Overrated, Underrated, & Perfectly Rated College Football Games
Photo by Grace Hollars from Imagn Images
Despite conference commissioner and tv executives continuously doing their upmost to try and stop me, I still love college football.
And with the NFL schedule coming out today, it’s got me in the football mood.
Each week of the college football season, there is a game that everyone bookmarks as the game of the week.
Sometimes it lives up to the hype, sometimes it doesn’t get enough, and sometimes it’s bang on.
So I thought I’d take a look and predict what people will determine as the game of the week, and who it should be looked at.
Week 1: Clemson vs LSU
Overrated
Lane Kiffin succeeds everywhere in college football, and he does it quickly.
And he starts his LSU career with a night game in Baton Rouge against a Clemson team that is trending backwards?
This might be a bloodbath.
What To Watch Instead: Boise State vs Oregon
A premier P4 team against a premier G6 team, and both schools have given us some classic games in years past.
Week 2: Ohio State vs Texas
Perfectly Rated
If Texas continued to struggle like last year, this would be overrated as well, as Ohio State would continue to look fantastic and Texas would be an underperforming failure of a season last year.
But Texas ended the year red hot, and quarterback Arch Manning really started to get into gear as the year went on.
Now, at home in Austin, they can start the year with a bang against a great Ohio State team.
Last years game between these two teams was a mess.
This one could be a classic.
Week 3: LSU vs Ole Miss
Underrated
I know it sounds foolish to call this underrated, but casual college football fans might not know the details of this game.
Lane Kiffin abandoned an Ole Miss team that was going to the college football playoff to go to LSU, and then Ole Miss almost made the title game without him anyway, and THEN Lane Kiffin gave an interview saying a big reason why it’s hard to succeed at Ole Miss is because they’re racist.
And this game is in Oxford, Mississippi.
Ole Miss fans hated Lane when he left, but he has just continued to make them hate him.
This game is must see TV. Cancel your plans.
Week 4: Oregon vs USC
Overrated
The Lincoln Riley era at USC, apart from year one with Caleb Williams, has not moved me.
I just think Oregon is the far better team here and it won’t be close.
I’d like to be wrong, though!
What To Watch Instead: UMass vs Sacramento State
If you love college football, you love disasters.
These two teams stink to high heavens, and it should be a blast to watch.
That is, if it’s even aired on television.
It might not be!
Week 5: BYU vs TCU
Underrated
BYU, now in the era of NIL and some money from Crumbl Cookies, are poised to be a perennial force in college sports.
And TCU, despite some worries about coach Sonny Dykes, have rattled off back to back 9 win seasons.
Probably a night game in Fort Worth, as well.
And when TCU is good, that crowd is rabid. They could easily be 4-0 heading into that game.
Week 6: Alabama vs Georgia
Overrated
It’s year three of Kalen DeBoer at Alabama, and it’s year three with a new starting quarterback.
And he has to face off in Athens, Georgia against a Bulldogs team with returning production, and just frankly a better coaching staff than what DeBoer has.
In Tuscaloosa? We may have a game.
In Athens? I’ve got the Bulldogs, big.
What To Watch Instead: Texas vs Oklahoma
The Red River Shootout is one of, if not my favorite rivalry in college football.
It just always seems to deliver.
Week 7: Ohio State vs Indiana
Overrated
I don’t think Hoosiers fans will care much considering they are somehow the defending national champions after being a tire fire throughout college football history, but I don’t see a way in which they are at that level again this year.
And yes, I know I said that last year as well…
But this game will get a ton of hype and a ton of love, but Ohio State to me just seems far superior than Indiana this upcoming season, and they have a revenge factor to it as well.
What To Watch Instead: Notre Dame vs BYU
Two teams that could have been playoff teams last season are retooled and ready to go to battle in Provo.
Should be a physical game.
Can’t wait.
Week 8: Texas A&M vs Alabama
Perfectly Rated
I don’t know, man.
It’s a bit of a snoozer of a week in terms of on paper games.
And A&M vs Alabama games are usually good.
So, fine.
Week 9: Florida vs Georgia
Underrated
Rivalry games are weird!
Florida almost beat Georgia last season with a lame duck Billy Napier squad.
Now, they have Jon Summral at the helm who has shown so far that he is a very good coach.
On paper, Georgia should roll.
On the football field?
We’ll see.
Week 10: Miami vs Notre Dame or Ohio State vs Oregon
Perfectly Rated
Take your pick which of these two is the best matchup of the week. It doesn’t matter.
Both are top teams battling against each other, playing November football as we get to the nitty gritty of the playoff race, and both games should be awesome.
Week 11: Michigan vs Oregon
Underrated
Kyle Whittingham is an unbelievable coach. That’s always been obvious from his time at Utah.
If he has Michigan firing on all cylinders in year 1, and I think he will, the Wolverines trip to Oregon might end up being one of the games of the year in terms of the Big 10 race, and the playoff race.
Week 12: Montana vs Montana State
Underrated
There aren’t many great helmet games this week, so just watch more FCS football, folks.
With the constant changing landscape of college football, it’s awesome to watch high level FCS games and be reminded that this sport really does still kick ass without the high level of money surrounding it.
The Brawl of the Wild is a fantastic rivalry game every single year, and this time it comes along with Montana State bragging rights as the reigning national champion.
I promise. You’ll love it.
Week 13: Rivalry Week
Perfectly Rated
Take your pick, folks.
The Game. The Iron Bowl. The Egg Bowl. Texas vs. A&M. The Palmetto Bowl.
Rivalry weekend is the bread and butter of college football, and even though I hope deep down someday we can get a ruling to make every team play their main rival on the last weekend of November, the plenty of games we still get are always worth seeing.
Week 14: G6 Championships
Underrated
With the expanded playoff, and more expansion likely coming, it will become extremely rare, if not impossible, for the P4 conference championship games to truly matter in the playoff race.
But with less spots available for G6 schools, those championship games are crucial.
And even without the playoff battle, you still get stories like Kennesaw State becoming conference champion after two seasons in FBS football and previously going 2-10 their first year.
These are the biggest games of the year for these schools, and they’re usually fantastic games.
Week 15: Army vs Navy
Perfectly Rated
Come on.
It’s Army-Navy.
If you don’t like Army-Navy, you don’t like college football.
