College Football Cheat Sheet: Big Ten and SEC take center stage

There is a clear big two in college football. I’m talking about conferences and not teams. The Big Ten and SEC have the most of the money, the sport’s biggest brands, and the best conferences. The ACC and Big 12 absolutely bring something to the table but the big two eventually will take up most of the oxygen.

As these leagues shift fully into league play in Week 5, both conferences will enter the spotlight this weekend with some big games with major stakes. The best college football Saturday of the season has arrived.

College Football Cheat Sheet is back to set the table.

The Slate

No. 8 Florida State at Virginia	7:00pm (Friday)	ESPN
No. 24 TCU at Arizona State	9:00pm (Friday)	FOX
Houston at Oregon State	10:30pm (Friday)	ESPN
UCF at Kansas State	Noon	FS1
Bowling Green at Ohio	Noon	CBS Sports Network
South Alabama at North Texas	Noon	ESPNU
No. 21 USC at No. 23 Illinois	Noon	FOX
Rutgers at Minnesota	Noon	Big Ten Network
Louisville at Pittsburgh	Noon	ESPN2
Duke at Syracuse	Noon	ACC Network
No. 16 Georgia Tech at Wake Forest	Noon	ESPN
Cincinnati at Kansas	Noon	TNT
No. 22 Notre Dame at Arkansas	Noon	ABC
Utah State at No. 18 Vanderbilt	12:45pm	SEC Network
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan	1:00pm	ESPN+
Georgia Southern at James Madison	1:30pm	ESPN+
Arkansas State at ULM	3:00pm	ESPN+
Auburn at No. 9 Texas A&M	3:30pm	ESPN
Akron at Toledo	3:30pm	ESPN+
Rice at Navy	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
Utah at West Virginia	3:30pm	FOX
California at Boston College	3:30pm	ACC Network
UConn at Buffalo	3:30pm	ESPN+
Baylor at Oklahoma State	3:30pm	ESPN2
No. 4 LSU at No. 13 Ole Miss	3:30pm	ABC
No. 1 Ohio State at Washington	3:30pm	CBS
No. 11 Indiana at Iowa	3:30pm	Peacock
San Diego State at Northern Illinois	3:30pm	ESPN+
UCLA at Northwestern	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
New Mexico State at New Mexico	4:00pm	Mountain West Network
Hawaii at Air Force	4:00pm	FS1
Tulane at Tulsa	4:00pm	ESPNU
No. 15 Tennessee at Mississippi State	4:15pm	SEC Network
Liberty at Old Dominion	6:00pm	ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at Kennesaw State	6:00pm	ESPN+
WKU at Missouri State	7:00pm	ESPN+
Memphis at Florida Atlantic	7:00pm	ESPN2
Jacksonville State at Southern Miss	7:00pm	ESPN+
Arizona at No. 14 Iowa State	7:00pm	ESPN
Virginia Tech at NC State	7:00pm	The CW
Appalachian State at Boise State	7:30pm	FS1
Washington State at Colorado State	7:30pm	CBS Sports Network
No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State	7:30pm	NBC
No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia	7:30pm	ABC
UMass at No. 20 Missouri	7:30pm	ESPNU
San Jose State at Stanford	7:30pm	ACC Network
Kentucky at South Carolina	7:45pm	SEC Network
Marshall at Louisiana	8:00pm	ESPN+
Louisiana Tech at UTEP	9:00pm	ESPN+
No. 25 BYU at Colorado	10:15pm	ESPN

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Big Ten Rundown: A big one in Happy Valley

There are six Big Ten games on the schedule on Saturday after the league’s soft launch to begin the year. Now we get to see what this Midwestern league that stretches coast to coast has in 2025. Rutgers-Minnesota and UCLA-Northwestern will take place but here we’re focusing on some games with some bigger stakes.

— Oregon at Penn State: A rematch of the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game will take place in State College on Saturday night. James Franklin really needs a big win. Dan Lanning is looking to prove he has another national championship contender. With both teams playing very weak non-conference slates, this game feels pretty important. The White Out game is a big one. Can the Nittany Lions finally get a big monkey off their back?

— USC at Illinois: Illinois got housed by Indiana in a huge spot for the Illini program. Now Bret Bielema‘s program returns home to host USC in a body clock game in the noon window. This is a big spot for both programs. Lincoln Riley‘s team is off to a 2-0 Big Ten start but has struggled when they’ve had to cross multiple time zones. This is an important game for both programs. The winner will very much be in the playoff hunt.

— Indiana at Iowa: Indiana is riding high again under head coach Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers are now a two-possession road favorite against Iowa. Is this a hangover game? Iowa’s defense has not been great to start the season, and that’s a surprise, but the Hawks have been tough against ranked competition at home under Kirk Ferentz.

— Ohio State at Washington: The last time many saw Ohio State was in Week 1 when the Buckeyes overwhelmed the Texas offense. Now Ryan Day‘s team goes to Seattle to face a Washington offense that is absolutely rolling right now. Meanwhile, Juilan Sayin will make his first start at quarterback in front of a raucous crowd. These multiple time zone road trips can be tricky. Can the Dawgs give Ohio State a scare?

SEC Rundown: Alabama and Georgia meet again

Kentucky and South Carolina will meet in a very big game for both programs on Saturday night in Columbia, but the SEC is full of big games this weekend. There is one notable non-conference matchup and ton of conference games with stakes.

— Alabama at Georgia: These programs meeting in a big game is not surprise but this is the first time Sanford Stadium has hosted a game in this series in a decade. A loss for Bama gives Kalen DeBoer‘s team almost no playoff wiggle room with four games down. Georgia could record a second big win in September to boost their playoff resume plus a chance to knockout Alabama early. The scene in Athens should be spectacular as these big brands go at it again.

— Notre Dame at Arkansas: The Hogs have blown two very winnable opportunities over the last two weeks against Ole Miss and Memphis on the road. Taylen Green is having a Heisman Trophy type season but he needs some wins. Saturday afternoon will present a good opportunity. Notre Dame’s offense might put up some big numbers against this Arkansas defense but Green could light up this Notre Dame pass defense up like a Christmas tree. It could get wild at Razorback Stadium in the noon window.

— Auburn at Texas A&M: Auburn missed a big opportunity at Oklahoma but will get another one this weekend in College Station. Will this offense make some strides after being overwhelmed by Oklahoma’s front? A&M is riding high after the Notre Dame win but this will be a big test. This feels like a separation game for each side with the winner emerging as a real playoff contender.

— LSU at Ole Miss: This is a historic rivalry in the SEC that has treated us to some very good games in recent meetings. The home team has recently owned this series and that could mean good things for Ole Miss. LSU’s defense looks like the real deal but they have legitimate offensive issues. Ole Miss does not have offensive issues. The Rebels could make a statement on Saturday afternoon.

— Tennessee at Mississippi State: Lost in the sauce this weekend will be the game in Starkville. The Bulldogs are off to a hot start and haven’t left Mississippi yet. This fan base is starving for a big SEC win. Tennessee is riding high thanks mostly to a close loss to Georgia, but this is a tricky road trip. Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby worked for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel at UCF. Both teams play the same style. That could create quite the track meet at Davis-Wade Stadium.

The rest of the college football card

— We will not have to wait until Saturday to see some big games. Florida State travels to Virginia for their first test since the Week 1 win over Alabama. North Texas quarterback transfer Chandler Morris is having a big season for the Hoos. The Seminoles will need to score some points in Charlottesville. This one could be a shootout.

— The Big 12 race will most likely come down to close game success. Arizona State recorded a road win against Baylor last week with a field goal at the horn. The Sun Devils now host a TCU squad with two ACC wins in non-conference play on a short week. The Friday night clash in Tempe could have a say in this conference title race. It will likely come down to the wire.

— Someone has to emerge as a contender behind Miami and Florida State in the ACC. The winner at Acrisure Stadium will become a primary candidate. Louisville heads to Pittsburgh to give us a game that should be pretty exciting in the noon window. Both offenses can get explosive. Both defenses hunt havoc plays but can get glitchy in the backend. Expect some fireworks in a big swing game.

— Iowa State is off to a hot start but the offense isn’t exactly humming in Ames. Arizona has been an early surprise and is currently playing at a top-15 level on defense. Could the ranked team be on upset alert against a road dog in this Big 12 clash? This one will be a slugfest but it’s a big game for both teams. Another win improves Iowa State’s Big 12 title chances.