The food has been digested. The weekend has begun. Let’s break down the newest week and race to number one.
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GAME OF THE WEEK: NAVY @ HOUSTON
This game will decide the American’s West division champion, but it’ll also go a long way in determining who the Group of 5 representative in the New Year’s Six bowls will be. Houston is playing for a league title and potential big bowl spot. Navy is playing to get back to a place it hasn’t been since Roger Staubach piloted the Midshipmen. It’ll kick off the day at high noon on Friday and might be the most hotly contested game of the day. The triple option of Navy against the crash and dash of the Houston offense. Styles make fights, and this should be a good one.
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UPSET SPECIAL: IOWA @ NEBRASKA
The last time a highly-ranked team went to Lincoln it ended poorly for Michigan State. I still don’t buy Iowa as a world beater, and Nebraska’s on-field motivation has fluctuated depending on the opponent. The Huskers were torn to pieces by Purdue but still beat Sparty. They’ll be gunning for Iowa like it’s their bowl game. This is a showcase game on Friday afternoon. Expect the Huskers to play like it.
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UNIMPORTANT GAME OF IMPORTANCE: MARSHALL @ WESTERN KENTUCKY
Last season Western ended Marshall’s shot at perfection in a wild game in Huntington. The winner wins the East division of Conference USA. Both teams are quality, WKU has the nation’s sixth-best scoring offense, led by prodigious quarterback Brandon Doughty, and Marshall has the fifth-best scoring defense, and Marshall will want revenge playing on Western Kentucky’s home field. Another game during the opening slate on Friday afternoon will be an exciting one to watch.
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NERDOUT OF THE WEEK: NOTRE DAME @ STANFORD
Not only a game featuring two talented teams, although that descriptor of Notre Dame gets less applicable every day with the amount of injuries this team is piling up, this game could wreak havoc with the playoff bracket heading into the final week of the season. A Notre Dame win finishes the Irish’s season at 11-1 but leaves the door open for a team in a conference championship game to leap over them. A Stanford win puts them in a good spot heading into the Pac-12 title game and opens the door for making the playoff if a few more teams above them lose a second game. So many scenarios and this game plays a hand in many of them.
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ODDITY OF THE WEEK: LOUISIANA-MONROE @ HAWAII
Hawaii is used to playing teams from Louisiana, Louisiana Tech was in the WAC with Hawaii for many years, but very rarely do the Rainbow Warriors play other teams from the Pelican State. Since starting football in 1909 the Rainbow Warriors have played teams from Louisiana five times. Hawaii played Grambling three times in the 70s, Louisiana-Lafayette once, and Saturday will be its second meeting with Monroe. The Warhawks won the first game 23-20 in 1997.
