We're getting down to the nitty gritty of the college football season where teams are all playing for various levels of motivation. Some are in the hunt for a National Championship, others a BCS or New Years Day Bowl. A few teams are seeking Conference Championships, middle tier bowls, and some just fighting to become bowl eligible. The rest are working the pride angle, especially with several rivalry games left on the season, some teams' seasons can be vindicated if they just beat their archnemisis. Without further ado, here are 12 games to follow on college football Saturday.
TOP 25 FACEOFFS
8 NEBRASKA (9-1) at 19 TEXAS A&M (7-3) 7p
These 2 teams could potentially face each other in the Big 12 Championship game, but only if A&M emerges as the victor on Saturday. Both teams are walking in with swagger as each ride 4 game winning streaks, however the Aggies wins have come by a little easier than the Cornuskers. Nebraska relies heavily on QB Taylor Martinez, who is a run first signal caller, and will have plenty of chances against a defense that can be had on the ground. However, the Aggies are the 8th best passing team in the country, which means a lot of quick scores are possible. If Nebraska shows up in College Station like they did in Ames, they won't be walking away from this one. WARNING: UPSET SPECIAL
TEXAS A&M 35-31
9 OHIO STATE (9-1) at 20 IOWA (7-3) 2:30p
With a Big Ten Championship on the line, the Hawkeyes, will have all the motivation they need to beat Ohio State, 1 of 3 teams that stand in their way to do so, Michigan State and Wisconsin the others. This game would have been even bigger had Iowa not had a huge letdown last week at Northwestern, losing 21-17. On the other end of the spectrum, Ohio State has shutdown its last 3 opponents, Purdue, Minnesota, and Penn State by a combined 139-24. Because of what occurred last week, its hard to put a ton of faith into Iowa, but anything can happen in the Big Ten. It just rarely happens to Ohio State, especially this year, who's only blemish is a road loss against 7th ranked Wisconsin.
OHIO STATE 42-31
13 ARKANSAS (8-2) at 21 MISSISSIPPI STATE (7-3) 6p
There are 2 big similarities between Arkansas and Mississippi State and both can be found in the loss column. Each team has a loss versus Alabama and Auburn this season, failing to capitalize on strong seasons with impressive wins over those 2 behemoth programs. Each team was blown on in one game and just nipped in the other. The Razorbacks have reeled off 4 straight since their loss to Auburn, how Mississippi State will react after losing their first game in 7 contests will be interesting to watch.
ARKANSAS 38-26
16 VIRGINIA TECH (8-2) at 24 MIAMI (FL) (7-3) 2:30p
It's hard to believe we're still in the same season where Virginia Tech started 0-2 in the season's epic opener versus Boise State, followed by a monumental upset at the hands of FCS foe James Madison. Well 8 straight wins have brought the Hokies back to the national scene. And at 6-0 in the ACC Coastal division, a win against Miami would lock up their berth in the ACC Championship game. Miami's record is aided by a bunch of victories over mediocre teams, and no wins over a ranked opponent. Miami has a lot more to prove, and a 24 ranking might have been aided by the the Canes stellar reputation.
VIRGINIA TECH 35-29
RIVALRY GAMES
NORTH CAROLINA STATE (7-3) at NORTH CAROLINA (6-4) 11a - NC in-state rivalry
The Wolfpack will take the half hour bus ride west to Chapel Hill on Sunday and face off against the Tar Heels for 100th time in history. North Carolina holds a 63-60-6 edge on the series, but NC State has taken the last 3. Neither team is ranked, however each team is already bowl eligible. Both teams have average ground games, but the passing edge lies with NC State. The Tar Heels are coming off a tough home loss to Virginia Tech, see above for how they are doing. NC State will see no love in this game, but they are not far from home either.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 33-25
NORTHERN ILLINOIS (8-2) at BALL STATE (4-7) 11a - Bronze Stalk Trophy
The 2 teams duke it out for the Bronze Stalk Trophy, the trophy depicts several cornstalks in tribute to the prevalence of maize around the respective homes of the rivals, just outside major metropolitan cities (Chicago & Indianapolis) .I probably owe Northern Illinois a little bit of credit since I incorrectly picked them to lose badly to the Gophers earlier this year. Northern Illinois should not have trouble against Ball State in a really down year overall for the MAC.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 34-22
COLORADO STATE (3-8) at WYOMING (2-9) 1p - Bronze Boot
I know what you're thinking, why in the sam hell would I tune into a game featuring 2 teams with a combined record of 5-17. I'll tell you why. The annual Wyoming–Colorado State football is one of the most bitterly contested rivalries in college football. The teams have waged the "Border War" one hundred times since the schools began playing in 1899. The boot was worn by Cpt. Dan J. Romero, at CSU between 1967 and 1969. Each year leading up to the Wyoming–Colorado State game, the game ball is carried in a running shuttle relay by the ROTC detachment of the visiting team down to the Wyoming-Colorado state border, where the home team's ROTC detachment receives it and runs the game ball to the stadium hosting the game. Sweet.
WYOMING 21-18
6 STANFORD (9-1) at CALIFORNIA (5-5) 2:30p - Stanford Axe aka The Big Game
Cal went toe-to-toe with #1 ranked Oregon last week, losing a close game 15-13 to the Ducks. They won't be intimidated by Stanford and their #6 rankings. The first Big Game was held on March 19, 1892 in San Francisco when Stanford beat Cal 14–10. It is the tenth longest rivalry in FBS history. Stanford leads the series record at 55–46–11. Stanford also lost to Oregon, however, that's their only loss on the season, whereas Cal has questionable losses to Nevada and Oregon State. There will be no band interference in this game, but Stanford shouldn't need it.
STANFORD 40-28
ILLINOIS (5-5) at NORTHWESTERN (7-3) 2:30p in Chicago - Land of Lincoln Trophy
Move aside Cubs, football is headed to Wrigley Field on Saturday as Illinois faces in state rival Northwestern at the famed baseball stadium. The trophy derives its name from the official state nickname of Illinois and depicts a bronze replica of a stovepipe hate famously worn by Abraham Lincoln. The Fightin Illini are coming off an unspeakable home loss to Minnesota, which followed a 3 OT loss to Michigan. Meanwhile Northwestern claimed its biggest victory of the season with a win over Iowa last weekend. The Wildcats are pushing for a middle tier bowl, Illinois has 2 more chances at a bowl, and both are tough (at Fresno State next week).
NORTHWESTERN 26-24
5 LSU (9-1) vs OLE MISS (4-6) 2:30p - Magnolia Bowl
The yearly contest between these 2 long standing rivalries is called the Magnolia Bowl, named after the magnolia flower being the state flower of both Louisiana and Mississippi, which is also the name of the trophy awarded to the winner. LSU's lone loss came on the road against Auburn, otherwise, the Tigers own an impressive resume. The same cannot be said for Ole Miss, who have been slaughtered by SEC competition so far. This one is in Baton Rouge and has the recipe to become ugly.
LSU 38-14
MEMPHIS (1-9) at UAB (3-7) 3p - Battle for the Bones
The Blazers and the Tigers began competing in football after the Blazers football team joined Division I in 1997. UAB holds an 8-4 series edge. Four hours on Interstate 22 separate these two campuses, and each team could use the win to boost a dismal season as both teams will not be headed towards a bowl. Both these teams are bad, UAB is just less bad.
UAB 26-14
15 MISSOURI (8-2) at IOWA STATE (5-6) 6p - Telephone Trophy
Before the 1959 match-up between the two schools, field testing showed that the telephones the two schools used to communicate with their coaches in the coaches box were wired so that either school could hear what was going on on the other sideline. The problem was fixed before the game, but neither of the two coaches knew that. Northwestern Bell Telephone Company of Ames then decided to have a trophy made to commemorate the incident, and thus the Telephone Trophy was born. The Tigers faltered lately with back-to-back losses to Nebraska & Texas Tech, before righting the ship against #24 Kansas State last week. Kansas State has a great shot to finish the regular season with 10 wins. Iowa State is just a few yards shy of a good team. Their wins over Kansas, Texas, & Texas Tech all look good, but a near loss to Nebraska was followed up by a beating at the hands of Colorado. This Cyclone team is extremely hard to predict, but other than Nebraska, every other ranked team has demolished them, expect that trend to continue.
MISSOURI 32-21
GOPHER WATCH
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are on a bye, getting one more week to celebrate their improbably victory over Illinois on the road last week.
Well that's it for now, plenty of other solid college football action going on if your interested. Appalachian State at Florida could get interesting, as well as UCONN/Syracuse, Florida State/Maryland, and Utah/San Diego State all are worthy of tuning into. Enjoy your Saturday, kick up your feet, grab a beverage of your choice and get your channels lined up!
bsv
the courtesy wave
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