College Football Week 13 Schedule: TV, Live Stream Details for Top 25 NCAA Games
Plenty of questions still need to get answered with just a couple of weeks left for those teams with playoff hopes to make their case. Perhaps Week 13 will finally bring some clarity to a race that's remained bunched up for most of the season.
Not only is the schedule filled with high-profile rivalry clashes, but many of the teams inside the Top 10 are also going out on the road this week. It creates an atmosphere where there could be multiple upsets to thin out the herd a bit.
With that in mind, let's check out the complete slate of marquee action for this week. That's followed by a breakdown of a key storyline worth following during Week 13.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Top 25 Schedule
| 1 | Clemson | at South Carolina (12 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 2 | Alabama | at Auburn (3:30 p.m. Sat.) | CBS | CBS Sports Live |
| 3 | Iowa | at Nebraska (3:30 p.m. Fri.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 4 | Notre Dame | at Stanford (7:30 p.m. Sat.) | Fox | Fox Sports Go |
| 5 | Oklahoma | at Oklahoma State (8 p.m. Sat.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 6 | Michigan State | vs. Penn State (3:30 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 7 | Baylor | at TCU (7:30 p.m. Fri.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 8 | Ohio State | at Michigan (12 p.m. Sat.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 9 | Oklahoma State | vs. Oklahoma (8 p.m. Sat.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 10 | Florida | vs. Florida State (7:30 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 11 | North Carolina | at NC State (3:30 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 12 | Michigan | vs. Ohio State (12 p.m. Sat.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 13 | Stanford | vs. Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. Sat.) | Fox | Fox Sports Go |
| 14 | Florida State | at Florida (7:30 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 15 | TCU | vs. Baylor (7:30 p.m. Fri.) | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| 16 | Navy | at Houston (12 p.m. Fri.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 17 | Northwestern | at Illinois (3:30 p.m. Sat.) | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
| 18 | Oregon | vs. Oregon State (3:30 p.m. Fri.) | FS1 | Fox Sports Go |
| 19 | Ole Miss | at Mississippi State (7:15 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 20 | Washington State | at Washington (3:30 p.m. Fri.) | Fox | Fox Sports Go |
| 21 | Houston | vs. Navy (12 p.m. Fri.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 22 | UCLA | at USC (3:30 p.m. Sat.) | ABC | WatchESPN |
| 23 | Mississippi State | vs. Ole Miss (7:15 p.m. Sat.) | ESPN2 | WatchESPN |
| 24 | Toledo | vs. Western Michigan (12 p.m. Fri.) | CBSSN | CBS Sports Live |
| 25 | Temple | vs. Connecticut (7 p.m. Sat.) | ESPNU | WatchESPN |
Biggest Storyline: Big 12 Race
One year ago, the Big 12 had two teams, Baylor and TCU, with a legitimate case to make the College Football Playoff. Neither one ended up getting the nod. The conference could find itself right back in the same situation this time around.
The Bears are joined by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State with just a single loss, while the Horned Frogs have two but can still play the role of spoiler. It raises concerns about whether having so many huge matchups near the end of the season will help as much as expected.
Perhaps if the marquee games were spread out more evenly throughout the conference slate, the individual impact would be a lot larger.
That said, Matt Hayes of Sporting News argues the Big 12 has an image problem due to its high-scoring style of play. That more than anything else is why it sometimes struggles to get as much respect as other top conferences or an independent like Notre Dame.
Hayes also passed along comments from Sooners head coach Bob Stoops about being unsure of the next step to take.
"I don't know what more we can do as a conference," Stoops said. "We've got great players like everyone else. We play big games like everyone else. Watch and judge for yourself."
A lot of people will be watching this week as the Big 12 puts on two more crucial games: Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State and Baylor vs. TCU. The question is whether there's a set of results that would allow any of the three contenders to gain complete control of a playoff spot.
Maybe if TCU hands the Bears their second loss and one of the rivals from Oklahoma scores a sizable victory in the latest edition of the Bedlam Series, the Big 12 will have a clear leader.
On the flip side, Baylor head coach Art Briles hopes his team can still sneak into the playoff by winning out, but he doesn't think politicking helps, per Chris Low of ESPN.com.
"We tried a little belly-aching and all that last year, and it didn't seem to work," Briles said. "So we'll just keep playing. We tried some truisms, too, and it didn't seem to work. We've got two extremely tough games in front of us."
Ultimately, since a committee is making the final call and not a mathematical formula, it's impossible to know exactly the various fates of the Big 12 depending on the final few key results. ESPN's Mike Greenberg summed it up over the weekend:
Add in the fact the Big 12 doesn't have a championship game for one team to make a final statement for the committee, and the outlook is just as uncertain as it was 12 months ago. The conference has a few good teams, but it's unclear whether there's a great team that warrants a playoff spot.
In the end, the Big 12 might end up with a case of deja vu.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
