College Football Previews

Pitt made a quarterback change and it worked out, at least for the short term. Wake Forest might go down that path. The teams meet Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C., looking for upticks as they begin the second half of their schedules. Pitt (2-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) has tried something new, and that could be a winning formula after a dismal opening month of the season. “We talk about playing together and staying together,” Panthers

Nebraska and Northwestern are both hoping to pick up where they left off before a bye week when they meet in a Big Ten Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) pulled out a 20-7 win at Illinois before taking last weekend off, while Northwestern (3-3, 1-2) edged FCS school Howard 23-20 on Oct. 7 in its latest contest. The Cornhuskers will continue to start Heinrich Haarberg at quarterback. He

No. 8 Texas looks to get back on the winning track when it travels to battle Houston on Saturday as the teams renew their rivalry and square off for the only time as members of the Big 12 Conference. It’s the 26th all-time meeting between the programs, the first since 2002 and the first time as conference opponents since the Southwest Conference dissolved after the 1995 season. Texas leads the all-time series 16-7-2 and has

Washington State and No. 9 Oregon will both try to rebound from difficult losses when they meet in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday afternoon. Which defeat was more devastating remains to be seen. The Ducks fell 36-33 at then-No. 7 Washington last Saturday as Camden Lewis’ last-second, 43-yard field-goal attempt sailed just wide of the right upright. Meanwhile, Washington State was blown out 44-6 by Arizona the same day in Pullman, Wash. It was the second

If a rivalry game with Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy implications wasn’t enough to get Air Force fired up, perhaps a spot in the national rankings will do the trick. The No. 22 Falcons find themselves among the top 25 teams in the country for the first time since 2019, and they will look to keep climbing on Saturday when they face Navy in Annapolis, Md. Air Force (6-0) moved into the rankings thanks to a 34-27 victory

Mississippi State is refreshed after having an open date last week. Arkansas is happy to be home for the first time in five weeks. Both teams will be looking for their first Southeastern Conference win when they meet Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The Razorbacks (2-5, 0-4) have lost five straight games, including three against ranked opponents by a total of just 13 points, during their out-of-town stretch. “It’s going to be great to be home,”

Arizona has competed well against top 10 teams in back-to-back weeks, with the Wildcats’ task not getting any easier in a matchup against No. 19 Washington State on Saturday at Pullman, Wash. Arizona (3-3, 1-2 Pac-12) lost to then-No. 7 Washington 31-24 at home on Sept. 30 before falling 43-41 in three overtimes at then-No. 9 Southern California on Saturday night. The Wildcats outgained the Trojans 506-351. “When you watch how our team played, what

Rutgers aims to move closer to bowl eligibility when it hosts mistake-prone Michigan State in Big Ten action on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers (4-2, 1-2) opened league play with a 24-7 win over Northwestern on Sept. 3 and then took a 31-7 loss at No. 2 Michigan on Sept. 23. After rebounding with an easy 52-3 victory over visiting Wagner, the Scarlet Knights underwhelmed in last Saturday’s 24-13 loss at Wisconsin. Rutgers trailed 17-0

After rolling to three straight Big Ten victories by a combined 76 points, No. 6 Penn State will take a break from conference play when it hosts Massachusetts on Saturday in State College, Pa. Another lopsided win appears likely for the Nittany Lions (5-0) despite coach James Franklin insisting that the Minutemen (1-6) are “maybe the most explosive team we’ve played this year.” Penn State is healthy and eager to get back on the field