If you haven’t watched as much college football so far this fall as you may have wanted to, this is the weekend to plop yourself in front of the TV all day and do so. This week, there are six games that pit Top-25 teams against each other, and most of them have college football playoff implications.
No. 2 Oregon vs Arizona — tonight, 10:30pm, ESPN
Last season, the Arizona Wildcats welcomed then-No. 5 Oregon to Tuscon, Ariz., and shocked the Ducks and the rest of the college football world by winning 42-16. This year’s game is in Eugene, Ore., though, and the Ducks’ high-powered offense led by quarterback Marcus Mariota looks unstoppable.
The Wildcats are undefeated, so let’s see if Rich Rod can pull off a huge road upset.
Florida @ Tennessee — Saturday, noon, SEC Network
Florida has won the last nine in the series, but the Volunteers look close to getting their first win in Southeastern Conference play. They have the opportunity against a struggling Florida team on Saturday.
No. 6 Texas A&M @ No. 12 Mississippi State — noon, ESPN
TAMU is coming off an emotional overtime win over Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in which Kenny "Trill" Hill’s magic gave the Aggies a victory. Meanwhile, Dan Mullen is coming off the biggest win of his career — a 34-29 victory over LSU in Death Valley. Hill versus Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott will be one of the best quarterback battles of the season.
No. 3 Alabama @ No. 11 Ole Miss — 3:30pm, CBS
The atmosphere at Ole Miss will be sky-high on Saturday, given the Rebels earned the prized 3:30 CBS slot, and ESPN’s College GameDay is visiting The Grove for the first time ever in the show’s history. Not to mention they get a chance to knock off the No. 3 team in the country. The Rebels’ strength of schedule has been poor up to this point, but both the offense and defense has looked good so far. The Tide’s offense is finally clicking under Lane Kiffin, hanging 672 yards on Florida two weeks ago. If both Mississippi State and Ole Miss get W’s, the state of Mississippi will have the most buzz of any state south of the Mason-Dixon.
No. 4 Oklahoma @ No. 25 TCU — 3:30pm, FOX
The Sooners are undefeated and firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. While Oklahoma’s strength of schedule is pretty poor, the Horned Frogs cracked the Top-25 last week and are undefeated as well. If TCU pulls off the upset, a major domino will fall in the CFB Playoff picture.
No. 14 Stanford @ No. 9 Notre Dame — 3:30pm, NBC
Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson gets his toughest test so far facing the No. 1 ranked total defense in the country. If the Cardinal upsets the Irish at home, it could likely spoil their chances at a playoff bid.
No. 15 LSU @ No. 5 Auburn — 7:00pm, ESPN
This game isn’t as hyped as it was at the beginning of the year, but that was before Mississippi State’s upset of the Tigers in Week 4. Keep in mind, though, that LSU gave Auburn its only regular season loss in 2013. Freshman Brandon Harris will have his first start at quarterback for LSU, too.
No. 19 Nebraska @ No. 10 Michigan State — 8:00pm, ABC
Heisman hopeful Ameer Abdullah gets his first big test this weekend facing the No. 6 ranked Spartans run defense. It’s a down year in the Big Ten, but this is still a match up with Big Ten title and possibly playoff game implications.
Follow Morgan Moriarty on Twitter @Morgan_Moriarty
In this Nov. 23, 2013, file photo, Oregon's starting quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) is tackled in the backfield by Arizona's Marquis Flowers (2) in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tucson, Ariz.
