Top College Football Games Week 10
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
While Week 9 may have been somewhat of a letdown in terms of top to bottom excitement and upsets, Week 10 is poised to be a thriller with several games that will shape conference title races and the national playoff picture but none bigger than No. 17 Florida State vs. No. 3 Clemson or No. 4 LSU at No. 7 Alabama.
The week starts off with an interesting Mid-American matchup on Tuesday with Northern Illinois (5-3, 3-1) off to No. 20 Toledo (7-0, 4-0). NIU has reeled off three consecutive wins beating Ball State, Miami (Ohio), and Eastern Michigan getting the season back on track.
The Rockets are one of 10 Division-I schools unbeaten. The MAC is fighting against the AAC which has two undefeated teams, Houston and Memphis for top billing of a non-power five school. No. 18 Houston could get a challenge from Cincinnati on Saturday and No. 15 Memphis must find a way to slow down Navy’s rushing attack.
ACC
When No. 17 Florida State kicks off against No. 3 Clemson, for the first time in years the pressure will be on Clemson, not FSU, to stay undefeated for a shot at the college football playoffs. If FSU wins, the Seminoles force a tie atop the Atlantic Division with the tie breaker for the ACC Championship Game.
Who plays Clemson or FSU in the ACC Championship Game is still up in the air. North Carolina is now the leader in the Coastal after Pitt and Duke took losses last week. Pitt can climb back in the national rankings with a win over No. 8 Notre Dame and Duke can reclaim a share of the lead with a win over archrival UNC.
Big 12
Hard to tell which Kansas State team will show up with Baylor comes to town Thursday night. The Wildcats have lost four consecutive but played Oklahoma State close (36-34) and TCU tight (52-45) before getting wiped out by Oklahoma 55-0.
The biggest game of the week in the Big 12 is No. 5 TCU vs. No. 12 Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are still an unknown despite being 8-0 on the season. OSU does not have a signature win over a top program leaving question marks about how good the team really is this season. Truth be told, Baylor looks phenomenal so far this year with a balanced offense but the Bears also do not have a signature win streaking to 7-0.
Big Ten
There are no must see games out of the Big Ten this week but a couple of games that could end up being interesting. Indiana has lost four straight but could pose a fight for a visiting Iowa team. Penn State is still in the running for a share of the Big Ten East Division with one loss behind Ohio State and Michigan State but could get a challenge from Northwestern.
The big dogs, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 6 Michigan State play Minnesota and Nebraska.
Pac-12
The Pac-12 does not offer much in Top 25 matchups but the conference does have a couple of games that could be interesting. The Utes have a one game lead in the South Division and must go on the road to face an up-and-down Washington team that could present a challenge. Cal could become bowl eligible in exciting fashion if they are able to outgun Oregon on the road.
Another team pushing for bowl eligibility is Washington State. The Cougars are better than their 5-3 record and can add a little pop to their resume with a win over a visiting Arizona State team.
SEC
The SEC has two big games this week with Arkansas traveling to Ole Miss and LSU heading to Tuscaloosa. Arkansas is now back to breakeven at 4-4 but have the type of squad that could give Ole Miss trouble if Chad Kelly cannot take advantage of the Hogs secondary. Ole Miss holds a tie breaker over Alabama making the LSU vs. Alabama game important to Rebels fans.
Expect a good old fashion slugfest when LSU takes the field against Alabama. Neither Alabama nor LSU has proven to be explosive in the passing game meaning running between the tackles and flipping field position with a punter will be big keys to the game.
Florida can officially claim the SEC East Division title with a win over Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Must See Games
No. 17 Florida State vs. No. 3 Clemson
No. 5 TCU at No. 12 Oklahoma State
No. 4 LSU at No. 7 Alabama
If You Have the Time
Northern Illinois at No. 20 Toledo – Thursday
Navy at No. 15 Memphis
Duke at No. 21 North Carolina
No. 8 Notre Dame at Pitt
Penn State at Northwestern
Arizona State at Washington State
No. 13 Utah at Washington
Cal at Oregon
Arkansas at No. 19 Ole Miss
Week 10 AP Rankings
- Ohio State (39)
- Baylor (6)
- Clemson (6)
- LSU (5)
- TCU (4)
- Michigan State
- Alabama (1)
- Notre Dame
- Stanford
- Iowa
- Florida
- Oklahoma State
- Utah
- Oklahoma
- Memphis
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Houston
- Mississippi
- Toledo
- North Carolina
- UCLA
- Temple
- Mississippi State
- Texas A&M
Photo credit: nola.com; Leonard Fournette finds a running lane against Alabama (2014).