4 College Football Games to Watch that Aren’t Penn State: Week 9

Purdue at Michigan State
Noon, ESPN

Purdue comes in on a four-game winning streak, including two victories against ranked opponents by a total of 46 points. It will be interesting to see how they come out following one of the biggest wins in program history after dismantling Ohio State last Saturday night. They’ll hit the road to play a banged up (and now Felton Davis-less) yet gritty Sparty team that always comes to play. Can the Boilmakers move towards bowl eligibility, and possibly the top 25?
Prediction: Purdue-27, Michigan State-16

(#14)Washington State vs. (#24)Stanford
7 p.m., PAC 12 Network

Wazzou-Stanford has been one of the more entertaining series as of late, but unfortunately has been overlooked as it typically wraps up around 2 a.m. EST. It gets prime-time billing this year, but on a channel that is not readily available. Washington State is coming off a huge victory against Oregon, while Stanford is hanging on to its spot in the top 25. This one should once again go down the the wire, so make sure to watch it....if you can.
Prediction: Washington State-30, Stanford-28

(#3)Notre Dame vs. Navy
8 p.m., CBS

This game doesn’t look very good on paper. The #3 team against a service academy on a four-game losing streak doesn’t necessarily scream “must-watch.” However, Notre Dame has played to the level of its opponents at times this season, narrowly defeating Ball State and Vanderbilt before needing a late score to pull out a victory against Pitt. While this Navy team isn’t nearly as good as recent editions, you know they are just waiting to give the Irish their absolute best shot. This has been a patently-weird season of college football, so don’t count out the Midshipmen pulling out a shocker here.
Prediction: Notre Dame-28, Navy-20

(#6)Texas vs. Oklahoma State
8 p.m. , ABC

Need more evidence of an unpredictably wild season of college football? Texas opened the season with a loss to Maryland, and now finds itself ranked #6 and right in the thick of the playoff race. Oklahoma State was looking dangerous earlier in the season, but it’s high-flying offense came down to earth in a surprising 31-12 loss to Kansas State last week. This will be another test for Texas, as they are in survive-and-advance mode with four consecutive games that will be anything from an easy victory.
Prediction: Texas-34, Oklahoma State-31