No. 12 Kansas State at West Virginia
This Thursday night matchup features a pair of conference opponents who are looking to get back on track. Kansas State is looking to rebound from a disappointing 41-20 loss to TCU two weeks ago, while West Virginia will try to snap a two-game losing streak.
Head coach Bill Snyder continues to work wonders in Manhattan at the age of 75, as the Wildcats once again find themselves toward the top of the Big 12 standings. Quarterback Jake Waters has performed well for Kansas State in the final year of his collegiate career, throwing for 13 touchdowns and 2,169 yards through nine games.
West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen has the Mountaineers back on the right track after a couple of down years, though a weak finish to the season would put a damper on what has otherwise been a solid campaign that saw them beat Baylor.
Morgantown is always a tough place to play for opponents, so there’s certainly a chance that the Mountaineers will defeat the Wildcats for the first time as a member of the Big 12.
UNC at No. 25 Duke
A classic matchup of all-time great coaches: Mike Krzyzewski vs. Roy Williams. Oh wait, they’re playing football? Never mind.
The Blue Devils have been better the last two years than almost any time in their football history, but they stumble into this game after a one-point loss to mediocre Virginia Tech. North Carolina isn’t having a year to remember, but once this rivalry game rolls around, all bets are off, with the Tar Heels holding the all-time lead 40-21.
Neither offense is flashy, but Duke has one of the stoutest defenses, ranking 11th in the nation in points per game, unlike UNC, which ranks 125th. Duke’s two-headed monster rushing attack of Shaun Wilson and Shaquille Powell should dismantle the porous North Carolina defense.
For the Tar Heels to have any chance of winning, dual threat quarterback Marquise Williams will need to play his best game of the season, making up for the team’s lack of defense.
No matter which team wins, their bitter rival will be sure to remind them that it doesn’t matter, because it’s basketball season now.
No. 24 USC at No. 11 UCLA
Were it not for ESPN’s bias against starting “College Gameday” at 6 a.m. local time, Los Angeles could’ve been the show’s location this week.
The Pac-12 South race likely hangs in the balance as the cross-town rivals take the field Saturday night. Both teams also come into the game on winning streaks, adding yet another layer to the already intense rivalry game.
Both teams come into the game with high-scoring offenses. USC averages 35.2 points per game and UCLA averages 34.7, good for 29th and 32nd in the nation respectively. The defense is where the difference lies—USC only allows 23.3 points per game, while UCLA allows 27.9.
Brett Hundley leads the balanced UCLA offense that thrashed Washington last week as the quarterback accumulated 320 total yards and two touchdowns both in the air and on the ground. Cody Kessler, the USC quarterback, dismantled the weak Cal secondary last week in a 371-yard, four-touchdown performance.
With both teams clicking offensively, expect a shootout in the battle for the Victory Bell.
No. 15 Arizona at No. 20 Utah
While Oregon has the Pac-12 North locked up, the race in the Pac-12 South remains wide open, with every team besides Colorado still in it. Both Arizona and Utah are coming off dramatic victories from last week, with the Wildcats defeating Washington on a 47-yard field goal as time expired and the Utes beating Stanford in double overtime.
Rich Rodriguez and Arizona made their presence known nationwide when they went into Eugene and took down Oregon in early October. Since then, the Wildcats have dropped games against USC and UCLA, but still have a chance to capture the division crown.
Meanwhile, Kyle Whittingham’s Utes are 7-3 and well on their way to reaching the postseason for the first time since 2011. Unlike Arizona, Utah has beaten both UCLA and USC this season, in addition to winning a pair of double-overtime contests.
Neither team can afford to lose another game if they are to represent the South in the Pac-12 championship game, so expect a hard-fought battle Saturday afternoon.
Minnesota at No. 21 Nebraska
Both of these teams are coming off difficult Big Ten losses last week and looking to salvage their conference championship hopes. The Gophers were down 31-14 to Ohio State with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter last week, and they brought it down to a one-touchdown lead before they ran out of time. Nebraska, as we all know, was on the losing end of a record-setting performance by a certain Wisconsin running back.
These two offenses live and die by the running game. The Cornhuskers rank 10th in the nation in rushing with over 220 yards per game, while Minnesota ranks 27th. Neither team averages more than 200 passing yards. Defensively, these teams have had their ups and downs, but overall, they’re pretty respectable.
It is going to be a battle in the trenches and it could come down to whose quarterback can make the biggest difference through the air. Nebraska’s sophomore Tommy Armstrong Jr. has been the more solid passer, but neither team’s QB been consistent.
There will be plenty of motivation for both teams as they try to keep up with first place Wisconsin, and the loser of this game will be done in the Big Ten race.
