College Football Weekend Preview: A Virtual Playoff

One of the beauties of the college football season is that every week plays out like a playoff.

Each week there are a handful of teams whose season rides on the outcome of that week's game.

As the season continues on, the games get bigger and bigger.

Last week gave us a slate of games that sent tremors through the entire college football landscape: We saw Michigan State and Missouri, both undefeated heading into the weekend, go down in a big way; TCU and Boise State both got comfortable wins and with the losses ahead of them, they moved a bit closer to breaking the glass ceiling into the BCS National Championship game; Alabama continued to win and creep ever closer to getting back into the conversation for the national championship.

This weekend promises to be just as good. In fact, it may be better.

The picture for the national championship will (maybe) become a little more clear. Conference championship races will take shape and teams will start to make late season pushes.

Let's take a look at the biggest games taking place this weekend:

No. 9 Wisconsin at Purdue: 12 PM Eastern Time

Minnesota at No. 14 Michigan State: 12 PM Eastern Time

No. 16 Iowa at Indiana: 12 PM Eastern Time

I lumped these three games together because they are nearly identical in every way: They all start at the exact same time; they are all being covered by the Big Ten Network and shown regionally; they involve three of the four teams tied for the lead in the Big Ten.

Iowa has to view every game from here on out as a must win. After head-to-head records, the next tiebreaker to determine the Big Ten champ is overall winning percentage. Iowa is the only team out of the four that has two losses.

Here's to hoping that a couple of these teams get another loss or two to make the championship race a little easier to decipher.

Right now, Michigan State holds a tiebreaker with Wisconsin because they beat them head-to-head. Wisconsin holds the tiebreaker with Ohio State because they won their head-to-head matchup. Michigan State was able to avoid Ohio State, although a game against them would go a long way toward clearing things up.

None of these three games strike me as particularly dangerous for the favorite. If I was forced to pick one as an upset, I'd go with Wisconsin at Purdue. The Badgers will be on the road and Purdue is 2-2 in conference.

The combined conference record for Minnesota and Indiana is 0-9. Something tells me that Michigan State and Iowa are safe for this week.

No. 21 Baylor at No. 17 Oklahoma State: 12:30 PM Eastern Time

Who would have guessed at the start of the season that the Big 12 South race could be significantly altered thanks to this game between Baylor and Oklahoma State?

Baylor will come into this game flying high. Two weeks ago, they became bowl eligible for the first time since 1995. Last week they defeated rival Texas, 30-22.

This was their first win over the Longhorns since 1997. Just for some perspective, Ricky Williams was the starting running back for UT at that time.

Oklahoma State, on the other hand, has quietly put themselves in good position in the conference. They are currently tied for the lead in the South division. A win over Baylor this weekend moves them in front of the Bears and puts them in position to win the South division with a victory against Oklahoma in the Bedlam Game later this season.

Baylor has gotten this far largely on the arm and legs of quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin is completing 66.7 percent of his passes and has thrown for 20 touchdowns. Combine that with his 483 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns and you have a dangerous dual-threat.

If the Cowboys defense sells out and game plans solely to stop Griffin, Baylor does have the weapons to beat them in other ways. Running back Jay Finley has 813 rushing yards on the season and an impressive average of 6.8 yards per rush. Baylor also has four different receivers averaging over 13 yards per catch.

Oklahoma State won't just be able to spy on Griffin and expect to stop their offense all together.

Oklahoma State continues to pile up yards and points even as the players in the offense change. Gone are Zac Robinson and Dez Bryant. Replacing them are Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon.

Weeden has thrown for over 2,500 yards while completing just over 65 percent of his passes. Blackmon has done his best Dez impression with over 1,100 yards receiving and an average of 17.9 yards per catch.

Blackmon was suspended for Oklahoma State's game last week against Kansas State, but he has been cleared to return this weekend against Baylor.

Kendall Hunter is the holdover for the Cowboys from those teams led by Robinson and Bryant. The senior running back has rushed for 1,174 yards and 12 touchdowns.

One thing is for sure: There will be plenty of offense in this game. I expect the Cowboys to win this game and take control of their own destiny in the Big 12 South. They will stuff the box to spy on Griffin and try to bottle up Finley.

I'm not sure that Baylor has the athletes to stay with Blackmon. If the offensive line gives Weeden time to throw, I think he and Blackmon will have a field day.

No. 3 TCU at No. 5 Utah: 3:30 PM Eastern Time.

As much as the Big Ten games and the Big 12 South showdown appear to be play-in games, this Mountain West game probably has more riding on it than any of them.

The winner of this game will be in great shape for an automatic BCS bid as part of the BCS top 12 teams. The loser will likely fall out of the BCS top 12 and will be greeted with the chorus of "I told you so" by the media that insists that these teams aren't BCS worthy.

This game also represents the last chance for these teams to get a quality win on their BCS resumes. TCU has only San Diego State and New Mexico left on its schedule. Utah has Notre Dame, San Diego State and BYU. Normally that would seem like a tough slate, but Notre Dame and BYU are both down this year.

I would expect a tough defensive battle. As a team Utah gives up 14.1 points per game. That looks really good until you look at TCU's defensive stats and see that they average giving up 8.7 points per game.

TCU's best offense might be their defense, but when they are on offense, they have very capable athletes. They can pound the ball with running backs Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker. The two have combined for over 1,400 yards.

Utah is very similar in their attack. The Utes two-pronged running attack is made up of Eddie Wide and Matt Asiata. They have run for over 900 yards in total.

Both teams boast solid, if unspectacular quarterbacks. TCU is led by Andy Dalton, a senior and third-year starter. He completes over 65 percent of his passes and has only thrown five interceptions. He is perfect for this team. He doesn't turn the ball over, knowing that the defense is going to do its part as long as he doesn't make mistakes.

Utah is led by Jordan Wynn; he is mature beyond his years. He was thrust into the starting job last season as a freshman and responded well. Like Dalton with TCU, he is expected to hand off to his running backs, get the ball to their athletes in space and not turn the ball over. He completes just below 70 percent of his passes and has only thrown one more interception than Dalton.

This game is going to be what most would call "ugly." I don't think either team will top 24 points. I like TCU here. Their defense is probably the best in the nation this year.

Jordan Wynn may be mature beyond his years, but he is going to see a defense on Saturday like he has never seen before.

No. 6 Alabama at No. 10 LSU: 3:30 PM Eastern Time

Both Alabama and LSU had big aspirations heading into this season. Recent losses seemed to have derailed those dreams.

But thanks to losses by teams ahead of them in the rankings, though, those dreams are alive and well once again.

The winner of this game will at the very least move into sole possession of second place in the SEC West. On the larger scale, the winner will also move squarely back into the national championship discussion.

If LSU were to emerge victorious, they would still be behind Auburn thanks to their loss to the Tigers, but with some help from Auburn's opponents, they would be in position to represent the West Division in the SEC Championship Game.

If Alabama comes out on top, they will completely control their own destiny in the SEC West. They would be a full game ahead of LSU in the standings and would still have that date with Auburn later in the season.

A win over Auburn and they are in the SEC Championship Game. A win in that game and they may find themselves with a chance to repeat as BCS National Champions.

If this game were taking place in Tuscaloosa or at a neutral site, I couldn't envision any scenario where LSU comes out a winner. Alabama has more talent on both sides of the ball and they have the superior coaching staff.

The game is taking place in Tiger Stadium, however, and that makes a big difference.

It's no secret what Alabama is going to do on offense. They have two elite running backs in Trent Richardson and Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. Their first priority is always to establish the ground game and try to control the ball and the clock.

You can't sleep on Alabama's passing game this year, though. Last season, McElroy was expected to do very little other than stay out of the way. This year, they are loosing up the reins and it shows. He is completing around 70 percent of his passes and he is doing a great job of getting the ball to the Tide's supremely talented receivers.

Julio Jones, Marquis Maze and Darius Hanks are all electric and can't turn a five yard slant into a 50-yard touchdown catch.

On the other hand, LSU struggles to find any offense whatsoever. They alternate between Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee at quarterback. Together, the two have combined for four touchdown passes and nine interceptions.; compounding problems, the running backs only average about four yards per rush.

Just like in the TCU-Utah game, defense will be on display. Both teams pride themselves on having tough, aggressive defenses. There will probably be a dozen or more NFL players on the defensive side of the ball during this game on Saturday.

I hate to be so blunt about this game, but I can't see it being close. Alabama is so well-rounded. Their offense is good enough to keep the defense on the sideline resting.

Conversely, LSU's defense will always be on the field because their offense can't stay on the field.

If LSU is going to stay in this game, they are going to need a big play out of Patrick Peterson either on an interception return or a punt return. His teammates seem to feed off his big plays.

I like Alabama in a walk in this one.

No. 18 Arkansas at No. 19 South Carolina: 7 PM Eastern Time

Which team will emerge from the mass of teams in the middle of the SEC pack and move into the upper echelon of teams?

At different points of the season, both Arkansas and South Carolina had designs of rising from the SEC proletariat into the elite of the SEC.

Arkansas began the season as a "sexy" underdog pick to win the conference. They had a Heisman hopeful quarterback in Ryan Mallett and the stout recruiting classes of Bobby Petrino were starting to pile up.

The Razorbacks quickly fell back to earth with a loss to then-No. 1 Alabama. A loss two weeks later against Auburn further proved that Arkansas wasn't quite ready for SEC prime time.

South Carolina is heading the other way. The South Carolina faithful came into the season cautiously optimistic that they could do something special.

They had two young studs in freshman running back Marcus Lattimore and sophomore wide receiver Alshon Jeffery. They also were returning starting quarterback Stephen Garcia, although there was understandable worry that might be more of a bad thing.

Now these two teams have met in the middle. Outside of the two aforementioned losses, Arkansas has navigated their schedule well to the tune of a 6-2 record. South Carolina also comes in at 6-2, having lost to Auburn and Kentucky.

The key for South Carolina is to covet the football and not turn it over. Stephen Garcia is infamous for making bad decisions.

For Arkansas, they need Mallett to play like a Heisman trophy candidate. If he plays that way, there are few teams that can compete with the Hogs.

The game means more to the Gamecocks. They currently lead the SEC East, but have Florida lurking one game behind them. Arkansas, on the other hand, is stuck well behind the leaders in the stronger SEC West.

I'll go with the Gamecocks in this one. They will be at home and the team is really starting to rally around the fact that this can be a historic season for the program.

No. 15 Arizona at No. 13 Stanford: 8 PM Eastern Time

I would imagine after Saturday that the PAC-10 pecking order will be established at the top of the conference. I think we can all agree on who the class of the conference is. That would be the Oregon Ducks.

I also think we can agree that these two teams are better than USC and Oregon State, which make up the next level of teams in the conference. With this match-up, we'll get a chance to see which team is ready to take the next step and which team will fall back to the pack.

Technically, I'm not being fair. Arizona still has a legitimate chance at the PAC-10 championship. They only have one loss in conference and they still have a game with Oregon coming up.

At this point, they just don't feel like conference championship contenders. A win on Saturday can go a long way toward changing my mind.

The Arizona offense is hobbled. Starting quarterback Nick Foles is nursing a knee injury that forced him to sit out last week's win over UCLA. He is working his way back, but his return for this Saturday is no guarantee. If he can't go, much of the offensive workload falls on the shoulders of the running back duo of Nic Grisby and Keola Antolin.

Either way, Arizona should be able to stay in the game thanks to their defense. The newest incarnation of the "Desert Swarm" defense is allowing opponents an average of 13.4 points per game.

For Stanford, their offense goes as far as quarterback Andrew Luck will take them. Luck has already piled up almost 2,000 yards through the air all while throwing only six interceptions. Stepfan Taylor is the leading rusher for Stanford with 728 yards rushing, but there's no doubt who the offense runs through.

Come Saturday night, Stanford will get a big win. Arizona will either feature an inexperienced quarterback or a badly injured one.

Without a breakaway runner in the backfield, I don't like either option. The Arizona defense keeps it close, but Andrew Luck is just too good to let the Cardinal lose.