Football Friday Fives: College Edition for November 12th From the Sports Mac

Top 5 Games To Watch This Weekend

1.         #17 Mississippi State (7-2) at #11 Alabama (7-2), 7:00 PM, ESPN2: The upstart Bulldogs travel into Tuscaloosa and try and pull the upset over the reeling Crimson Tide.

2.         #22 South Carolina (6-3) at #24 Florida (6-3), 7:00 PM, ESPN: The winner of this game will win the SEC East and earn the trip to Atlanta for the conference championship game.

3.         Penn State (6-3) at #8 Ohio State (8-1), 3:30 PM, ABC: The border rivals play this year’s edition with JoePa coming off of win No. 400 and the Buckeyes coming off a bye.

4.         #16 Virginia Tech (7-2) at North Carolina (6-3), 3:30 PM, ABC: The Hokies have run off seven in a row and may wrap up the ACC Coastal division this week.

5.         Southern California (6-3) at #18 Arizona (7-2), 8:00 PM, ABC: A tough back-to-back for the Wildcats coming off a rough loss to Stanford last weekend.

5 Games Under The Radar This Weekend

1.         Kansas State (6-3) at #20 Missouri (7-2), 12:30 PM: The Tigers need to win this game if they still have hopes of winning the Big 12 North.

2.         #13 Iowa (7-2) at Northwestern (6-3), 12:00 PM, Big Ten Network: The Hawkeyes escaped from Bloomington with a win and now must go back on the road to Evanston to try and stay in the Big Ten race.

3.         Southern Mississippi (6-3) at #25 Central Florida (7-2), 12:00 PM, CBS College Sports: The Knights are the only undefeated team in C-USA and will try to stay that way against the Golden Eagles.

4.         San Diego State (7-2) at #3 Texas Christian (10-0), 4:00 PM, Versus: The Aztecs have had a rebirth this season, but they face a tough task this season against a Horned Frogs team that is on a roll right now.

5.         #23 Texas A&M (6-3) at Baylor (7-3), 7:00 PM: Both teams are still in the mix for the Big 12 South title and a win in this game would be a big help.

5 Games To Just Get The Final Score

1.         Wyoming (2-8) at Nevada –Las Vegas (1-8), 10:00 PM: Just two programs who are playing out the string at the end of the season.

2.         Eastern Michigan (1-8) at Western Michigan (3-6), 2:00 PM: The rivalry game features a team that can’t get a 2^nd win and a team that has to win out just to be bowl eligible.

3.         Memphis (1-8) at Marshall (3-6), 3:00 PM: The same story as above only move the venue 420 miles to the south.

4.         North Texas (2-7) at Middle Tennessee State (3-5), 3:30 PM: Both teams had hopes of a Sun Belt title, but those have faded at this point.

5.         Rice (2-7) at Tulane (3-6), 3:30 PM: The winner of this game gets to move out of the cellar in the Conference-USA West Division.

5 Players To Watch This Weekend

1.         Cameron Newton, Auburn QB vs. Georgia: With all of the controversy surrounding him this week, he has to try and focus on a big game against the Bulldogs.

2.         Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina RB at Florida: It’s a lot of pressure to put on a true freshmen, but he might have to carry the Gamecocks if they want to win the SEC East this weekend.

3.         Nick Foles, Arizona QB vs. Southern California: He has to lead the offense this week to avoid a 2^nd straight loss and take a little luster off a good season.

4.         Adam Robinson, Iowa RB at Northwestern: Ricky Stanzi carried the offense last week and Robinson needs to pick up some slack against a susceptible Wildcat defense.

5.         Mark Ingram, Alabama RB vs. Mississippi State: With Trent Richardson out for this game, Ingram has to handle almost all of the running load for the Crimson Tide.

5 Teams That Have To Have A Big Week

1.         Purdue at home vs. Michigan: The Boilermakers need to win two of their last three to make a bowl game and with the Spartans next week, this becomes a must-win.

2.         South Carolina on the road at Florida: Much like the NFL’s Texans, the Gamecocks have a chance for a major breakthrough, but can they do it?

3.         Florida State at home vs. Clemson: The Seminoles need a win badly or all of the good feelings built through the first seven games will be lost.

4.         Texas at home vs. Oklahoma State: The Longhorns actually have to win two of their last three to make a bowl game and beating the Cowboys will be a giant step toward that goal.

5.         Mississippi on the road at Tennessee: Ole Miss will have to pull an upset to make a bowl, but they can get closer with a winnable game in Knoxville.