College Football: Top 5 Games to Watch in Week 10
Week 10 of the 2014 college football season is loaded with critical games that will decide conference titles, as well as national championship title hopes.
No. 3 Auburn travels to No. 4 Ole Miss in what will determine who stays alive for the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship, as well as the SEC West division title.
The Big 12 is more than likely in for a scoring spree when a dangerous seventh-ranked TCU team makes the trip to Morgantown to take on a West Virginia squad that many wouldn't have anticipated being in the Big 12 title discussion when the season started.
While there are big games in both the SEC and Big 12 this week, it's a big week for the Pac-12. There are two Pac-12 South Division matchups consisting of ranked teams, along with Stanford at No. 5 Oregon.
No. 12 Arizona is looking to go 7-1 for the first time since 2010 and get past a UCLA team that was originally supposed to run the table in the South Division this season.
After three close wins, No. 17 Utah is hoping to get the best of Arizona State on the road and put itself in position to win the South Division. The Utes have yet to defeat the Sun Devils since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.
In what will be an exciting week with teams seeing their conference and national title hopes potentially coming to an end, here are the top five games to watch in Week 10.
No. 7 TCU at No. 20 West Virginia
1 of 5
No. 7 TCU at No. 20 West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2
Two explosive offenses and a potential de facto game for the Big 12 title is what will be in store Saturday afternoon in Morgantown.
TCU is coming off one of the best offensive performances in recent memory when it racked up 82 points on Texas Tech last week. Junior quarterback Trevone Boykin continues to prove to the nation he is a force to be reckoned with. Boykin threw for a career-high 433 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns against the Red Raiders.
The Horned Frogs are averaging 50.4 points per game (first in the country) and 360.1 passing yards per game (sixth in the country). The receiving corps consisting of Josh Doctson, as well as Kolby Listenbee and Deante‘ Gray, will look to be a threat to a West Virginia secondary surrendering 218.4 passing yards per game. Doctson is expected to play after suffering a foot injury in last week's game.
On the other hand, West Virginia has become a dark-horse contender to compete for its first-ever Big 12 conference championship after knocking off then-No. 4 Baylor and Oklahoma State in back-to-back weeks.
Clint Trickett has been one of the best quarterbacks so far this season, as he’s accounted for 2,763 yards, 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Trickett, like Boykin, has weapons of his own in the Mountaineer pass game. Kevin White is currently third in the country with 1,047 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Joining White in a dangerous receiving corps is Mario Alford, who has 600 yards and six touchdowns.
Both offenses will be the main factor in this contest, but TCU’s defense is overlooked and has only given up 21.6 points per game.
Expect a shootout to ensue in a critical conference matchup, but the Horned Frogs will eventually outlast the Mountaineers late in the fourth quarter.
Prediction: TCU 48, West Virginia 38
No. 3 Auburn at No. 4 Ole Miss
2 of 5
No. 3 Auburn at No. 4 Ole Miss, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
The third-ranked Tigers and fourth-ranked Rebels will clash in a highly anticipated matchup with national title implications.
Auburn managed to escape with a 42-35 win over South Carolina last week and should be in for another difficult SEC game against an Ole Miss squad that felt it should have won last week at LSU.
Senior quarterback Nick Marshall will face one of the most physical defenses yet, and will likely need to focus more on getting the ball to wide receivers D'haquille Williams and Sammie Coats if there is any chance of opening up the ground attack.
The Rebel defense though, will be without linebacker Denzel Nkemdiche, who will miss the rest of the season with a broken ankle he suffered against LSU. His brother Robert, along with Cody Prewitt, were banged up last week as well and are listed as probable for Saturday.
While Ole Miss’ undefeated season was snapped last week, it still finds itself in the mix to contend for a national championship. A win over Auburn, something the Rebels have done just once in the last five meetings, would give them an opportunity to stay in the top four before hosting current No. 1 Mississippi State on Nov. 29.
Bo Wallace did not have the type of game he anticipated against LSU by throwing for 176 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Wallace must be more of a threat in this contest and get the ball in the hands of wide receivers Laquon Treadwell and Vince Sanders. Auburn has a physical defensive front, much like the Rebels, which could present problems for an Ole Miss run game averaging just 149.5 rushing yards per game.
Quarterback and defensive play will be key in this matchup, and it will be the second consecutive week these teams will need to make plays late in the game to win.
Auburn’s defense makes a big stop late against Ole Miss' offense and comes away with a huge road victory.
Prediction: Auburn 31, Ole Miss 24
Stanford at No. 5 Oregon
3 of 5
Stanford at No. 5 Oregon, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX
It’s do or die time for the fifth-ranked Ducks, whose national title hopes the last two seasons have been ruined by a stout Stanford defense. Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who is a strong Heisman contender at the moment, has yet to defeat Stanford as a starter and needs his line, led by left tackle Jake Fisher, to give him as much protection as possible.
Mariota will lean on running back Byron Marshall to be a threat in both the backfield and pass game to open the offense up. Marshall has 306 rushing yards, 521 receiving yards and five total touchdowns this season. Mariota will also look for help from freshman speedster Devon Allen and sophomore Dwayne Stanford in the receiving corps.
Stanford has had an up-and-down season thus far due to its offense struggling to put the ball in the end zone at times against talented defenses. Close losses to USC and Notre Dame, along with a 16-point loss at Arizona State, have put David Shaw’s Cardinal in an unfamiliar position than it has been in the last four years.
A loss to Oregon Saturday night would give Stanford its third conference loss and more than likely eliminate it from securing a third straight Pac-12 title.
While Stanford’s defense, led by senior linebacker A.J. Tarpley, has held opponents to only 12.5 points per game and 90.6 rushing yards per game. It will be up against a Duck offense that appears to back to its usual self, after averaging 48.7 points in its last three games since losing to Arizona back on Oct. 2.
Junior quarterback Kevin Hogan has had success in both starts against Oregon and will need a dangerous deep threat in Ty Montgomery and Devon Cajuste to cause problems against a Duck secondary that has struggled this season by allowing 290.5 passing yards per game (117th in the country).
Stanford has only surrendered a combined 34 total points to Oregon the last two seasons, but Mark Helfrich’s squad is proving offensively that it’s going to take a lot for opposing defenses to shut it down at the moment. Look for Mariota and company to look solid offensively and rely on the defense to cause three-and-outs in the second half to put the game out of reach.
Prediction: Oregon 41, Stanford 28
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 12 Arizona at No. 22 UCLA
4 of 5
No. 12 Arizona at No. 22 UCLA, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
It will be just one of two ranked matchups in the Pac-12 South Division on Saturday night. This clash in the Rose Bowl will potentially ruin one team's chances of winning the division and playing for a conference title.
Arizona comes in after a convincing 59-37 victory over Washington State and is looking to win at UCLA for the first time since 2010. It lost to the Bruins in its last two meetings in frustrating fashion. Quarterback Anu Solomon has been one of the best new incoming quarterbacks this season by recording 2,430 yards 20 touchdowns so far. Solomon currently leads a Wildcat offense averaging 40.6 points per game.
UCLA has talent offensively, as well as defensively, but has struggled to hit its potential this season. It was forced to win in double overtime 40-37 at a less than subpar Colorado team last week after giving up 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Junior quarterback Brett Hundley must be consistent on offense and make big plays against an Arizona defense allowing 28.3 points per game and 448 total yards per game. Not only will Hundley need to step up, he’ll need help from running back Paul Perkins.
The Bruin defense must play well against Arizona’s offense and contain Solomon, if there is any chance of knocking off the Wildcats and staying in the Pac-12 South Division title picture.
Prediction: UCLA 35, Arizona 30
No. 17 Utah at No. 14 Arizona State
5 of 5
No. 17 Utah at No. 14 Arizona State, 11 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1
It will be a late-night tussle in the desert for two teams that are proving to be more dangerous in each game they play. Utah threw a game-winning touchdown with only eight seconds remaining against USC to give it a 24-21 victory. The win gives the Utes momentum heading into Tempe, but Arizona State is proving to be a dangerous team in the Pac-12.
Quarterback Travis Wilson showed improvement in a win against USC last week and will start again for the Utes, but he'll be without team-leading wide receiver Dres Anderson, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
A lot of the workload will go to dynamic running back Devontae Booker, who has rushed for 100-plus yards in his last four games and scored six touchdowns. Booker will be up against a Sun Devil defense allowing 180.4 rushing yards per game.
Arizona State will lean on senior quarterback Taylor Kelly, who returned against Washington last week from a foot injury. Kelly has been cleared to start this Saturday after he took a head-to-head hit last week on a seven-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter at Washington.
Dangerous wide receiver Jaelen Strong (744 yards, seven TDs) will look to give a potent Sun Devil pass game success against a Utah secondary giving up 264.7 passing yards per game.
Both teams have been able to squeak out close wins this season and unfortunately one team is going to have to go down late in this matchup. The Sun Devils need to give Utah’s defense problems through the air and be able to contain Booker defensively.
Arizona State comes away with a close win to keep itself in position to win another Pac-12 South Division title.
Prediction: Arizona State 38, Utah 30
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
