Remember, remember November 5th.
November 5th wasn’t circled on many calendars before college season started, but it’s here now — and it’s a whopper. Week 10 has the biggest game of the season in a single time slot, followed by a trap game for one playoff hopeful and a road trip to Louisiana for another.
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Midday
Maryland in Wisconsin (-5)
The Terps are quietly putting together one of their best seasons in over a decade, going into this game 6-2. A win in the last four would put the team on par this year with the best since Ralph Friedgen coached in 2010. These two defeats were also due to one possession each. Here comes Wisconsin, after a bye week and built to play spoilers. Maryland has often been a victim at this point and they are not favored on the road in this case, but this season has already been different for them: can it continue? ‘
Matchup to watch: Maryland about passing. Jim Leonhard’s defense can boast some dizzying pressure packs for a quarterback to sift through, and when you get behind the chains there’s nothing the Badgers would rather do than tee off. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa will be back in action after suffering a knee injury, leaving Maryland as close to full strength as they’ve been in quite a while.
Texas Tech at TCU (-8.5)
The Frogs got what they believe was a dose of playoff disrespect on Tuesday. Though undefeated, they were ranked behind a one-lost Alabama team. Well, they’re going to get their first chance to prove the committee to TCU wrong. If you want Tech to stir things up, look out for an aggressive game plan looking to create breaks by trying in fourth place.
Matchup to watch: TCU vs Slow Start. The Frogs have gotten off to a mighty slow start over the last few weeks, in fact the fact that they were (just) ahead against West Virginia was a pleasant surprise. Eventually they will have to get up and stay awake in a game or it may come back to bite them.
The TCU Horned Frogs believe they have been snubbed by the College Football Playoff rankings.
Ben Queen/USA TODAY Sports
Florida at Texas A&M (-3)
This is a game that will go a long way in determining if any of these teams will miss a notable bowl. Those aren’t exactly the stakes we thought this August game would come with. But in College Station, two less-than-stellar campaigns come to a head. Can either of these teams avoid each other?
Matchup to watch: Connor Weigman vs. the Expectations. The freshman took the reins against Ole Miss and played well, but he’s now being tested again against Florida as one team has a movie on him. One thing he doesn’t have to worry about is Florida’s Brenton Cox, who was fired from the team after losing to Georgia.
Midday
UCF (-3.5) at Memphis, 3:30 p.m
It’s unclear now who the Knights will be starting as quarterback, and Memphis will need all the help they can get when a struggling defense comes into this game. UCF will try to jump on the Tigers no matter who is behind center.
Matchup to watch: UCF’s defense against Memphis offense in the low red zone. The Knights are certainly not bad on defense, but they do have something of a bend-but-don’t-break style, especially when things are not just within the 20 in general, but within the 10. Part of that has to do with their efficient run D, which has made them a tough team to hit on.
Tennessee at Georgia (-8), 3:30 p.m
This is the big win, and the one we’ve all been waiting for since it became clear a few weeks ago that Tennessee was actually going to play Alabama. This is one of the biggest regular football games not involving Alabama or Ohio State in years, and it’s a big moment for the Dawgs at Sanford Stadium, which doesn’t typically feature big matchups like this one. Tennessee’s offense is unstoppable, but can Georgia’s defense contain it and hold its own in this de facto SEC East championship game?
Matchup to watch: Georgia vs. the game script. We saw last year at the SEC championship that when Georgia has to press on offense, the results might not be great. If Georgia falls behind, how they’ll fight back against a not-great high school in Tennessee will be a big subplot, especially since receiver AD Mitchell’s health is still in question. Tight end Brock Bowers gives Stetson Bennett a tremendous safety margin, but they need more vertical threat when they get behind multiple points against Tennessee’s capable front-7.
Undefeated Tennessee and undefeated Georgia go head-to-head on Saturday.
Jamar Coach/News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK
Freedom in Arkansas (-2), 4 p.m
Hugh Freeze returns to a familiar place for another duel with the SEC: Fayetteville, Arkansas. Coincidentally, the team that beat Arkansas last week (Auburn) just fired their coach, and there’s certainly a possibility that Freeze might end up getting that job if some in the program catch on.
Matchup to watch: Raheim Sanders against everyone. Sanders is within striking distance of the college football title this season with an outstanding campaign. He has already eclipsed 1,041 so far this season with an average of 6.7 yards per carry.
Night
Clemson (-3.5) at Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m
Clemson QB DJ Uiagelele returns to where it all began. It was at Notre Dame Stadium in 2020 that he burst onto the scene in what ended up being a lost attempt to fill in for an injured Trevor Lawrence. Last time we saw the Clemson signal caller, he was benched for backup while he struggled. He will start the game, but will he finish it?
Matchup to watch: Notre Dame offensive line against Clemson’s front. It doesn’t matter what happens to Clemson’s offense if the Fighting Irish can’t score. They’re a team in dire need of a playmaker beyond Micheal Mayer and their traditionally loaded offensive line is far from okay this season. That’s not good when you’re up against a Clemson front that’s absolutely talented.
Alabama (-13.5) at LSU, 7 p.m
This one always has stakes, and as a big chunk in the SEC West Championship picture, this year is no different. LSU had been declared dead after a poor start to the season with two embarrassing losses to FSU and Tennessee, but the Tigers have improved greatly in recent weeks. This test will be tough, but they put off a rabid LSU crowd on Saturday night in what will certainly be a tremendous environment.
Matchup to watch: LSU’s offensive line against the Alabama front. LSU’s O-line situation is no longer bad, but it still leaves something to be desired. Texas A&M showed a few weeks ago that if you can’t block Bama, you’re going to have a bad time. The Tigers need to be at their best up front for QB Jayden Daniles to help them keep up with Bryce Young.
Scott Clause/USA TODAY Network
Wake Forest (-3.5) in the state of NC, 8 p.m
The Demon Deacons just need to get over the stink of their not good, very bad week 9. Six giveaways and two more turnovers at Downs made for one of the strangest losses you’ll ever see over the past weekend.
Matchup to watch: Wake Forest’s defense against NC State’s offense. With a backup quarterback due to Devin Leary’s injury, the Wolfpack were limited on offense. But they need to find a way to keep up with Wake while the Deacs score like they normally do.
Cal at USC (-21), 10:30 p.m
How about some Pac-12 after dark? End the night with some West Coast action. This isn’t a full trap game, but USC had a little harder time beating Arizona than you expected, so keep that in mind before bed.
Matchup to watch: Both teams against the sales margin. These two teams thrive on turnovers at a level that’s honestly pretty amazing, so theoretically the ball could bounce in Cal’s direction and make this an interesting game. If they don’t, watch out for the Trojans buzz sawing them as expected.