Believe it or not the college football regular season is almost halfway over. By the time this weekend's games are over most of the country will have gone through half of its schedule.
Kentucky takes on Vanderbilt as the night cap and highlight for a lot of the fans reading here but once again we've got another big week that will tell us a lot.
CI publisher Justin Rowland breaks that down as always.
Ohio State invades Eugene
This is where conference realignment has made the sport very interesting. Ohio State and Oregon both look like legitimate national championship contenders and we get the Buckeyes in Eugene as a 3-point road favorite. What a Big Ten matchup. Oregon won in Columbus a couple of years ago and the Buckeyes will be looking to return the favor. Neither team has a loss here so in this era a regular season defeat wouldn't mean as much for either team as it would have last year. But the winner seems virtually assured a spot in the playoff barring a complete collapse.
Ole Miss gets a night game at LSU
Everybody knows how difficult it can be to beat LSU in a night game in Baton Rouge, but the Ole Miss Rebels are actually a 3.5-point favorite against Brian Kelly's Tigers. It seems like order was restored last week with Ole Miss grinding out a dominating road win at South Carolina. LSU is a much different type of challenge than Kentucky or South Carolina as the Tigers are powered by an explosive offense that may be able to (and willing to) trade blows with Ole Miss. This could be a very fun matchup.
Interesting spot for Penn State
Penn State is ranked No. 4 in the country but only a 3.5-point favorite against an unranked opponent. Then again, USC isn't just any unranked opponent. The Trojans have some real offensive firepower and we've seen them look good in beating LSU. This game is in Los Angeles as an east coast/west coast Big Ten matchup. The Nittany Lions are a very strong playoff contender. Their biggest win is against No. 23 Illinois and PSU also has wins against West Virginia and UCLA. Penn State will win a lot of games this year but it remains to be seen if this is a typical James Franklin Penn State team or one that can push to challenge on a higher level.
Red River Rivalry renewed
Texas and Oklahoma is one of the biggest spectacles in college football every year and for the first time ever it's a league game in the SEC. Based on everything we've seen this season Oklahoma probably shouldn't have enough firepower to pull the upset here. But we have seen some unpredictable outcomes in this game over the years and you never know where the pregame energy is going to take things. Texas is a 14.5-point favorite but it also wouldn't be surprising if a fired-up Oklahoma makes it interesting for a while. If Texas wins this game it's hard to see the Longhorns being kept out of the playoff with a 6-0 (2-0 SEC) start.
Tennessee hosts Florida
The Vols are coming off their first loss of the season and hosting the Florida Gators in Knoxville. This is a series that has given the Vols plenty of problems over the years, but Tennessee is a 14.5-point favorite against the Gators, which have been one of the less impressive teams in the SEC to this point in the year. UT's offense has to be better than it was on the road against Arkansas.
How will Alabama and South Carolina respond?
Alabama is a 21-point favorite at home against South Carolina and the most likely scenario is the Crimson Tide wins going away. But these are two teams coming off very bad outcomes after great starts to the season. Alabama lost on the road to Vanderbilt, of course, while South Carolina was drubbed at home by Ole Miss after the Rebels lost to Kentucky. It will be interesting to see what kind of effort the Tide puts forth after that game last week and which direction they go the rest of the year.
Big opportunity for Neal Brown
West Virginia has clawed back to being in a position for a solid season and the Mountaineers have a huge opportunity this weekend. They host undefeated Iowa State, ranked No. 11, as only a 3-point dog. If WVU were to pull it off it would be 3-0 in the Big XII.
Colorado hosts ranked K-State
There's been a lot of flash to the Deion Sanders era in Boulder but, to date, not a lot of proven substance. The Buffaloes can change that narrative this weekend with No. 18 Kansas State coming to town. Colorado lost to Nebraska on the road earlier this year but the Buffs have rattled off three straight wins, showing improvement in some areas.
Will Louisville get back on track?
If you go back to the end of last season the Cardinals aren't on a great run under Jeff Brohm. Louisville has lost consecutive games, to Notre Dame and at home against SMU last week. The Cardinals can't afford to lose a third game and a second ACC game this early if they have bigger ambitions beyond this week and they're a 7.5-point road favorite at Virginia, which is 2-0 in the ACC but looks like a flawed team. They did upset Boston College on the same field last week.
Can BYU stay undefeated?
Brigham Young is undefeated (5-0, 2-0 Big XII) and but only a 3-point home favorite against 3-2 Arizona. The Wildcats are dangerous, already having knocked off No. 16 Utah on the road. BYU isn't getting a lot of love from Vegas for a team that has two top-25 wins (SMU and K-State). The schedule does still have plenty of competitive games or tossups for the Cougars but a 6-0 start would be a great foundation for a playoff bid.
Big game for Utah on Friday night
Utah is a 5.5-point road favorite at Arizona State this evening. Both teams are 4-1 and 1-1 in the Big 12. The Utes are ranked No. 16 and have been one of the most consistent things going in this sport. They're a candidate for the expanded playoff, but this is one they probably need to have with a loss already.
Will Rutgers make some noise this year?
Greg Schiano appears to have found his perfect job at Rutgers. The 4-1 Knights are 1-1 in the Big Ten and a two-point home favorite against Wisconsin. The only ranked team Rutgers plays the rest of the way is Illinois. There's an opportunity for a nice season in the Big Ten for Rutgers here. Indiana is the team that has really taken the league by storm early this year but don't sleep on the Knights. Their only loss is to Nebraska on the road by seven points, last week, 14-7.
