Friday nights in the fall always seem to have a little less football on TV. With high school varsity games on Friday nights and NFL games dominating Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, Friday TV usually features the craziest college football games of the season (see: Stanford vs. Colorado last year). Most of the Friday games are between West Coast teams airing late at night, and are the craziest games fondly remembered at the end of the season.
But with the Pac-12 merging into the Big Ten and Big 12, the potential for some of the most incredible gameplay in college football this season is growing. The idea of USC traveling to Piscataway, New Jersey, on a Friday night is something you’d never have thought about before, right? Now, the possibilities are wide open and the potential for a wild game is about to be unleashed.
With the final remaining games of #Pac12AfterDark under our belts, here’s how we rank Friday night’s primetime regular season games airing on Fox.
11. Purdue at Michigan State, November 22, 8 p.m. ET
Yes, this game could get pretty boring quickly. At this point in the season we should know what these two teams are capable of, but Michigan State is new and Purdue is still figuring things out. Good luck.
10. Illinois vs. Nebraska, Sept. 20, 8 p.m. ET
This game will likely end with more turnovers than touchdowns, 15-12, and they will come out victorious.
9. Michigan State vs. Oregon, Oct. 4, 9 p.m. ET
Oregon should perform very well this year: the addition of transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel will help keep their RPO-based offense active, and the Ducks’ talent at every position is comparable to any school in the country.
Michigan State… not so much. Under first-year head coach Jonathan Smith and new QB Aidan Chiles, the Spartans will face a tough battle when they travel to Eugene. You might want to skip this one.
8. Oregon vs. Purdue, Oct. 18, 8 p.m. ET
Section 2 will be the same as section 1. Purdue’s defense should be intriguing, but the offense is still a work in progress, but October in West Lafayette should be intriguing.
7. UCLA @ Washington, Nov. 15, 9 p.m. ET
This is the first game between two former Pac-12 members and should be pretty entertaining. They have Jedd Fisch transferred from Arizona and Will Rogers transferred from Mississippi State at QB. With Deshaun Foster taking over as head coach at UCLA, Los Angeles may have to tackle the rebuild even more than usual, but the defense should remain pretty solid. This could be an interesting game.
6. Iowa @ UCLA, Nov. 8, 9 p.m. ET
Prime time Iowa, folks. You’re going to see a lot of punts and tough defense.
5. Northwestern @ Maryland, October 11, 8 p.m. ET
Northwestern is in its second year under coach David Brown and should be an intriguing team, especially considering they made a bowl game in their first year. The Wildcats return receiver AJ Henning and a dynamic group of running backs, but this is Maryland’s first game since September and they could start to slip away.
4. Washington vs. Rutgers, Sept. 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rutgers could be a sneaky intriguing team this year. Greg Schiano’s team has a stout defense and an offense that can get the most out of running back Kyle Monagay and frustrate opposing defenses. Plus, it’s early in the season to face a Washington team that may still be finding its groove. This game is a great opportunity for an upset.
3. Rutgers @ USC, Oct. 25, 11 p.m. ET
This is the moment, folks. This is why we’re #Pac12AfterDark. This is the moment when a Rutgers team from New Jersey has to travel across the country to take on USC at 11pm. This is a dream come true. This game kicks off at 11pm so expect it to be one of the best games of the season.
2. Arizona at Kansas State, September 13, 8 p.m. ET
The first game between the Big 12 rivals has great potential for sparks. Despite losing their head coach in the offseason, Arizona has the return of QB Noah Fifita and WR Tetairoa McMillan to keep the offense from falling apart too much. They head to Manhattan, where Kansas State returns intriguing QB Avery Johnson. This game has great potential.
1. Utah @ UCF, November 29, 8 p.m. ET
This late game means a lot to the Big 12 and could determine who advances to the conference title game. Utah returns almost their entire offensive line and will look to outplay opponents on the ground. Center Cam Rising returns for another season and if he stays healthy, they could be special. UCF acquired former Arkansas QB KJ Jefferson to boost the Knights’ offense, and the ground game between him and RJ Davis will be absolutely awesome. Make this game a priority, guys.
