55 straight days of football starts Thursday. Here are 5 NFL and 5 college games we’re most excited about during the stretch

Welcome to football nirvana.

Thursday night features two college football games and an NFL game. Texas State visits Troy, and Sam Houston State heads to UTEP, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Atlanta Falcons in a game that could be pivotal for the NFC South race at the end of the season.

You may look at that slate and wonder what the big deal is. After all, it’s just a Week 5 NFL game and two college football games featuring teams from outside the four power conferences. But Thursday is the start of the greatest football run of the season.

Oct. 3 is the first of 55 consecutive days with at least one top-level FBS college football game or an NFL game. There won’t be a day without a college football or NFL game until Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.

We’re used to Novembers being full of football until everyone takes a break right before Thanksgiving. This year, the streak extends nearly the entire month of October thanks to a new Conference USA television contract. As other Group of Five conferences like the MAC and Sun Belt have traditionally played mid-week games during the season, Conference USA is joining the party this year.

As part of a new deal with ESPN and CBS Sports Network, the league will play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout October. The final four Tuesdays and Wednesdays in October will feature at least one Conference USA game before the MAC begins playing on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in November.

Here’s an overview of the schedule for the next 55 days. It’s a great time to be a football fan.

Thursday, Oct. 3

Friday, Oct. 4

Saturday, Oct. 5

Sunday, Oct. 6

Monday, Oct. 7

Tuesday, Oct. 8

Wednesday, Oct. 9

Thursday, Oct. 10

Friday, Oct. 11

Saturday, Oct. 12

Sunday, Oct. 13

Monday, Oct. 14

Tuesday, Oct. 15

Wednesday, Oct. 16

Thursday, Oct. 17

Friday, Oct. 18

Saturday, Oct. 19

Sunday, Oct. 20

Monday, Oct. 21

Tuesday, Oct. 22

Wednesday, Oct. 23

Thursday, Oct. 24

Friday, Oct. 25

Saturday, Oct. 26

Sunday, Oct. 27

Monday, Oct. 28

Tuesday, Oct. 29

Wednesday, Oct. 30

Thursday, Oct. 31

Friday, Nov. 1

Saturday, Nov. 2

Sunday, Nov. 3

Monday, Nov. 4

Tuesday, Nov. 5

Wednesday, Nov. 6

Thursday, Nov. 7

Friday, Nov. 8

Saturday, Nov. 9

Sunday, Nov. 10

Monday, Nov. 11

Tuesday, Nov. 12

Wednesday, Nov. 13

Thursday, Nov. 14

Friday, Nov. 15

Saturday, Nov. 16

Sunday, Nov. 17

Monday, Nov. 18

Tuesday, Nov. 19

Wednesday, Nov. 20

Thursday, Nov. 21

Friday, Nov. 22

Saturday, Nov. 23

Sunday, Nov. 24

Monday, Nov. 25

Tuesday, Nov. 26

Games we’re most looking forward to during 55-day stretch

NFL

• Bills at Jets, Oct. 14: The Jets are a little down after a loss to the Broncos. Maybe that adds to this matchup. If the Jets want to go somewhere this season, they might have to beat the Bills. And if they don’t? Oh, just imagine the headlines.

• Lions at Vikings, Oct. 20: The Lions probably anticipated that the Packers or Bears could challenge them for the NFC North title this season. But the Vikings? Minnesota’s hot start doesn’t seem like a fluke, and if the Vikings win this they might end up winning the division too.

• Chiefs at 49ers, Oct. 20: Injuries have taken some shine off this matchup, but not much. It’s still a great Super Bowl rematch between two teams that could meet again in this season’s Super Bowl.

• Commanders at Eagles, Nov. 14: This seemed like a throwaway Thursday night matchup when it was made. Now it seems like it could determine the NFC East title. By mid-November, Jayden Daniels mania could be in full force as he leads the Commanders into Philly.

• Texans at Cowboys, Nov. 18: We’re still waiting to see if the Cowboys will be a factor this season. But if they start to get it together, this game could be a fantastic one between two talented teams. The Texas rivalry just adds to it.

— Frank Schwab

• Ohio State at Oregon, Oct. 12: The marquee game of Week 7 is the biggest test of the season (so far) for both teams. Ohio State has cruised against lesser competition, while Oregon got a scare against Boise State. Each defense will really have its hands full.

• Georgia at Texas, Oct. 19: Saturday in Week 8 is a heck of a day in the SEC. Georgia faces its second huge road game of the season as Texas will be hoping it’s coming off a win against Oklahoma on Oct. 12. The game could have big Heisman implications as well between Quinn Ewers and Carson Beck.

• Alabama at Tennessee, Oct. 19: We’re staring down the barrel of two top-five matchups in the SEC on the third Saturday in October barring upsets over the next two weeks. Tennessee has to think this is another great shot to take down Alabama for the second straight time in Knoxville and win just its second game in the series since 2006.

• Boise State at UNLV, Oct. 25: Not every game could be from the Big Ten or the SEC. Boise State has a real Heisman threat in RB Ashton Jeanty and UNLV is the Broncos’ top challenger in the Mountain West. This could be a play-in game of sorts to make the College Football Playoff. And we could see it again in the MWC title game.

• Ohio State at Penn State, Nov. 2: There are so many other massive games during this stretch. Missouri visits Alabama. Georgia visits Ole Miss and hosts Tennessee. Penn State plays USC at the Coliseum. We’re going with a game where the loser could be eliminated from Big Ten title contention.

— Nick Bromberg