR Championship, Third Round (SAT, NBC, 12pm)

TV Weekend 9.16 - 9.17

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

Z Nation, PREMIERE (FRI, Syfy, 8pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 8pm)
Masters Of Illusion (FRI, The CW, 8pm & 8:30pm)

New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 9pm)

Burgers, Brew & Que (FRI, Food Network, 10pm)
ELeague (FRI, TBS, 10pm)
Dark Matter, SEASON FINALE (FRI, Syfy, 10pm)
Quarry (FRI, Cinemax, 10pm)
High Maintenance, PREMIERE (FRI, HBO, 11pm)

======

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Baylor @ Rice (FRI, ESPN, 8pm)
Arkansas State @ Utah State (FRI, CBS SportsNet, 9pm)
Arizona State @ Texas-San Antonio (FRI, ESPN 2, 9:30pm)

Florida State @ Louisville (SAT, ABC, 12pm)
Miami @ Appalachian State (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
North Dakota State @ Iowa (SAT, ESPN 2, 12pm)
Iowa State @ TCU (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 12pm)
Ohio @ Tennessee (SAT, SEC, 12pm)
Akron @ Marshall (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 12pm)
Georgia State @ Wisconsin (SAT, Big Ten, 12pm)

Oregon @ Nebraska (SAT, ABC, 3:30pm)
Alabama @ Mississippi (SAT, CBS, 3:30pm)
Pittsburgh @ Oklahoma State (SAT, ESPN, 3:30pm)
Boston College @ Virginia Tech (SAT, ESPNU, 3:30pm)
Colorado @ Michigan (SAT, Big Ten, 3:30pm)
Western Michigan @ Illinois (SAT, ESPNews, 4pm)
East Carolina @ South Carolina (SAT, SEC, 4pm)

Texas A&M @ Auburn (SAT, ESPN, 7pm)
Mississippi State @ LSU (SAT, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Ohio State @ Oklahoma (SAT, FOX, 7:30pm)
Michigan State @ Notre Dame (SAT, NBC, 7:30pm)
USC @ Stanford (SAT, ABC, 8pm)

UCLA @ BYU (SAT, ESPN 2, 10:15pm)
Texas @ California (SAT, ESPN, 10:30pm)

NFL
Top 10: Free Agents (FRI, NFL, 8pm)
A Football Life: Curtis Martin (FRI, NFL, 9pm)

MLB
Tigers @ Indians (FRI, STO, 7pm)
Yankees @ Red Sox (FRI, MLB, 7pm)

Yankees @ Red Sox (SAT, FOX, 1pm)
(SAT, MLB, 1pm)
Tigers @ Indians (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 4pm)
(SAT, MLB, 10pm)

NASCAR & RACING
Camping World Truck: Chicagoland (FRI, FOX Sports 1, 8:30pm)
XFINITY Series: Chicagoland (SAT, NBC, 3:30pm)

MMA & BOXING
Bellator MMA Live (FRI, Spike, 9pm)

UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson - Prelims (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 8pm)
UFC Fight Night: Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Johnson (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 10pm)

HOCKEY
World Cup of Hockey Preview (FRI, ESPN 2, 7pm)
2016 World Cup of Hockey: Team USA vs. Team Europe (SAT, ESPN 2, 3:30pm)

SOCCER
English Premier League: Everton FC vs. Middlesbrough FC (SAT, NBC, 12:30pm)

WNBA
Minnesota Lynx @ Indiana Fever (FRI, NBA TV, 7pm)
San Antonio Stars @ Los Angeles Sparks (FRI, NBA TV, 10:30pm)

OTHER SPORTS
Volleyball: FIVB World Tour Finals, Women's Gold Medal Game (SAT, NBC Sports, 4pm)

Spread Offense: College Football Week 3: A Storm On The Horizon

By Pat Luhta, @PLuhta


While week 2 provided us with some stunning games and dramatic finishes, it lacked the overall "star power" as there were no games featuring teams in which both were ranked. Week 3 makes up for that though, as we are treated to not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 games that involve both teams being ranked, one of them being an early season conference game.

This week will start to shape the playoff contenders to the playoff pretenders as we head into a full schedule of conference games in the weeks to come. The storm is definitely coming and it will provide some great games.

SATURDAY SEPT. 17TH

We kick off Saturday's noon slate of games with the game that ESPN's College Gameday will be tailgating for. #2 Florida State at #10 Louisville, in a game where both offenses will be on full display.

Florida State overcame early game woes against Ole Miss to make a big comeback and pull out a win against the Rebels. Redshirt freshman QB Deandre Francois seems to be getting very comfortable in the pocket and Heisman hopeful RB Dalvin Cook is helping by taking a ton of pressure off of him. When they are running on all cylinders, they've shown how unstoppable they can be, and may in fact be the best team in the ACC (Clemson was the preseason landslide favorite in the conference.)

Speaking of what a team is capable of when running on all cylinders, the Louisville Cardinals have turned plenty of heads this season already with their high powered offense. Led by QB Lamar Jackson, who accounts for 13 TD's, the Cardinals have put up 132 points in 2 games. The detractors will say that it was against Charlotte and Syracuse, but Louisville will have home field and a big time chance to prove that they are for real in this game against the Seminoles.

In the 3:30 games, we will see the #22 ranked Oregon Ducks travel to Lincoln to face the unranked(for now) Nebraska Cornhuskers. Oregon always seems to have a lightning quick, score at will offense, and this year seems no different as they have put up 53 and 44 points in their 2 games. Their defense seems to be the question though as they gave up 28 points to UC Davis and 26 points to Virginia. On the other hand, Nebraska has not only been scoring a lot of points but their defense is not giving up many. The Cornhuskers look to make a big statement here by welcoming in the Ducks, if they can slow down that Oregon offense  then this game is very winnable for them.

But the big game at 3:30 that most will be watching intently, will be the #1 team in the country playing their Achilles heel. The Alabama Crimson Tide have only lost 3 games in the past 2 seasons, 2 of those losses have been to the Ole Miss Rebels. The #19 team in the country needs this game big time, as they have already lost 1 game this season and any chance of playoffs will fade away with another loss. In order for Ole Miss to win this one, it will be in the hands of QB Chad Kelly and his offensive line. If Kelly has time then we can see him make some plays happen out there and have Ole Miss in position for an upset bid. The Crimson Tide, looking to exercise their Ole Miss demons, will be keeping pressure on Kelly while getting their offense rolling the way it did against USC. All signs point to the Tide here, but Ole Miss has had their number in the past.

Then we head to 7:30, where we will see non-conference rivals face off as #12 Michigan State heads to South Bend to take on the #17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Spartans had a less than stellar performance in their season opener against Furman, where their defense looked every bit as good as we've come to know from them but their offense looked rather lackluster. Thanks to an oddly timed bye in week 2, MSU has had an extra week to prepare for Notre Dame and work out the kinks with their offense. The Fighting Irish are fighting for their playoff lives in this game, as they have already lost once this season. The 2 QB controversy seems to be past them now as Deshone Kizer has taken the ranks and the offense has flourished under him. Notre Dame will need him to perform at his peak against this defense in order for them to win, a big win in front of their home crowd would put them right on track as a potential playoff team.

In the other 7:30 game, a big clash in Norman will happen with the #14 Oklahoma Sooners welcoming the #3 Ohio State Buckeyes to town. Oklahoma is 1-1 with a loss to the Houston Cougars while Ohio State is 2-0 with wins over Bowling Green and Tulsa. The biggest test for Ohio State is how their young team of first time starters handles the hostile environment that they'll be walking into. Also, early season struggles on the offensive line could be the place that Oklahoma exploits in order to slow down J.T. Barrett and the OSU offense. The Sooners will need to establish the running game, which they are capable of doing, and also get QB Baker Mayfield back into Heisman form in order to put up the necessary points to win this game. Oklahoma is in a "do or die" situation when  it comes to the playoffs as one more loss seals their fate, while Ohio State looks to remain unblemished and staying on course to the playoffs.

While the 1st quarter is finishing up in those 7:30 games, our 8pm game will be set for kickoff. The ABC prime time game features a conference game which has budded into a nice little rivalry as of late. The USC Trojans will be taking on the#7 Stanford Cardinal, an early season Pac-12 game that has the writing on the wall of being a very good showdown. The Trojans are looking to jump back into the rankings after being demolished 52-6 by the Alabama Crimson Tide in week 1. They have the playmakers, but it looks to be another year of preseason hype followed by in-season let down. They could reclaim some of that hype though and play spoiler here, as the Stanford Cardinal are the favorites to win the Pac-12 again and make a strong case for the playoffs. Stanford seems to center around one guy, Christian McCaffrey, as he is that 5 tool player that just does it all for Stanford. They may have also found a solid QB in Ryan Burns to help the offense out even more, making Stanford an even tougher task to defeat. If USC is going to pull off the upset, they'll need to fully utilize their playmakers and get some turnovers on defense, otherwise this Cardinal team looks to be too much for the Trojans to handle.

And finally, if you are a night owl or have some insomnia, there's a pretty good game that kicks off at 10:30 this week. The #11 Texas Longhorns head out on the road to play the Cal Golden Bears. While this Texas team made a big statement by defeating Notre Dame in week 1, many still think the jury is still out on them. They've played well before and have won big games in the past, but have also had many lapses and lost games that they should have won(including last season's game against Cal.) The Golden Bears are still looking for that big leader now that Jared Goff is in the NFL, and new QB Davis Webb could be that guy. So far, Davis has looked the part and has filled the shoes of Goff rather nicely, but Cal's defense has been a big problem for them, giving up 45 points in a loss to San Diego State last week. Cal will need the defense to step up big time, especially against the run, and will look to Davis to lead the offense down for numerous scores. Texas will continue to use their 2 QB system, Shane Buechele as the starter with Tyrone Swoopes coming in for designed run plays. That back and forth system has shown a bunch of positive results so they will keep going with that until it gets stopped (if it does.) Texas will also have to keep an eye on Cal WR Chad Hansen, who has developed into a go-to playmaker and could be the big factor in this game. If Texas continues to do what they've been doing on offense then it looks as though Cal will have no answer for them. A big night crowd in Berkeley combined with Texas' road woes(1-4 last season) could play a role in this late night affair.

TV Weekend 9.9 - 9.10

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

Stand Up To Cancer (FRI, NBC/ABC/FOX/CBS, 8pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 8pm)
Masters Of Illusion (FRI, The CW, 8pm & 8:30pm)

10th Annual ACM Honors (FRI, CBS, 9pm)
New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXS TV, 9pm)
Killjoys (FRI, Syfy, 9pm)

Burgers, Brew & Que (FRI, Food Network, 10pm)
ELeague (FRI, TBS, 10pm)
Dark Matter (FRI, Syfy, 10pm)
Quarry (FRI, Cinemax, 10pm)

======

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Louisville @ Syracuse (FRI, ESPN 2, 8pm)
Maryland @ Florida International (FRI, CBS SportsNet, 7:30pm)

Central Florida @ Michigan (SAT, ABC, 12pm)
Penn State @ Pittsburgh (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
Wyoming @ Nebraska (SAT, ESPN 2, 12pm)
Indiana State @ Minnesota (SAT, ESPNews, 12pm)
North Carolina State @ East Carolina (SAT, ESPNU, 12pm)
Central Michigan @ Oklahoma State (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 12pm)
Cincinnati @ Purdue (SAT, Big Ten, 12pm)
Nicholls State @ Georgia (SAT, SEC, 12pm)

Tulsa @ Ohio State (SAT, ABC, 3:30pm)
Nevada @ Notre Dame (SAT, NBC, 3:30pm)
Kentucky @ Florida (SAT, CBS, 3:30pm)
Wake Forest @ Duke (SAT, ESPNU, 3:30pm)
Western Kentucky @ Alabama (SAT, ESPN 2, 3:30pm)
SMU @ Baylor (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 3:30pm)
Akron @ Wisconsin (SAT, Big Ten, 3:30pm)
Wofford @ Mississippi (SAT, SEC, 4pm)
Ball State @ Indiana (SAT, ESPNews, 4pm)

Arkansas @ TCU (SAT, ESPN, 7pm)
South Carolina @ Mississippi State (SAT, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Jacksonville State @ LSU (SAT, ESPNU, 7:30pm)
BYU @ Utah (SAT, FOX, 7:30pm)
Iowa State @ Iowa (SAT, Big Ten, 7:30pm)
Arkansas State @ Auburn (SAT, SEC, 7:30pm)
Tennessee @ Virginia Tech (SAT, ABC, 8pm)

Texas Tech @ Arizona State (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 10pm)
Washington State @ Boise State (SAT, ESPN 2, 10:15pm)
Virginia @ Oregon (SAT, ESPN, 10:30pm)

MLB
Indians @ Twins (FRI, STO, 8pm)
Rangers @ Angels OR Mariners @ Athletics (FRI, MLB, 10pm)

Red Sox @ Blue Jays (SAT, FOX, 1pm)
Rays @ Yankees OR Mariners @ Athletics (SAT, MLB, 4pm)
Indians @ Twins (SAT, STO, 7pm)
Orioles @ Tigers OR Dodgers @ Marlins (SAT, MLB, 7pm)
Rangers @ Angels OR Giants @ Diamondbacks (SAT, MLB, 10pm)

NBA
2016 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony (FRI, NBA TV, 7:30pm)

NASCAR & RACING
XFINITY Series: Virginia529 College Savings 250 (FRI, NBC Sports, 7:30pm)
Sprint Cup Series: Federated Auto Parts 400 (SAT, NBC Sports, 7:30pm)

MMA & BOXING
Premier Boxing Champions (FRI, Spike, 9pm)

Boxing: Kell Brook vs. Gennady Golovkin (SAT, HBO, 5:30pm)
UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem Prelims (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 8pm)
Boxing: Carlos Cuadras vs. Roman Gonzalez (SAT, HBO, 10pm)

HOCKEY
World Cup Exhibition: Team Canada vs. Team USA (FRI, ESPNU, 7pm)

GOLF
BMW Championship, Third Round (SAT, NBC, 12pm)

TENNIS
U.S. Open Tennis, Men's Semifinals (FRI, ESPN, 3pm)
U.S. Open Tennis, Women's Final (SAT, ESPN, 4pm)

TV Weekend 3.4 - 3.5

By Raven Williams, @nevaRWilliams

Caught on Camera With Nick Cannon (FRI, NBC, 8pm)
Last Man Standing (FRI, ABC, 8pm)
Sleepy Hollow (FRI, FOX, 8pm)
The Amazing Race (FRI, CBS, 8pm)
The Vampire Diaries (FRI, The CW, 8pm)
Dr. Ken (FRI, ABC, 8:30pm)

New Japan Pro Wrestling (FRI, AXSTV, 9pm)
Grimm (FRI, NBC, 9pm)
Shark Tank (FRI, ABC, 9pm)
Second Chance (FRI, FOX, 9pm)
Hawaii Five-0 (FRI, CBS, 9pm)
The Originals (FRI, The CW, 9pm)

Blue Bloods (FRI, CBS, 10pm)
Real Time With Bill Maher (FRI, HBO, 10pm)
Burgers Brew & Que (FRI, Food Network, 10:30pm)

------

Doctor Who (SAT, BBC America, 9pm)
Black Sails (SAT, Starz, 9pm)
Saturday Night Live: Jonah Hill, Future (SAT, NBC, 11:30pm)

======

NBA
Wizards @ Cavaliers (FRI, ESPN/FOX Sports Ohio, 8pm)
Hawks @ Lakers (FRI, ESPN, 10:30pm)

Celtics @ Cavaliers (SAT, FOX Sports Ohio, 7pm)
Rockets @ Bulls (SAT, ABC, 8:30pm)

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kent State @ Akron (FRI, ESPN 2, 7pm)
Ohio Valley, First Semifinal: Austin Peay State vs. Belmont (FRI, ESPNU, 7:30pm)
Texas @ Oklahoma State (FRI, ESPN 2, 9pm)
Ohio Valley, Second Semifinal: Morehead State vs. UT-Martin (FRI, ESPNU, 9:30pm)

Mississippi @ Tennessee (SAT, SEC, 12pm)
Ohio State @ Michigan State (SAT, ESPN, 12pm)
Vanderbilt @ Texas A&M (SAT, ESPN 2, 12pm)
North Carolina State @ Notre Dame (SAT, CBS, 12pm)
Georgetown @ Villanova (SAT, FOX, 12pm)
Seton Hall @ DePaul (SAT, FSN, 12pm)
Providence @ St. John's (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 12:30pm)

Oklahoma @ TCU (SAT, ESPNews, 1pm)
LSU @ Kentucky (SAT, CBS, 2pm)
West Virginia @ Baylor (SAT, ESPN, 2pm)
Syracuse @ Florida State (SAT, ESPN 2, 2pm)
Creighton @ Xavier (SAT, FOX, 2:30pm)
Kansas State @ Texas Tech (SAT, ESPNews, 3pm)
George Washington @ Davidson (SAT, NBC Sports, 3:30pm)

Iowa State @ Kansas (SAT, ESPN, 4pm)
Alabama @ Georgia (SAT, ESPN 2, 4pm)
Stanford @ Arizona (SAT, CBS, 4pm)
South Florida @ Tulsa (SAT, ESPNews, 5pm)
North Carolina @ Duke (SAT, ESPN, 6:30pm)

Iowa @ Michigan (SAT, Big Ten, 8pm)
VCU @ Dayton (SAT, CBS SportsNet, 8pm)
California @ Arizona State (SAT, ESPN 2, 8pm)
Louisville @ Virginia (SAT, ESPN, 8:30pm)

MLB PRESEASON
Royals @ Padres (FRI, MLB Network, 9pm)

Red Sox @ Yankees (SAT, MLB Network, 1pm)
Diamondbacks @ Dodgers (SAT, MLB Network, 4pm)

NHL
Oilers @ Blue Jackets (FRI, FOX Sports Ohio/Cincinnati, 7pm)
Rangers @ Capitals (SAT, NHL Network, 7pm)

Blue Jackets @ Flyers (SAT, FOX Sports Ohio/Cincinnati, 7pm)
Capitals @ Bruins (SAT, NHL Network, 7pm)

MMA & BOXING
Bellator MMA Live (FRI, Spike, 9pm)

UFC Prefight Show (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 6:30pm)
UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz - Prelims (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 8pm)
BOXING: Luis Ortiz vs Tony Thompson (SAT, HBO, 10pm)
BOXING: Julian Williams vs Marcello Matano (SAT, Showtime, 10pm)

NASCAR & RACING
XFINITY Series: Boyd Gaming 300 (SAT, FOX Sports 1, 4pm)

GOLF
WGC-Cadillac Championship, Third Round (SAT, NBC, 3pm)

OTHER SPORTS
Gymnastics: AT&T American Cup (SAT, NBC, 1pm)