Pigskin Stew: All Eyes on the Keystone State as Two Undefeated Teams Take on Conference Contenders

The drama this weekend will largely have to come from upsets. There are just two battles between conference championship contenders in the Power-4 conferences. But there are some potential college football playoff knockout games for some teams….And just like the election coming up, this weekend all eyes will be on the Keystone State. It is, after all, the only state with 2 undefeated FBS teams left.

Pre-Game: Friday Night: San Diego State (3-4) at #15 Boise State (6-1) 8:00 FS1: Although SDSU is 3-4, they are still undefeated in Mountain West Conference play. But their two wins have been squeakers over Hawaii and Wyoming. Boise State continues with a balanced offense, which becomes more and more important as teams look to shut down the run game.

First Down: Favored but Not Mere Formalities: Air Force (1-6) at #21 Army (7-0) 12:00 CBS: Air Force is struggling, and Army is rolling. Army QB Bryson Daily should be on every voter's shortlist for the Heisman with his 909 rushing yards, 19 TDs rushing and 7 passing TDs….#10 Texas A&M (7-1) at South Carolina (4-3) 7:30 ABC: Texas A&M made a switch at QB to Marcel Reed last week vs LSU which led to a 31-point explosion paced by his 3 rushing TDs. They will not catch South Carolina by surprise. The Aggies are the lone undefeated SEC in conference play. South Carolina is a very dangerous team here…Kentucky (3-5) at #7 Tennessee (6-1) 7:45 SEC Network: After a near-miss against Georgia, Kentucky has been disappointed with how they’ve done the last few weeks. The Wildcat defense is capable of slowing the Vols down on offense…..Maine (4-4) at Oklahoma (4-4) 2:30 ESPN+: Not much to say here, except that this is geographically the most interesting matchup of the weekend. On a side note on this Halloween weekend, the Maine campus in Orono is just a few miles from scary writer Stephen King’s home in Bangor.

Second Down: Good Tests for Conference Contenders: Duke (6-2) at #5 Miami 12:00 ABC: Duke was just an arm’s length away from beating SMU last weekend. Manny Diaz has them playing well. If the Blue Devils can set a tone on offense against Miami’s defense, this may be an upset or another narrow escape for the Canes….#1 Oregon (8-0) at Michigan (5-3) 3:30 CBS: Oregon has a great offensive football team behind QB Dillon Gabriel. Having seen him live, an apt comparison for his passing and running ability might be Russell Wilson. They can protect the QB with speed to burn on the outside and a lightning-fast RB. All that is probably too much for Michigan….Florida (4-3) vs #2 Georgia (6-1) in Jacksonville 3:30 ABC: This neutral-site rivalry is a steep climb for the Florida Gators. Georgia’s defense is now playing with the relentless style that has been their hallmark under Kirby Smart. Florida will struggle to establish consistency on offense in this one and that spells big trouble…Texas Tech (5-3) at #11 Iowa State (7-0) 3:30 ESPN: Undefeated and still seeking respect would be a good way to describe Iowa State. Texas Tech is coming off a blowout loss to Baylor and a near-miss against TCU. For the Cyclones, they’re lacking that shutdown defense they’ve had in the past, but they are grabbing turnovers to stop drives. Look for that to continue this weekend…..Louisville (5-3) at #11 Clemson (6-1) 7:30 ESPN: Clemson has quietly tended to their business with efficient wins against ACC opponents. Louisville has played well enough at times this year to make this game worrisome for the Tigers. Offense and scoring should be the theme of the day with two of the Top 15 units in the country in this game. The Tigers have just three ACC games left with Louisville, followed by games at Virginia Tech and at #18 Pitt before closing with non-conference games against The Citadel and South Carolina.

Third Down: Playoff Knockout Games: Any loss probably knocks out or severely damages the playoff hopes of these ranked teams.......#19 Ole Miss (6-2) at Arkansas (5-3) 12:00 ESPN: A season of high hopes for Ole Miss needs to close with a run to make the playoffs. Arkansas has pulled one upset this season. The Razorbacks ability to move the ball and keep the Ole Miss offense off the field will be key. The Ole Miss offense has been slowed by a key injury or two…..Minnesota (5-3) at #24 Illinois (6-2) 12:00 FS1: Illinois found out what the Oregon offense was all about last weekend. Minnesota rolled up a big day against Maryland. With a key injury at RB look for Illinois to try and lean more heavily on the pass against a very good Gopher defense….#13 Indiana (8-0) at Michigan State (4-4) 3:30 Peacock: For those that haven’t heard in the back of the room, the Hoosiers are for real and are a real Big Ten and playoff contender. The Hoosiers will be rooting for an OSU win over PSU. Given that, the Hoosiers would then have complete control over their own route to the Big Ten Title game. While the offense sputtered to start with a back-up QB against a good Washington defense, the IU defense got a pick-six and another turnover to get the win. Michigan State has bounced around looking good one week and not so good the next. With a game against OSU left, IU cannot afford to make mistakes in this one……#17 Kansas State (7-1) at Houston (3-5) 3:30 Fox: Kansas State has just one loss, but it was a conference loss to BYU. With Iowa State still on the schedule they do control their own destiny. RB D.J. Giddens has racked up 945 yards on the ground, leading the run game and taking pressure off QB Avery Johnson. It has led to a very balanced attack, and an attack that has been clutch down the stretch in close wins over Colorado and Kansas.

Fourth Down: All Eyes on the Keystone State and the Main Event: Only PA has two unbeaten teams left and they have big conference matchups this weekend…..#18 Pitt (7-0) at #20 SMU (7-1) 8:00 ACC Network: Pitt’s defense had been below their standards earlier this year, but they’ve found their mojo. Against Syracuse they blitzed relentlessly forcing 3 Pick-6 INTs in a rout of Syracuse. The high-flying offense has come down to earth of late. To get this win, they’ll need to get QB Eli Holstein back to his early-season form. As for SMU, the running ability of QB Kevin Jennings is a wildcard against the style of defense that Pitt plays. Staying in their rush lanes will be important for a Pitt defense that has racked up 10 sacks the last two weeks after getting just 12 in the previous 5 games…..#4 Ohio State (6-1) at #3 Penn State (7-0) 12:00 FOX: After watching Ohio State live in person at Oregon on 10/12 I came away impressed with the speed at the skill positions across the board for the Buckeyes. BUT the left side of the o-line was hit by the loss of two left tackles. At this point a coach has a couple of options: move a right tackle to left, play with what was your 3rd LT or move your left guard out to left tackle. All the speed at the skill positions doesn’t matter if you can’t protect the QB or run block. Will Howard’s ability to run and move in the pocket will be critical. If OSU can protect the QB the PSU secondary will have to mix and match against the best WR corps in the country. And the last three weeks as teams have focused on the WRs the OSU TE has become a factor (note the OSU TEs have caught 10 passes the last 2 years vs PSU). RB TreyVeon Henderson did not play against PSU last year and the run game struggled. He’s back this year and joined by Quinshon Judkins who had over 100 yards vs PSU last year for Ole Miss. For PSU the question mark is at QB with Drew Allar being a game-time decision. Either way, the OSU 3-safety scheme allows for a lot of movement and confusing blitzes. Oregon went after the OSU CBs successfully with their super-fast WRs on the outside which changed the game and limited what the Buckeyes wanted to do. Given PSU’s group of WRs may lack that blazing-fast guy, the CBs to attack would be the guys playing opposite OSU’s top CB #10 Denzel Burke. If PSU can get loose outside that would open up things for TE Tyler Warren, the run game and the RB pass game. OSU LB Cody Simon has shown the ability to cover RBs, but Singelton will be a big test. One guy PSU had better be ready for is DE #44 JT Tuimoloau. YES, Penn State fans he is back. The past two years he’s been a 4th-quarter wrecking crew and in those two years he’s amassed: 7 Tackles, 4 Tackles for loss, 3 Sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 2 pass deflections, a bunch of QB pressures, 2 Interceptions –one of which he returned for a TD.