College Football Cheat Sheet: Sleepy Saturday does not mean Boring Saturday

One of the best weekends of the college football calendar is now in the past, but that does not mean the college football party stops. We’re shifting into Week 2 mode and some conference games plus old rivalries show up on the card. This will not go down as one of the best weekends of the season but there are still plenty of options on the buffet.

KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet has returned for the 2025 season to set the table on Fridays for the football weekend all season long. We’ve got some trophy games, our first huge Big Ten vs. SEC matchup, and multiple opportunities for both the ACC and Big 12 to pickup some quality non-conference victories set for this weekend.

Let’s dive into the card.

The Slate

James Madison at Louisville	7:00pm (Friday)	ESPN2
Northern Illinois at Maryland	7:30pm (Friday)	Big Ten Network
Western Illinois at Northwestern	7:30pm (Friday)	Big Ten Network
Eastern Washington at Boise State	9:00pm (Friday)	FS1
Liberty at Jacksonville State	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Baylor at No. 17 SMU	Noon	The CW
UConn at Syracuse	Noon	ESPN+
San Jose State at No. 7 Texas	Noon	ABC
Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State	Noon	FOX
No. 11 Illinois at Duke	Noon	ESPN
East Texas A&M at No. 14 Florida State	Noon	ACC Network
Kent State at No. 24 Texas Tech	Noon	TNT
Virginia at NC State	Noon	ESPN2
FIU at No. 2 Penn State	Noon	Big Ten Network
Kennesaw State at No. 23 Indiana	Noon	FS1
Northwestern State at Minnesota	Noon	Big Ten Network
Central Michigan at Pittsburgh	Noon	ESPNU
Utah State at No. 19 Texas A&M	12:45pm	SEC Network
Fresno State at Oregon State	3:30pm	The CW
UAB at Navy	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
Troy at No. 8 Clemson	3:30pm	ACC Network
Kansas at Missouri	3:30pm	ESPN2
Texas State at UTSA	3:30pm	ESPN+
No. 20 Ole Miss at Kentucky	3:30pm	ABC
Oklahoma State at No. 6 Oregon	3:30pm	CBS
Bowling Green at Cincinnati	3:30pm	ESPN+
Miami (Ohio) at Rutgers	3:30pm	Peacock
North Texas at Western Michigan	3:30pm	ESPN+
Delaware at Colorado	3:30pm	FOX
Grambling State at No. 1 Ohio State	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
Middle Tennessee at Wisconsin	4:00pm	FS1
West Virginia at Ohio	4:00pm	ESPNU
South Florida at No. 13 Florida	4:15pm	SEC Network
Arkansas State at Arkansas (Little Rock)	5:00pm	ESPN+
Missouri State at Marshall	6:00pm	ESPN+
WKU at Toledo	7:00pm	ESPN+
Tulane at South Alabama	7:00pm	ESPN+
North Carolina at Charlotte	7:00pm	ESPN+
Army at Kansas State	7:00pm	ESPN
Houston at Rice	7:00pm	ESPN+
Memphis at Georgia State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Southern Illinois at Purdue	7:30pm	Big Ten Network
Ball State at Auburn	7:30pm	ESPNU
No. 12 Arizona State at Mississippi State	7:30pm	ESPN2
Akron at Nebraska	7:30pm	Big Ten Network
Boston College at Michigan State	7:30pm	NBC
Louisiana Tech at LSU	7:30pm	ESPN+
Georgia Southern at USC	7:30pm	FS1
Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech	7:30pm	ACC Network
No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma	7:30pm	ABC
ULM at No. 21 Alabama	7:45pm	SEC Network
UCLA at UNLV	8:00pm	CBS Sports Network
Tulsa at New Mexico State	9:00pm	ESPN+
Stanford at BYU	10:15pm	ESPN
San Diego State at Washington State	10:15pm	The CW
UC Davis at Washington	11:00pm	Big Ten Network
Sam Houston at Hawaii	Midnight	Spectrum

Gambling Corner

Want spread plays? We got spread plays.

— Luckett’s Locks: Welcome to Under SZN

Kick off the 2025 Kentucky football season with KSR Plus! We’re giving you behind-the-scenes intel you won’t find anywhere else. Join the most vibrant online community in BBN ahead of a pivotal season for Mark Stoops.

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.

First big opportunity for Brent Venables

The first year did not go well for Brent Venables in Norman as the head coach. The second year in 2023 went much better with Dillon Gabriel at quarterback. The even year was again a major disappointment as OU fielded arguably the program’s worst offense in a 6-7 season. That forced Venables to make some big changes.

Now we will see those changes on full display in the biggest game of the weekend.

Michigan heads to Norman for a top-20 clash. Five-star true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will step into the national spotlight for the first time but this is really about Oklahoma. Can offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer fix all the problems? This is a huge spot for the Sooners with remaining home games against Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU. That’s not even considering games away from home against Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Oklahoma needs a win.

The Southwest Conference is back

In the noon window to start the day, The CW will get one of the best games of the slate. Baylor is making the 90-mile drive from Waco to Dallas this weekend to face SMU. The former conference foes will meet for the 83rd time on Saturday.

This is a matchup that features two good quarterbacks in Kevin Jennings and Sawyer Robertson playing in spread offenses that want to hit the tempo gas pedal. A shootout could occur. It’s a big spot for Baylor coming off a loss. SMU is looking to prove that they are a playoff contender again.

Expect points in what could be the most entertaining game of the weekend.

Don’t expect points in Cy-Hawk

Yeah, everything I said about Baylor-SMU. Expect the opposite in Ames. Iowa and Iowa State will be playing for the 72nd time on Saturday afternoon. The winner will take the Cy-Hawk Trophy home. This could be a fight to 17 points.

Iowa State beat Kansas State in a Week Zero slugfest over in Ireland. Iowa has a better defense and less skill talent. The Cyclones struggled to run the football in that Big 12 matchup. The same will happen on Saturday. Meanwhile, Iowa threw for less than 50 yards in a Week 1 win over FCS Albany. Punts will be prevalent at Jack Trice Stadium.

As always, expect a close game that is decided in the fourth quarter. Do not be surprised if there are less than three offensive touchdowns total in this game.

The Border War returns

Kansas and Missouri have not met on the gridiron since 2011. That will change on Saturday afternoon in Columbia. The Border War is finally back.

These two fan bases absolutely despise each other. This is legitimate one of the most hate-filled rivalries in all of college athletics. That should create a very hostile and loud atmosphere at Faurot Field in a game where both teams feel like they can make noise in their own conference this season.

It’s a big stage for Jalon Daniels and another chance for Eliah Drinkwitz‘s program to show that they have real staying power.

The rest of the college football card

— James Madison is the favorite to win the Sun Belt and second-year head coach Bob Chesney will be a power conference head coach candidate sooner rather than later. The Dukes have a very good Group of Six roster. Friday will be a good test against a Louisville team with an explosive offense but some questions on defense.

— Darian Mensah will step into the spotlight during the noon window when Duke hosts ranked Illinois in a Big Ten vs. ACC contest. The Illini have high expectations while the Blue Devils spent a ton of money on the Tulane transfer. A win for either side would be a nice early season statement.

— NC State hosts Virginia in a fun conference contest during the noon window. Don’t believe neither team is a playoff contender but CJ Bailey and Chandler Morris are two of the most underrated quarterbacks in college football. The Hoos spent big in the transfer portal to give Tony Elliott a better roster. Now there need to be results. It’s a big game for a coach who could be on the hot seat.

— South Florida was one of the biggest stories in Week 1 for the win over Boise State. Now the reward is consecutive road trips to Florida and Miami. Star quarterback Byrum Brown will get a lot of eyeballs on him during this stretch. Florida will be looking to record another smooth win before the huge road game against LSU arrives next week.

— Jeff Lebby got a much-needed win but now the real test comes. Mississippi State needs to show some prove of concept. Arizona State rolls into Starkville fresh off a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance. The Big 12 also probably can’t afford one of its best teams losing to one of the SEC’s worst teams. That will be brought up during the playoff selection process if it happens.

— The Diego Pavia party at Vanderbilt started last year with an upset win over Virginia Tech in Week 1. Now the Commodores have to make the return trip to Blacksburg. The Hokies went toe-to-toe with South Carolina in Week 1 despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. Brent Pry really, really needs a win.

— It was a strange week for Mike Gundy that ended with the long-time Oklahoma State head coach taking some payroll shots at Oregon. Dan Lanning quickly fired back. That adds some more juice to a Big 12 vs. Big Ten contest that includes a four-touchdown spread. Oregon is expected to be a playoff contender, but Oklahoma State is a big unknown thanks to a brand new staff and 38 transfers in Stillwater. Does Gundy think his team can go into Autzen Stadium and threaten the Ducks?

— Clay Helton will return to USC on Saturday for the first time since his head coaching tenure in Los Angeles ended. That adds some intrigue to this Big Ten vs. Sun Belt contest. The Trojans looked really good in Week 1 and will look to send another message against their former coach before conference play starts next week when USC travels to Purdue.