5 College Football Games to Watch this Weekend (When You’re Not Watching Penn State)

West Virginia at (#9)Iowa State
3:30 p.m., ESPN

West Virginia is pioneering a new concept in the Big 12, where you take 11 players on your team and defend your goal line, with the idea of preventing the other team from scoring. While they stand at 5-3, they’ve made life difficult for any opponent to get past them. Iowa State has its sights set high for the conclusion of this season - a Big 12 crown and NY6 ticket. This game should go down to the wire, with hopes it comes down to a final possession pitting the Mountaineers stingy defense against the Cyclones clutch offense.
Prediction: Iowa State-20, West Virginia-17

Buffalo at Ohio
3:30 p.m., CBSSN

Check this out to see Buffalo’s Jaret Patterson, who went off for 409 rushing yards and eight touchdowns against Kent State last week (coming off a more pedestrian 301 yards and four touchdown game against Bowling Green). His running style can most closely be compared to a bowling ball the moment after being slung forward by a heavy-duty slingshot. Led by Frank Solich, Ohio is a perennially tough team ready to challenge for the MAC crown, so this could also turn out to be a decent ballgame as well.
Prediction: Buffalo-38, Ohio-30

(#13)BYU at (#18)Coastal Carolina
5:30 p.m., ESPNU

What a week for these two, huh? College GameDay had been planning to head to Conway for the Coastal Carolina-Liberty game. But then Liberty had to back out. But in traditional 2020 fashion, a quick solution arose - replacing Liberty with 9-0 BYU, setting the stage for a battle of unbeatens. Coastal Carolina has been proving its doubters wring on a weekly basis, but they will likely have their hands full this time around...but maybe that’s exactly what they want everyone to think.
Prediction: BYU-35, Coastal Carolina-24

Oregon State at Utah
10:30 p.m., ESPN

The Beavers are a gritty team that leaves it all on the field and are just an easy team to root for, especially if you like perennial underdogs. They are coming off a thrilling upset of rival Oregon, can they make it two in a row?
Prediction: Oregon State-24, Utah-21

Washington State at (#20)USC
7:30 p.m. (Sunday), FS1

The Trojans seem to play to the level of their competition, which is good news for the Cougars as they aim for the upset and look to stay relevant in the post-Mike Leach era. It’s also good news for us, as we could get another thrilling finish out of USC in place of the Chiefs-Broncos snoozefest on Sunday Night Football.
Prediction: USC-31. Washington State-27