Friday Night Viewing Guide, Why to Watch, and Open Thread

WHOO HOO! Friday Night Football — without having to sweat on an aluminum bleacher, pay $5 for a cold wiener with sketchy mustard and an even colder stale bun, drink Pepsi out of a waxy cup, and be surrounded by 700 teenagers and Sports Parents...all the while praying that your kid, brother, nephew, bae etc. doesn’t get carted off the field.

Shudder.

First up, here’s tonight’s schedule and viewing guide:

Matchup / Time (ET) / TV / Streaming

Syracuse at Western Michigan 6:00 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com

Monmouth at Eastern Michigan 6:30 PM ESPN+ ESPN+

Utah State at #11 Michigan State 7:00 PM BTN FoxSportsGo.com

Army at Duke 7:00 PM ESPNU WatchESPN.com

WKU at #4 Wisconsin 9:00 PM ESPN WatchESPN.com

San Diego State at #13 Stanford 9:00 PM FS1 FoxSportsGo.com

Portland State at Nevada 9:00 PM None WatchStadium.com

Colorado vs Colorado State 9:30 PM CBSSN CBSSports.com

Why To Watch:

Syracuse (-5, o/u 67) @ Western Michigan - The Cuse’s lights-out offense is hella fun to watch if you like teams that beat Clemson (that’ll never get old.) And, with its putrid defense, going on the road against a very solid MAC contender, points — baby, points! -- are sure to fall like rain. Seriously, Syracuse isn’t very good. Western Michigan could outright win this game if they can keep up on the scoreboard— the Broncs are very familiar with the former BGSU head man’s scheme. That may be easier said than done though. When it’s clicking, the Orange’s offense is potent.

Western Kentucky at Wisconsin (-36.5, o/u 52.5) - Why should you catch at least a quarter or so of what will be a bloodbath? Expectations, for a start. The Badgers are seriously being hyped as Playoff contenders. Second, see if they have developed anything resembling a forward pass. Third, see if the plug-and-play recruiting along the DL is still paying dividends. Finally, Jonathan Taylor is as good a running back as you’ll see in the bigs. He’ll go nuts tonight. Maybe keep an eye on the game during commercials of a better game.

Army at Duke (14, o/u 46) - ‘Murica. Freedom. What are you? A commie bastard? It’s Army (and a Black Knights squad coming off a rare bowl appearance to boot.) May also be worth seeing if Duke’s slow rebuild from last season has come to fruition enough for the Blue Devils to ruin someone’s ACC season.

San Diego State @ Stanford (-14, o/u 49.5) - Last year the Aztecs won this game straight-up versus the Cardinal. This is allegedly a different Stanford team, one built to compete for the P12 (I believe that to be true too, BTW.) And, the Aztecs have to replace Rashard Penny and his elebenty yards. This will be a more physical game than the jerseys indicate though. SDSU can stand toe-to-toe with the mid-tier P12 squads. Has Stanford taken the leap in 2018? Bonus: The Aztecs boast one of the most unique mascots in any sport.

Colorado (-7.5, o/u 65.5) vs. Colorado State - Told ya’ the Rams were ripe for the plucking. This is not a must-win, but it’s close for CSU — and maybe morso for CU. (I suspect both of these teams may be kind of #butt this year.) This used to be one of America’s hidden gems for intra-state rivalries, and there is more than enough bad blood, though the series has cooled off somewhat with CU sucking and CSU going through coaches like coffee at an AA meeting. Can McIntyre and Bobo bring back the hate, and more importantly, some quality football on a consistent basis?