The Saturday Watchlist: 10-18-2025
There are literally so many fun football games today.
Seven weeks down, seven more to go.
As we take the turn on the 2025 college football regular season, the game’s just keep on getting more intriguing. If feels as if there’s just no slowing this freight train down—every time there appears to be a moment to take a breath, the craziness and chaos catches up once again and we’re all left spinning around wondering what just happened. That’s what Week 7 brought us, and I’m excited to say that it appears Week 8 might be able to accomplish that same task.
Vanderbilt is a favorite at home against LSU, Ole Miss looks to upset Georgia for the second straight season, USC and Notre Dame seek to make a statement on a national stage, and Tennessee hopes to continue their recent success against the Crimson Tide. And that’s just the start of it. There’s also the Holy War, the Southwest Classic, and the Revivalry all mixed into the action as well.
If you’re new here, welcome to The Saturday Watchlist. This is where I put on the page every college football game I consider worth watching on a given Saturday. If a game isn’t listed here, I don’t plan on watching it live. That doesn’t mean I won’t pivot if something while happens elsewhere, but the following are the games I’ll absolutely have on my screens all day long.
A whopping 136 schools make up the FBS, with another 129 in the FCS. Pair that with Division II and III, as well as the NAIA and JUCO, and wowza—that’s a lot to choose from. I hope that this list helps you narrow down what’s important and what’s not. Even if the games I’ve laid out don’t suffice, I hope that it at least gives you a better idea of what’s on the calendar this glorious Saturday.
Here’s The Saturday Watchlist for October 18, 2025.
Note: All rankings are from the D Poll for Week 8, and all times are CT.
Early Window
Primary Screen: No. 22 LSU at No. 13 Vanderbilt - 11 a.m. - ABC
Secondary Screen: No. 9 Georgia Tech at Duke - 11 a.m. - ESPN
Tertiary Screen: Baylor at TCU - 11 a.m. - ESPN2
Also worth tracking:
Washington at Michigan - 11 a.m. - FOX
No. 16 Oklahoma at South Carolina - 11:45 a.m. - SEC Network
Calling the early window the appetizer for the bigger games later in the day is disrespectful. Major implications are on the line when LSU heads to Nashville to face Diego Pavia and the Vanderbilt Commodores. Did you know Georgia Tech is an underdog at Duke? It is, and that matchup carries huge stakes in the ACC title race. Meanwhile, Baylor and TCU put their seasons on the line in the Revivalry (I’m still not calling it the Bluebonnet Battle), with the loser essentially eliminated from Big 12 championship contention.
Afternoon Window
Primary Screen: No. 4 Texas A&M at Arkansas - 2: 30 p.m. - ESPN
Secondary Screen: No. 8 Ole Miss at No. 10 Georgia - 2:30 p.m. - ABC
Tertiary Screen: SMU at Clemson - 2:30 p.m. - ACC Network
Also worth tracking:
Michigan State at No. 1 Indiana - 2:30 p.m. - Peacock
No. 5 Texas Tech at Arizona State - 3 p.m. - FOX
UNLV at Boise State - 2:30 p.m. - FS1
The SEC game I’ll have front and center isn’t Ole Miss at Georgia—it’s actually the Southwest Classic between Texas A&M and Arkansas. Why? Because I adore my Hogs, and I’m also curious to see how the Aggies handle their first road trip since that shootout win at Notre Dame over a month ago. Don’t get me wrong, Ole Miss–Georgia is important too, and I’ll have it ready on a second screen. Meanwhile, SMU gets a chance to avenge last year’s crushing loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game in a matchup that everyone expected to matter a lot in the preseason. We were wrong, but it should still be a fun contest between two programs that, contrary to popular belief, are very much alive in the ACC title race.
Evening Window
Primary Screen: No. 20 USC at No. 25 Notre Dame - 6:30 p.m. - NBC
Secondary Screen: No. 19 Utah at No. 11 BYU - 7 p.m. - FOX
Tertiary Screen: No. 12 Tennessee at No. 7 Alabama - 6:30 p.m. - ABC
Also worth tracking:
No. 24 Texas at Kentucky - 6 p.m. - ESPN
Penn State at Iowa - 6 p.m. - Peacock
No. 14 Missouri at Auburn - 6:45 p.m. - SEC Network
My eyes don’t even know where to go for this week’s evening window. Every game listed above is intriguing in its own special way, and if I could, I would devote my full attention to each and every one of them. Unfortunately, that’s not possible, so I’ll just have to make do with zeroing in on three intense rivalry games.
It truly doesn’t get any better than this in college football. USC and Notre Dame are fierce rivals that should play every single year, though that appears to be up in the air for some reason. The Holy War between Utah and BYU is one of the most underrated clashes in the sport, and the fact that it’s a ranked matchup this season is just icing on the cake for what should be a crazy night in Provo. Then there’s the Third Saturday in October with Tennessee and Alabama. And it’s actually being played on the third Saturday in October! What a treat tonight is going to be.
Late Window
Primary Screen: Florida State at Stanford - 9:30 p.m. - ESPN
Secondary Screen: Nevada at New Mexico - 8:45 p.m. - FS1
Stop me if I’ve said this before but the death of the Pac-12 has absolutely ruined the late window. You’re telling me that only two FBS games start after 8:30 p.m. CT and one of them features the Florida State Seminoles? In a conference game? In California? Huh? It’s the equivalent of college football blasphemy, but in the interest of more money in the pockets of school administrators, we’ve allowed it to happen anyway. When I’m the commissioner of college football (my campaign starts soon), this will not be allowed to happen.
In all seriousness, if Florida State loses to Stanford tonight, then I’d expect the university to figure out a way to pony up the $61.8 million buyout to get rid of head coach Mike Norvell. Hopefully that doesn’t happen so we can all hit the hay a little earlier.