Ranked vs. Ranked headline NCAA FB week 10

For college football fans, Saturday should be the best day of the season. The slate is full of ranked matchups, playoff implications, and even nostalgia. Here is what to watch for.

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Auburn

• The Auburn Tigers, for all intents and purposes, play a must-win game on Saturday. In the last two games, the Tigers have struggled to respond to adversity, when LSU and Ole Miss got rolling. That has not been the case for the entire season, however. Auburn continued to fight against Florida and made that a one-score contest. The next week, they were in danger of starting 0-2 in conference play before gutting out a win over Vanderbilt 21-15. Then, after losing to Tennessee and being given no chance at all in Athens, Auburn upset #1 Georgia 27-24. After a grueling October schedule, Auburn finally has a favorable matchup when Arkansas visits Jordan-Hare Stadium tomorrow. The Razorbacks are certainly a team that can beat the Tigers if the home team does not play well. But for the first time since September, playing well will be good enough for Auburn to emerge victorious. It is repetitive now to point out that Auburn will need to get off to a better start in the game. Auburn has only scored twice this year on its first possession. Starting well would help build the confidence the Tigers need to play free, without having to battle uphill all afternoon. Auburn will obviously need to run the football successfully. Not only will that allow the offense to operate more efficiently, it will also give its defense the ability to stay fresh. The bottom line is the Tigers are the better team here, and they are playing at home. I think they win comfortably.

Games featuring two ranked teams

• It starts at 10 a.m. mountain time, when ninth-ranked BYU and third-ranked Utah renew their rivalry, dubbed the Holy War, from the Mountain West Conference days. This game belongs under the lights, but I digress. BYU has played very good football this year, with one hiccup in Orlando, and I think they will present Utah with its toughest test of the season. The Utes are 8-0. This is a rivalry where the teams do not even agree on when the first game between them was played, how many times they have played, nor about the series record. Utah owns either a 62-37-4 or a 59-24-4 advantage, depending on which teams’s media guide you read. BYU has won the last three. A loss for the Cougars could eliminate them from the playoffs. While I think BYU will play motivated and keep the game close, I think Utah does enough to defend their home turf and remain undefeated
• Next is #7 Texas traveling to Columbia to take on #18 Missouri. Both teams come into this game off wins. It is the first time in three weeks Texas leaves the friendly confines of Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Missouri is playing their first game in two weeks at home. This looks to be a back-and-forth affair, but Texas has the more talented team. They are also playing better football since dropping back-to-back games last month against Oklahoma and Florida. Look for the Longhorns to keep their playoff hopes alive with another quality road win.
• We go to the Bayou for an ancient rivalry between #5 Alabama and #14 LSU. I put an asterisk by that 5 ranking because I do not believe Alabama is the 5th best team in the country. Nor do I believe they have even approached earning that ranking with their play on the field this year. They could certainly earn that ranking with a big road win in Baton Rouge. I do not see that happening. Lane Kiffin has his offense rolling. LSU’s defensive front, particularly the edge players, are monsters. This will be the toughest environment Tide quarterback Keylon Russell has faced. Give me the Bengal Tigers.
• From the Gulf coast to the Smokey Mountains and Rocky Top, #13 Tennessee hosts their rivals from Lexington, 6^th ranked Kentucky. This is only the second time since 1951 that both teams are ranked entering the contest. This game could go either way in a rivalry that has been dominated by the Volunteers. Tennessee has won the last 5 and holds the longest win streak in the rivalry at 26. Kentucky has beaten Texas A&M and South Carolina on the road this year. This game is different, I believe. Will Stein has done a remarkable job in year one on the Bluegrass, but this one may be a little too big for the Wildcats. Look for Tennessee to keep their hat in playoff contention for another week.
• We go further north to South Bend, Indiana for a renewal of a rivalry famously, or infamously, once known as “Catholics vs. Convicts.” It is #1 Miami vs. #11 Notre Dame. As in that 1988 classic between Jimmie Johnson’s Hurricanes and Lou Holtz’s Fighting Irish, Notre Dame is looking to knock off the nation’s top team. On that day they did, 31-30. The Hurricanes may be without Malachi Toney, but they are more battle tested and have the more talented team, even without him. Notre Dame failed its first major test of the year against BYU. I do not think they will pass this one either.
• The last ranked vs. ranked matchup is in Oxford, Mississippi. The Ole Miss Rebels hope to defeat Georgia again, this time in the regular season, after their playoff win last year. However, Georgia just does not lose multiple regular season games under Kirby Smart. The last time they did was his first season in Athens in 2016. This will be Georgia’s second hostile road game of the season, after conquering Alabama last month in Tuscaloosa. I do give the quarterback edge to Ole Miss’s Trinidad Chambliss, but the Bulldogs’ excellent defense will be able to limit him better than most. Georgia pulls this one out and eliminates the Rebels from playoff contention.

Ranked Teams on upset alert

• #8 UCLA as they travel to the twin cities to take on Minnesota.
• #19 Iowa as they head to Evanston to battle Northwestern.
• #12 Ohio State hosts #23 Oregon. I’ll take Dylan Raiola over Luke Fahey any Saturday of the year.

Other things to watch for

• Florida State (3-5) @ Boston College (4-4). How do the Noles respond in their first game following the firing of Mike Norvell in Chestnut Hill?
• A surprise 4-4 UConn team hosts Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels who are also 4-4.
• Mike Elko’s future could be on the line as his 4-4 Texas A&M Aggies hit the road to take on a very hot #21 South Carolina Gamecock team (5-3) inside Williams-Brice Stadium.
• The Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy takes place in prime time between Michigan State and Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Shockingly, this game requires a subscription to Peacock to watch.
• Air Force and Army battle it out under the lights in the second leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy. The Falcons can clinch the trophy with a win. If Army wins, they will have to beat Navy, on December 12th, to win the trophy.

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