On a weekend of college football games, it is often quite overwhelming sifting through all of the matchups. If only there was a way of knowing which games were the most appealing in some objective way. If you ever have faced this conundrum, you’ve come to the right place! Using my power rankings of a given week, I have created a formula that calculates a “game score” for every matchup for the upcoming weekend, and ranks all of the games accordingly.
My formula is based off of two components: overall team quality and team rankings similarities. Unsurprisingly, games featuring better teams will be scored better than games with weaker schools. However, the “closeness” of the teams is taken into account as well. Where the game is played is also taken into account (I would rather watch #5 at #20 than #20 at #5, for example). Rankings come from my most recent power rankings: http://rpubs.com/ditrapani4.
Things that are NOT included are factors like the general reputation of the schools involved, the style of play that the teams use, and the past history of a given matchup. Certainly rivalry games are more fun regardless of the quality of the teams, but that is not considered here.
| Rank | Away | Home | Score | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Texas | VS | 9 Oklahoma | 12.25 | 12:00pm |
| 2 | 1 LSU | AT | 20 Florida | 13.51 | 3:30pm |
| 3 | 1 Notre Dame | AT | 29 Virginia Tech | 17.8 | 8:00pm |
| 4 | 32 Missouri | AT | 38 South Carolina | 19.73 | 12:00pm |
| 5 | 32 San Diego St | AT | 26 Boise State | 19.87 | 3:30pm |
| 6 | 7 Kentucky | AT | 38 Texas AM | 21.15 | 7:00pm |
| 7 | 34 Iowa | AT | 50 Minnesota | 23.79 | 3:30pm |
| 8 | 41 Maryland | AT | 15 Michigan | 24.44 | 12:00pm |
| 9 | 43 Arizona St | AT | 22 Colorado | 25.02 | 4:00pm |
| 10 | 41 Indiana | AT | 3 Ohio State | 25.04 | 4:00pm |
| 11 | 45 Boston College | AT | 18 NC State | 26.08 | 12:30pm |
| 12 | 12 Auburn | AT | 53 Mississippi St | 26.75 | 7:30pm |
| 13 | 54 Utah State | AT | 43 BYU | 28.89 | (Fri) 9:00pm |
| 14 | 6 Clemson | AT | 60 Wake Forest | 30.01 | 3:30pm |
| 15 | 57 Utah | AT | 8 Stanford | 31.73 | 10:30pm |
| 16 | 61 Iowa State | AT | 29 OK State | 32.33 | 3:30pm |
| 17 | 25 Syracuse | AT | 74 Pittsburgh | 33.36 | 12:20pm |
| 18 | 70 Georgia Tech | AT | 79 Louisville | 34.16 | (Fri) 7:00pm |
| 19 | 66 Florida State | AT | 15 Miami | 35.05 | 3:30pm |
| 20 | 73 Mid Tennessee | AT | 56 Marshall | 35.92 | (Fri) 7:30pm |
| 21 | 67 Vanderbilt | AT | 4 Georgia | 36.05 | 7:30pm |
| 22 | 50 Fresno St | AT | 90 Nevada | 36.82 | 10:30pm |
| 23 | 79 Kansas State | AT | 63 Baylor | 37.91 | 3:30pm |
| 24 | 35 California | AT | 92 Arizona | 38.72 | 10:00pm |
| 25 | 81 UAB | AT | 48 Louisiana Tech | 39.29 | 7:00pm |
| 26 | 84 Navy | AT | 110 Air Force | 41.01 | 3:30pm |
| 27 | 69 Buffalo | AT | 108 C Michigan | 41.28 | 12:00pm |
| 28 | 93 N Illinois | AT | 100 Ball State | 41.8 | 3:00pm |
| 29 | 94 E Carolina | AT | 104 Temple | 42.06 | 12:00pm |
| 30 | 86 Northwestern | AT | 24 Michigan State | 42.35 | 12:00pm |
| 31 | 95 New Mexico | AT | 90 UNLV | 42.75 | 4:00pm |
| 32 | 89 Tulane | AT | 31 Cincinnati | 43.11 | 12:00pm |
| 33 | 77 Ohio | AT | 116 Kent State | 43.23 | 3:30pm |
| 34 | 64 Illinois | AT | 115 Rutgers | 43.85 | 12:00pm |
| 35 | 99 E Michigan | AT | 82 W Michigan | 44.43 | 12:00pm |
| 36 | 45 Washington St | AT | 113 Oregon State | 44.74 | 9:00pm |
| 37 | 103 UL Lafayette | AT | 121 Texas St | 44.77 | 7:00pm |
| 38 | 10 Washington | AT | 105 UCLA | 45.32 | 7:30pm |
| 39 | 106 UTSA | AT | 127 Rice | 45.68 | 7:00pm |
| 40 | 96 Liberty | AT | 129 N Mexico St | 45.99 | 8:00pm |
| 41 | 102 Tulsa | AT | 49 Houston | 46.95 | (Thurs) 8:00pm |
| 42 | 98 SMU | AT | 14 UCF | 47.32 | 7:00pm |
| 43 | 106 Wyoming | AT | 65 Hawaii | 47.62 | 11:59pm |
| 44 | 101 Nebraska | AT | 23 Wisconsin | 47.92 | 7:30pm |
| 45 | 62 N Texas | AT | 130 UTEP | 48.66 | 7:30pm |
| 46 | 4 Alabama | AT | 114 Arkansas | 48.8 | 12:00pm |
| 47 | 110 Georgia St | AT | 55 Troy | 49.49 | (Thurs) 7:00pm |
| 48 | 110 UL Monroe | AT | 38 Ole Miss | 50.35 | 4:00pm |
| 49 | 117 Uconn | AT | 83 Memphis | 50.63 | 7:00pm |
| 50 | 122 Colorado St | AT | 125 San Jose St | 50.77 | 10:30pm |
| 51 | 21 S Florida | AT | 126 Umass | 50.99 | 3:30pm |
| 52 | 109 Kansas | AT | 11 West Virginia | 51.44 | 12:00pm |
| 53 | 119 S Alabama | AT | 59 GA Southern | 52.43 | 3:30pm |
| 54 | 122 Bowling Green | AT | 72 Toledo | 52.83 | 3:30pm |
| 55 | 122 Miami OH | AT | 68 Akron | 53.02 | 3:30pm |
| 56 | 128 Old Dominion | AT | 75 FAU | 54.73 | 5:00pm |
Before a long day of sitting on the couch watching game after game, it is nice to be able to get an idea of what the best games are for a given time slot. Here, I sort the rankings from above by the time in which the game is played, so readers can examine which games are best at a given time.
| Rank | Away | Home | Score | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | 110 Georgia St | AT | 55 Troy | 49.49 | (Thurs) 7:00pm |
| 41 | 102 Tulsa | AT | 49 Houston | 46.95 | (Thurs) 8:00pm |
| 18 | 70 Georgia Tech | AT | 79 Louisville | 34.16 | (Fri) 7:00pm |
| 20 | 73 Mid Tennessee | AT | 56 Marshall | 35.92 | (Fri) 7:30pm |
| 13 | 54 Utah State | AT | 43 BYU | 28.89 | (Fri) 9:00pm |
| 1 | 17 Texas | VS | 9 Oklahoma | 12.25 | 12:00pm |
| 4 | 32 Missouri | AT | 38 South Carolina | 19.73 | 12:00pm |
| 8 | 41 Maryland | AT | 15 Michigan | 24.44 | 12:00pm |
| 27 | 69 Buffalo | AT | 108 C Michigan | 41.28 | 12:00pm |
| 29 | 94 E Carolina | AT | 104 Temple | 42.06 | 12:00pm |
| 30 | 86 Northwestern | AT | 24 Michigan State | 42.35 | 12:00pm |
| 32 | 89 Tulane | AT | 31 Cincinnati | 43.11 | 12:00pm |
| 34 | 64 Illinois | AT | 115 Rutgers | 43.85 | 12:00pm |
| 35 | 99 E Michigan | AT | 82 W Michigan | 44.43 | 12:00pm |
| 46 | 4 Alabama | AT | 114 Arkansas | 48.8 | 12:00pm |
| 52 | 109 Kansas | AT | 11 West Virginia | 51.44 | 12:00pm |
| 17 | 25 Syracuse | AT | 74 Pittsburgh | 33.36 | 12:20pm |
| 11 | 45 Boston College | AT | 18 NC State | 26.08 | 12:30pm |
| 28 | 93 N Illinois | AT | 100 Ball State | 41.8 | 3:00pm |
| 2 | 1 LSU | AT | 20 Florida | 13.51 | 3:30pm |
| 5 | 32 San Diego St | AT | 26 Boise State | 19.87 | 3:30pm |
| 7 | 34 Iowa | AT | 50 Minnesota | 23.79 | 3:30pm |
| 14 | 6 Clemson | AT | 60 Wake Forest | 30.01 | 3:30pm |
| 16 | 61 Iowa State | AT | 29 OK State | 32.33 | 3:30pm |
| 19 | 66 Florida State | AT | 15 Miami | 35.05 | 3:30pm |
| 23 | 79 Kansas State | AT | 63 Baylor | 37.91 | 3:30pm |
| 26 | 84 Navy | AT | 110 Air Force | 41.01 | 3:30pm |
| 33 | 77 Ohio | AT | 116 Kent State | 43.23 | 3:30pm |
| 51 | 21 S Florida | AT | 126 Umass | 50.99 | 3:30pm |
| 53 | 119 S Alabama | AT | 59 GA Southern | 52.43 | 3:30pm |
| 54 | 122 Bowling Green | AT | 72 Toledo | 52.83 | 3:30pm |
| 55 | 122 Miami OH | AT | 68 Akron | 53.02 | 3:30pm |
| 9 | 43 Arizona St | AT | 22 Colorado | 25.02 | 4:00pm |
| 10 | 41 Indiana | AT | 3 Ohio State | 25.04 | 4:00pm |
| 31 | 95 New Mexico | AT | 90 UNLV | 42.75 | 4:00pm |
| 48 | 110 UL Monroe | AT | 38 Ole Miss | 50.35 | 4:00pm |
| 56 | 128 Old Dominion | AT | 75 FAU | 54.73 | 5:00pm |
| 6 | 7 Kentucky | AT | 38 Texas AM | 21.15 | 7:00pm |
| 25 | 81 UAB | AT | 48 Louisiana Tech | 39.29 | 7:00pm |
| 37 | 103 UL Lafayette | AT | 121 Texas St | 44.77 | 7:00pm |
| 39 | 106 UTSA | AT | 127 Rice | 45.68 | 7:00pm |
| 42 | 98 SMU | AT | 14 UCF | 47.32 | 7:00pm |
| 49 | 117 Uconn | AT | 83 Memphis | 50.63 | 7:00pm |
| 12 | 12 Auburn | AT | 53 Mississippi St | 26.75 | 7:30pm |
| 21 | 67 Vanderbilt | AT | 4 Georgia | 36.05 | 7:30pm |
| 38 | 10 Washington | AT | 105 UCLA | 45.32 | 7:30pm |
| 44 | 101 Nebraska | AT | 23 Wisconsin | 47.92 | 7:30pm |
| 45 | 62 N Texas | AT | 130 UTEP | 48.66 | 7:30pm |
| 3 | 1 Notre Dame | AT | 29 Virginia Tech | 17.8 | 8:00pm |
| 40 | 96 Liberty | AT | 129 N Mexico St | 45.99 | 8:00pm |
| 36 | 45 Washington St | AT | 113 Oregon State | 44.74 | 9:00pm |
| 24 | 35 California | AT | 92 Arizona | 38.72 | 10:00pm |
| 15 | 57 Utah | AT | 8 Stanford | 31.73 | 10:30pm |
| 22 | 50 Fresno St | AT | 90 Nevada | 36.82 | 10:30pm |
| 50 | 122 Colorado St | AT | 125 San Jose St | 50.77 | 10:30pm |
| 43 | 106 Wyoming | AT | 65 Hawaii | 47.62 | 11:59pm |