CFB DeptHITS: Friday, September 13
Let's get all caught up as we dive into a full slate of week three games around college football...
We make hundreds of little tinkers and tweaks to our 134 live depth charts at CFBDepth.com and we pull out the ones we think are most impactful for your information to utilize however you feel most inclined.
Utah ::: QB Cam Rising "unlikely" to play this week after a hand laceration suffered in week two.
LSU ::: Injury updates indicate a couple of game-time calls on defense with West Weeks and Da'Shawn Womack. Injured WRs Kyle Parker and Chris Hilton Jr. both making progress towards a return as LSU has a tough up lined up in Columbia, SC.
Miami (FL) ::: Added a "redshirt" tag to QB Emory Williams, a sophomore, who is buried behind Cam Ward and Reese Poffenbarger on the depth chart. This is not a surprising move to retain a year of eligibility for the promising signal caller.
Kennesaw State ::: Injury updates include some key players on offense. QB Davis Bryson was limited in practice but is fully expected to play. Leading WR Gabriel Benyard and starting TE Carson Kent are both unlikely to go week three against San Jose State.
Vanderbilt ::: DL Khordae Sydnor is unlikely to go on Saturday against Georgia State.
Coastal Carolina ::: RB Braydon Bennett update after leaving the week two game is "unlikely" to play this week at Temple. This running back room is ravaged by injuries and keeps a large opportunity in the capable legs of Christian Washington.
Nebraska ::: TE Mac Markway will miss the season with a torn ACL suffered in practice. He just joined the Cornhuskers from LSU late in the pre-season and will now take a medical redshirt for the 2024 season.
WEEK THREE QUIRKS & WEATHER UPDATES
In case you missed our latest (CFBDm) Model post last night, you can check that out.
In there, we discussed some of the schedule quirks that we are going to be accounting for in our projections. I’ll bring those over here and add a few more as notes:
LOOK AHEADS:
Illinois vs. Central Michigan — Next week, the Fighting Illini take on a rejuvenated Nebraska squad on the road. It’s tough to keep that at a distance and out of your psyche. They are also coming off a spirited win over Kansas last week and almost made the "double quirk” category with a hangover effect, as well.
North Carolina State vs. Louisiana Tech — The Wolfpack are coming off a beat down at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers last week. We all remember that (and we had NC State, shhhhhh…) and now they will need to avoid taking the Bulldogs lightly looking ahead to a big matchup next week against Clemson on the road.
Michigan vs. Arkansas State — Similar to the one above, they are licking their wounds from a tough loss to the Longhorns at the Big House. So, they shouldn’t take anybody lightly, but it’s still tough when you are the defending National Champions and playing a MAC squad with USC on tap next week.
Oklahoma State at Tulsa — This is Tulsa’s Super Bowl. The Cowboys snuck out a win over Arkansas in dramatic fashion last week. And, coming up in week four…the Utah Utes. Look ahead spot for sure.
Oklahoma vs. Tulane — Unlike NC State and Michigan above, the Sooners haven’t lost a game. However, it feels like they have. The performance hasn’t been up to expectations and if they take the Green Wave lightly a week before their showdown with Tennessee next week, things can go from bad to worse.
HANG OVER SPOTS:
Big wins or very close and impressive losses fit into this category. They can’t get complacent and that is often easier said than done.
Michigan State vs. Prairie View A&M - Sat. 3:30 PM ET — a great win at Maryland last week and now go home to a sleepy FCS game. They will need to pick themselves up if they want to cover that 40.5 point spread.
Iowa vs. Troy - Sat. 4:00 PM ET — a lot goes into that CyHawk battle and coming up short should focus them but it doesn’t change the fact that they now see an 0-2 Troy and may let up a bit.
Texas vs. UTSA - Sat. 7:00 PM ET — coming off a spirited win at the Big House.
Nebraska vs. Northern Iowa - 7:30 PM ET — A big, convincing win over Coach Prime and Colorado and now FCS UNI comes to town. The line is -32.5 and if there is a sluggish start, things could get hairy if they let it.
California vs. San Diego State - Sat. 10:30 PM ET — they travel to the Plains and upset Auburn, only to come back home to take on an Aztecs team that was blanked a week ago. This is a let down spot.
BOUNCE BACK:
These are the ones that had sub-par performances but a renewed focus could propel them to reaching their expectations. See: South Carolina from a week ago. They struggled mightily with Old Dominion at home in week one. Only to bounce back in a sound beating of Kentucky in Lexington.
Texas Tech vs. North Texas - Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
NC State vs. Louisiana Tech - Saturday, 2:00 PM ET
Notre Dame at Purdue - Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Auburn vs. New Mexico - Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Mississippi State vs. Toledo - Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Maryland at Virginia - Saturday, 8:00 PM ET
OFF BYE WEEKS:
Louisiana Tech at NC State - Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Miami (OH) vs. Cincinnati - Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Florida State vs. Memphis - Saturday, 12:00 PM ET
Purdue vs. Notre Dame - Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Hawaii at Sam Houston - Saturday, 7:00 PM ET
UCLA vs. Indiana - Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
New Mexico at Auburn - Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
WEATHER IMPACTS:
Remnants from Hurricane Francine have made its way to the Midwest and have dumped a decent amount of rain. Things may be thinning out prior to most kickoffs on Saturday but let’s take a look at places we may see some impactful weather:
South Carolina vs. LSU - 12:00 PM EST - Columbia, South Carolina
A decent chance for rain and it may be scattered but enough to warrant a little red flag on this one.Florida vs. Texas A&M - 3:30 PM EST - Gainsville, Florida
We are seeing a 75% chance of rain during this game and it will also be relatively hot and muggy. Just something to keep an eye on.
Washington vs. Washington State - 3:30 PM EST - Seattle, Washington
The Apple Cup has one of the highest threats of rain (92%) at this point. Things can obviously change, but we are tracking it.
Miami (FL) vs. Ball State - 3:30 PM EST - Miami, Florida
Scattered storms expected all around Florida (not a surprise) but also going to be hot and humid in South Beach. Ball State may not exactly be prepared for it.
Georgia State vs. Vanderbilt - 7:00 PM EST - Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is expecting some weather to roll through in the evening hours and it could sloppy this game up a bit.
Programming Note: We’ll be releasing our Saturday full-day (CFBDm) Model plays around 10:00 AM EST tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that one. We’ll continue to tweak our depth charts as news breaks all the way through the games on Saturday.
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