Phil Paramore column: Thursday now means college football night

It is now official: College football is no longer reserved for Saturdays. Thursday night has become a player.

When the NCAA began allowing teams to schedule made-for-television Thursday matchups a few seasons ago, I admit I had my doubts. It falls hauntingly close to Friday night, which has long been reserved for high schools.

That needs to continue. Lest we forget, there would be no riveting college action on Saturday — and now Thursday — if not for the lifeblood of the college game, the prepsters.

While some high school programs are forced to play on selected Thursdays, especially if they share a stadium with another team in their city, it’s still mostly a Friday-night-only affair. And with college football’s soaring ratings, it was only a matter of time before the Thursday contest became a staple. Don’t believe it? Check some of the games that will be shown this season during prime-time Thursday viewing.

There are at least four games worth watching on Aug. 28, just nine days away. Troy opens at Middle Tennessee; the Ryan Perrilloux era starts at Jacksonville State versus the Paul Johnson debut at Georgia Tech; Vanderbilt kicks it off at Miami of Ohio and in the ESPN national game, it’s N.C. State at South Carolina. That doesn’t count Wake Forest at Baylor and Oregon State at Stanford.

Now most Thursdays, there will be only one or two games. That’s the case Sept. 4 when Vandy hosts Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks in a tilt that could have postseason importance on it. Both clubs likely have this one penciled in as a win, and only one will be correct.

The next week, it’s North Carolina at Rutgers. Two years ago, I’d rather have watched reruns of “Ozzie and Harriet.” Now, it’s an up-and-coming bunch of Tar Heels under Butch Davis against a Rutgers club that contended for national honors a year ago and whose coach turned down the Michigan job.

The rest of the September meetings feature West Virginia at Colorado in a nice intersectional clash and Southern Cal at Oregon State.
On Oct. 9, supremacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference could be at stake when Clemson travels to Wake Forest and the following week, it’s Florida State at N.C. State.

But what on paper appears to be the biggest Thursday night war of the year rolls around Oct. 23, when Auburn invades West Virginia. If both teams pan out the way they are predicted, this one could have national implications of biblical proportions.

The Mountaineers should be undefeated with Villanova, East Carolina, Colorado, Marshall, Rutgers and Syracuse their opening six contests. The road is much tougher for Auburn with five conference games against Mississippi State, LSU, Tennessee, Vandy and Arkansas plus a non-league bout with Southern Miss, but if the Tigers get through that with one loss or less, we’re talking a mega-matchup here.

And much like Alabama’s Labor Day weekend game with Clemson on Aug. 30, the Thursday shootouts will be in prime time, with little or no sports alternatives.

So move over Saturday. You’ve got some keen competition, all for the betterment of those of us who love college football to the hilt. Welcome to the fray, Thursday evening.