TODAY’S TV GAMES
NOON
| 9 a.m. | Navy vs. Notre Dame in DublinWUSA-9, WJZ-13 |
| Noon | Penn State vs. Ohio ESPN |
| Noon | Syracuse vs. Northwestern ESPN2 |
| Noon | Illinois vs. Western Michigan ESPNU |
| Noon | West Virginia vs. Marshall FX |
| Noon | Ohio State vs. Miami (Ohio) Big Ten Network |
| Noon | Georgia vs. Buffalo WDCW (Channel 50) |
| 12:30 | North Carolina vs. Elon WDCA (Channel 20), WBFF (Ch. 45) |
Top o’ the morning, Navy and Notre Dame! The two longtime rivals travel all the way to Dublin for some sweet, sweet 9 a.m. college football. The Fighting Irish will be without four suspended players, including starting quarterback Tommy Rees and tailback Cierre Wood. Now it seems Allen Pinkett, who does color commentary for the Fighting Irish’s radio broadcasts, wanted to get in on the Notre Dame suspension fun.
This week, Pinkett told a Chicago radio station, “I’ve always felt like, to have a successful team, you have to have a few bad citizens on the team.” This went over about as well as Gerry Faust at Notre Dame, and so the IMG Notre Dame Radio Network pulled him from the booth for Saturday’s game, even though Pinkett was already in Ireland. . . .
After months of unpleasantness, Penn State finally returns to the field against Ohio (see story, Page D1). With a 27-14 record over the past three seasons, Frank Solich has quietly turned the Bobcats into a team some are calling a BCS buster (but likely will be forced to play in a bowl game named after an off-brand cat litter). Junior QB Tyler Tettleton (28 TD passes, 10 rushing TDs last season) is one to watch.
AFTERNOON
| 3 p.m. | Virginia vs. RichmondComcast SportsNet |
| 3:30 p.m. | Florida vs. Bowling Green ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | Iowa vs. Northern Illinois ESPNU |
| 3:30 p.m. | Boston College vs. Miami WJLA-7, WMAR-2 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Nebraska vs. Southern Mississippi ESPN2 |
| 3:30 p.m. | Wisconsin vs. Northern Iowa Big Ten Network* |
| 3:30 p.m. | Purdue vs. Eastern Kentucky Big Ten Network* |
| 4 p.m. | Colorado vs. Colorado State FX |
A short imagined conversation:
Television executive: Okay, it’s the first college football Saturday. What do you have for us, College Football Schedule-Maker? We need something that really pops!
College football schedule-maker: [shuffling papers wildly] Um, yeah. How about Boston College-Miami? Does that work for you? You can call it “Throwback Saturday!”
Television executive: [drinking fully from tumbler filled with brown liquid] Come on, no. One of those teams is likely to be playing at RFK Stadium in December. What else ya got?
College football schedule-maker: [now sweating uncontrollably] Okay, how about Nebraska-Southern Mississippi? That’s . . . one recognizable team!
Television executive: [drains glass] You know, people just might be turning to the U.S. Open at this point? Anything else?
College football schedule-maker: Pur . . .
Television executive: Keeping in mind that Purdue is never an acceptable answer.
College football schedule-maker: [points at wall] Look over there! [runs away]
NIGHT
| 7 p.m. | Clemson vs. AuburnESPN |
| 7 p.m. | LSU vs. North Texas ESPNU |
| 7 p.m. | Arkansas vs. Jacksonville State pay-per-view |
| 7 p.m. | Missouri vs. Southeastern Louisiana pay-per-view |
| 7 p.m. | Mississippi vs. Central Arkansas pay-per-view |
| 7 p.m. | Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Lamar pay-per-view |
| 7 p.m. | Mississippi State vs. Jackson State pay-per-view |
| 7:30 p.m. | Southern California vs. Hawaii WTTG-5 |
| 8 p.m. | Michigan vs. Alabama WJLA-7, WMAR-2 |
| 8 p.m. | Houston vs. Texas State Comcast SportsNet Plus |
| 8 p.m. | Tulane vs. Rutgers CBS Sports Network |
| 8 p.m. | Indiana vs. Indiana State Big Ten Network |
| 10:30 p.m. | Oregon vs. Arkansas State ESPN |
| 10:30 p.m. | Arizona vs. Toledo ESPNU |
No. 8 Michigan likely had a puncher’s chance of staying with No. 2 Alabama. A little Denard Robinson goes a long way, after all. But then Wolverines Coach Brady Hoke decided to suspend starting running back Fitzgerald Toussaint for his offseason DUI, depriving Michigan’s offense of its second 1,000-yard rusher from a year ago. Robinson was the other, and he’ll now face a Crimson Tide defense that has allowed an opposing player to rush for 100 yards only 10 times since 2005.
Speaking of Michigan, former Wolverines Coach Rich Rodriguez returns to the sideline when Arizona hosts Toledo. He’ll be looking to breathe life into a Wildcats program that’s been to only three bowl games in the last 13 seasons.
— Matt Bonesteel
*Check with your cable or satellite provider; the Big Ten Network televises multiple games in the same time slot, but not all cable and satellite providers air them.
