Final week, faculty soccer gave followers one among its tastiest, and sadly uncommon, treats when Auburn visited Penn State.
Good groups. Nice setting. Entertaining sport. What faculty soccer is all about.
This week, not a lot.
The weekend’s two matchups of ranked groups — No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Wisconsin and No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 16 Arkansas — are each being performed at NFL stadiums a good distance from campus.
Sigh.
The Irish and Badgers are enjoying the again half of a two-game series that was supposed to start out final 12 months with a sport at Lambeau Subject in Inexperienced Bay, Wisconsin. Lambeau is a novel expertise in sports activities. Making the most of a possibility to play a giant faculty sport there is smart.
Soldier Subject has some historical past, but it surely’s not fairly the identical. It's a great spot for each faculties’ followers to converge.
Nonetheless, it might be way more enjoyable if this sport was in Madison, Wisconsin, or South Bend, Indiana.
As for Texas A&M and Arkansas, the Southeastern Convention rivals have been enjoying on the residence of the Dallas Cowboys since 2009 with a number of exceptions — together with final 12 months when it was moved to College Station, Texas, due to the pandemic.
The contract with AT&T Stadium runs by the 2024 season. Each faculties have stated they wish to get that sport again on campus.
The impartial web site sport shouldn't be going away in faculty soccer. They supply some worth in recruiting and model constructing and they are often enjoyable street journeys for gamers, who get to play in NFL stadiums.
However the more video games on campus the higher.
The picks with traces present by FanDuel Sportsbook:
FRIDAY
UNLV (plus 30 1/2) at No. 22 Fresno State
QB Jake Haener grew to become a late-night star within the upset of UCLA and the Bulldogs have endurance ... FRESNO STATE 42-10.
SATURDAY
Southern Miss (plus 44 1/2) at No. 1 Alabama
Coming off a scare at Florida, this was in all probability not an gratifying week of follow for the Crimson Tide. Uh-oh, Golden Eagles ... ALABAMA 52-3.
No. 2 Georgia (minus 34 1/2) at Vanderbilt
The Commodores beat the Bulldogs in Kirby Sensible’s first season as coach. In three video games since: UGA 116, Vandy 33. ... GEORGIA 45-7.
Arizona (plus 28 1/2) at No. 3 Oregon
Geese RBs CJ Verdell and Travis Dye have mixed for 4,846 yards dashing of their careers, most of any lively duo within the FBS... OREGON 38-7.
West Virginia (plus 15 1/2) at No. 4 Oklahoma
Sooners stay the one Huge 12 crew West Virginia has not crushed since becoming a member of in 2012; time is operating out on the Mountaineers ... OKLAHOMA 38-21.
Colorado State (plus 23 1/2) at No. 5 Iowa
Hawkeyes wish to lengthen their successful streak 10; it might be Iowa’s fifth double-digit successful streak in program historical past ... IOWA 31-6.
No. 7 Texas A&M (minus 5 1/2) vs. No. 16 Arkansas in Arlington, Texas,
Aggies have gained 9 straight conferences, seven by 12 factors of fewer ... TEXAS A&M 28-21.
No. 9. Clemson (minus 9 1/2) at North Carolina State
Breakout coming for the Tigers’ sluggish offense? They've gained eight straight in opposition to the Wolfpack ... CLEMSON 31-17, BEST BET.
Akron (plus 48 1/2) at No. 10 Ohio State
Zips have allowed 105 factors to 2 FBS opponents, Auburn and Temple. Doesn't bode effectively ... OHIO STATE 59-7.
Tennessee (plus 20 1/2) at No. 11 Florida
Gators have gained 14 of the final 15 conferences, however possibly a little bit of a post-Bama hangover? ... FLORIDA 34-17.
No. 12 Notre Dame (plus 6 1/2) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin in Chicago
The primary assembly since 1964 encompasses a former Badgers QB, switch Jack Coan, seemingly beginning for the Irish ... WISCONSIN 23-20.
No. 14 Iowa State (minus 6 1/2) at Baylor
Prime two defenses within the Huge 12 ... IOWA STATE 26-20.
South Florida (plus 23 1/2) at No. 15 BYU
Cougars have but to path in three video games whereas successful by a median of solely 9 factors ... BYU 38-14.
UMass (plus 36 1/2) at No. 17 Coastal Carolina
Minutemen have misplaced 14 straight ... COASTAL CAROLINA 55-14.
Rutgers (off) at No. 19 Michigan
Neither crew has dedicated a turnover of their 3-0 begins ... MICHIGAN 42-17.
Nebraska (plus 4 1/2) at No. 20 Michigan State
That dangerous loss within the opener at Illinois is likely to be obscuring some actual enchancment by the Huskers ... MICHIGAN STATE 27-24.
No. 21 North Carolina (minus 12 1/2) vs. Georgia Tech at Mercedes Benz Stadium
Tar Heels have scored 59 factors in every of the final two video games ... NORTH CAROLINA 35-20.
Georgia State (plus 26 1/2) at No. 23 Auburn
Tigers return residence from Blissful Valley for an additional cupcake .. AUBURN 42-17.
No. 24 UCLA (minus 4 1/2) at Stanford
After practically getting shut out of their opener, the Cardinal have scored 83 factors within the final two video games ... UCLA 31-24.
No. 25 Kansas State (plus 5 1/2) at Oklahoma State
Wildcats RB Deuce Vaughn, checking in at 5-foot-6, leads the Huge 12 in dashing with 371 yards ... KANSAS STATE 27-23, UPSET SPECIAL.
TWITTER REQUESTS
SMU (plus 8 1/2) at TCU — @bleacher_scout
Mustangs snapped a seven-game dropping streak within the Battle for the Iron Skillet final season ... TCU 34-28.
Liberty (minus 6 1/2) at Syracuse — @kmasterman
Flames and Orange have break up the primary two video games of the three-game series ... SYRACUSE 24-23.
Missouri (minus 1 1/2) at Boston College — @mikeblewitt
An SEC-ACC matchup that basically doesn’t really feel like an SEC-ACC matchup ... MISSOURI 28-24.
Kentucky (minus 4 1/2) at South Carolina — @Davidhopson
Wildcats have gained six of the final seven in opposition to the Gamecocks ... KENTUCKY 31-23.
LSU (minus 2 1/2) at Mississippi State — @RehmMaham
Tigers allowed 623 yards passing to the Bulldogs in coach Mike Leach’s debut final season. So it could’t worsen ... MISSISSIPPI STATE 27-24.
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Final week: 21-4 straight; 13-12 in opposition to the unfold.
Season: 49-19 straight; 37-31 in opposition to the unfold.
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Observe Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and hear at http://www.appodcasts.com
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More AP faculty soccer: https://sociallytrend.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25. Join the AP’s faculty soccer publication: https://sociallytrend.com/cfbtop25
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