The College Football Playoff picture is beginning to crystallize, with each weekend delivering crucial results as teams compete for one of the four spots in the field.
No. 3 Michigan scored a decisive win in the day’s early top matchup and quelled No. 10 Penn State in a key Big Ten matchup. No. 8 Alabama delivered the most emphatic result of the day, beating Kentucky in a decisive SEC West victory in Lexington. Later, No. 5 Washington pulled out a 35-28 win over Utah to keep its Pac-12 title and CFP hopes alive.
Many of the late Saturday games have implications beyond the CFP as teams compete for spots in their respective conference title games. It should make for another action-packed evening.
Here’s what we see tonight:
Time: 7pm ET | TV: ESPN | Line: UGA -10.5 | Overall: 58.5
Ole Miss has a tremendous opportunity Saturday night in Athens. The Rebels have had some big games under Lane Kiffin, but they rarely went according to plan. To beat Georgia, Kiffin’s team will need to raise their level of play even further. The Bulldogs, of course, are the two-time defending national champions and enter Saturday at 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in the latest CFP rankings. UGA will need another big effort from QB Carson Beck to maintain the program’s 26-game winning streak.
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET | TV: Fox | Line: UO -15.5 | Overall: 73.5
Oregon is looking more and more like a national championship caliber team. The Ducks started the season 5-0 before losing a heartbreaker to Washington in Seattle. If the Ducks want a rematch with Washington in the Pac-12 title game, they have to keep winning. That search continues with a visit from the reeling USC Trojans. USC has lost three of its last four games after an 0-6 start to the season. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley ultimately fired Alex Grinch, his longtime defensive coordinator. Will it make a difference when the Trojans travel to Eugene to face Bo Nix and Oregon’s high-powered offense?