With the first edition of the 2017 College Football Playoff rankings being released last night, the stakes have raised for programs around the country. Week 10 offers a litany of prime-time matchups.
In the blink of an eye, we have blown past the halfway point in the season, now sitting at week 10. As of right now the College Football Playoff rankings are as follows: 1. Georgia, 2. Alabama, 3. Notre Dame and 4. Clemson.
Alabama and Clemson both face ranked opponents this weekend. The Tide welcome an improving LSU squad to Tuscaloosa. After getting off to a shaky start, the Tigers have shot up to No. 19 in the latest rankings.
Clemson faces an NC State program that suffered a demoralizing loss to Notre Dame last weekend. Still, the Wolfpack are sitting at No. 20 with an opportunity to move up more than a few spots, with an upset over Clemson.
Here are the games to keep an eye on this weekend.
Saturday’s slate:
12:00 pm contests:
No. 7 Penn State vs. No 24 Michigan State, FOX
No. 16 Auburn vs. Texas A&M, ESPN
3:30 pm contests:
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No. 3 Ohio State vs. Iowa, ESPN
No. 6 Clemson vs. No. 20 NC State, ABC
No. 14 Iowa State vs. West Virginia, ESPN2
No. 18 Stanford vs. No. 25 Washington State, FOX
4:00 pm contest:
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State, FOX
7:15 pm contests:
No. 10 TCU vs. Texas, ESPN
No. 15 UCF vs. SMU, ESPN
8:00 pm contests:
No. 9 Miami vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech, ABC
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 19 LSU, CBS
10:45 pm contest:
No. 17 USC vs. No. 23 Arizona, ESPN
As you can see there are plenty of tough matchups this weekend. I’m most excited to watch USC and Arizona play. The Wildcats have quietly turned their season around, thanks to the play of superstar quarterback, Khalil Tate. Since taking over the starting job in week six, Tate has thrown 784 yards and six touchdowns, while also rushing for 926 yards and eight touchdowns.
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Watching him and Sam Darnold go head-to-head will be the show of the weekend. USC is in need of a big win to get them back on track. After losing to Washington State and being embarrassed by Notre Dame, the Trojans’ season hasn’t gone as expected by many.