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After a week devoid of anything but the Battle at Bristol to watch, we're back to a schedule featuring several games between ranked opponents. Toss in a game in which we'll be rooting for an old foe to pull off the upset this time and a game between future opponents, and it's a full, fun week of college football for Vols fans.
Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| (6) Houston at Cincinnati | 7:30 pm | ESPN / WatchESPN |
Root for Cincinnati here. It won't matter, of course, but with the exception of Louisville, Houston has a pretty smooth path to an undefeated season. So if we're rooting for underdogs against higher-ranked teams, the best thing to hope for when it comes to Houston is that they have an off week somewhere along the way.
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016
| Matchup | Time (ET) | TV / Online |
|---|---|---|
| (2) Florida State at (10) Louisville | Noon | ABC / WatchESPN |
| (25) Miami, FL at Appalachian State | Noon | ESPN / WatchESPN |
| Ohio at (15) Tennessee | Noon | SECN / WatchESPN |
| (1) Alabama at (19) Ole Miss | 3:30 pm | CBS / CBSSports.com |
| (16) Georgia at Missouri | 7:30 pm | SECN / WatchESPN |
| (12) Michigan State at (18) Notre Dame | 7:30 pm | NBC / NBCSports.com |
| (3) Ohio State at (14) Oklahoma | 7:30 pm | FOX / FS Go |
We'll have to scoreboard-watch at noon during the Vols game, but who wouldn't love to see App State beat #25 Miami?
The rest of the slate is sort of a Rooting-Free Zone, with the best games being played between teams that are both ranked ahead of us anyway or between SEC West teams that won't impact the SEC East race. I think I'm rooting for Oklahoma over Ohio State, though. More losses for everybody!
This should be a fun weekend. At noon, watch the Vols on the field and the scoreboard. Then listen to Alabama-Ole Miss on the way home before settling in for an evening of channel-surfing two games between ranked teams and a game scouting future SEC East opponents.