Most Exciting Head-to-Head Matchups in Week 12 of CFB
This weekend's college football games will go a long way toward determining who makes it into the first-ever College Football Playoff semifinals. And while it will ultimately come down to which teams score more than their opponents, there's often far more to it than the scoreboard.
Look closer at these matchups, and you'll find individual players (or positional units) who are particularly important to the outcome. It could be an offensive line tasked with slowing down a fierce pass-rusher or a secondary trying to deal with a Heisman-winning quarterback. These head-to-head clashes will dictate the results as much as anything else.
Check out which of this weekend's head-to-head matchups we've highlighted, complete with TV info.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 7
We normally highlight matchups that actually involve players who will be lining up against each other, but this week's schedule is littered with several non-traditional "head-to-head" clashes of similar players or offenses.
And the best of them have to do with top-notch rushing.
Auburn RB Cameron Artis-Payne vs. Georgia RB Todd Gurley
(Saturday, Nov. 15; 7:15 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Artis-Payne has made Auburn quickly move past last year's stud, Tre Mason, by rushing for 1,190 yards and nine touchdowns through nine games. At this point in 2013, Mason had run for 921 yards and was just beginning to hit his stride, while Artis-Payne has rushed for at least 112 yards in seven games in 2014.
Gurley would be second in FBS in rushing yards per game if he continued the pace he was on after five games. He wasn't able to, though, after he was suspended for four games by the NCAA for accepting money in exchange for autographs. Now that he's back—and incredibly rested—Gurley could explode against an Auburn defense that hasn't been good at tackling this season.
Nebraska RB Ameer Abdullah vs. Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon
(Saturday, Nov. 15; 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Abdullah is coming off a knee sprain that knocked him out early from Nebraska's last game, but with the Cornhuskers fighting for the Big Ten West Division title and a long-shot chance at the playoffs, he'll play as much as his health allows. He has rushed for 1,250 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, with four 200-yard games.
Gordon is the FBS rushing leader, with 1,501 yards, 19 touchdowns and a healthy 7.58 yards-per-carry average. Taking out a subpar performance against an FCS team in September, Gordon is averaging 182.9 yards per game against FBS competition.
Georgia Southern vs. Navy
(Saturday, Nov. 15; 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)
If you like rushing, particular out of the triple-option formation, this is the game for you. These are the top two rushing teams in the country, with first-year FBS program Georgia Southern leading the way at 385.1 yards per game. Navy follows in second at 350.4 per game.
The Eagles and Midshipmen have combined to score 79 rushing touchdowns, 49 by Georgia Southern. Unless some uncharacteristic passing breaks out—the two teams combine to average only 204.3 passing yards per game—this game could take less than two-and-a-half hours, so plan your viewing accordingly.
Clemson Defensive Line vs. Georgia Tech Option Run Game
2 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; noon ET
TV: ESPN
Clemson leads the nation in tackles for loss, registering 91 in nine games that have resulted in opponents getting pushed back 420 yards. Seven different Tigers have at least six TFLs, led by senior pass-rushing specialist Vic Beasley with 12.5.
But now, Clemson must deal with a completely different challenge than what it's faced to this point in the season, as Georgia Tech features one of the best rushing attacks in the country and gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage only 4.2 times per game. The Yellow Jackets, running the option, average 335.6 rushing yards per game, with quarterback Justin Thomas leading the way with 781 yards.
He's one of three players with at least 500 yards on the ground for Tech and one of seven to score at least three rushing TDs. Clemson is fourth in the country in rushing defense at 90.9 yards per game, but to start the season, it was torched for 328 yards on the ground against Georgia.
Washington LB Shaq Thompson vs. Arizona QB Anu Solomon
3 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
It's a good thing that Shaq Thompson has such an easily recognizable and memorable jersey number (7), since you can't just assume he'll be lined up at a certain place on the field each and every play. The junior has started seven games at linebacker and three at running back, scoring touchdowns in both roles.
After back-to-back 100-yard rushing games, though, the Huskies will have him spend most of his time on defense this week at Arizona. The move is meant to try and slow down the Wildcats' potent offense, which took on another dimension last week when redshirt freshman quarterback Anu Solomon ran more than ever before and gained 115 yards on 12 carries.
Solomon has also thrown for 2,816 yards, ninth-most in the country and most for a freshman, with 25 TD passes. And most notably, he's thrown only five interceptions in 402 attempts and hasn't lost a fumble despite being sacked 20 times.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott vs. Alabama Front Seven
4 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
One of the top Heisman candidates in the country has passed all tests and overcome all challenges to this point. But Dak Prescott has yet to face Alabama—in Tuscaloosa—and try to operate against the Crimson Tide's talent-laden defense.
Prescott has thrown for 2,231 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for 779 yards and 11 TDs. His 334.4 yards of total offense per game is 10th-best in the country.
But Alabama has the No. 4 overall defense in FBS, ranking third against the run and 15th against the pass while allowing opponents to complete only 53.2 percent of their passes. Three teams didn't top 100 passing yards against the Crimson Tide.
Prescott handled a similar defense earlier this year when he led Mississippi State to a win at LSU, but whether he'll be able to dominate on the road against another stout unit remains to be seen.
Utah DE Nate Orchard vs. Stanford OT Andrus Peat
5 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; 6 p.m. ET
TV: Pac-12 Network
Utah's rise into the rankings this season has been anchored by its defense, particularly a front seven that has the Utes ranked first in the country with 43 sacks. Senior defensive end Nate Orchard is the star of that group with 13 sacks, and his breakout season has him considered the ninth-best player at his position in the country, according to Bleacher Report NFL draft expert Matt Miller.
The 6'4", 255-pound Orchard has feasted on quarterbacks who aren't getting blocked well, like when he sacked UCLA's Brett Hundley four times or took down Sean Mannion of Oregon State twice in back-to-back road wins.
But now, he and his fellow defensive linemen and linebackers (six of them have at least three sacks) take on one of the more veteran and unimpeachable lines in that of Stanford. The Cardinal's linemen have only given up 18 sacks, with 6'7", 316-pound junior left tackle Andrus Peat doing well protecting Kevin Hogan's blind side.
Missouri DE Shane Ray vs. Texas A&M QB Kyle Allen
6 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: SEC Network
Last week, Texas A&M true freshman quarterback Kyle Allen made a stellar road debut by throwing for 277 yards and four touchdowns in the Aggies' 41-38 upset win at Auburn. He was sacked only one time.
Missouri's Shane Ray has five games this season with at least 1.5 sacks, and he's registered two or more tackles for loss on five occasions. Quarterbacks are under constant pressure when the 6'3", 245-pound junior defensive end pins his ears back.
The Tigers have been very reliant on their defense, which has them atop the SEC East standings despite losing twice at home this season. Ray is a big part of that, and A&M's offensive line will have to game-plan well to stop him. But a lot of that also falls on Allen, who has to be aware of what kind of pressure is coming his way when he's in the pocket.
Florida State QB Jameis Winston vs. Miami Secondary
7 of 7
Game info: Saturday, Nov. 15; 8 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
As the reigning Heisman Trophy winner on the defending national champion with a 25-game win streak, Jameis Winston gets everyone's best shot. He's mostly fought back with better punches this season, though several times it's been his own mistakes that have caused the Seminoles to fall into an early hole.
Winston has thrown five interceptions the past two weeks and has 11 for the year, one more than all of 2013. FSU has trailed at some point in six of nine games this season, yet it manages to come back thanks to Winston's heroics.
Miami may be the seventh team to take a lead on the Seminoles, but it may also be able to hold off a Winston-led comeback thanks to a passing defense that ranks 10th in the country. The Hurricanes have only allowed nine touchdown passes, holding all but one FBS opponent to below its season average in passing yards.
The Hurricanes secondary has eight interceptions, but it has also broken up 40 passes, with those 48 defended passes accounting for 38 percent of the incompletions thrown by opponents this season.
Statistical information courtesy of CFBStats.com.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
