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No. 17 Louisville vs. No. 24 NC State (ESPN)
The leading matchup comes Thursday with ACC rivals Louisville and North Carolina State battling for position in the Atlantic Division. The fast-rising Wolfpack have won four straight games, including an upset over Florida State, en route to their first national ranking since the end of the 2010 season. Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson is in the midst of a record-setting season for Louisville as his career touchdown mark currently sits at 92 with the meter still running. Start your weekend early and tune in for this one Thursday at 6 p.m.
No. 23 West Virginia vs. No. 8 TCU (FS1)
The best game of the Saturday afternoon window features an offensive showdown between a couple of ranked Big 12 opponents in West Virginia and TCU. Heading into Saturday, both schools rank in the Top 5 in scoring offense and Top 20 in yards per game. In what is a normally pass-heavy league, both schools are winning, surprisingly, with their running games as the pair lead the conference in rushing offense. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 1 p.m.
Stanford vs. No. 20 Utah (FS1)
It’s been a while since a local team has graced the list, but that will change this week with Pac-12 South leader Utah hosting Stanford on Saturday. Behind the spectacular running of Bryce Love, Stanford has been white-hot since dropping games to both USC and San Diego State, rebounding with a combined 92 points in two straight wins over UCLA and Arizona State. But if any group is capable of slowing Love and the Cardinal’s re-energized offense, it may be Utah, which boasts the nation’s 10th-best rush defense entering Saturday. The late kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Michigan State vs. No. 7 Michigan (ABC)
The storied matchup took an interesting twist this week when it was announced that for the first time in the 110-year-old rivalry, the Big Ten brethren will play at night in primetime, beginning at 5:30 p.m. MDT. With Michigan quarterback Wilson Speight out for multiple weeks after suffering an injury during the first quarter of the Purdue game, head coach Jim Harbaugh will turn to senior John O’Korn, who threw for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception as a fill-in against the Boilermakers. Despite the quarterback change, the odds still favor Michigan by 11 points.
No. 11 Washington State vs. Oregon (FOX)
A week after beating highly ranked USC in Pullman, Wazzu travels to the famed Autzen Stadium for its first road game of the season. The Pac-12 North showdown features two of the three best offenses in the conference as both are averaging close to 500 yards and scoring over 40 points per game. As one of several important conference games this weekend, this matchup will go a long way in shaping the Pac-12 standings going forward. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
Honorable mentions:
- No. 13 Miami vs. Florida State (ESPN) 10/7, 1:30 p.m. MDT
- No. 1 Alabama vs. Texas A&M (ESPN) 10/7, 5:15 p.m. MDT
