The marquee game is Miami at Notre Dame, an unbeaten-versus-one-loss showdown with College Football Playoff seeding at stake, and Georgia at Ole Miss is right behind it as a top-ten fight down the stretch.
Also circle Alabama at LSU in Tiger Stadium and Oregon at Ohio State, two smashmouth tests of time of possession where a team that can't move the ball on third-and-long will see the defense bailed out by field position all afternoon. With Miami favored by a touchdown and the total sitting near 54.5, bettors watching the spread and the over have plenty to chew on beyond the garbage-time stats.
NCAA Football · 6 Nov · The week ahead
Virginia Tech HokiesvsSMU Mustangs
VT 14 · SMU 23
Virginia Tech at SMU is a solid ACC matchup with both teams sitting at 6-2 and still chasing playoff relevance.
South Florida BullsvsEast Carolina Pirates
USF 10 · ECU 10
South Florida Bulls at 6-2 head into Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to face the East Carolina Pirates at 4-4, and this one's closer than the records suggest since ECU is favored by just 1.…
Nebraska CornhuskersvsIllinois Fighting Illini
NEB 7 · ILL 0
Nebraska heads to Champaign to face Illinois in a Big Ten clash between two 5-3 teams still clawing for bowl positioning, and Vegas has the Cornhuskers as 4.5-point road favorites…
New Mexico LobosvsNevada Wolf Pack
UNM 0 · NEV 0
New Mexico Lobos at Nevada Wolf Pack, Friday night in Reno, and this one's got real Mountain West stakes since UNM is 7-1 and chasing a conference title while Nevada is scuffling…
TCU Horned FrogsvsArizona Wildcats
TCU Horned Frogs head into the desert to face the Arizona Wildcats Friday night, and Arizona's 6-2 mark has them favored by a full touchdown over a TCU team sitting at 4-4 and try…
Iowa State CyclonesvsBaylor Bears
Iowa State Cyclones at Baylor Bears, noon kickoff on FS1, with Baylor sitting at 5-3 and still clinging to bowl hopes while the 4-4 Cyclones need a statement win to stay in the Bi…
Thursday night's marquee game sends the surprising Jacksonville Jaguars into Baltimore to face the Ravens, who need a win just to keep pace in a crowded AFC playoff picture. Jacksonville comes in as ten-point favorites with the over-under sitting at 39.5, so expect this one to open with some smashmouth football at the line of scrimmage before either offense starts pulling away.
Keep an eye on time of possession - if Baltimore can't move the ball and control the clock early, this could turn into a laugher where Jacksonville covers easily and Baltimore's garbage-time stats are the only consolation.
NFL · 4 Nov · The week ahead