Michigan-Ohio State tops college football slate
Rivalry Week arrives in college football with games that mean much more than bragging rights, starting with a Michigan-Ohio State rivalry that has been dominated by the Buckeyes, winners of 12 of the last 13 in the series.
Here are the 10 best non-Big 12 games this weekend:
1. Michigan at Ohio State, 11 a.m. Saturday, Fox: Hard to fathom, but the Buckeyes seem to be underrated.
2. Notre Dame at Southern Cal, 7 p.m. Saturday, ABC: SC coach Clay Helton fights for his job; the unbeaten Fighting Irish fight for some respect from the playoff committee.
3. Washington at Washington State, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Fox: WSU’s playoff hopes remain alive, but the Cougars must win this Pac-12 North title game.
4. Auburn at Alabama, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS: Iron Bowls in Auburn are usually more interesting, but you never know.
5. Utah State at Boise State, 9:15 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: The winner advances to the Mountain West championship game against Fresno State and stays alive for a Fiesta Bowl berth.
6. South Carolina at Clemson, 6 p.m. Saturday, ESPN: The Gamecocks have played in relative anonymity all season; this is their chance to be noticed.
7. Central Florida at South Florida, 3:15 p.m. Friday, ESPN: UCF is two wins away from a major bowl berth, perhaps the Fiesta against OU if the Sooners lose to West Virginia or Texas.
8. Georgia Tech at Georgia, 11 a.m. Saturday, SEC Network: Funny, but Georgia rarely seems to have trouble with that triple option.
9. Houston at Memphis, 11 a.m. Friday, ABC: Winner advances to the American title game against Central Florida.
10. Florida at Florida State, 11 a.m. Saturday, ABC: Gators are in the running for a major bowl berth; the Seminoles need the win for bowl eligibility.
Coach on the hot seat
Frank Beamer didn’t always produce a winner at Virginia Tech. In 1992, the Hokies went 2-8-1, Beamer’s fourth losing season in six years as the VPI coach. Then Beamer reeled off 23 straight winning seasons and built a proud program.
Virginia Tech will not be so patient with Beamer’s successor, Justin Fuente. The former OU quarterback is in his third season as the Hokie coach, and Virginia Tech is 4-6 going into a home game Friday against arch-rival Virginia.
The Hokies were 10-4 and 9-4 in Fuente’s first two years, but to be bowl eligible now, Tech must beat Virginia this weekend and Marshall next weekend in a game contingent on the Hokies beating Virginia. Losing to an arch-rival is bad enough. But when it relegates you to missing a bowl game for the first time in 26 years, that’s far worse.
Upset special
Lots of coaches have struggled this season in their first year at high-profile jobs. Nebraska’s Scott Frost. Florida State’s Willie Taggart. Arkansas’ Chad Morris. UCLA’s Chip Kelly.
But Kelly has the chance to end on a high note. The Bruins, who started 0-5 but now are 3-8, beat arch-rival Southern Cal last week and play Stanford this week.
The Cardinal got off to a 4-0 start against a good schedule but now is 6-4, with a game remaining next week at Cal-Berkeley. Stanford is a 5½-point favorite in the Rose Bowl against UCLA, but let’s go with Kelly in the upset.