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No. 7 Michigan State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) at No. 4 Ohio State (9-1, 7-0), 9 a.m., Ch. 10:
The winner remains in contention for a trip to the Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff. After Michigan State beat Michigan three weeks ago it looked like this game would be a battle of unbeatens, but the Spartans lost to Purdue (which then got annihilated last week by the Buckeyes). Two potential Heisman Trophy winners will be on the field: Spartans RB Kenneth Walker and Buckeyes QB C.J. Stroud.
No. 10 Wake Forest (9-1, 6-0 ACC) at Clemson (7-3, 5-2), 9 a.m., ESPN:
Wake has lost 12 straight to Clemson since Dabo Swinney began coaching the Tigers but can wrap up its first ACC Atlantic title today; Clemson is still in contention for its seventh straight division crown but would need a win today and a Wake Forest loss next week to Boston College. Wake leads the conference averaging 44.7 points per game while Clemson is No. 1 with just 15.3 points allowed per game. Clemson has won 33 straight at home.
SMU (8-2, 4-2 AAC) at No. 5 Cincinnati (10-0, 6-0), 12:30 p.m, ESPN:
The Bearcats remain on the cusp of a CFP berth but must win their final three to have any chance. They haven’t played a team with a winning record in more than a month, but after the 8-2 Mustangs, they have a game Friday at East Carolina (6-4) before a likely AAC title showdown with No. 24 Houston (9-1), which beat the Mustangs 44-37 three weeks ago. SMU also lost by three points the next week to Memphis but remains dangerous with QB Tanner Mordecai (37 TD passes).
UCLA (6-4, 4-3 Pac-12) at USC (4-5, 3-4), 1 p.m., Ch. 5/69:
This is hardly the most significant game on the schedule in terms of conference titles or CFP berths, but it’s still one of the greatest rivalries in sport and, if nothing else, is a great uniform game with both teams wearing their colored jerseys. USC won the last two meetings behind QB Kedon Slovis (859 yards passing and nine TDs) but with the junior hurt, freshman Jaxson Dart will face UCLA for the first time. The Bruins, who have won only once in their last 11 trips across town to the Coliseum, have gained at least 200 yards rushing in all six of their wins this year.
No. 3 Oregon (9-1, 6-1) at No. 23 Utah (7-3, 6-1), 4:30 p.m, Ch. 10:
This likely will be the first of two games between these teams in a span of 14 days, since both figure to win their respective divisions and meet Dec. 3 in the conference title game. But Oregon in particular can’t afford to be thinking about the future; the Ducks need to win both those games as well as the “Civil War” next week against Oregon State to seal a spot in the CFP. The Ducks have won five straight since their only loss of the season, at Stanford. The Utes have won six of seven since their triple-overtime loss to San Diego State.