4-Down Territory: Stretch Run for Conference Title Game Berths, Playoff Contenders Includes Big Games & Cupcakes & FCS Historic Rivalry Games

In a weekend that has some SEC tune-up/cupcake games we start off with a plug for some ESPN+ action on Saturday. There are great rivalry games to watch from the FCS level that are all available on ESPN+. While you may have your main TV screen set to your Big Ten or SEC game, make sure you have a tablet or iPhone tuned in to one of these games that we preview in our first down.

First Down: Rivalry Weekend FCS-Style: “THE GAME” Yale (6-5) at #21 Harvard (8-1) 12:00 ESPN+: For the 140th time these teams square off in a rivalry that dates back to 1875. With the win Harvard claims the outright Ivy League title…..”THE RIVALRY” Lafayette (6-5) at Lehigh (7-3) 12:00 ESPN+: This is the most-played rivalry in college football. This year marks the 160th meeting between the two schools that sit just a few miles apart in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. With a win here, Lehigh ensures at least a tie for the Patriot League Championship in a game that dates back to 1884……”THE GRIZ-CAT GAME” or “THE CAT-GRIZ GAME” #10 Montana (8-3) at #2 Montana State (11-0) 2:00 ESPN+: These are two of the best FCS programs in the country and the whole state stops when they play. Their annual meeting has also been called “The Brawl of the Wild” but that is more of a marketing creation. This rivalry dates back to 1897 and The Griz from Montana hold a 72-42-5 record against the Bobcats of Montana State. The Griz would love nothing better than to ruin Montana State’s perfect season. Both of these teams are headed to the FCS playoffs……#1 North Dakota State (10-1) at #4 South Dakota (9-2) 2:00 ESPN+: This is the biggest FCS game of the day and maybe the year heading into FCS playoff season. NDSU’s only loss of the season was a narrow escape by current FBS #16 team Colorado who edged the Bison 31-26. As for South Dakota, they hung with Wisconsin in Madison before falling 27-13 and later lost to current #3 FCS team South Dakota State. The Missouri Valley Conference and the Big Sky Conference are the class of FCS football.

Second Down: The Undercard of FBS Football This Weekend-- Cupcakes and Bowl Position: Down the stretch, bowl eligible teams fight to win and improve their “Bowl Position” looking for bigger venues and warmer weather. Some of those wins are scheduled “cupcakes” to get home games and “guaranteed” wins. No one does cupcake baking heading into the Thanksgiving week like southern football teams. In the SEC cupcake scheduling “Just Means More” as they say….UMass (2-8) at #10 Georgia (8-2) 12:45 SEC Network: The Minutemen have fired their coach and head South in more ways than one. If the Minutemen stay close for more than a few minutes most will be surprised…… UTEP (2-8) at #11 Tennessee (8-2) 1:00 ESPN+: The Vols need a win here to keep their playoff hopes alive if they do not get a berth in the SEC Title game. This one should not be close….. Wofford (5-6) at #18 South Carolina (7-3) 4:00 ESPN: The Gamecocks have scheduled a tune-up ahead of the season-ending in-state rivalry against Clemson. Wofford will have a short bus ride home after this one…. The Citadel (5-6) at #17 Clemson (8-2) 3:30 The CW: The Tigers scheduled a tune-up ahead of the season-ending in-state rivalry against South Carolina. The Citadel will have a fairly short bus ride home after this one. Sounds familiar…..#25 Illinois (7-3) at Rutgers (6-4) 12:00 Peacock: This one is certainly not a cupcake game in any way in the Big Ten. But this is a positioning game for the postseason. Rutgers has found a rhythm in their pass game and that has given more balance in their offense. They will need it to attack the Illini defense. Illinois is back in the Top 25 after a win over Michigan State. Continued wins would build their New Year’s Day Bowl plan resume. Rutgers is also hoping some wins take them south for the Holidays.

Third Down: Playoff Group of 5 Conference Contention and Playoff Contenders: #12 Boise State (9-1) at Wyoming (2-8) 7:00 CBS Sports Network: Boise State wins this one and they clinch a spot in the conference championship game. And if they keep winning, they could sneak into the #4 seed and get a bye in the College Football playoff over the Big 12 Champion….#24 UNLV (8-2) at San Jose State (6-4) 10:00 FS1: UNLV’s lone conference loss came against Boise State, so they will need help from Fresno State or Utah State to hand Colorado State their first conference loss. It would be a best-case scenario to have UNLV as a ranked opponent in the Mountain West title game for Boise State. But first UNLV has to take care of their business. San Jose State got off to a 14-0 lead over Boise State last week but were overwhelmed after that. To beat UNLV, they will have to play at that higher level for all sixty-minutes…..#9 Ole Miss (8-2) at Florida (5-5) 12:00 ABC: If Ole Miss wins out, they should be in the playoff. Florida’s defense upped their game last week in a win over LSU. They will need an even higher effort level to slow down the Ole Miss offense. While everyone knows about QB Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss offense, their defense has been the driving disruptive force for this team's success. They lead the nation in sacks with a ferocious pass rush and are top 5 in forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. LB Suntarine Perkins leads the charge with 10 sacks and DE Princely Umanmielen has 9.5 making them a formidable tandem….#4 Penn State (9-1) at Minnesota (6-4) 3:30 CBS: This could be a tricky one for PSU. These teams have played three common opponents (USC, UCLA and #24 Illinois) and both are 3-0 in those games with PSU having a +33 scoring margin and Minnesota a +19 margin. The key to this game for Minnesota is turnover margin and situations. They are a Top 15 defense in many categories. They excel on winning third downs on offense and getting points off turnovers. For the year the active Gopher defense has made 16 INTs and broken up 40+ passes. To succeed against Penn State, job one is stop (or at least slow) TE Tyler Warren. For PSU, getting the RB tandem of Allen and Singleton going in the run game has been problematic in Big Ten play. They’ve combined for just 736 yards in seven games at a pedestrian average of just 4.5 per carry. They’ve had just one run of 20+yards (24 yards). Minnesota has had two weeks to get ready for Warren, and if they can limit his damage the pressure falls to the PSU run game and the wide receivers to make plays. For the year when Minnesota is +1 or better in turnover margin, they are 6-0, if they are even or minus in turnovers, they are 0-4. On special teams keep an eye on Minesota freshmen Koi Perich from Minnesota, he is #11 in the country on punt returns and has grabbed 5 interceptions as a safety……

#6 Notre Dame (9-1) vs #19 Army (9-0) Yankee Stadium 7:00 NBC: No one imagined this game would have MAJOR college football playoff ramifications for BOTH teams. Army has been dominant winning by an average margin of 22+ points per game. QB Bryson Daily has 21 rushing TDs, 1000+ rushing yards and has thrown for 7 TDs. A big game win here, should get him into the Heisman conversation and Army into serious playoff contention. To do that he will have to face a Notre Dame defense that dominated previously undefeated Navy by forcing multiple turnovers. Notre Dame’s path is clear-cut—win the next two and they are in the playoff.

Fourth Down: Conference Title Game Contenders: Wake Forest (4-6) at #8 Miami (9-1) 12:00 ESPN: With Clemson’s ACC slate finished with a 7-1 record, Miami has to win out to secure their spot. The Canes look poised to roll up some big offensive numbers here. But can Wake find their way to scoring against Miami’s defense, which is allowing over 30 points per game in ACC play?......#13 SMU (9-1) at Virginia (5-5) 12:00 ESPN2: For SMU, win and they’re in the conference title game in their first ACC season. For UVA, a promising 4-1 start has dissolved with a 1-4 stretch and needing one win in their last two games to reach a bowl. The one win in that 1-4 stretch was an upset of Pitt. SMU’s offense is 6th in the country in scoring and that firepower will be a formidable challenge for UVA….Kentucky (4-6) at #3 Texas (9-1) 3:30 ABC: The Kentucky record has been disappointing this year, but their defense led them to a 20-17 upset of Ole Miss and put a serious scare into Georgia in a razor-thin 13-12 loss. For Texas the key to this season has really been their defense that ranks #1 Nationally in total defense and #6 in scoring defense. This could be a low-scoring affair decided by quarterback play. If that is the case look for Texas to win as they head into battle next week at Texas A&M……#7 Alabama (8-2) at Oklahoma (5-5) 7:30 ABC: Despite a 1-5 record in the SEC, Oklahoma has stayed in the game with teams like #11 Tennessee and #9 Ole Miss and blew the game against #23 Missouri. Alabama appears to be the leader of the 2-loss SEC title game contenders by virtue of a tie-breaker formula that is more complicated than graduate-level Quantum Physics at M.I.T. Alabama will need QB Jalen Milroe to play a turnover-free game and to add to his 15 passing TDs and 17 rushing TDs. Don’t overlook an Alabama defense that has created 24 turnovers, 3rd-best in the country with 14 INTs and 10 fumble recoveries….#15 Texas A&M (8-2) at Auburn (4-6) 7:30 ESPN: Texas and Texas A&M are the lone 1-loss teams in SEC conference play. Since emerging as a starter, Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed has sparked the Aggie offense. His threat as a runner takes pressure off everyone else. Auburn likes to run the ball and RB Jarquez Hunter is a threat. The Aggie front will need to keep him from getting established and force Auburn QB Payton Thorne to beat them……#22 Iowa State (8-2) at Utah (4-6) 7:30 FOX: Iowa State needs help to get into the Big 12 Title game, but they are lurking just one game back….#14 BYU (9-1) at #21 Arizona State (8-2) 3:30 ESPN: The Big 12 has turned chaotic with BYU’s upset loss to Kansas last week and the surprise emergence of ASU. Both teams need to win this one. But BYU still controls their own path. To win BYU will need to recapture the offensive efficiency that helped them make a 9-0 run to start the season…..#16 Colorado (8-2) at Kansas (4-6) 3:30 FOX: Like BYU, Colorado controls their own path to the Big 12 Title game. But Kansas has played well of late going 3-1 the last four games with wins over #14 BYU and #22 Iowa State and a narrow 2-point loss to K-State. This is no gimme putt for Colorado. The Buffs are playing their best football of the season. But they will need to put the clamps on a Kansas offense that has shown a balanced offense that averages over 200 yards per game both in both rushing and passing. For the KU defense, containing Colorado’s pass game requires more than just covering Travis Hunter and slowing QB Shedeur Sanders. They've developed a deep set of WRs…..#5 Indiana (10-0) at #2 Ohio State (9-1) 12:00 FOX: It has been a long time since IU beat Ohio State and it has been even longer since they were 10-0 (in fact they’ve never been 10-0). But here we are. The pressure is squarely on OSU playing at home and needing to win to get to the Big Ten Title game. Anything less would mark a disappointing season unless they rebound and win the playoffs. These are two teams that stack up nationally. Ohio State is #1 in scoring defense, IU is 7th. OSU is 2nd in total defense, IU is 3rd. IU is 2nd in scoring offense, OSU is 12th. And Indiana is 15th on total offense while OSU is 17th. When you look at common opponents IU and OSU have both gone 3-0 versus Michigan State, Nebraska and Northwestern. Indiana beat those teams by a combined 103 points; OSU beat them by 59 points. Both teams have efficient quarterbacks, a two-headed approach to the RB position and they move the ball to a number of WRs. On defense, both teams limit big plays, generate effective pass rush and tackle well in the open field. This game could come down to a turnover or something as mundane as net punting (IU is 9th in the country) if it becomes a field position game. The biggest difference is that IU has not played a team that is currently ranked, OSU has played at #1 Oregon (losing by 1) and at #4 Penn State (winning by 7). Ohio State has an offensive line that has been riddled with injuries. That can be a key pressure point for the IU defense to focus on. Sometimes these games become a moment that is too big for a team that hasn’t been in a high-profile dog fight before. Ohio State and QB Will Howard have been in two of them already. But given the swagger around IU and Coach Cignetti and the pressure on OSU and Coach Day----In the words of former IU Coach and current ESPN Game Day contributor this game could “Be closer than the experts expect.”