It has been a nightmare start to the season for a USC football team that some thought had the potential to do some damage in the Pac-12 and on the national stage. However, they can right the ship with a win against No. 14 Notre Dame. Many people will be tuning into that game just to see how they perform after the circus that was this past week. That’s just one of our four must-watch games for the weekend.
No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide @ No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies
Saturday, 3:30 PM ET
Alabama rallied in the second half against Arkansas with 24 points in the final 17 minutes to pull out the 27-14 victory and improve to 5-1, but they will need to play a full 60 minutes at that level this weekend in order to win on the road against a tough opponent in Texas A&M. The undefeated Aggies are coming off a bye week and have had a full two weeks to prepare for this contest, so that means Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall should be fresh to get after the quarterback.
Alabama will need Jake Coker to survive the A&M pass rush and make plays while feeding running back Derrick Henry a steady dose of touches in order to win the time of possession game. The Tide control their own future in the SEC West and a win over Texas A&M this weekend will put them back in the College Football Playoff picture with a home date against LSU right around the corner in early November. Pick: Alabama
No. 8 Florida Gators @ No. 6 LSU Tigers
Saturday, 7:00 PM ET
Alabama might be chasing LSU in the SEC West but they are probably hoping the Tigers can stay perfect – at least this weekend when they host another undefeated team in Florida on Saturday. The Gators stand alone atop the SEC East and a win over LSU this weekend will make them the obvious favorites for a spot in the playoff. The Tigers can stop that from happening and set up another epic SEC showdown with the Tide in two weeks if they can win this game.
Considering how dominant they have been at home and the fact that Florida just lost starting quarterback Will Grier to a season-long suspension, there is a very good chance that happens. Sophomore running back Leonard Fournette has emerged as the favorite to win this year’s Heisman trophy after running for 1,022 yards and 12 touchdowns in LSU’s first five wins and we expect more of the same at home against Florida on Saturday. Pick: LSU
USC Trojans @ No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET
USC’s fall early on this season has been well documented and it won’t get any easier following Steve Sarkisian’s firing as head coach this week and an ugly loss to Washington.
Now they’ve got to get it together with a trip to Notre Dame this weekend followed by games against Utah, California, Arizona, Oregon and UCLA. Both teams are pretty beaten up heading into this game but the Fighting Irish are a resilient team that has survived injuries and some close calls to get to 5-1 and they are still perfect at home. All of the drama surrounding USC makes this game that much more intriguing but look for Notre Dame to pull out the win at home. Pick: Notre Dame
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Arizona State Sun Devils @ No. 4 Utah Utes
Saturday, 10:00 PM ET
The fact that the score wasn’t more lopsided in Utah’s favor for last week’s win over California is somewhat surprising considering Devontae Booker ran for a season-high 222 yards and two touchdowns while the Utes defense forced six turnovers. When it was all said and done, they got the job done at home and improved to 5-0 on the season.
Now the Utes will look to carry over the momentum from that game against an Arizona State team that has rallied together for consecutive wins and now stands at 4-2 on the season. The Sun Devils are a dangerous opponent that can’t be overlooked but we expect Utah to get the job done once again this weekend at home and stay perfect. Pick: Utah
