Watchlist
Week 6 of 2026, ranked by a score whose parts are all shown. No term rewards a program for being famous — if a Tuesday MAC game outranks the night game, that is the answer.
The five
- 1#4Texasvs#11OklahomaRed River RivalrySat, Oct 10 · 3:30 PM ETCotton Bowlmodel Texas by 5.7market +6
- Projected closeness 20/35
- Team quality 28/30
- Stakes 15/15
- History 10/10
- Points on the board 1/10
73score - 2Time TBDBobby Dodd Stadiummodel Georgia Tech by 0.4
- Projected closeness 34/35
- Team quality 20/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 4/10
- Points on the board 4/10
64score - 3Time TBDBen Hill Griffin Stadiummodel South Carolina by 1.0
- Projected closeness 32/35
- Team quality 24/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 3/10
64score - 4Fri, Oct 9 · 9:00 PM ETHusky Stadiummodel Washington by 5.0
- Projected closeness 21/35
- Team quality 27/30
- Stakes 13/15
- Points on the board 3/10
64score - 5Time TBDMemorial Stadiummodel Texas A&M by 7.5
- Projected closeness 17/35
- Team quality 26/30
- Stakes 15/15
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 1/10
61score
The rest of the slate
- 6Time TBDBryant-Denny Stadiummodel Georgia by 11.2market +3
- Projected closeness 12/35
- Team quality 28/30
- Stakes 15/15
- History 4/10
- Points on the board 1/10
60score - 7Thu, Oct 8 · 7:30 PM ETAlamodomemodel UTSA by 0.7
- Projected closeness 33/35
- Team quality 19/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
59score - 8Time TBDRazorback Stadiummodel Tennessee by 3.5
- Projected closeness 25/35
- Team quality 20/30
- Stakes 7/15
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 3/10
58score - 9Boise StateatFresno StateMilk CanSat, Oct 10 · 10:30 PM ETValley Children's Stadiummodel Boise State by 3.0
- Projected closeness 26/35
- Team quality 15/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 8/10
- Points on the board 4/10
56score - 10Time TBDBill Snyder Family Stadiummodel Houston by 3.9
- Projected closeness 24/35
- Team quality 18/30
- Stakes 7/15
- Points on the board 3/10
52score - 11Time TBDBeaver Stadiummodel USC by 16.5market -1.5
- Projected closeness 7/35
- Team quality 28/30
- Stakes 14/15
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 1/10
52score - 12Fri, Oct 9 · 7:00 PM ETL&N Federal Credit Union Stadiummodel Louisville by 5.7
- Projected closeness 20/35
- Team quality 21/30
- Stakes 7/15
- History 1/10
- Points on the board 2/10
51score - 13Sat, Oct 10 · 3:30 PM ETNavy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadiummodel Tulsa by 0.1
- Projected closeness 35/35
- Team quality 9/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 1/10
- Points on the board 4/10
50score - 14Time TBDFirstBank Stadiummodel Ole Miss by 13.7
- Projected closeness 9/35
- Team quality 27/30
- Stakes 8/15
- History 4/10
- Points on the board 1/10
49score - 15Time TBDCarter-Finley Stadiummodel NC State by 4.4
- Projected closeness 23/35
- Team quality 16/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 4/10
- Points on the board 4/10
49score - 16Time TBDMountain America Stadiummodel Arizona State by 2.4
- Projected closeness 28/35
- Team quality 15/30
- Points on the board 6/10
48score - 17Thu, Oct 8 · 7:30 PM ETCentennial Bank Stadiummodel Arkansas State by 1.1
- Projected closeness 31/35
- Team quality 8/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 3/10
47score - 18Time TBDBoone Pickens Stadiummodel UCF by 0.2
- Projected closeness 34/35
- Team quality 6/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
47score - 19Time TBDSpartan Stadiummodel Illinois by 6.7
- Projected closeness 18/35
- Team quality 17/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 4/10
- Points on the board 4/10
46score - 20Wed, Oct 7 · 7:00 PM ETFifth Third Stadiummodel Kennesaw State by 1.7
- Projected closeness 30/35
- Team quality 10/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 3/10
45score - 21Time TBDMemorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE)model Indiana by 19.1
- Projected closeness 5/35
- Team quality 24/30
- Stakes 9/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 2/10
43score - 22Time TBDKroger Fieldmodel LSU by 14.6
- Projected closeness 8/35
- Team quality 18/30
- Stakes 8/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 4/10
42score - 23Time TBDAllen E. Paulson Stadiummodel James Madison by 6.5
- Projected closeness 18/35
- Team quality 15/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
39score - 24Time TBDJoe Aillet Stadiummodel Louisiana Tech by 6.1
- Projected closeness 19/35
- Team quality 11/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 4/10
39score - 25Time TBDSimmons Bank Liberty Stadiummodel Memphis by 7.9
- Projected closeness 16/35
- Team quality 14/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 4/10
39score - 26Time TBDRoss-Ade Stadiummodel Minnesota by 6.5
- Projected closeness 18/35
- Team quality 9/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 5/10
- Points on the board 4/10
38score - 27Time TBDLincoln Financial Fieldmodel Temple by 3.8
- Projected closeness 24/35
- Team quality 9/30
- History 2/10
- Points on the board 4/10
38score - 28Fri, Oct 9 · 9:00 PM ETMaverik Stadiummodel Utah State by 6.5
- Projected closeness 18/35
- Team quality 13/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
38score - 29Tue, Oct 6 · 8:00 PM ETVeterans Memorial Stadium (AL)model Southern Miss by 4.6
- Projected closeness 22/35
- Team quality 8/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 1/10
- Points on the board 4/10
38score - 30Sat, Oct 10 · 7:00 PM ETAllegiant Stadiummodel UNLV by 11.8
- Projected closeness 11/35
- Team quality 20/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
38score - 31Time TBDKidd Brewer Stadiummodel Old Dominion by 3.2
- Projected closeness 25/35
- Team quality 5/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
37score - 32Sat, Oct 10 · 3:30 PM ETInfoCision Stadiummodel Akron by 4.0
- Projected closeness 24/35
- Team quality 2/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 5/10
37score - 33Sat, Oct 10 · 12:00 PM ETMichie Stadiummodel Army by 12.5
- Projected closeness 10/35
- Team quality 17/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 4/10
37score - 34Time TBDAutzen Stadiummodel Oregon by 21.5
- Projected closeness 4/35
- Team quality 18/30
- Stakes 8/15
- History 5/10
- Points on the board 2/10
37score - 35Time TBDRice-Eccles Stadiummodel Utah by 15.7
- Projected closeness 7/35
- Team quality 18/30
- Stakes 7/15
- Points on the board 4/10
37score - 36Fri, Oct 9 · 10:15 PM ETLaVell Edwards Stadiummodel BYU by 24.3
- Projected closeness 3/35
- Team quality 22/30
- Stakes 8/15
- Points on the board 3/10
36score - 37Time TBDCalifornia Memorial Stadiummodel California by 5.4
- Projected closeness 21/35
- Team quality 8/30
- Stakes 3/15
- Points on the board 4/10
35score - 38Time TBDOhio Stadiummodel Ohio State by 23.0
- Projected closeness 4/35
- Team quality 18/30
- Stakes 9/15
- History 1/10
- Points on the board 2/10
33score - 39Sat, Oct 10 · 3:30 PM ETNotre Dame Stadiummodel Notre Dame by 28.5
- Projected closeness 2/35
- Team quality 15/30
- Stakes 7/15
- History 3/10
- Points on the board 4/10
31score - 40Fri, Oct 9 · 9:00 PM ETCEFCU Stadiummodel Wyoming by 6.8
- Projected closeness 18/35
- Team quality 7/30
- Stakes 3/15
- History 3/10
30score
How the score is built
- Projected closeness — 35 points
- Decays exponentially in the model’s projected margin: a pick’em is the full 35, a touchdown favorite about half, three scores nothing. The largest term, because a blowout is a blowout no matter who is playing.
- Team quality — 30 points
- Elo percentile of both sides, with two thirds of the weight on the weaker team. A top-five side hosting a bad one is not a good game, and an average of the two would claim it was.
- Stakes — 15 points
- Poll position going into the week, plus a share for a conference game. Two ranked teams take most of it; the higher the pair, the more.
- Rivalry history — 10 points
- From the all-time series: a named trophy game, the length of the series, and whether the all-time ledger has stayed close.
- Points on the board — 10 points
- The projected total, from the drive-sim. A 31-28 is better television than a 10-7 and that is allowed to matter a little — but only a little, or the whole list becomes bad defenses.
There is no term for brand, television window or network. A watchability score that rewards blue bloods for existing is a popularity ranking wearing a lab coat.
