Week 10 could see a few conference championship berths secured. A Kentucky loss at Georgia hands the SEC East to Florida for a second consecutive year. Clemson, already the odds-on favorite to repeat as ACC Atlantic champions, could secure another trip to the championship game with a win and Louisville loss. San Diego State could win the Mountain West West (sic) with a victory over Hawai'i and losses by San José State and Nevada. San Diego State is a big favorite at home against Hawai'i while San José State and Nevada are both road underdogs.
There'll be just two games this weekend featuring two ranked teams. Alabama will visit LSU while Ohio State plays host to Nebraska. Both should make for great television.
Let's dive into the schedule.
Thursday
Buffalo at Ohio (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.). The best of the MAC East hosts one of the division's worst programs. Buffalo would secure a sub-.500 season with a loss in Athens.
Oklahoma at Iowa State (ESPN, 7:30 p.m.). Old foe and team that's making Ohio State look better each week travels to Ames to play 1-7 Iowa State. The Sooners will be without Joe Mixon, the star tailback who was suspended by the program for being a dick to a traffic cop.
Arkansas State at Georgia State (ESPNU, 7:30 p.m.). Arkansas State could win the Sun Belt this year. The Red Wolves are 3-0 in league play and looking to keep pace with Appalachian State and Troy. Note that Arkansas State is also 0-4 out-of-conference. One of those losses was at home Toledo. It lost two more on the road (Auburn, Utah State). It curiously has an FCS loss too (to Central Arkansas).
UCLA may have to ride Mike Fafaul (No. 12) for the remainder of the season. (Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
UCLA at Colorado (FS1, 9 p.m.). UCLA, arguably Texas A&M's "signature win" this year, is 3-5 and riding a three-game losing streak. It will also be without Josh Rosen tonight and for possibly the remainder of the season. Colorado is a 12-point favorite at home.
Friday
Central Michigan at Miami (OH) (CBS Sports, 6 p.m.). It's a battle of two teams who could finish below .500 this year. Central Michigan is 5-4 and Miami already has six losses.
Temple at Connecticut (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). The top team in the American East plays the league's worst team. Connecticut is eliminated from the post-season with a loss on Friday night.
San José State at Boise State (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). Boise State hopes to bounce back from a disappointing loss last week. It will host San José State as 30-point favorites.
Saturday
Navy vs. Notre Dame (CBS, 11:30 a.m.). Both teams have played each other all over the map, including Ireland and New Jersey. This one is in Jacksonville for some reason.
Air Force at Army (CBS Sports, 12 p.m.). Air Force could win the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy outright with a win Saturday afternoon.
Georgia Southern at Ole Miss (ESPNU, 12 p.m.). Credit the SEC for spreading out "Chickenshit Saturday" in the league throughout the schedule rather than concentrating it on the penultimate week of the regular season.
Texas A&M at Mississippi State (SEC Network, 12 p.m.). I'll eschew a commentary at how daffy Texas A&M's No. 4 ranking in the playoff is and will instead note that 3-5 Mississippi State's three wins this season come over 4-4 South Carolina, 2-7 Massachusetts, and FCS Samford.
Vanderbilt at Auburn (ESPN, 12 p.m.). I'm still convinced Auburn's absurdly high ranking is a means to artificially inflate hype for an Iron Bowl that Alabama is going to win by four touchdowns anyway.
Louisville at Boston College (ESPN2, 12 p.m.). Boston College got its first ACC win in two years last week with a road win at NC State. It'll hope to play spoiler to Louisville, who is just playing for Lamar Jackson's Heisman campaign after Florida State lost to Clemson last week.
Texas at Texas Tech (FS1, 12 p.m.). Both secured upset wins last week. Texas' upset of Baylor may have given Charlie Strong a stay of execution in Austin as Longhorn fans may still want Tom Herman to save their program. As always with Texas Tech, the over/under is the bigger curiosity than the spread. The over/under on Saturday afternoon is 80.
Indiana at Rutgers (BTN, 12 p.m.). Indiana should do horrible things to Rutgers. At 4-4 and with Purdue still remaining on the schedule, Indiana might make a bowl game again.
Mark Dantonio isn't having the season he anticipated this year. (Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports)
Michigan State at Illinois (ESPN News, 12 p.m.). Here's something you might not have anticipated in the pre-season: the loser of this game is bowl-ineligible. This was a safe pre-season prediction for Illinois, but a startling development for a Michigan State team still looking for its first Big Ten win this season.
Wisconsin at Northwestern (ABC, 12 p.m.). Wisconsin needs a Nebraska loss on Saturday night to jump back in front of the Big Ten West division. A loss at Northwestern may seem to hand the division to Nebraska no matter what happens to the Huskers in Columbus. Nebraska's remaining games—Minnesota, Maryland, at Iowa—are all winnable.
Maryland at Michigan (ESPN, 3:30 p.m.). Michigan hosts a Maryland team coached by its former defensive coordinator. Maryland won the last encounter in Michigan Stadium in 2014. While a Michigan loss would be hilarious, it could be disastrous for Ohio State's playoff hopes if Penn State wins out.
Purdue at Minnesota (BTN, 3:30 p.m.). We don't talk about Minnesota, but maybe we should. The Gophers are 6-2 and would win the Big Ten West if they won the remainder of their schedule. I should note that would include wins at Nebraska next week and at Wisconsin to end the regular season.
Oklahoma State at Kansas State (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Oklahoma State returns to action the week after handing West Virginia its first loss on the year. However, Kansas State is a small favorite at home.
Syracuse at Clemson (ABC/ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.). Clemson is on the home stretch for another ACC Atlantic Division championship. It would need to lose two of its next three games to blow it. Alternatively, it could start this game having secured the championship game berth if Louisville loses to NC State.
Here's an interesting question for feedback in the comments section. Is an ACC Champion Clemson team still playoff bound if it loses just one of its next four games (Syracuse, Pittsburgh, at Wake Forest, South Carolina)? I would think so even as Clemson hasn't quite played to its billing or last season's benchmark.
Whatever the case, Clemson is a 27-point favorite at home.
Virginia Tech at Duke (ESPNU, 3:30 p.m.). Virginia Tech seems like the safest pick for the ACC Coastal Division at the moment. Its tied atop the division with UNC, which it beat by 31 points in Chapel Hill. It might be worth your time watching Clemson's future opponent in the ACC Championship Game.
Oregon State at Stanford (FS1, 3:30 p.m.). Stanford is playing for a nicer bowl game right now. There'll be no Pac-12 Championship Game, playoff, or a Heisman for Christian McCaffrey. Stanford is a 15-point favorite with an eye toward next week's matchup with Oregon in Eugene.
TCU at Baylor (FOX, 3:30 p.m.). Remember this classic matchup from 2014? Both would like you to remember it while still begrudging Ohio State its playoff berth that year.
Here's the fourth quarter from that 61-58 Baylor win.
Brigham Young at Cincinnati (CBS Sports, 3:30 p.m.). Two 4-4 teams will clash in Nippert Stadium. BYU is an eight-point favorite on the road.
Florida at Arkansas (CBS, 3:30 p.m.). Florida will look to secure a likely SEC East championship with a win in Fayetteville. A Kentucky loss later Saturday evening gives Florida the division no matter what, though.
This will only be the second matchup between both programs since 2010. Arkansas has only one win over Florida all-time. That was in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl when Florida was still "Sunshine U" for bad high school football players and Arkansas was in the Southwest Conference and coached by Lou Holtz.
Because the internet is amazing, someone uploaded a cut of that game to YouTube.
Missouri at South Carolina (SEC Network, 4 p.m.). South Carolina looks to build on last week's upset win over Tennessee while Missouri is still looking for that first conference win for Barry Odom. Missouri becomes bowl-ineligible with a loss in Columbia.
Arizona at Washington State (Pac-12 Network, 4 p.m.). Washington State is 6-2 but a perfect 5-0 in league play. All eyes are still looking ahead to the Apple Cup in Pullman later this month. The Cougars are 17-point favorites at home against an Arizona team that could fall to 2-7 with a loss.
Memphis at Southern Methodist (ESPN News, 4 p.m.). Both programs have some nice wins this year but neither will challenge for the American West division this year. Memphis is a three-point favorite.
Florida State at NC State (ESPNU, 7 p.m.). Both had disappointing losses on Saturday. Florida State dropped a close decision to a Clemson team, which eliminated Florida State from the ACC Championship Game. NC State lost to Boston College, which no ACC team should do.
Florida State is a six-point favorite in Raleigh.
Donnel Pumphrey and San Diego State are still chugging along out west. (Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports)
Hawai'i at San Diego State (CBS Sports, 7 p.m.). I'll repeat a claim from last week. San Diego State's inexplicable loss at South Alabama early into the schedule took some attention off this program. That's unfortunate, since San Diego State is still a legitimate candidate to win the Mountain West and secure the Group of Five invite to the Cotton Bowl. It would need a Western Michigan loss to happen, but that's outside its control.
San Diego State is a 22-point favorite at home.
Oregon at USC (ESPN, 7 p.m.). Remember when this used to be a series to watch like five or 10 years ago?
Kansas at West Virginia (ESPN2, 7 p.m.). WVU's loss last week may mean the Mountaineers are out the playoff picture, but that won't stop it from taking out some frustration on the hapless Jayhawks. West Virginia is a five-touchdown favorite.
Iowa at Penn State (BTN, 7:30 p.m.). Ohio State does not need Penn State to lose again in order to make the conference championship game. However, it couldn't hurt, and it'll become necessary if Michigan loses a game between now and Nov. 26.
Penn State is an eight-point favorite. Let's offer our support to Iowa by remembering this classic moment in the series' history.
Georgia at Kentucky (SEC Network, 7:30 p.m.). Florida win the division with a Kentucky loss at home to Georgia. Georgia is a small two-point favorite on the road.
Let that underscore how garbage the SEC East is. Kentucky is the No. 2 team in the division, in November, and got smoked by the only two good teams on its schedule (Alabama, Florida) by a combined 66 points.
Alabama at LSU (CBS, 8 p.m.). This is the game of the week and only one of two on the schedule featuring two ranked teams.
This has arguably been the best series in the SEC for the past ten years that Saban has been in Tuscaloosa. His previous tenure at LSU kickstarted renewed interest in the series. For the most part, both have delivered in some memorable (if poor-quality) contests. The balance clearly favors Alabama. The Tide are 7-3 in the past ten contests, including that farce of a national championship game to end the 2011 season.
I think college football writ large wants this to be a compelling game. ESPN College GameDay will be in town for it. Alabama always has an inexplicable loss somewhere on its schedule. LSU has the added drama of an interim coach taking on Nick Saban's dynasty for a chance to possibly play spoiler to Alabama's march through the SEC West. LSU is even hosting this game. Tiger Stadium is arguably the SEC's most difficult venue.
Still, that's all wishful thinking. Expect Alabama to roll on Saturday night and cover the eight-point spread.
East Carolina at Tulsa (ESPN News, 8 p.m.). Keep an eye on Tulsa. It's 6-2 with just the two losses at Ohio State and at Houston. It will make the conference championship game if it wins out, critically beating Navy in Annapolis next week.
Nebraska at Ohio State (ABC, 8 p.m.). This is your personal game of the week. Stay tuned to Eleven Warriors for comprehensive coverage of this game. We'll see you at the Dubgate as well.
Nevada at New Mexico (ESPNU, 10:15 p.m.). 5-3 New Mexico hosts 3-5 Nevada on Saturday night. New Mexico still has an outside shot of winning the Mountain West Mountain division, but it would need another Boise State loss. It would also need to beat Wyoming to end the regular season.
Utah State at Wyoming (ESPN2, 10:15 p.m.). Speaking of Wyoming, the team that upset Boise State last week controls its own destiny in the Mountain West. However, it's just a five-point favorite over a 3-5 Utah State team.
Washington at California (ESPN, 10:30 p.m.). This is Washington's penultimate road game this season. Its next two games are home to USC and Arizona State. The Apple Cup in Pullman looms large on Black Friday.
