College football fans need not to fret. There may be several marquee programs on byes this week (Florida State, Ohio State, etc.), but so many others will be in action on Saturday. While the slate may not be as compelling as previous ones this year, keep in mind this one very important thing: There is no such thing as a boring weekend in college football. It is kids playing kids, so anything can happen.
For the first time ever, ESPN's College GameDay will be in Durham, North Carolina to see the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils take on the No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It was one of four ranked-on-ranked matchups this week, but only three on Saturday, as No. 19 Oregon State dominated No. 10 Utah in Corvallis 21-7 on Friday night. That was game was fascinating, but so should this one over in Durham.
It is not even 12:00 p.m. ET yet at the time of this publication on Saturday, and one top-10 team has already fallen. We could be in line for one, maybe two more this weekend. To be totally honest, we are due for a completely chaotic weekend in the wonderful world of college football. The bigger question is not if, but rather when will some of these so-called title contenders prove to us that they are not.
So if you needed to figure out what games to watch on Saturday, The Dude has got you covered.
College football TV schedule for Week 5
Here is the TV schedule for all of the college football games being played on Saturday in Week 5.
Week 5: Saturday, Sept. 30
12:00 p.m. ET start times
- No. 6 Penn State at Northwestern: BTN
- No. 8 USC at Colorado: FOX
- No. 22 Florida at Kentucky: ESPN
- Texas A&M at Arkansas: SECN
- Louisiana at Minnesota: BTN
- Utah State at UConn: CBSSN
- Clemson at Syracuse: ABC
- UAB at Tulane: ESPN2
- South Alabama at James Madison ESPNU
- Buffalo at Akron: ESPN+
1:30 p.m. ET start times
- Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan: ESPN+
2:00 p.m. ET start times
- Virginia at Boston College: CW Network
2:30 p.m. ET start times
- Miami (OH) at Kent State: ESPN+
3:00 p.m. ET start times
- Arizona at California: Pac-12
3:30 p.m. ET start times
- No. 1 Georgia at Auburn: CBS
- No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska: FOX
- No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas: ABC
- Indiana at Maryland: BTN
- Illinois at Purdue: Peacock
- Wagner at Rutgers: BTN
- Bowling Green at Georgia Tech: ACCN
- Houston at Texas Tech: FS2
- Baylor at UCF: FS1
- Arkansas State at UMass: ESPN+
- South Florida at Navy: CBSSN
- Old Dominion at Marshall: ESPN+
- Ball State at Western Michigan: ESPN+
- Northern Illinois at Toledo: ESPNU
4:00 p.m. ET start times
- No. 23 Missouri at Vanderbilt: SECN
- Boise State at Memphis: ESPN2
- Hawaii at UNLV
- New Mexico at Wyoming
6:00 p.m. ET start times
- No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss: ESPN
6:30 p.m. ET start times
- No. 9 Oregon at Stanford: Pac-12
7:00 p.m. ET start times
- Iowa State at No. 14 Oklahoma: FS1
- East Carolina at Rice: ESPN+
- Abilene Christian at North Texas: ESPN+
- Coastal Carolina at Georgia Southern: NFL Network
- Troy at Georgia State: ESPN+
- Texas State at Southern Miss: ESPN+
- Utah Tech at Colorado State
7:30 p.m. ET start times
- No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke: ABC
- South Carolina at No. 21 Tennessee: SECN
- Michigan State at Iowa: NBC/Peacock
- Charlotte at SMU: ESPNU
8:00 p.m. ET start times
- Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech: ACCN
- West Virginia at TCU: ESPN2
- Appalachian State at UL Monroe: ESPN+
- San Diego State at Air Force: CBSSN
9:00 p.m. ET start times
- No. 12 Alabama at Mississippi State: ESPN
10:00 p.m. ET start times
- No. 7 Washington at Arizona: Pac-12
10:30 p.m. ET start times
- Nevada at No. 25 Fresno State: FS1
College football viewing guide: Best game in each window for Week 5
So we are going to break this down into early-afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET), late-afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET), primetime (7:00 p.m. ET) and nightcap (10:00 p.m. ET). Those time designations are relatively arbitrary, but I am going to give you the best game to watch in each window if you were to only watch one game at a time this week. Buckle up! Let's go! Enjoy the ride. This is college football at its best.
Although No. 8 USC at Colorado will have the world's attention on FOX, the best game in the early window is the SEC East rivalry between No. 22 Florida at Kentucky. This rivalry series has been more compelling ever since Mark Stoops first arrivied in Lexington. Florida may be the ranked team, but Kentucky can absolutely get to 5-0. This is the game that will likely go down to the wire in this window.
For as much as the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry between No. 1 Georgia and Auburn has my attention, the best game in the late-afternoon window is No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas. KU has gotten the best of Texas a few times in recent year. Both teams are undefeated. The winner of this game could be well on its way to Arlington. No. 2 Michigan at Nebraska will draw a bigger number, but KU vs. UT is better.
At night, this one is pretty straight forward. You need to tune into ABC to watch No. 11 Notre Dame take on No. 17 Duke at Wallace Wade. A win for the Golden Domers could get them maybe back into the top 10, especially after Utah's road loss to Oregon State in Corvallis on Friday night. However, a win for the Blue Devils might make Mike Elko's team Florida State's most formidable ACC challenger.
And as far as a night cap is concerned, do yourself a favor and watch either No. 7 Washington at Arizona on the Pac-12 Network (if you can even get it). If not, then maybe check out what Jeff Tedford's No. 25 Fresno State Bulldogs are all about vs. Nevada on FS1. Very rarely does my hero Petros Papadakis get to call games featuring a ranked team. It is a such a rarity. You don't even know!
What channel is Illinois vs. Purdue on today?
Illinois vs. Purdue will be on Peacock. Kickoff from Ross-Ade Stadium will be at 3:30 p.m. ET.
What channel does Georgia play on today?
No. 1 Georgia will play at Auburn on CBS. Kickoff from Jordan-Hare Stadium will be at 3:30 p.m. ET.
What channel does Alabama play on today?
No. 12 Alabama plays Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium. ESPN has the 9:00 p.m. ET telecast.
What channel does Colorado play on today?
Colorado hosts No. 8 USC at Folsom Field. Kickoff from Boulder will be at 12:00 p.m. ET over on FOX.
What channel does Washington play on today?
No. 7 Washington plays Arizona in Tuscon at 10:00 p.m. ET. The Pac-12 Network will carry the game.
One thing is for certain this most glorious fall Saturday in America: You have some games to watch!
