GKJ
Global Moderator
- Feb 27, 2002
- 190,625
- 42,238
Welcome back college football fans, the season is set to be underway this weekend, sort of. They call this Week 0, and the games played before we technically start counting weeks to the Expanded College Football Playoff, because you cannot count up to zero, as it is an imaginary number. However, zero is also a real number, so these games are real, and they count all the same. And this is what really captures the spirit of week zero.
Week 0 is reserved for football degenerates who are willing to cast off their final football-less weekend until February, special waivers to bring a game to a national audience (usually for FCS schools, so long as it is nationally televised on cable, not streaming, and non-conference), or teams who are playing at Hawai'i this season, allowing teams to not only have one of their games scheduled for Week 0, but they may opt to play an extra game to offset the travel costs.
It's also a double bye season, which means some of these teams will technically have three byes.
We do have one ranked team, which prior to the CFP rankings, is usually according to the AP. #10 Florida State, still stewing from their outrageous snub from last year's playoff despite being undefeated in a power conference (and getting the holy piss beaten out of them by Georgia in the Orange Bowl 63-3), will play Georgia Tech - in Dublin, Ireland. This game qualifies for that reason - playing in a foreign country. I don't know how it ended up being these two teams, there is nothing really Irish about either one, and it is an ACC conference game none the less. In fact, Florida State's schedule is totally upside down. They will have played their entire conference schedule by November 2, as their final three games are non-conference. Florida State has brought in DJ Uiagalelei, fresh off the transfer portal from Oregon State, once exiled from Clemson, he is a 5th year senior. College GameDay is making the trip for the noon eastern kickoff on ESPN. FSU -10.5
In other FBS action, New Mexico is hosting Montana State (ranked #4 in FCS) at 4pm on FS1. Bronco Mendenhall is now the coach for New Mexico, who were 4-8 last year. And I guess no one is impressed because Montana State is favored by 14. New Mexico plays at Hawai'i later in the season, so they qualify to play this game this week.
In the only other all-FBS matchup, SMU travels to Nevada. SMU is now an ACC team, which means we have to reacquaint ourselves with the rules of geography again as a lot of these realignments going on finally come into place. SMU brings an 11-win season over with them, while Nevada has new coach Jeff Choate, who was co-DB and inner linebackers coach at Texas. This game qualifies under the Hawai'i exemption to be played as Nevada used the Hawai'i exemption to not only play this week, but play a 13th game, which you are allowed to do as well, but Nevada is the only one doing it. CBSSN gets the game at 8pm, SMU -27
Not even Hawai'i are playing the 'extra' game as they tend to do, because Oregon were dicks and canceled their series. Hawai'i, however, do play, as they qualify to play this week as they are, in fact, Hawai'i. Delaware State of FCS, 1-10 last year, makes the trip. They are Hornets, who play their home games in the state capital of Dover, are set to lose their main rival in the few years, which is Delaware (making the jump to the Sun Belt). It is a matchup of programs who are from the first and last states to be made states. Timmy Chang is in his second season as head coach, they were 5-8 last year. This is not only a 11:59 eastern start, but it is on *checks notes* Spectrum PPV and Team 1 Sports. Hawai'i is -40.5 and we will never speak of this again.
FCS matchups, just in case:
McNeese @ Tarleton State, 3:30ET ESPN2
North Alabama @ Southeast Missouri, 7pm ESPN
Florida A&M @ Norfolk State, 7:30 ABC
Week 0 is reserved for football degenerates who are willing to cast off their final football-less weekend until February, special waivers to bring a game to a national audience (usually for FCS schools, so long as it is nationally televised on cable, not streaming, and non-conference), or teams who are playing at Hawai'i this season, allowing teams to not only have one of their games scheduled for Week 0, but they may opt to play an extra game to offset the travel costs.
It's also a double bye season, which means some of these teams will technically have three byes.
We do have one ranked team, which prior to the CFP rankings, is usually according to the AP. #10 Florida State, still stewing from their outrageous snub from last year's playoff despite being undefeated in a power conference (and getting the holy piss beaten out of them by Georgia in the Orange Bowl 63-3), will play Georgia Tech - in Dublin, Ireland. This game qualifies for that reason - playing in a foreign country. I don't know how it ended up being these two teams, there is nothing really Irish about either one, and it is an ACC conference game none the less. In fact, Florida State's schedule is totally upside down. They will have played their entire conference schedule by November 2, as their final three games are non-conference. Florida State has brought in DJ Uiagalelei, fresh off the transfer portal from Oregon State, once exiled from Clemson, he is a 5th year senior. College GameDay is making the trip for the noon eastern kickoff on ESPN. FSU -10.5
In other FBS action, New Mexico is hosting Montana State (ranked #4 in FCS) at 4pm on FS1. Bronco Mendenhall is now the coach for New Mexico, who were 4-8 last year. And I guess no one is impressed because Montana State is favored by 14. New Mexico plays at Hawai'i later in the season, so they qualify to play this game this week.
In the only other all-FBS matchup, SMU travels to Nevada. SMU is now an ACC team, which means we have to reacquaint ourselves with the rules of geography again as a lot of these realignments going on finally come into place. SMU brings an 11-win season over with them, while Nevada has new coach Jeff Choate, who was co-DB and inner linebackers coach at Texas. This game qualifies under the Hawai'i exemption to be played as Nevada used the Hawai'i exemption to not only play this week, but play a 13th game, which you are allowed to do as well, but Nevada is the only one doing it. CBSSN gets the game at 8pm, SMU -27
Not even Hawai'i are playing the 'extra' game as they tend to do, because Oregon were dicks and canceled their series. Hawai'i, however, do play, as they qualify to play this week as they are, in fact, Hawai'i. Delaware State of FCS, 1-10 last year, makes the trip. They are Hornets, who play their home games in the state capital of Dover, are set to lose their main rival in the few years, which is Delaware (making the jump to the Sun Belt). It is a matchup of programs who are from the first and last states to be made states. Timmy Chang is in his second season as head coach, they were 5-8 last year. This is not only a 11:59 eastern start, but it is on *checks notes* Spectrum PPV and Team 1 Sports. Hawai'i is -40.5 and we will never speak of this again.
FCS matchups, just in case:
McNeese @ Tarleton State, 3:30ET ESPN2
North Alabama @ Southeast Missouri, 7pm ESPN
Florida A&M @ Norfolk State, 7:30 ABC
