With so many college football games on every weekend, it can sometimes be hard to figure out which ones to watch. To help you out, here’s a breakdown of some of the most interesting match-ups this week in NCAA football:

Thursday, Sep. 17

Louisville at 11 Clemson (4:30 pm)

The Louisville Cardinals have started the season off on a rocky start, losing two close games to Auburn and Houston. The Cardinals take on the 11th ranked Clemson Tigers on the road in one of the most hostile environments in college football at “Death Valley”. Death Valley has been known to be one of the loudest and hardest places to play in the country, and Louisville will need to be prepared. The Tigers have combined for 100 points in both of their blowout wins, and will look to continue their offensive success.

Friday, Sep. 18

9 Florida State at Boston College (5:00 pm)

Although the Florida State Seminoles are 2-0, they haven’t quite found their rhythm. They will be looking to get a solid win under their belt against the underrated Boston College Golden Eagles. The Eagles haven’t yet played a D1 “power conference” team but their run game and defense has looked spectacular none the less. In their 76-0 blowout win against Howard, 7 different players averaged 10+ yards a carry, and racked up 483 yards, while holding Howard to 11.

Saturday, Sep. 19

18 Auburn at 13 Louisiana State (12:30 pm)

In one of the more intriguing matchups of the weeks, the Auburn Tigers will look to bounce back from near defeat of the Jacksonville St. Gamecocks. Last week, ranked number 6, Auburn rallied back to beat Jacksonville St. late in the 4th quarter and into overtime. They will need to step up their game big time if they want to compete with the 13th ranked Tigers of Louisiana State. LSU was led by sophomore running back Leonard Fournette (159 yards, 3 TDs) in last week’s huge 21-19 win over Mississippi State. Fournette has the potential to run all over Auburn’s defense just like Jacksonville State did.

14 Georgia Tech at 8 Notre Dame (12:30 pm)

With the huge loss of quarterback Malik Zaire, as a result of breaking his ankle, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame will most likely struggle to find offense against the 14th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Filling in for Zaire will be DeShone Kizer. Kizer was solid against the Virginia Cavaliers last week when Zaire went down, but it will be interesting to see how he’ll do against a much better and more disciplined defense. The Yellow Jackets have out scored opponents 67-8 this season, finding success from the defense and run attack.

Stanford at 6 USC (5:00 pm)

After an embarrassing loss to Northwestern in week 1, Stanford bounced back by beating USF behind QB Kevin Hogan. Hogan has been up and down all of his career as a Cardinal, and will need to bring his A game if the Cardinals plan on competing with the heavily favorite Trojans. USC’s offense and Heisman hopeful Cody Kessler have been clicking on all cylinders so far this season. Although Stanford’s defense isn’t as dominant as in recent years, the Cardinal always come to play against the Trojans. This game has the potential to be a nail biter but also could be a complete blowout.

15 Ole Miss at 2 Alabama (6:15 pm)

Both teams are coming into this matchup at 2-0, both with easy wins. Alabama has looked like their traditional selves; a solid offense with a very intimidating defense. On the other side, Ole Miss hasn’t looked better in years. The Rebels are averaging just under 75 points per game, with most of their success coming from the air. However, the Ole Miss offense received some unfortunate news this week: they are playing the Alabama Crimson Tide. Every year Alabama is one of the best, if not the best defensive team in the nation and this year is no exception. Alongside their spectacular defense, Alabama’s run game has been great, anchored by RB Derrick Henry (6 TDs this season). Alabama should be able to run away with this one, but the Rebels have the ability to give them a run for their money.

19 BYU at 10 UCLA (7:30 pm)

One of the biggest story lines of the college football season has been BYU’s two last minute touchdown passes to win. BYU’s late game heroics may come to an end when they face the Bruins of UCLA. True freshman quarterback Josh Rosen has been extremely impressive for the Bruins. Throwing for 574 yards and 4 TDs this season, Rosen has led the team to success. The Bruins may be the best team in the Pac 12 and should win this one comfortably, but BYU’s late game magic may play a big role in the outcome.

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