I am a fan of all sports and have distinct memories from my youth of something from every sport. I remember the biggest boxing matches had the coolest nicknames; The Thrilla in Manila, The Rumble in the Jungle, The Caracas Caper and even the mundane Fight of the Century. It only seems fitting that as we turn to November, and the first playoff poll is out and we have only a handful of weeks left in the regular season we acknowledge some of the weekend’s biggest games accordingly.
College Football Preview: Week 10; Ready For The Fight
Baylor @ Kansas State; Thur 7:30pm EST FS1; The Mauling in Manhattan; Baylor is leading the nation in points per game at 61. They are averaging a stunning 686 yards per game. But in the initial college football playoff poll, the Bears are #6, on the outside looking in, because the astronomical numbers have been put up against an inarguably weak schedule. At 3-4, no one is going to confuse Kansas State with a contender, but the Wildcats pose the best defense Baylor has played to date. They are giving up fewer rushing yards per game than the conference average and despite an unbelievable amount of injuries they can still get to a bowl game with three wins in the last five games. Not that things weren’t already on the line for Baylor, but they have lost quarterback Seth Russell for the year after neck surgery and will rely on freshman Jarrett Stidham the rest of the way. With games upcoming against Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU, it’s time for Baylor to prove its merit in a tougher fight.
Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh; Sat 9am EST; ABC; Pugilism at Pitt; Hey, it was better than The Hassle at Heinz Field. Notre Dame needs every win since it has no conference championship game. The Irish have the best loss of any of the one-loss teams, a two point defeat at Clemson, and that has kept them in the playoff conversation. That puts the Irish exactly where they were at this point last season; 7-1 with a close loss to an undefeated team (Florida State). Of course Notre Dame also lost its final four regular season games last year. Pitt is 6-2 and coming off a bye week after being knocked out of first place in the ACC Coastal race by North Carolina two weeks ago. Where the Panthers have fallen short lately is in being able to contain mobile quarterbacks. North Carolina’s Marquise Williams was buying himself extra time all game against a Pitt defense that has only one sack in the last three games. That would seem to spell trouble against DeShone Kizer who had 143 yards rushing and two touchdowns last week at Temple. What’s containing Notre Dame is the red zone. The Irish are 98th in the country in red zone scoring. How bizarre would it be to think if you keep the Irish inside your own 20, you have a puncher’s chance. Irish coach Brian Kelly likes to say November is for contenders. Notre Dame is 13-7 in November under Kelly and the last four matchups with Pitt have been decided by an average of 4 ½ points.
Florida State @ Clemson; Sat 3:30pm EST ABC; The Donnybrook in Death Valley; The top two teams in the ACC Atlantic Division square off for what is essentially the last/best/only chance for either to remain in the playoff hunt. Clemson is #1 in the playoff poll and has probably been the most complete team this season. But the Tigers are going to fall like a rock, Howard’s Rock, if they don’t take care of the Seminoles at home. Considering the weakness of the schedules, a one-loss ACC team can easily be left out of the four team mix at the end. Clemson will play two top level games this season; Notre Dame, whom they beat already, and Saturday night against Florida State. That shows you what is riding on this for Clemson. The Tigers defensive line has been blitz happy this season, while Florida State quarterback Everett Golson has been stunningly better as a Seminole than he was at Notre Dame with only one interception this year compared to 14 last season. Florida State’s offense has been a little more aggressive going downfield the last two weeks, which could burn Clemson’s blitz scheme. Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher says this game is no more important than any other game this season. And he said it with a straight face. The rest of us know better and are ready for a ringside seat.
TCU @ Oklahoma State; Sat 3:30pm EST Fox; The Brawl at Boone Pickens Stadium. Yeah, I know it’s a stretch, but you try finding something that works with “Stillwater.” Like the Baylor game, this is where the rubber starts to meet the road in the Big XII. With no conference title game, these last four weeks are everything. Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU are all undefeated and all play each other within the next four weeks. Throw in one-loss Oklahoma and we have ourselves “Survivor Goes Football.” TCU’s Trevone Boykin continues to be the straw that stirs the Horned Frogs’ drink, with a 66% completion rate and 28 touchdowns, but there have been many games where TCU has relied on him too much and has failed to play a complete game on both sides of the ball. The Horned Frogs are #2 in the country in scoring at just under 49 points per game, but Oklahoma State has the best defensive line in the conference so Boykin has yet to see the kind of pressure he is going to face this Saturday. There is no room for error on either side if they still have any playoff hopes.
LSU @ Alabama; Sat 8pm EST CBS; The Battle at Bryant-Denny; Considering a one-conference-loss Ole Miss team actually controls its own destiny for the SEC West title, this is quite possibly an elimination game for both teams. Both are currently in the four team playoff rankings, which means one will exit after this weekend. The showdown is not complicated; it’s just really good. Alabama’s run defense is #1 in the SEC, allowing just over 78 yards per game rushing. The #2 rush defense in the conference? LSU. The Tigers have the top running back in the country and obviously in the SEC in Leonard Fournette who has more than 1,300 yards in seven games. The #2 SEC rusher? Alabama’s Derrick Henry. The challenge for LSU is ging to be to not over-rely on Fournette. The Tigers’ passing offense ranks last in the SEC, so quarterback Brandon Harris is going to need one of his biggest passing games of the season for LSU. Offensive diversity will not come easily for Alabama either. Jacob Coker is getting hammered in the pocket and has only 77 net yards rushing this season because of the offensive line’s inability to give him enough protection. Bama has won the last four matchups going back to the BCS title game after the 2011 season.
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