Aex Floyd, local columnist
Happy Veterans Day week to our Pembroke Football Mafia League Heroes BJ Clark, Jeff Whitten, Mike Brown and all our local folks who served their country. As the old saying goes, if you can read this, thank a teacher, if you read it in English, thank a veteran. Down at the Pembroke Football Mafia League worldwide multi-media conglomerate headquarters in the Bryan County News storage unit, we raise a toast to your service.
When we get done toasting, and get to feeling a little toasty, we’ll buckle down to the hard science of college football. This week’s carefully selected gems are:
FSU @ Pitt: An ACC matchup. The Noles are 2-4 and the Panthers are 3-3 in the Conference. The majority thinks Ashton Daniels puts up about 53,791 yards, Ben thinks Pitt sneaks one in on ‘em. Friday night 7:00 on ESPN.
Illinois @ UCLA: A Big 10 matchup. You’ll have to stay up till 9:00 Friday and flip back and forth to Fox to see this one. UCLA remains undefeated 9-0; Illinois is 6-3 with losses to Purdue, OSU and Duke. Yes, Duke who is 7-2 because it’s 2026 and nothing seems real anymore. Anyhow, all but Noah and Gene think UCLA rolls on.
Texas @ LSU: a Saturday night 7:30 Primetime matchup. ESPN has LSU at 52.6% chance and the Draft Kings spread is Texas by 3.5. Should be a great time in Baton Rouge. Ted, Mike B, Bob, Noah and Ben pick the Tiguhs.
Florida @ Kentucky: a SEC classic matchup and another tossup as ESPN gives the Wildcats a 53.8% chance and Florida has the 3.5 spread. All but Ted and Noah believe the Wildcats defend Kroger Field from the Swamp Things.
University of Southern California @ Indiana: USC is 7-2 and Indiana is 8-1 so there’s no pressure fellas. We pick the Hoosiers to take care of business in Bloomington. 3:30 on CBS.
Wake Forest @ SMU: Another high stakes ACC matchup with 8-1 Demon Deacons and 7-2 Mustangs. Wake Forest’s QB Gio Lopez is a machine with 18 touchdowns and 1 interception. Mike C and Gene think SMU breaks his streak.
Georgia Southern @ Georgia State: Who is the True GSU?! What has developed into a great in-state rivalry and Sunbelt matchup kicks off 3:30 on ESPN+. Both teams are 5-4 and coming off decisive wins. All but Jeff thinks the Eagles bring it back to the Boro.
Arkansas St @ Coastal Carolina: another early afternoon Sunbelt matchup in beautiful Conway, SC. Me and Mike B pick the Red Wolves rest take Chanticleers (thank God for spellcheck.)
Kansas State @ TCU: Big 12 matchup. With both teams at a rough 4-5 (TCU lost to Arizona by one point last Friday) on the season and 10th and 14th in the conference, both teams are looking for a chance to turn bad luck into good. BJ, Ted and Bob pick Kansas St.
Wisconsin @ Maryland: A high noon game on FS1. Maryland broke a long losing streak last weekend with a surprising 34-29 win over Purdue. Wisconsin has held its own with only losses to Notre Dame, UCLA and Iowa. We all pick the Badgers.
Play on, PMFL!
Alex Floyd is a member of the Bryan County Board of Commissioners, representing District 1.