4-Down Territory: Contender November Continues with Key Games from East to West

First Down: East of The Rockies: Virginia (5-4) at #8 Notre Dame (8-1) 3:30 NBC: Notre Dame haters can gripe all they want; if the Irish win out, they are in the playoff. They own two wins against currently ranked teams, have a win over previously ranked Navy and will play #24 Army next week. UVA is coming off a good win over Pitt and has been building confidence this year. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden started his career at UVA. He’ll have the ND defense ready to go. Note: SEC apologists looking to sneak in a 3-loss SEC team and talk about the schedules of other teams; remember Notre Dame's win at SEC front-runner Texas A&M…..#20 Clemson (7-2) at Pitt (7-2) 12:00 ESPN: Two weeks ago, Pitt was undefeated. Now they need help to win the ACC. The Lord helps those who help themselves and a win over Clemson (and Louisville next week) are a fine way to answer that divine call. Clemson’s balanced attack has allowed them to roll up the points. Pitt will need to turn up the pressure on the running of Clemson QB Cade Klubnik and force a mistake or two. The biggest question for Pitt will be the health of QB Eli Holstein who has left both of Pitt’s losses with injuries.....Boston College (5-4) at #13 SMU (8-1) 3:30 ESPN: SMU is peaking at the right time. BC is coming off an important win over Syracuse. Can BC slow down the Mustangs who are racking up 40 points per game…..Arizona State (7-2) at #19 Kansas State (7-2) 7:00 ESPN: The Sun Devils are a dangerous out here for the Wildcats who need help to get to the Big 12 Title Game. Keep an eye on ASU RB Cam Skattebo who has already passed the 1,000 yard mark…..#25 Tulane (8-2) at Navy (7-2) 12:00 ESPN2: The winner of this one has the inside track to the conference title game. It's hard not to root for Navy and the possibility of a conference title game between Army and Navy, followed he next week by the traditional Army/Navy game.

Second Down: In the Shadow of the Front Range and West of the Rockies: As Big Noon Kickoff descends onto the Colorado campus just east of the dramatic front range of the Colorado Rockies, there are some teams playing good ball in the West. We all know about Oregon, but most people have forgotten that one of their close calls came in September when they made a great escape against Boise State…….#13 Boise State (8-1) at San Jose State (6-3) 7:00 CBS Sports Network: And speaking of Boise State, they continue their march towards the College Football Playoff with a dangerous game at San Jose State. The Spartans gave #18 Washington State all they could handle and last week they topped Oregon State. They are a top 10 passing team nationally and it will be important for BSU to get turnovers like Fresno State did in their win over SJSU……#18 Washington State (8-1) at New Mexico (4-6) 9:30 FS1: Speaking of Washington State, they keep winning with their only loss of the season being to Boise State. They should keep rolling on this trip to Albuquerque, but would an 11-1 finish be enough to get a playoff bid? Probably not, given the powers that be…… Kansas (3-6) at #6 BYU (9-0) 10:15 ESPN: BYU remains unbeaten but disrespected. They have 2 wins over teams that are currently ranked (#14 SMU, #16 Kansas State) while 1-loss PSU and undefeated Indiana have not beaten a currently ranked foe. But they control their own path to a bye in the college football playoff. It comes down to taking care of a Kansas team that is much better than its 3-6 record. The past three weeks the Jayhawks have routed Houston, been barely edged out by Kansas State and then knocked Iowa State out of the top 25. That should get the Cougars full attention…..Utah (4-5) at #17 Colorado (7-2) 12:00 FOX: Colorado is back as the media darling in the Big 12. They too have not beaten a ranked team, and they won’t play one the rest of the year. Utah was barely edged out by BYU and the anger of a late-game call may fuel them as they head to Boulder. Colorado’s explosive play-makers are well known. Utah’s best approach may be to test the Buffs by pounding the ball against the front seven and controlling the tempo of the game.

Third Down: The Big Ten: There are four contenders left for both the Big Ten Title and the College Football Playoff. #5 Indiana sits at 10-0 and is off this week before a trip to Columbus for a big showdown. Of the four contenders (Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana) interestingly enough Oregon, Penn State and Indiana will all only play one of the other four contenders. Ohio State plays all three (at Oregon, at Penn State and hosting IU next week). This week displays the top-heavy nature of the league with three of those teams being massive favorites on the road…….#2 Ohio State (8-1) at Northwestern (4-5) at Wrigley Field 12:00 Big Ten Network: Northwestern hosts the Buckeyes in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Don’t expect OSU to be in a friendly mood ahead of season-ending games against #5 Indiana and Michigan…..#4 Penn State (8-1) at Purdue (1-8) 3:30 CBS: Speaking of playing the four contenders, Purdue will play all 4 having lost to #1 Oregon (35-0), #2 Ohio State (45-0) with #4 PSU and #5 IU left to go (they also played #8 Notre Dame). Everywhere you look at Purdue they are struggling. In the major statistical categories Purdue’s average rank is 115th on offense and 120th on defense. They’re also 115th in turnover margin and of the 162 total points they’ve scored, 98 came against Indiana State and Illinois. During that Illinois game backup QB Ryan Browne started and threw for 298 yards and rushed for 118. But strong-armed starter Hudson Card has since returned. This may be something to watch…..#1 Oregon (10-0) at Wisconsin (5-4) 7:30 NBC: Bad news for Wisconsin, a certain clothing company from Oregon founded by a Duck alum loves Jordans. This weekend speedy Oregon RB Jordan James is likely to play and dominant pass rusher DE Jordan Burch looks to play. Burch has played very little since a practice injury ahead of the OSU game on 10/12. If they play, they juice an already speedy roster.

Fourth Down: The SEC Race: Without looking, who is the driver’s seat in the SEC Race? Right now, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M are the only one-loss teams in conference play. All three control their own destiny. In November, SEC teams often throw in a softer non-conference game. The line is pretty clear this week…… Mercer (9-1) at #10 Alabama (7-2) 2:00 SEC Network: Alabama is coming off a blowout win at LSU. Expect more of the same, and for the Tide to be in front of their TVs rooting for the UGA to beat Tennessee…… New Mexico State (2-7) at #15 Texas A&M (7-2) 7:45 SEC Network: Expect A&M to roll in a last tune-up ahead of games at Auburn and Texas……#3 Texas (8-1) at Arkansas (5-4) 12:00 ABC: Texas has felt like a forgotten team after losing at home to Georgia. They’ve just kept winning since then. The defense continues to be a smothering presence. The offense has grown and is utilizing the RBs in the pass game to open things up. Arkansas handed Tennessee their lone loss, so don't take this one for granted…..#22 LSU (6-3) at Florida (4-5) 3:30 ABC: After getting smoked at home by Alabama, the Tiger defense is once again a question mark. With injuries creating massive inexperience at the UF QB position, expect LSU’s defense to have a much better game this week……#23 Missouri (7-2) at #21 South Carolina (6-3) 4:15 SEC Network: These two teams are indicative of the depth of the SEC versus the depth of the Big Ten. A near miss against Alabama has seemingly served as a springboard for the Gamecocks with the defense playing its best ball of the season the past three weeks. Mizzou seems to be faltering some after a 34-0 shutout against Alabama and a great escape against a middle-of-the-pack Oklahoma team……#7 Tennessee (8-1) at #12 Georgia (7-2) 7:30 ABC: Georgia is in unfamiliar territory needing help to get into the SEC title game. This is the SEC finale for the Dawgs with only non-conference games against UMass and Georgia Tech left to go. Turnovers have plagued UGA with veteran QB Carson Beck having thrown 12 on the year. In their win at Austin, UGA sacked Longhorn QBs 7 times, but have only 14 sacks in the other eight games. They will need to get both of those things changed to have a chance. Tennessee’s defense has been stingy. And on offense Vols RB Dylan Sampson has quietly amassed over 1100 yards and 20 TDs on the ground. Given some potential QB injury uncertainty for the Vols, he needs a big night for the Vols to leave Athens with a win for the first time since 2016—which coincidentally was the last time UT was the higher ranked team in this matchup.