Week 9 in college football didn’t produce a ton of excitement, but Week 10 promises a few particularly juicy matchups in the SEC and elsewhere. Here are three games to keep an eye on this weekend.
No. 1 Alabama at No. 13 LSU
The night of this game marks the five-year anniversary of the most highly anticipated regular season game in recent memory. It’s also the five-year anniversary of the most recent LSU win against Alabama. Whether only reaching midfield once for the entire game (January 2012), or ceding an overtime-forcing drive to a quarterback that is now a running back in the NFL (November 2014), LSU always manages to find a way to lose to Alabama.
Last year, No. 4 Alabama was No. 2 LSU’s first loss, and this sent LSU and running back Leonard Fournette’s chance at the Heisman into a tailspin. This year, LSU has to win the rest of its games to have a shot at the playoff. Fournette also has the chance to fight his way back into Heisman consideration this year if he has a good game this week. On the other side, Texas A&M, Auburn and LSU are each one loss behind Alabama in the division, and this game serves as a chance for Bama to make its path to the SEC championship that much easier.
No. 10 Nebraska at No. 6 Ohio State
For the conference championship, Ohio State is a game behind Michigan in the East division of the Big Ten while Nebraska leads the West division by a game. With Michigan running away with the division, a loss for Ohio State would be much more difficult for the Buckeyes to rebound from than Nebraska. Both of these teams are also in playoff contention, but a loss for either team would basically mean elimination. The playoff selection committee probably wouldn’t look highly on a two-loss Big Ten team that likely wouldn’t win the conference championship, so this game is important for both teams to win.
No. 5 Washington at California
Cal is undefeated at home this season, including upsets against Texas and Utah, though the former is currently unranked. The Golden Bears also have an explosive offense, ranking second in scoring offense in the Pac-12 behind only Washington. They also have the best offense by total yards. On the other side, Washington is first in scoring defense, second in total defensive yards and has the best turnover margin in the Pac-12. This game of great offense against great defense has the greatest chance to result in a monumental upset this weekend.