Ken Willinger

It’s time to salute the troops! Saturday will mark the 120th meeting between the Army and Navy football teams. Navy leads the series 60-52-7, but Army has won the last three games. Before Army’s streak Navy won 14 in a row (which is the longest winning streak in the series).

Monday night we have a game between a team in the hunt for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and a team desperately trying to get to the top of the NFC East heap. You wouldn’t think the latter task would be that difficult given how bad the Cowboys, Redskins and Giants have been, but we all saw the Eagles get owned by the Dolphins last week.

Championship Week is upon us. The first conference title game on the docket is Friday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Oregon eliminated itself from playoff consideration with a loss to Arizona State two weeks ago, but Utah may find itself playing for more than a conference title with a win in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

We get another treat for Monday Night Football. With five games left in the regular season, both the Vikings and the Seahawks could be division winners, wild card teams, or (if they stumble greatly down the stretch) miss the playoffs altogether! I don’t see the latter happening, but this game will go a long way towards determining playoff positioning in the NFC.

Shake off that turkey coma. There's football on TV! Join BetAmerica columnist Ken Willinger as he examines three of the most intriguing games from college football's busy Friday schedule.

MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson flies his flock of Ravens into L.A. Memorial Coliseum to battle the Rams on Monday Night Football. The Ravens are riding a six-game winning streak and currently sit behind the Patriots with the No. 2 spot in the AFC. The Rams are in a more tenuous position, and find themselves tied with the Cowboys for the sixth spot in the NFC. There’s still a month and a half left in the regular season, but this game carries significant postseason implications.

Friday night gives college football fans a battle of middle-of-the-pack MWC teams. Wyoming is already bowl-eligible, but Colorado State needs to win both here in Laramie and also against Boise State in their home finale to get there. That’s a tall order to say the least—especially when you consider that the Cowboys are 5-0 at home this year.

We’ve got a huge AFC West showdown on Monday Night Football. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes back, but they’ve got work to do sitting at fifth in the conference standings. Meanwhile, this is a dirt nap game for the Chargers. They’re currently 11th in the conference and a divisional loss here would all but end their postseason hopes.

Friday night offers us a great glimpse into Conference USA, as perhaps the conference’s best two teams face off in Huntington, West Virginia. The last time Louisiana Tech played Marshall it was in the 2014 C-USA title game.

We’ve had a lot of disappointing Monday Night Football games this year, but this one does not qualify! Can the 49ers, the last unbeaten team in the league, remain unblemished against their NFC West rivals? Jimmy Garoppolo has been more than serviceable completing almost 71% of his passes, but Russell Wilson has been playing like the MVP of the league.

UCF will try to stay in the hunt to defend its AAC crown when they travel to Tulsa on Friday night. The Knights are big favorites but Tulsa has been a much better team than their record shows. They own a win over Wyoming (6-2) and have been a tough out in games against SMU (6 point loss), Cincinnati (11 point loss), and Memphis (1 point loss).

Monday Night Football graciously bestows a divisional rivalry game on us this week. The Cowboys will enter MetLife Stadium at 3-0 in the division and having beaten New York five times in a row including 35-17 in the opener this year. This is a "line in the sand" game for the Giants as if they drop this one, they’ll have virtually no hope in the division.

The Navy Midshipmen lead the all-time series against the UConn Huskies 8-1 and enter their matchup on Friday night as substantial favorites to increase that margin. Though they will defer the ESPN Gameday spotlight to their challengers SMU and Memphis this week, Navy is still very much in the mix for the AAC West Division crown.

The Dolphins’ funeral march to a winless season and the top pick in the 2020 NFL Draft continues at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Monday night. Sure, we could have had a spicier entrée, but I’m not crying over spilled milk because 1) it’s football and 2) there’s coin to be made. Let’s check these two teams out ahead of their clash.

Clay Helton’s USC Trojans continue their 2019 roller coaster season this Friday in Boulder, Colorado where they will try to keep Mel Tucker’s Buffaloes at bay and remain atop the PAC-12 South Division standings.

The New England Patriots will put their perfect record on the line on Monday night when they travel to New York to take on the suddenly relevant Jets. We have betting odds and a full preview of this intriguing AFC East matchup.

Ohio State has been one of the best teams in the country and has absolutely laid waste to every team it has faced. The Buckeyes are eyeing another Big Ten championship and much more.