Friday Night College Football viewing guide and why-to-watch

Just two games tonight, and they’re both a bit later than usual. But, after you grab some dinner, and run the dog, here’s how you can ease into a big weekend of college football. They’re not great games. Okay, they’re pretty bad. But if they were quality games, they would be playing on Saturday, ya’know? #NoRefunds

Memphis -15 ¹⁄₂ at Tulane 7:00 ESPN2 — The Green Wave have played really well (for Tulane) at home, dropping games to UAB and Wake by just 13 total points. But, close doesn’t count it in the C-USA standings. And, it really won’t help when Memphis makes the short drip down I-55. The Tigers struggle to stop the triple option; it’s baked-in to this thin defense. Expect the Tigers to give up some frustration touchdowns. But the Green Wave has struggled to stop anything. Hope you got this one when it opened at -13 1/2 ..two touchdowns may wind up being the final margin. This week and next (at UConn) are the last Tiger tuneups until the huge visit to Bluff City by UCF.

Colorado -9 ¹⁄₂ vs. UCLA 8:00 FS1 — The Bruins are just...wow. This is a really bad team. They’ve been blown out by Cincinnati and Fresno State. It’s a testament to how bad the Oklahoma defense is that the game was within 40 points. Now, this fun-loving sea-level bunch gets to make the trek to Boulder to face the undefeated Buffs. That Colorado is undefeated isn’t that big of a surprise. It’s how they’ve done it — taking a road game in Lincoln and destroying cross-state rival CSU Rams. If the CU passing game gets going, it’s hard to see how the Bruins keep up here. Hopefully Chip can get his targets to tune into this one tonight: when UCLA probably gets gets whacked again, he can sell immediate playing time with a straight face.

For me, the greatest suspense here is how few clothes UCLA’s cheerleaders are willing to wear (48 degrees at kick) and whether CU’s Chip makes it back in time after an unfortunate injury last week. He’s a game-time decision. (And, I did wind up taking the Buffaloes. So, c’mon 10-point CU win.)