College Football Watch Guide - Week 10

Unpopular take incoming...Halloween isn’t one of the best holidays, in my opinion. It’s not bad by any means, but it doesn’t crack my top 3. It seems the current zeitgeist places Halloween too high up in the holiday power rankings. Here are my — and therefore the true — top five holidays:

1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas
3. Independence Day
4. Halloween
5. Easter

As a parent of three with the older two just entering their trick or treating years, getting everyone dressed, prepped, and ready to hit the neighborhood while also putting in a little time actually handing out some candy was hectic enough. Add in their excitement level and the copious amounts of sugar they’d already ingested at school parties and they were practically running through walls to get started. As a parent, the whole thing can just get stressful.

Maybe I’m just getting older and my inner Grandpa Simpson is starting to show itself the more I yell at the clouds. That said, I do love seeing my kids having fun and excited to show off their costumes, but I find myself enjoying Halloween more for the season surrounding the holiday itself: cool harvest nights, the rich colors of turning leaves, and the lead up to the greater holiday season.

Collecting on the Dad Tax isn’t too bad either.

This week MACtion finally got underway as we were treated to Tuesday night football for the first time this season. Taking the NFL into account, that means we have football every day from October 27 through November 22! Our Thursday and Friday nights feature one ranked team with #23 Oregon State @ Washington and a clash of some of FBS’s worst in UMass @ UConn. The whole spectrum is represented.

This week, the first CFP rankings were released and there were certainly some surprises in the top spots. #2 Ohio State remained in the top four but couldn’t quite break out of second place status, losing out again to another SEC team. They’ll have a chance to add style points when they take on a hapless Northwestern squad that managed to make even Iowa’s offense look dangerous.

#19 Tulane continues its foray into the top-25 with a game against Tulsa at 11:00 am. I’ve mentioned it before but it’s always cool to see some new blood in the top rankings. #17 North Carolina @ Virginia and Texas Tech @ #7 TCU provide additional ranked action in the morning but there are plenty of other games of interest going on around the same time.

Minnesota @ Nebraska will be interesting to watch to see if the Gophers can save what looked to be a promising campaign just a few weeks ago, while on the flip side Maryland @ Wisconsin will show if the Badgers can continue their hot streak after the firing of Paul Chryst.

Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Finally we come to one of the best non-rivalry rivalries in the conference. Iowa @ Purdue has plenty going for it this year, not least of which is Charlie Jones’s success with his new team after transferring from the Hawkeyes last summer. Chuck Sizzle’s breakout is added to the Boilermakers winning four of the last five meetings to make for a big showdown in West Lafayette.

The biggest game of the week kicks off at 2:30 on CBS with #1 Tennessee @ #3 Georgia. With both teams in the SEC East, the loser likely misses out on the conference championship, and quite possibly the college football playoff itself. #8 Oregon @ Colorado also holds some playoff implications as the Ducks must remain perfect to have a shot, and the same goes for #16 Illinois as they host Michigan State.

Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images

Another headliner, and another SEC bout, kicks off at 6:00 with #6 Alabama @ #10 LSU. The Tide are in the rare position of being on the outside looking in on the CFP top four but the path remains clear if they can make it to and win the conference championship. Meanwhile, #4 Clemson and #5 Michigan visit Notre Dame and Rutgers, respectively. There was some surprise at both teams’ positions but the story remains the same as many other teams discussed already: win and you’re in.

Outside of playoff contention, there are obviously loads more games to hold your interest. #21 Wake Forest @ #22 NC State and #24 Texas @ #13 Kansas State standing out as ranked battles, and Florida State @ Miami just for the rivalry aspect. Deeper into the night you start to get the west coast games, with #12 UCLA @ Arizona State and Cal @ #9 USC leading the way. The Trojans also find themselves in the “need to win out” category of playoff teams, so expect them to do whatever they can to flex on all their opponents whenever possible to build up those style points.

Sit back, crack open a Twix from your kids’ stash (we won’t tell), and enjoy some college football.