They say rivalry week is wild, but Friday was an especially crazy day of action on the college football scene. It was definitely one of the most entertaining days of the year.
-Iowa upset No. 16 Nebraska, beating the heck out of them in a 40-10 result.
-No. 19 Boise State, who had lost just once this season, fell to Air Force (hopefully you read our Upset Alert article where we predicted the Falcons would give them a hard time).
-No. 20 Houston, who was fresh off an impressive win over No. 5 Louisville, lost 48-44 at Memphis.
-North Carolina State and North Carolina nearly brawled, and then the Wolfpack became bowl eligible with a win at Chapel Hill over the eight-win Tar Heels.
-Arkansas’ season ended with a thud, losing to Missouri (4-8).
-Charlie Strong was playing for his job and bowl eligibility, yet Texas crumbled at home to TCU 31-9.
And that’s just Friday. The final full weekend of the college football season will feature the most highly anticipated slate of games this season with a lot left to be determined. The matchups for the Pac-12 and Big Ten Championship games will be sorted out this week while Alabama looks to complete a perfect season with a win in the Iron Bowl.
On that note, here is a look at the best college football games on national television this week.
#3 Michigan @ #2 Ohio State
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET – ABC
There will be an even bigger showdown in the Big Ten with Michigan and Ohio State playing for a spot in the Big Ten Championship and likely the College Football Playoff on Saturday. The Wolverines won’t have Wilson Speight under center so it the fact that John O’Korn will start at quarterback adds even more drama to the equation. The Buckeyes are coming off an unconvincing win over Michigan State and the fact that these rivalry games are never easy to win could help level the playing field a little bit. Everything these teams have played for will come down to this week in one of the most highly anticipated games of the season.
College Football Pick: Michigan +7
#13 Auburn @ #1 Alabama
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
The Tigers can’t keep Alabama from reaching the SEC Championship game but they could end their perfect season with an upset win in the Iron Bowl. Auburn got the chance to rest some key players in last week’s big win over Alabama A&M but it’s never easy to play in Tuscaloosa, especially with the Crimson Tide looking to cap off another perfect regular season. Alabama wasn’t at its best in last week’s 31-3 win over Chattanooga so Nick Saban should have his team focused and fired up to bounce back with a better performance in this week’s rivalry game.
College Football Pick: Auburn +18
#22 Utah @ #9 Colorado
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
Colorado can lock up the Pac-12 South with a win over Utah this week and they should truly have no problem getting the job done against a Utes side that is coming off an absolutely brutal loss to Oregon. However, Utah is still a top-25 team and the Buffaloes can’t afford to underestimate any opponent at this point in the season. The most likely scenario is that Sefo Liufau and company bring their best to the table and find a way to make one more statement in their regular season finale. Colorado might very well be the best team in the Pac-12 and they will get their chance to prove it in the Pac-12 Championship game after they pick up one more win this week.
College Football Pick: Colorado -10
Michigan State @ #7 Penn State
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET – ESPN
There isn’t much attention paid to the Penn State Nittany Lions in terms of the College Football Playoff, but they have a relatively good chance to get in. For starters, Ohio State and Michigan – two of the teams in the College Football Playoff as of right now – will play each other. That means one of them will end up with a loss after Saturday. While Washington won on Friday, they’ll still have to place a challenging Pac-12 Championship Game, which could hand them a second loss on the season and likely drop them below the Nittany Lions. And while No. 6 Wisconsin is at home to Minnesota tomorrow and is a big favorite (-14.5), who knows what might happen. If the Nittany Lions pound Michigan State and Wisconsin barely edges out Minnesota, maybe the Nittany Lions sneak in.
At any rate, it’s not that big of a stretch. But all of that assumes that Penn State takes care of business against Michigan State on Saturday. Sparty would love nothing more than to hand Penn State a loss. They gave Ohio State everything they could handle last week, so Penn State better not show up half asleep. Even so, expect the Nittany Lions to be focused here because they’re at home in Happy Valley in this one.
College Football Pick: Nittany Lions -11
