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Hey, crowd. Just a quick post with the rundown on tonight’s slate in advance of another big weekend. There’s a couple east coast games and then a late one in the mountains, so enough to keep us occupied until the wee hours.
Illinois at #22 South Florida
6:00 PM (CT)
ESPN
Lovie Smith! Charlie Strong! Last time we saw this many retreads in one game was the short-lived Continental Tire Bowl (2002-2004, RIP). The school that once replaced Ron Turner with Ron Zook is now outmanned by a team coached by Charlie Strong. Amazing! Tune in for at least one special teams blunder and a 99-yard run called back because an Illinois lineman somehow ripped his own teammate’s helmet off via the facemask. He will of course apologize profusely and repair it himself.
UMass at Temple
6:00 PM
ESPNU
This might be the most frightening thing you will see this September, and yes, that includes IT and mother!. UMass has already managed to lose three games this season, including a road game to mid-tier FCS Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Haven’t seen a regional poultry icon dismantle an unwitting bystander like that since Gus Fring was wielding boxcutters in the ABQ. Take Temple here. At least they beat an FCS team last Saturday, which is something their former coach has yet to do at Baylor.
Arizona at UTEP
9:15 PM
ESPN
A PAC-12 team is headed to the Sun Bowl. Nothing new here. They’ve given us such thrillers as Oregon State 3, Pitt 0 from 2008. But RichRod’s in a pretty deep funk again here and might need a hand that only the El Paso night can provide in getting out of it. Nothing cures the woes of losing to a G5 team (hi, Kyle Allen) at home like...playing a G5 team on the road. We like the Miners here because they mastered existential desert wandering long before RichRod got to Tucson.
That’s it! Enjoy responsibly as always.