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Hello, ghouls and goblins!

The final month of the 2024 regular season (and, by proxy, this feature) kicks off with a fun slate of games. We’ll look at — some of them — and give you some things to note as you prepare for 12-plus hours of football, beverages, food, and whatever else you choose.

Before we look through the windshield, though, we have to look through the rear-view mirror. Let’s go.

• Pittsburgh is 7-0 after a 41-13 throttling of Syracuse. There was an interesting story earlier this week — had I the link, I’d share it — about how Pat Narduzzi cleaned house following last season. The Panthers are back on track in this campaign, and a verrrrrry spicy trip to Dallas this weekend to square off with SMU and a visit from Clemson look to be the biggest remaining challenges on the Panthers’ slate.

• Jacksonville State won twice in five days, hammering Middle Tennessee and ending Liberty’s home win streak at Williams Stadium in a Wednesday night affair. The Gamecocks could host a CUSA title game at AmFirst Stadium if they win out and the right combination falls their way, which is quite the accomplishment for RichRod’s group. Furman transfer Tyler Huff has keyed the Gamecock offense, and Tre Stewart is an electric back.

• Indiana just keeps rolling. The Hoosiers look darn near unbeatable after clearing Washington by two scores, though games with Michigan and at Ohio State later in the month — assuming they get by Michigan State — will tell the tale on the currently 8-0 (5-0) Hoosiers. One thing’s for sure — Curt Cignetti can coach.

• Mississippi State is absolutely spiraling, falling to 1-7 after taking a tail-whooping from Arkansas. This led to something I need to share.

This is as objective a space as I can make it. I am journalistically trained, after all, despite whatever my (sometimes obvious) leanings may be.

That said — sorry Bulldog fans — I have never rooted more for a team to win in my life than I will after this.

If Mississippi State loses to UMass ….

I’m putting my Christmas lights up and singing “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” until my neighbors call the cops; then go live on X running from them.

Stay tuned pic.twitter.com/iPOKqndKKo

— Joe Dawg ⚡️ (@JoeDawg007) October 30, 2024

Go Minutemen — for the lolz.

• Texas bounced back — kind of — with a 27-24 win at Vandy following its demoralizing loss to Georgia. Vandy is no longer a punch line, thanks to Clark Lea and his staff. The Commodores went toe-to-toe with the Longhorns before finally falling on a late Bert Auburn field goal from which they could not bounce back. The Commodores have arrived.

• Richmond is — for now — going out with a bang in its final season of play in the CAA. The Spiders are 4-0 in league play following a 41-14 thumping of Bryant. Fellow league-leader Rhode Island is not on the Spiders’ regular-season slate, but The Capital Cup with William & Mary to close the season could be quite the must-see matchup if this holds.

• ETSU is 5-3 (3-1 SoCon) following a 24-7 win in Spartanburg over Wofford. Tre Lamb is — again, showing my bias a bit — a darn good ball coach, but an even better leader, and that’s showing this season in Johnson City. No matter how the Bucs finish the season, Tre’s done a solid job in year one.

Now, to what I’m watching this week. Yes, I know Oregon/Michigan is a thing, along with Ohio State/Penn State and several other big games. We’ll leave those for the other spaces.

Air Force (1-6) at #21 Army (7-0, -22), noon, CBS:  Okay, so there’s not much of a football-related reason to watch this one — of course, other than that service academy football is awesome. These guys are, as Riley Leonard said last week, heroes. For that alone, this game is worth your time.

ETSU (5-3, 3-1 SoCon) at #11 Mercer (7-1, 4-1), 3pm, ESPN+:  I mentioned earlier what Tre has done with the Bucs, and they now travel to Macon to try to take down the team tied atop the SoCon. Mercer will almost assuredly vault into the top ten in the FCS with a win here, especially given that the FCS committee ranked them eighth in the initial rankings.

UT Martin (5-3, 3-1 Big South-OVC) at Tennessee State (6-2, 3-1), 6pm, ESPN+:  Two of the top teams in the Big South-OVC square off in Nashville. Neither team looks to have a path to catch SEMO atop the league without help, but this should make for a fun little matchup to watch. The Skyhawks and Tigers have both turned in impressive seasons and still have an outside look at a playoff bid.

* All times Eastern. At no point should any part of this feature be construed as gambling advice. Please play responsibly and source any guidance elsewhere.

Kind of a light slate this weekend, but no worries. At least you’ll have time to catch all the political ads on your TV or streamer of choice.

A happy November to you all. May your preparation for Thanksgiving be more fruitful than stressful, and may we all make it past Tuesday focusing more on what we have in common than that on which we disagree.

Until next time, buckaroos!