Tons of great football following Ohio State’s noon kickoff against Minnesota

Ah, the joys of a noon ET kickoff. The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes play the Minnesota Golden Gophers at a respectably early hour, and then, you have the rest of the day to be productive; mow the lawn, hang up Halloween decorations, fix the shower head that has had annoyingly weak water pressure for the past month and a half, but because Ohio State only really plays late games you haven’t been in the right head-space to worry about it before now.

Or of course, you could just watch more football, as there are three games today that pit top-20 teams against each other.

The Buckeyes will kickoff against the Gophers at 12 noon ET in a game broadcast from Ohio Stadium on FS1. However, there are other games worth watching throughout the rest of the day as well.

Let’s checkout the other major games that you should be keeping your eyes on today:

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Early Window

Pittsburgh at No. 5 Notre Dame | NBC | 2:30 p.m. ET

Normally I try to avoid including any games that conflict with a Buckeye game in this column, unless they are of major national importance. However, even though this one probably doesn’t meet that threshold, it’s obnoxiously Notre Dame start time will hopefully mean that by the time the Domers and the Panthers kick off, OSU will have the game in hand in Columbus.

So, while you will still want to stay focused on Dwayne Haskins (and likely Tate Martell at some point) rack up yards in the second half, it should be ok to keep an eye on this game as well.

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Afternoon Window

No. 2 Georgia at No. 13 LSU | CBS | 3:30 p.m. ET

Ok, now here’s where it gets fun. There are a ton of interesting matchups in this afternoon window, and none more so than the SEC contest happening in the Bayou. I’m not sure that the result of this game really impacts Ohio State’s playoff chances, because if the Buckeyes keep winning, they would certainly jump the loser of the eventual SEC Championship game, whether it is UGA or ‘Bama (assuming those are the teams that make it).

But, should Jeaux Burreaux Joe Burrow pull off the upset it will undoubtedly have ramifications for the CFP and SEC.

No. 7 Washington at No. 17 Oregon | ABC | 3:30 p.m. ET

Well, this is a treat. Very rarely do we get a ranked vs. ranked Pac-12 game that’s not “After Dark,” let alone one that is a 12:30 p.m. local time kickoff. Other than that crazy overtime loss to Stanford, the Ducks really haven’t been tested this season, winning by an average of 28.25 points per win this season.

Similarly, following their Week 1, 21-16 loss to Auburn, the Huskies have beaten up on lesser competition, with their best opponent being the Fightin’ Herm Edwardses of Arizona State (UW won 27-20).

Over the next month, Washington will face No. 17 Oregon, No. 19 Colorado, and the always dangerous, aforementioned Stanford Cardinal. If they can get through that slate unscathed, they will have positioned themselves in a very strong position to lead the one-loss candidates for a CFP berth.

Purdue at Illinois | FS1 | 3:30 p.m. ET

I included this game not because I expect it to be necessarily compelling, but the Buckeyes do travel to West Lafayette, Ind. next week to take on the Boilermakers in a primetime game, so getting a bit of a scouting report ahead of time is always a good use of time.

Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State | BTN | 3:30 p.m. ET

Michigan State has been frustratingly inconsistent this season (especially since I picked them to join Ohio State in the College Football Playoff this year). However, following a 29-19 defeat at the hands of Northwestern last week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Dantonio gets his team up for a big road game today.

Sparty will still likely lose, but it should give Buckeye fans a chance to see what OSU will be up against in four-weeks time.

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Evening Window

No. 15 Wisconsin at No. 12 Michigan | ABC | 7:30 p.m. ET

This is one of those games where I wouldn’t mind if the Big Ten had to step in and call it a tie because neither team was able to score despite an 11-hour, 25-overtime game. That’s unlikely to happen though, so, we will see if TTUN’s dream of finishing higher than third in the Big Ten East has any likelihood of coming to fruition, or if the Buckeyes are on a collision course with the Badgers in the B1G Championship Game yet again.

Following the Week 1 one defeat at the hands of Notre Dame, the Wolverines have mostly feasted on lesser opponents. However, two weeks ago— when they faced the only semi-competent team on their first half schedule other than the Irish— they needed a massive comeback to beat Northwestern 20-17.

On the other side, despite their loss to BYU, Wisconsin is still the class of the B1G West, already holding a victory over Iowa; even with a loss today, the Badgers could still represent the division in Indianapolis on Dec. 1. More importantly, the winner still has a legitimate shot at the College Football Playoff should they win out, but the loser will be forced to be little more than a spoiler for the second half of the season.

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Pac-12 Hawaii After Dark

Hawaii at BYU | ESPN2 | 10:15 p.m. ET

The Rainbow Warriors are on the mainland, baby. Normally you’ve got to stay up past midnight to get this sweet Hawaii football action. Coming into this game, Hawaii is 6-1, with their only loss coming a month ago in a hard-fought 28-21 defeat to a resurgent Army squad.

The Cougars on the other hand have had an up and down season. Despite beating Wisconsin in Week 3, they have lost their last two games against Washington and Utah State by 28 and 25 points, respectively. Hawaii is averaging 468.4 yards per game on offense, while BYU ranks 125th nationally with just 306. This could be another statement game for Nick Rolovich’s Hawaii team.

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Check Saturday’s full slate of games here: