There was at least one surprise when the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released this week and Alabama, Clemson and Michigan were joined by Texas A&M rather than Washington. The Huskies are the only undefeated team in the top-25 not to make the top four as the poll awarded the Aggies the fourth spot in its initial rankings with A&M’s lone loss being a double-digit defeat to Alabama just a couple of weeks ago. Washington’s omission will make its game against California that much more interesting and it certainly deserves a spot on this list. Here is a look at the top television games in college football for week 10.
TCU @ #13 Baylor
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET – ABC
The Big 12’s playoff hopes have already been dashed so the focus will switch to a conference championship when Baylor hosts TCU this weekend. The Bears are coming off a surprising 35-34 loss at Texas last week and will now try to get back on track in time to take down a talented but inconsistent Horned Frogs’ side. Baylor has had a soft schedule but their inability to stop the Longhorns attack has them at 6-1 and their slate is about to get a lot tougher with games against TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and West Virginia coming up. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Bears respond with a tough test at home.
Pick: Baylor -7.5
#9 Nebraska @ #6 Ohio State
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET – ABC
Ohio State survived an ugly 24-20 win over Northwestern in which they never really seemed in full control last week and they will face a much tougher test this week when they host Nebraska. The Huskers couldn’t take down Wisconsin last week when they fell 23-17 in overtime but they did prove they could hang with another top Big Ten team on the road. Nebraska will have a much tougher test this week if the Buckeyes offense gets rolling but that didn’t happen last week so there are obvious question marks about where Urban Meyer’s team is right now. Can Ohio State bounce back with a big win at home? It’s definitely worth tuning in to watch on ABC.
Pick: Nebraska +18
#1 Alabama @ #15 LSU
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET – CBS
The Crimson Tide has strung together 20 straight wins including a streak of 12 straight wins against ranked opponents. Alabama is coming off a bye week and looking to keep on rolling when they visit an SEC West rival in LSU this weekend. The Tigers have won each of their three games under interim head coach Ed Orgeron but this will undoubtedly be their toughest test so far. LSU would like nothing more than to be the team that ends the Tide’s perfect season and it will be very interesting to see if they can hang with Alabama this weekend.
Pick: Alabama -8
#4 Washington @ California
Saturday, 10:30 PM ET – ESPN
All eyes will be on Washington after they were snubbed in the first College Football Playoff poll after improving to 8-0 with a big road win over Utah last week. The good news for Washington is that Texas A&M will very likely suffer at least one more loss this season, which would keep them out of the CFP and give them a chance to move in – as long as they’re undefeated.
The Huskies might have had their 10-game streak of scoring at least 35 points snapped by the Utes but Jake Browning did just enough to pull out a gutsy victory on the road and keep them in the hunt for a playoff spot. Washington will be in tough playing its second road game in a row and it will be very interesting to see how Browning and company perform with a chance to make a statement in the late game. Cal managed to beat Utah earlier this year and that was actually their second win versus a Top 20 team this year. However, they’ve mostly been a struggling outfit. They are just 4-4 and have losses at USC, at Oregon State, at Arizona State and at San Diego State. Washington should be too strong for them in this college football showdown.
Pick: California +17
