Give credit to the NCAA schedulemakers, who converged with the networks this offseason to create some fairly enticing Thursday Night matchups.

The Thursday Night ESPN game has certainly evolved over the years. In the 1990s, you’d get maybe three or four quality matchups in a given season, ranked teams vs. ranked teams, interstate rivalries, things of that nature. You’d get more Rice vs. Tulsa than you could stomach, however.

But these days? Seemingly every Thursday Night, is something special. Boise State opened things against Oregon in a doozy on and off the field. Georgia Tech then rallied to upend Clemson in Week 2, only to see the Yellow Jackets get blasted by Miami last week.

Point is, whether it’s the Broncos or the Tigers or the Hurricanes, you’ve had a fairly marketable program to keep you entertained on Thursdays.

Tonight should be no different. Because of the way the mighty have fallen — USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma — Ole Miss has snuck into the Top 5. A good program with a lot to prove, yes, but Top 5? Well, not even Coach Houston Nutt could have predicted that two years ago, when he left Arkansas for Oxford.

That said. Nutt’s always been one to make good on a fortunate situation. And whether it was Ole Miss over Florida, in Gainesville, last season, or Arkansas over LSU, in Baton Rouge, the season befo re, his teams seem to always rise to the occasion in a big spot.

Which is why tonight is a puzzling situation. The Rebels are ranked No. 4 and truly have a shot at landing in the SEC title game come December. There are potential bumps in the road, yes, vs. Alabama, and Auburn, and LSU.

But South Carolina tonight? It’s hard to believe they’ll let this chance slip. And because of the Thursday Night Magic that casts a spell on those mighty road teams, the line is very gracious for a Top 5 team. It opened at 4.5, was bet down to 3, only to settle on 3.5.

Certainly, Steve Spurrier’s team will be ready. It’s a home game, on national television, and a chance to steal headlines, and recruits. But the Rebels have more to play for … and thanks to the oddsmakers, you don’t have a huge price to pay.

Good luck tonight.

ON THE TIGERS’ TRAIL

Loyal readers certainly know we’re fans of philsteele.com, a college football haven. We were happy to see Steele was on the same side of our “On Campus” lead game this week, TCU at Clemson.

We sided with the resurgent Tigers, who could easily be 3-0, if it wasn’t for a few Georgia Tech gadget plays two weeks ago. But, their 2-1 mark allows for some line value this week, as the No. 15 Horned Frogs (2-0) travel to Death Valley.

If it was a battle of unbeatens, this line would b e a touchdown. As it is, Clemson is a 2.5-point choice, which easily caught our eye.

Steele agrees with us.

“I feel Clemson is still underrated,” he said, “as they have a dominating defensive front seven, and they have two of the fastest players in the country in running back C.J. Spiller and wide receiver Jacoby Ford.”

The Mountain West Conference can easily prove us wrong. TCU has a great defense, and certainly will feel the need to carry the conference flag, now that Utah and BYU have lost a game.

But we’re sticking with the home team.

Steele breaks down the entire Top 25 weekend here.

ROAD LESS TRAVELED

The most popular total on the board this week, has to be Texas Tech-Houston.

Certainly, both teams can light up the scoreboard. And at least one — the Cougars — will be rested, as they haven’t played since upsetting Oklahoma State two weeks ago. Texas Tech lost at Texas last week.

But 73 points? That is an absolute ton. They’ll come close. They may even shatter it, who knows. But if anyone tries to establish a running game — most likely Houston, as it knows, over the long haul, it doesn’t have the speed and athleticism of the Big 12 Red Raiders — and knocks some time off the clock, it may be under city.

Think about it. The Red Raiders, a 1-point fa vorite, could win 38-34, and you can still cash in an under. Hard to believe.

That number reminds us of last year’s national title game in Miami, when Florida met Oklahoma with a total of 69. Final score? 24-14.

tsullivan@nypost.com