Welcome to football nirvana.
Thursday night features two college football games and one NFL game. Texas State visits Troy and Sam Houston State heads to UTEP while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Atlanta Falcons in a game that could be pivotal for the NFC South race at the end of the season.
You might look at that board and wonder what the problem is. After all, it’s just one NFL Week 5 game and two college football games featuring teams outside of the four power conferences. But Thursday is the beginning of the best football streak of the season.
October 3 is the first of 55 consecutive days with at least one FBS high-level college football game or one NFL game. There won’t be a day without a college football or NFL game until Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.
We’re used to November being full of football until everyone takes a break right before Thanksgiving. This year, the streak extends almost the entire month of October thanks to a new Conference USA television deal. As other Group of Five conferences, such as the MAC and Sun Belt, have traditionally played midweek games during the season, Conference USA will join the party this year.
As part of a new agreement with ESPN and CBS Sports Network, the league will play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout October. The last four Tuesdays and Wednesdays in October will feature at least one Conference USA game before the MAC begins play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in November.
Here is an overview of the schedule for the next 55 days. It’s a great time to be a football fan.
Thursday October 3
Friday, October 4
Saturday October 5
Sunday October 6
Monday October 7
Tuesday October 8
Wednesday, October 9
Thursday October 10
Friday October 11
Saturday October 12
Sunday October 13
Monday October 14
Tuesday October 15
Wednesday October 16
Thursday October 17
Friday October 18
Saturday October 19
Sunday October 20
Monday October 21
Tuesday October 22
Wednesday October 23
Thursday October 24
Friday, October 25
Saturday October 26
Sunday October 27
Monday October 28
Tuesday October 29
Wednesday October 30
Thursday October 31
Friday, November 1
Saturday November 2
Sunday, November 3
Monday, November 4
Tuesday, November 5
Wednesday, November 6
Thursday, November 7
Friday, November 8
Saturday November 9
Sunday, November 10
Monday, November 11
Tuesday, November 12
Wednesday, November 13
Thursday, November 14
Friday, November 15
Saturday November 16
Sunday, November 17
Monday, November 18
Tuesday, November 19
Wednesday, November 20
Thursday, November 21
Friday, November 22
Saturday November 23
Sunday, November 24
Monday, November 25
Tuesday, November 26
Games we look forward to the most during the 55 days
NFL
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Bills at Jets, October 14: The Jets are a little down after a loss to the Broncos. Maybe that contributes to this confrontation. If the Jets want to get anywhere this season, they might have to beat the Bills. What if they don’t? Oh, imagine the headlines.
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Lions vs. Vikings, October 20: The Lions likely anticipated that either the Packers or the Bears could challenge them for the NFC North title this season. But the Vikings? Minnesota’s hot start doesn’t seem like a fluke, and if the Vikings win, they could end up winning the division as well.
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Chiefs at 49ers, October 20: Injuries have taken some of the shine off this matchup, but not much. It’s still a great Super Bowl rematch between two teams that could meet again in this season’s Super Bowl.
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Commanders in Eagles, November 14: This seemed like a throwaway Thursday night matchup when it was made. Now it looks like it could determine the NFC East title. Come mid-November, Jayden Daniels mania could be in full force as he leads the Commanders to Philadelphia.
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Texans vs. Cowboys, November 18: We’re still waiting to see if the Cowboys will be a factor this season. But if they start to get it done, this could be a fantastic game between two talented teams. The Texas rivalry just adds to this.
-Frank Schwab
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Ohio State at Oregon, October 12: The marquee game of Week 7 is the biggest test of the season (so far) for both teams. Ohio State has faced lesser competition, while Oregon got a scare against Boise State. Every defense will be really busy.
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Georgia at Texas, October 19: Saturday of Week 8 is a big day in the SEC. Georgia faces its second big road game of the season, as Texas hopes to win against Oklahoma on October 12. The game could also have big implications for the Heisman between Quinn Ewers and Carson Beck.
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Alabama at Tennessee, October 19: We’re looking at two top-five matchups in the SEC on the third Saturday in October, barring any surprises in the next two weeks. Tennessee has to think this is another great opportunity to beat Alabama for the second straight time in Knoxville and win just its second game in the series since 2006.
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Boise State at UNLV, October 25: Not every game can be from the Big Ten or the SEC. Boise State has a real Heisman threat in RB Ashton Jeanty and UNLV is the Broncos’ biggest rival in the Mountain West. This could be a sort of play-in game to get to the College Football Playoff. And we could see him again in the MWC title game.
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Ohio State at Penn State, Nov. 2: There are many other massive games during this stretch. Missouri visits Alabama. Georgia visits Ole Miss and hosts Tennessee. Penn State plays USC at the Coliseum. We’re going with a game where the loser could be eliminated from contention for the Big Ten title.
-Nick Bromberg
