4-Down Territory: Big Slate of Games for The SEC Highlight another Important November Weekend

This is the SEC’s weekend……plain and simple. Saturday is the type of day that ABC/ESPN dreamed of when they signed the deal with the SEC with games at 12:00, 3:30 and 7:30 on ABC most Saturdays. It is a seamless day for college football fans and the all-week promotion on Monday Night football and every ESPN SportsCenter creates easy inertia to feed one game into another.

The Big Ten slots are 12:00 on Fox, 3:30 on CBS and 7:30 on NBC. While connects the league to three networks it means that fans will have to bump from one station to another. It also means that fans have to potentially sign up for three different streaming services (Exhibit A: PSU vs Washington Saturday night only on Peacock).

So far, the SEC has outpaced the Big Ten......more on that next week……

First Down: Big 12 et al: #9 BYU (8-0) at Utah (4-4) 10:15 ESPN: This used to be called “The Holy War” and now it is a very important conference game. The role of favorite has flipped from the preseason when Utah was seen as the preseason favorite to win the conference. BYU may feel slighted by the pollsters, given their undefeated record and with wins over two currently ranked teams. BYU’s QB situation is in capable hands with Jake Retzlaff guiding a Top 25 unit. Utah has not quite gotten the level of play at QB that they expected before Cam Rising got hurt…..#17 Iowa State (7-1) at Kansas (2-6) 3:30 FS1: The Cyclones are looking to bounce back after an upset loss last week. Kansas is better than their record would indicate and has lost a number of one-score games in the past few weeks. This one could be a tricky out for Iowa State as they look to rebound…..#21 Colorado (6-2) at Texas Tech (6-3) 4:00 FOX: Heisman Candidate Travis Hunter had a busy Saturday last week despite the Buffs having no game. He flew out to Penn State to appear on both College Game Day and Fox Big Noon Kickoff. Texas Tech is coming off an upset of Iowa State and despite their two Big 12 losses they have gotten back into the mix. Funny things have a way of happening in Lubbock…#19 Army (8-0) at North Texas (5-3) 3:30 ESPN2: The North Texas defense has had trouble stopping people. Look for Army to roll up some big numbers again this week…..Nevada (3-7) at #12 Boise State (7-1) 8:00 FOX: FOX comes to broadcast from the Blue Turf of Boise to a national network television audience. What they will see is a Heisman front-runner Ashton Jeanty who almost single-handedly beat Oregon in Eugene……Utah State (2-6) at #20 Washington State (7-1) 10:30 The CW: The Cougars’ lone loss was to Boise State. But they have wins over Washington and Texas Tech as they look towards finishing 11-1 and trying to snag a playoff invitation. Style points will matter, and they will need to keep rooting for Boise State, Washington and Texas Tech.

Second Down: The ACC: #4 Miami (9-0) at Georgia Tech (5-4) 12:00 ESPN: Once again the theme for Miami is an explosive offense and a defense that seems to get them in the danger zone. Georgia Tech’s offense has shown the kind of run/pass balance that could keep them in the game into the fourth quarter. Miami QB Cam Ward continues to post Heisman-type numbers and pull wins out week after week. Can they keep winning dangerously? We may see this week……#19 Clemson (6-2) at Virginia Tech (5-4) 3:30 ESPN: With just two ACC games left on their schedule including a trip to Pitt next week, the Tigers cannot falter here. The last five weeks Tech is 3-2 with just two one-score losses to Miami and Syracuse. This is a dangerous game for Clemson going into a hostile environment against a newly confident squad of Hokies….Florida State (1-8) at #10 Notre Dame (7-1) 7:30 NBC: Before the season this looked like a blockbuster match-up. Now? Not so much. Notre Dame needs style points down the stretch now that FSU and USC have slipped out of the rankings. The ND defense keeps playing at a high level. Notre Dame has not been as good as they need to be in drop back passing on obvious pass downs. This could be a game where they start to find more mojo with that aspect of the game…..Virginia (4-4) at #23 Pitt (7-1) 8:00 The ACC Network: Pitt ran into a buzz saw at SMU last week. Look for them to pressure UVA’s offense to force early mistakes and get some turnovers. Pitt may need those things to get their offense some short fields and easy points.

Third Down: Big Ten: Purdue (1-7) at #3 Ohio State (7-1) 12:00 FOX: Ohio State emerged from the loss to Oregon and a closer than expected win over Nebraska with everyone around the country questioning team chemistry and the coaching of Ryan Day. They went on the road to #3 Penn State. Despite two big turnovers, they ground out a win with a goal-line stand and by taking the ball from their own one and killing that last 5:35 of the game on eleven-straight runs. Against struggling Purdue look for QB Will Howard to get going early and often. The OSU defense is just too much for Purdue in this one too……Michigan (5-4) at #8 Indiana (9-0) 3:30 CBS: Michigan showed some spark last week at home against Oregon. Can that continue this week at IU? Indiana trailed in a game for the first time all year before scoring 40+ straight points. Strength of schedule has been the question mark for the Hoosiers all year but they have blown by everyone. There will be tremendous pressure on the Wolverine defense to contain a potent offense to keep them within range for the upset……Washington (5-4) at #6 Penn State (7-1) 8:00 Peacock: The White Out game has landed in prime time but on Peacock. It will also be broadcast in IMAX and available at various theaters. Washington is undefeated at home and winless on the road. Can they get a homestyle performance on the road? That will be key. They’ve played well on defense and have a tall group of players in the secondary. The Huskies’ defensive scheme sets them up to jam and help on PSU tight end Tyler Warren. To combat their scheme moving Warren around and adding in some QB run game from Beau Pribula can be helpful. On offense the Huskies have moved the ball well but converting yards to points has been problematic because of missed 4th downs, missed field goals and penalties. The core of QB Will Rogers (The SEC Career-passing leading while at Mississippi State) and RB Jonah Coleman will be a big test for the PSU defense. The pass game gets the ball to the WRs a lot, but the RBs are a dangerous threat in the pass game too. Back-up QB Demond Williams also plays at times to give UW a run/pass threat. The talent is there for UW to make a run at the upset. In their three home Big Ten wins UW is +5 in turnover margin, in their three road Big Ten losses they are -3. Keep an eye on that stat….Maryland (4-4) at #1 Oregon (9-0) 7:oo Big Ten Network: Every year it seems that Maryland finds a game when they put it all together and make a run at a highly ranked team. To do that, they will need to get a talented corps of wide receivers loose while giving their QB the time to get the ball downfield. The Oregon defense has done a good job creating pass rush and pressure. For Maryland to make a run here, the trick will be slowing down the Ducks offense. Even though WR Tez Johnson will be out this week WRs Traeshon Holden and Evan Stewart have speed to burn.

Fourth Down: The SEC: Florida (4-4) at #5 Texas (7-1) 12:00 ABC: Florida’s QB position has been riddled with injuries. This is not really a spot where you want to be breaking in a new starter. The Texas defense will be looking to make that start a living hell….#2 Georgia (6-1) at #16 Ole Miss (7-2) 3:30ABC: Just in the nick of time, the Ole Miss offense has found their juice, and they dropped 63 on Arkansas. Critical for Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart will be the pass protection upfront combined with his ability to move from trouble to avoid a relentless Georgia pass rush. Look for Ole Miss to try to get turnovers to steal possessions. UGA QB Carson Beck has thrown 10 INTs in the last five games after throwing just 6 in all of 2023. With Ole Miss star WR Tre Harris still doubtful, WR Jordan Watkins will try to keep the momentum from his 8 catch/ 254 yard/ 5 TD performance last week……#11 Alabama (6-2) at #14 LSU (6-2) 7:30 ABC: The winner in this one stays in the playoff hunt, the loser is out. Both teams are coming off bye weeks. Alabama WR Ryan Williams is averaging an eye-popping 20 yards per catch. He demands special attention from an LSU defense that was porous against a run/pass QB against Texas A&M. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe presents a similar challenge. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier has done a nice job spreading the ball around to a range of targets. Making the right reads and protecting the ball will be critical against an Alabama defense that thrives on turnovers (20 in 8 games)…..Mississippi State (2-7) at #7 Tennessee (7-1) 7:00 ESPN: Tennessee will want to jump on the Bulldogs early. Mississippi State has proven to be a problem and has pushed some teams into the fourth quarter. The Vols should try to get started early to remove any hope……South Carolina (5-3) at #24 Vanderbilt (6-3) 4:15 SEC Network: South Carolina is coming off a big win and heads to Nashville. The Commodores have been tough at home with just a 3-point loss to Texas being the lone loss this year. Their offensive system is a challenge to get ready for in one week.