Football Friday Fives: College Edition, Week 9 from the Sports Mac

Top 5 Games To Watch This Weekend

1. No. 4 Texas Christian (9-0) at No. 6 Utah (8-0), 3:30 PM, CBS College Sports

A mega-matchup in Salt Lake City of the two best teams in the MWC for a probable conference championship and possible BCS at large berth.

2. No. 5 Alabama (7-1) at No. 12 Louisiana State (7-1), 3:30 PM, CBS

The old SEC West rivals meet in an important game, with the winner staying a game behind Auburn.

3. No. 13 Arizona (7-1) at No. 10 Stanford (7-1), 8:00 PM, ABC

A potential shootout features two of the best QBs in the west—the Wildcats' Nick Foles versus the Cardinal’s Andrew Luck.

4. No. 17 Arkansas (6-2) at No. 18 South Carolina (6-2), 7:00 PM, ESPN

The Gamecocks need a win at home to stay on top of the SEC East and go to the conference title game in Atlanta.

5. No. 22 Baylor (7-2) at No. 19 Oklahoma State (7-1), 12:30 PM

A huge game in the Big 12 South, as the division is up for grabs and the winner has a shot at the Big 12 title.

5 Games Under the Radar This Weekend

1. Northwestern (6-2) at Penn State (5-3), 3:30 PM, ABC

Joe Paterno will try to lead his Nittany Lions to his 400^th career victory, which would make him the first Division I coach to achieve that mark.

2. Air Force (5-4) at Army (5-3), 12:00 PM, CBS College Sports

Both service academies come into this rivalry game needing just one win to become bowl-eligible, so there’s a little more riding on this one for both teams.

3. Illinois (5-3) at Michigan (5-3), 12:00 PM, ESPN

With each just one win away from a bowl berth, expect both squads to play with a little more urgency this week.

4. Hawaii (7-2) at No. 2 Boise State (7-0), 3:30 PM, ESPNU

The Warriors have had a nice year to this point, but it’ll be a tough task on the blue turf in chilly Idaho.

5. Southern Methodist (5-4) at Texas-El Paso (5-4), 9:00 PM

It’s the Mustangs who are in the running for the C-USA title game berth, and it’ll be a tough task traveling to their in-state rival.

5 Games To Catch Just on SportsCenter

1. Tennessee-Chattanooga (5-3) at No. 3 Auburn (9-0), 1:00 PM, ESPN3.com

The Tigers get a little breather, facing the FCS Moccasins before their final two SEC games.

2. Idaho State (1-7) at Georgia (4-5), 12:30 PM, ESPN3.com

The Bulldogs will get a much-needed win here to get themselves within a win of going to a bowl game against the FCS Bengals.

3. Charleston Southern (2-6) at Kentucky (4-5), 12:30 PM, ESPN3.com

The Wildcats will move a step closer to qualifying for a bowl game after what should be an easy day over the FCS Buccaneers.

4. Colorado State (3-6) at San Diego State (6-2), 10:00 PM

The Aztecs have had a rebirth this year and may have no problem against a Ram defense giving up more than 33 points a game.

5. Akron (0-9) at Ball State (2-7), 1:00 PM

The two teams are a combined 2-16 on the season and will battle to stay out of last place in the MAC.

5 Players/Units To Watch This Weekend

1. Jordan Wynn, Utah QB: At home versus Texas Christian

With the Utes facing their toughest defensive opponent of the season, Wynn has to keep his composure, especially if things go wrong early on.

2. Keola Antolin and Nick Grigsby, Arizona RBs: On the road at Stanford

This tandem of rushers needs to have a big night to take some pressure off of Nick Foles, who is back after missing two weeks with an injury for the Wildcats.

3. Louisiana State Defense: At home versus Alabama

The Tigers must find a way to keep the Crimson Tide off the scoreboard and the crowd in the game early on, or it could be a long afternoon in Death Valley.

4. Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina WR: At home versus Arkansas

While the Razorbacks' passing game gets the headlines, Jeffrey might need to have a big night in what might be a shootout in Columbia.

5. Robert Griffin III, Baylor QB: On the road at Oklahoma State

He has been stellar in the Bears' breakout year, but he’ll need to maintain his level of play for a second week away from home in Stillwater.

5 Teams That Need a Big Week

1. Michigan: At home versus Illinois

All of a sudden, there are a lot of nervous Wolverine fans who are seeing repeats of last year’s collapse.

A win, and bowl-eligibility, would be a huge sigh of relief for the entire program.

2. Miami (Fla.): At home versus Maryland

The Hurricanes are reeling after last week’s upset at Virginia.

They need to rebound this week, or a bowl game might be in jeopardy.

3. No. 25 Nevada: On the road at Idaho

The Wolf Pack rebounded nicely from their only loss with a win last weekend, but they have to keep it going in a tricky road game in Moscow.

4. Texas A&M: At home versus No. 11 Oklahoma

The Aggies are into game two of the Big 12 South gauntlet, and it looks like they’ll have to beat a ranked team to make a bowl game.

5. No. 14 Missouri: On the road at Texas Tech

After getting run over by the Cornhuskers last weekend, Missouri can win out in the regular season.

It’ll have to start with a big bounce-back effort in Lubbock.