Government shutdown won’t extend to Air Force-Navy contest

Break out the chips and cold drinks, but let Chris Dufresne handle the remote. Each Friday, The Times’ national college football writer handicaps what’s worth watching, and skipping, on Saturday’s menu of games:

MORNING

Air Force (1-4) at Navy (2-1)

8:30 a.m., Channel 2

It is one thing to shut down the government and national monuments but quite another to impede on the Saturday ritual of watching college football. We can’t say it took an act of Congress to get the Air Force-Navy game played because Congress isn’t acting on much of anything these days. So thank you Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel for taking time out of your busy furlough-filled day to sign off on Air Force at Navy and Army at Boston College.

No. 25 Maryland (4-0) at No. 8 Florida State (4-0)

9 a.m., ESPN

Maryland football has been brought out of moth balls just in time to get exposed on national television by a superior Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. The happiest guy to see Maryland playing well is Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, who will welcome the Terrapins to his league next year. Maryland will be glad never to see Tallahassee. Fla., again. The football program is 0-11 in the house that Bobby Bowden built.

9 a.m.: Penn State at Indiana, BTN; Michigan State at Iowa, ESPN2; Texas Tech at Kansas, FS1; Illinois at Nebraska, ESPNU; Rutgers at Southern Methodist, ESPN News; Ball State at Virginia, Prime; Lehigh at Fordham, CBSSN.

AFTERNOON

No. 6 Georgia (3-1) at Tennessee (3-2)

12:30 p.m., Channel 2

Tennessee has no chance to win but is riding high after Lane Kiffin was fired at USC, which proved he was a no-good so-and-so. Haven’t you noticed how much better the program has gotten without him? Tennessee gave Oregon all it wanted this year before losing a 59-14 nail-biter and last week easily held off a furious rally by South Alabama to win, 31-24. Tennessee fans are so obsessed over Kiffin jilting them for USC they stood in front of a big painted rock that said “Karma is a Butch” in a clever reference to new coach Butch Jones.

No. 22 Arizona State (3-1) vs. Notre Dame (3-2)

4:30 p.m., Channel 4

This is the latest stop on a world tour aimed to spread the goal-line gospel of Notre Dame football from Dublin to Dallas. This game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington should help fill void of the Texas Rangers being eliminated from Major League Baseball post-season play. Notre Dame has struggled to hold the form from last season’s Bowl Championship Series run. The Irish are averaging 25.4 points per game and allowing 23.8. Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly was brilliant in the win over USC that led to Kiffin’s firing. Kelly has passed for more than 300 yards in every Sun Devils game this season.

12:30 p.m.: Minnesota at Michigan, Channel 7; East Carolina at Middle Tennessee, FS West; North Carolina State at Wake Forest, Prime; Clemson at Syracuse, ESPN2; Georgia Tech at Miami, ESPNU; Rice at Tulsa, CBSSN.

1 p.m.: Washington State at California, FS1.

3 p.m.: Oregon at Colorado, Pac-12.

4 p.m.: Mississippi at Auburn, ESPNU; Arkansas at Florida, ESPN2; Louisiana State at Mississippi, ESPN; Texas Christian at Oklahoma, Channel 11.

4:30 p.m.: Kentucky at South Carolina, FS West; Louisiana Tech at Texas El Paso, CBSSN.

EVENING

No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) at No. 16 Northwestern (4-0)

5 p.m., Channel 7

Northwestern is trying to open 5-0 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1904 and ’05. The trick will be getting past an Ohio State team that has won 28 of the last 29 games in the series — the last three by the scores of 54-10, 58-7 and 45-10. Northwestern should get a backfield boost with the return of Venric Mark, who has missed the last three games with a leg injury.

No. 15 Washington at No. 5 Stanford (4-0)

7:30 p.m., ESPN

Washington handed Stanford one of its two defeats last season, 17-13, at Seattle. The difference now is Kevin Hogan has taken over at quarterback for Josh Nunes. Hogan is 9-0 as Stanford’s starter and has rolled through one ranked team after another en route to last season’s Rose Bowl and this season’s top-five ranking. Two years ago, in Palo Alto, Stanford rushed for a school record 446 yards in a 65-21 win over Washington. Stanford is so deep at tailback it has been able to keep stashed the son of Barry Sanders, who was given enough carries in mop-up last week against Washington State to make you wonder why he’s on the bench. Barry Sanders Jr. broke off a hip-shaking run on his first carry that almost broke the ankles of a Cougars defender.

5 p.m.: West Virginia at Baylor, FS1.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com