Carla and Crappy Show: The We Have to Talk About Pitt Edition

It’s Week 12 of the college football season, friends, and we have a confession to make. Despite being a Pittsburgh-centric podcast, we don’t often talk about Pitt football. But this week? We have to talk about Pitt football. Prepare your kids accordingly.

Before we get to that important conversation, though, we look back at what ended up being a weekend of season-defining drives. Four teams had them, but only two of those teams ultimately won their games. Also, the weather was horrible in Iowa City, and Hawaii beat the brakes off of San Diego State (making AJ exceptionally happy). And, hey, no one got fired this week!

Then, we head into an intriguing slate of games, starting with the #GroupOfFiveAfterDark, which absolutely requires caffeination. Sorry, friends. It’s gonna be a late night.

• No. 24 USF at Navy (Noon ET, ESPN2): Are the Bulls legit playoff contenders?

• Memphis at East Carolina (4 ET, ESPNU): Can the Tigers stay in the American race?

• Delaware at Sam Houston (7 ET, ESPN+): Thanks to their win over Oregon State last week, we can get Sam Houston a transitive win over Alabama. Fun!

• Louisiana Tech at Washington State (10 ET, CW): Just because.

• TCU at No. 12 BYU (10:15 ET, ESPN): The Buffet is definitely open this week. Is this the start of BYU’s free fall? We’re not so sure.

• Boise State at San Diego State (10:30 ET, CBSSN): Hawaii needs Boise to win this game. So, go Broncos!

• Wyoming at Fresno State (10:30 ET, FS1): Fresno’s been super inconsistent this season.

Then, we review this week’s Big 12 Buffet menu, which is as tasty as ever. Five stars, no notes.

• Arizona at No. 25 Cincinnati (Noon ET, FS1): Trap game for Cincy? Arizona’s not been great away from home, though.

• Kansas State at Oklahoma State (Noon ET, ESPNU): Powercats.

• West Virginia at Arizona State (1 ET, TNT): What do we make of the Mountaineers this season? We’re not sure.

• UCF at No. 6 Texas Tech (3:30 ET, FOX): Happy Scott Frost Day! Also, Red Raiders.

• No. 13 Utah at Baylor (7 ET, ESPN2): Weird things can happen in Waco. But we like the Utes.

Before we get to the Big Boy slate, we take a moment to celebrate two fantastic trophy games this weekend:

• Arkansas at LSU (12:45 ET, SECN): The Battle for the Boot never disappoints. (Unless you’re Arkansas.)

• Penn State at Michigan State (3:30 ET, CBS): Welcome back, Land Grant Trophy. Oh, how we’ve missed you. Also, Penn State needs a win here to hang in the hunt for bowl eligibility.

Finally, we put the bowl of strawberry candies aside and get to the games at hand. Lots of intrigue here.

Clemson at No. 20 Louisville (7:30 ET Friday, ESPN): Why do we have this game on our radar? We’re not sure, but our spidey senses are raised. The Cards laid an egg last week in overtime against Cal. Can the Tigers get back to .500 on the road?

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 22 Pitt (Noon ET, ABC): Pitt football is in the national spotlight with the full-on GameDay treatment. But here’s the thing: This game is actually meaningless, other than reputation. (Pitt’s real tests are the next two weeks.) How will the Panthers handle the attention? And can that Pitt defense slow down Jeremiyah Love?

No. 18 Michigan vs. Northwestern (Big Nude, FOX): This game’s at Wrigley. It would be super fun for the Wildcats to earn bowl eligibility here, but we’re not optimistic.

No. 11 Oklahoma at No. 4 Alabama (3:30 ET, ABC): Bama is legit good. Is Oklahoma? We think so, but things haven’t been quite the same since John Mateer’s injury. A loss for the Sooners likely eliminates them from playoff contention, though.

No. 19 Virginia at Duke (3:30 ET, ESPN2): A huge question mark here is the status of Chandler Morris. Both of these teams are fighting for a spot in the ACC title game.

No. 21 Iowa at No. 17 USC (3:30 ET, BTN): We were almost all-in on USC … and then we discovered that there’s rain in the forecast for Saturday night. Hammer the under. Go Hawkeyes.

No. 10 Texas at No. 5 Georgia (7:30 ET, ABC): AJ explains why we may have Diego Pavia to thank for Arch’s surge as a QB in the late season. Also, it’s really fun to root against Kirby Smart. A Horns win here would send the SEC into chaos, so you know what we’re rooting for.

If that’s not enough football for you, we have an overloaded slate of honorable mentions:

• Robert Morris at Mercyhurst (Noon ET, NEC Front Row): Bob heads to Erie!

• Indiana State at FCS No. 20 Youngstown State (Noon ET, ESPN+): Sycamores versus Penguins!

• Carnegie Mellon at Ursinus (Noon ET, Centennial Conference TV): Tartans need a win … and likely some help to get to the DIII playoffs.

• FCS No. 14 Illinois State at FCS No. 16 South Dakota State (3 ET, ESPN+): SDSU is on a three-game slide. When was the last time that happened?

• MTSU at Western Kentucky (3:30 ET, ESPN+): Time for 100 Miles of Hate!

• UCLA at No. 1 Ohio State (7:30 ET, NBC): Buckeyes are favored by more than 30 points.

• Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State (8 ET, ESPNU): Top two teams in CUSA go head-to-head. Also, Cam Cook is a delight to watch.

• FCS No. 9 UC Davis at FCS No. 3 Montana State (10:30 ET, ESPN2): An FCS Top 10 matchup on national TV!

And finally, set your alarms … because we have not one, but TWO selection shows to watch. The Division III playoff bracket will be announced at 5 ET Sunday, followed immediately by the Division II bracket release at 6 ET. Both will be livestreamed on NCAA.com.

Whew. Is that enough for you? The season is rapidly winding down, so be sure to watch as much football as you can. We’ll be back next week to talk about it all. Cheers, friends. And yeah, sure … go Pitt! Why not?