College football Week 7 viewing guide: The #PAC12AFTERDARK is set to go off

We’re closer to daylight savings time than not, which means that we’ve officially landed in the heart of the 2018 college football season. Notre Dame is somehow ranked No. 5, Texas has snuck into the top 10, and Florida remains lingering around the middle of the top 25. It’s weird, but it’s college football.

This week offers up a fat platoon of afternoon bouts across the country that hold lasting implications for the complexion of this year’s Playoff and New Year’s Day bowls. One particular Pac-12 bout could play the entire conference straight out of the CFB semifinal. One other could elevate a left coast club to the final four, depending on what happens elsewhere over the remainder of the season.

In short, there’s a lot going on, and much of that is happening simultaneously. Let us here at Red Cup Rebellion Dot Com help you navigate the mine field that is this season’s Week 7.

Games’ watchability are graded on a scale of chaos factor, rankings implications, and sheer weirdness potential. These metrics are moving targets from week to week and explained below. Good luck, dear friends.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

Georgia Southern at Texas State

6:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU and streaming online at WatchESPN

Um, it’s football, and it’s Thursday, and it’s not Eagles at Giants, which will be ugly. This will be ugly, no doubt, but ugly for Texas State, who probably won’t have an answer for Georgia Southern’s option attack. Whatever. Go to dinner or something.

Texas Tech at TCU

6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and streaming online at WatchESPN

OR tune in for the Red Raiders in Fort Worth, where Kliff Kingsbury’s club will try to dismantle an unruly, if questionable, TCU shop. POINTS POINTS POINTS.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12

Arizona at Utah

9 p.m. CT on ESPN and streaming online at WatchESPN

Would you like to spice up your Friday night college football experience with some real craziness? Would you like to be unreasonably awake at like 12:45 a.m. CT wondering why you’re unreasonably awake? Please watch this game, because it will be very, very strange.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 13 (EARLY GAMES)

Tennessee at No. 21 Auburn

11 a.m. CT on SEC Network and streaming online at WatchESPN

Spencer Hall and Ryan Nanni bet this game straight up on the Shutdown Fullcast and nearly made Holly Anderson throw up. It’s going to be something like football — football-adjacent, perhaps — and neither side will feel all that great about the game after it’s over. BET THE UNDER.

Pitt at No. 5 Notre Dame

1:30 p.m. CT on NBC and streaming online at NBC Sports Live

If Pitt pulls off an upset in South Bend, the CFP committee must finally #PutPittIn

No. 2 Georgia at No. 13 LSU

2:30 p.m. CT, CBS and streaming online at CBS Sports Net

A rematch of the 2003 SEC Championship game? Why yes, don’t mind if we do.

No. 7 Washington at No. 17 Oregon

2:30 p.m. CT, ABC and streaming online at WatchESPN

Here’s where the Pac-12 needs to watch out if the conference wants representation in the semifinal this year. The Huskies may very well burn their chance at the Playoff with a loss, especially because we’re on the wrong side of Week 6. WATCHABILITY IS HIGH.

No. 22 Texas A&M at South Carolina

2:30 p.m. CT, SEC Network and streaming online at WatchESPN

Someone has to win this game, right?

No. 15 Wisconsin at No. 12 Michigan

6:30 p.m. CT on ABC and streaming online at WatchESPN

Yes, we know this is going off against Ole Miss and Arky, but let us please remind you: MAD HARBAUGH FACE FOR THREE HOURS.

NIGHT GAMES (DOES NOT INCLUDE THE #PAC12AFTERDARK; THEY ARE A DIFFERENT SUBHEADING)

Okay, there are no real night games to pay attention to other than Ole Miss “at” Arkansas and whatever Wisconsin and Michigan are doing, both of which will doubtless be weird. Instead, we calmly move on to the:

PAC-12 AFTER DARK

No. 19 Colorado at USC

9:30 p.m. CT on FS1 and streaming online at FOXSportsGO

OH HELL YEAH. SOME MORE NATIONAL IMPLICATIONS. If Colorado runs their table from here out, and if Washington falls apart down the stretch against Oregon or some other conference opponent, the Buffs may just generate very real College Football Playoff Controversy, which we should all root for, especially those among us who are banned from attending bowl games this season.