The first Saturday of November is unlike any other weekend of the 2024 regular season in that it’s wholly devoid of an #AfterDark component. The closest we’ll get to a true night game is #LateEvening action.
The last kickoffs of the day are scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific, with concurrent games in the ACC, Big 12 and Mountain West.
Put another way: Week 10 should wrap by 9, which is typically the middle of the second quarter for #AfterDark games.
We see three reasons for the early finish, each involving the media networks contractually tied to the conferences in the Western third of the country:
— Fox likely declined to commit to college football across its family of networks in case the World Series (on Big Fox) went to a seventh game.
— ESPN’s media agreements with the ACC and Big 12 left the network entirely dependent for 7:30 p.m. inventory on the seven campuses in the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.
But this week, the conference schedules offer no broadcast options: Stanford, Arizona and Arizona State are on the road; Cal, Colorado, Utah and Brigham Young are idle.
— CBS Sports Network shares the Mountain West’s media rights with Fox. Although New Mexico, Fresno State and Nevada are playing at home and could, in theory, start at 7:30 p.m., their games are scheduled for the early and late afternoon. (If you’re wondering, Hawaii is on the road.)
The end result for college football fans is an early night on the perfect Saturday — because of the extra hour of sleep offered by the time change — to stay up late.
To the picks …
Last week: 4-5-1
Season: 46-32-1
Five-star special: 4-5
All picks against the spread
Lines taken from vegasinsider.com
(All times Pacific)
Ohio State (-3) at Penn State
Kickoff: 9 a.m. on Fox
Comment: We watched the Buckeyes struggle to put away Nebraska in a situation (after the loss at Oregon and with two weeks to prepare) that clamored for a show of dominance. Maybe they aren’t the team everyone thought they would be. And perhaps Penn State is a tick better than expected. Pick: Penn State
Stanford (+9.5) at NC State
Kickoff: 9 a.m. on the ACC Network
Comment: A long way for the struggling Cardinal to travel for an early start — and a bad loss. Pick: NC State
Vanderbilt (+6.5) at Auburn
Kickoff: 9:45 a.m. on the SEC Network
Comment: The Commodores are 4-0 against the point spread in SEC play, beat Alabama and made Texas work for its victory. Meanwhile, Auburn lost at home to Cal, struggles to score and will be overlooking an opponent it handled last season. We expect the guests to cover — and win. Pick: Vanderbilt
Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. on CBS
Comment: After their uneven start, the Ducks have played like a national championship frontrunner and covered the spread in their past three games. That streak will end at some point. We just aren’t sure that point is this week, against an opponent incapable of moving the ball consistently through the air. Pick: Oregon
Arizona State (-3) at Oklahoma State
Kickoff: 4 p.m. on FS1
Comment: OSU’s run defense couldn’t stop a toddler on crutches and stands no chance against ASU’s 215-pound dynamo, Cam Skattebo. Also, the Sun Devils are coming off a bye and will have quarterback Sam Leavitt available. But we’ll take Mike Gundy as a home underdog any day of the week and three times on Saturday afternoons. Pick: Oklahoma State
USC (-2.5) at Washington
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network
Comment: Just a couple second-rate teams banished from broadcast television and placed on a conference-affiliated cable network. We decided to pick a winner anyhow, and that winner is the home underdog. Woof, woof. Pick: Washington
Louisville (+10.5) at Clemson
Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. on ESPN
Comment: The visitors have lost three of their past five. The hosts have a six-game winning streak and a quarterback (Cade Klubnik) playing with supreme confidence. This isn’t the same Clemson team that lost to Georgia in the opener. Also, Louisville isn’t Georgia. Pick: Clemson
Straight-up winners: Penn State, NC State, Vanderbilt, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Washington and Clemson
Five-star special: Vanderbilt. The Commodores are much better than expected but continue to be undervalued. We’ll ride ’em until the line adjusts (if it adjusts).
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