After an exciting weekend of college football around the nation, this upcoming weekend looks to be much less interesting. There are only two games between top-25 opponents, and a myriad of games that will likely end up being blowouts. Still, as always in college football, no one can really predict what is going to actually happen. Here’s what to look for in Week 10.
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide at #15 LSU Tigers
After an underwhelming start to the season, LSU seemingly fell out of the national picture with losses to Wisconsin and Auburn in Weeks 1 and 4 of this season. Still, even with this poor start, and even after firing Les Miles, interim head coach Ed Orgeron has somehow turned around the Tigers’ season and put them back into the national spotlight. Running back Leonard Fournette looks like he has returned to his best form that garnered Heisman talk, especially after his 284-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Ole Miss Rebels.
Despite LSU’s recent resurgence behind Fournette, they will still need to play a near perfect game to beat the seemingly unstoppable Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge, La. Alabama’s offense has been explosive under freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, but their defense is the true force behind their continuous dominant performances. Alabama’s special teams and defense have combined for 11 total touchdowns, making them a well-rounded and high-scoring team. LSU is going to need some of Death Valley’s magic to work for them.
#9 Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. #6 Ohio State Buckeyes
Depending on the outcome of this game, the Badgers’, Cornhuskers’, Wolverines’ and Buckeyes’ hopes at an appearance in the Big Ten championship will be significantly altered after this week. If Nebraska can take this game, both them and Michigan should have an easy walk to Indianapolis. If the Buckeyes can pull out a win, however, Wisconsin’s hopes at the Big Ten championship look much more likely.
The Cornhuskers will look to shake off an overtime loss against Wisconsin and defeat Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, who have had several close games in recent weeks. They escaped against Northwestern last weekend with a 24-20 win, but that outcome was much closer than expected. Nebraska will have to hope for an improved running game, while Ohio State is looking to shake off their offensive issues against Penn State, Wisconsin and Northwestern over the last three weeks.
Bye Bye Big 12
In a week without a lot of marquee matchups, and with the first College Football Playoff Rankings released Tuesday night, be prepared for lots of debate on who deserves to be in. While the top-four currently looks pretty murky, one thing seems clear: The Big 12 will be left out of the playoff this year. After both their remaining undefeated teams, the #10 West Virginia Mountaineers and the #8 Baylor Bears, lost to Oklahoma State and Texas respectively, it’s unlikely that the committee will even think about putting the Big 12 in the playoff. After a highly publicized expansion courtship that led to the addition of exactly zero teams, the Big 12 has a lot to be worried about. This could be the second time in three years that no Big 12 team participates in the playoff.
