Written by: Justin Wagner (@jwag718), Matthew Ruskan (@MRuskan), and Mikey Valacer (@mvalaceraptor)
Edited by: Matthew Ruskan (@MRuskan)
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It is SoCon week! The week where the SEC plays their FCS cupcake before taking on their most hated rivals. In other words, usually a pretty drab weekend. If, however, you stop caring about the top 5 for a second, there are some interesting games on the schedule. West Virginia and OK State? P O I N T S. Northwestern and Minnesota? That could actually be a sneaky good football game. You know the Gophers will be rowing the boat. And Notre Dame taking on Syracuse in some of the worst uniforms ever? Watching OSR’s Mikey Valacer, a fanatic Boston fan and Notre Dame alumnus, deal with the pinstripes is going to be fantastic. We would share screen shots of the OSR group text, but we probably would have to redact most of what he says.
If you look hard there are some interesting games this week, so take a look below and find ones that suit your taste! Enjoy!
Pittsburgh (6-4) vs. Wake Forest (5-5)
Saturday, November 17 - 12:00 PM ET
BB&T Field – Winston-Salem, NC – ACC Network
Preview: Wake Forest is coming off a huge program win over NC State where they finally let their offense off the leash and it paid off. Their wide receiver core is starting to heat up and with a new QB under center, things are looking good for Wake to become bowl eligible. But this week they’ll run into one of the ACC’s best ground games in Pitt who went for FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY FIVE yards on the ground last week.. yeah. Led by their dynamic duo of Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall, they have seemingly exploded on offense and the front seven of Wake has not been great. This could end up being a huge blowout or a really interesting game. Pitt is one win away from facing Clemson in the ACC Championship game and but not if Wake can help it.
PITT Key Players: RB Qadree Ollison, DB Damar Hamlin
WAKE Key Players: WR Greg Dortch, DB Cameron Glenn
#22 Northwestern (6-4) vs. Minnesota (5-5)
Saturday, November 17 - 12:00 PM ET
TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, MN – BTN
Preview: This could be a sneaky interesting game in an otherwise dull timeslot. Northwestern has improbably clinched a berth in the Big Ten title game with two weeks left, but there is still a lot to play for. Northwestern’s debut in the College Football Playoff rankings means that there is still an outside shot at a New Year’s Six bowl, especially if they can pull off an upset in the Big Ten Title game. For Minnesota, the Gophers have a chance at a sixth win and bowl eligibility. PJ Fleck’s second season in the Twin Cities has been extremely up-and-down; but quantifiable proof-of-concept will go a long way in garnering support from fans and the powers that be in the Minnesota Athletic Department.
NW Key Players: QB Clayton Thorson, LB Blake Gallagher
MN Key Players: RB Mohamed Ibrahim, LB Blake Cashman
South Florida (7-3) vs. Temple (6-4)
Saturday, November 17 – 12:00 PM ET
Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA – ESPN News
Preview: Two teams trending in very different directions meet in the forgotten AAC East matchup. USF has dropped three straight by double digits after winning its first seven games of the year, and the Bulls desperately need to stop the bleeding before they host UCF on Black Friday. Temple, on the other hand, looks nothing like the team that lost its season opener to FCS Villanova, and has four of its last five, losing only at UCF. The Owls now sit second in the AAC East, having handed Cincinnati its only loss to date, so if UCF loses to Cincinnati on Saturday, the Owls could be in a three-way tie atop the division with only woeful UCONN left on their schedule.
USF Key Players: RB Jordan Cronkite, S Khalid McGee
TU Key Players: QB Anthony Russo, LB Shaun Bradley
#12 Syracuse (8-2) vs. #3 Notre Dame (10-0)
Saturday, November 17 – 2:30 PM ET
Yankee Stadium – New York, NY- NBC
Preview: One-loss teams across the country now turn to Syracuse as their best chance at one of the top three teams losing. The Orange are having their best season in years, and already showed they can hang with Clemson earlier this years. Notre Dame looks to be the better team on paper, with Ian Book returning to an efficient offense backed by a top of the line defense, but special teams blunders allowed Michigan, Pitt, and Northwestern to all hang with Notre Dame later into the game than was expected, and Syracuse has had the best special teams in the country this season. Would a one-loss Notre Dame still be a top four team in the committee’s eyes? It’s better if Notre Dame doesn’t find out.
SYR Key Players: QB Eric Dungey, DB Andre Cisco
ND Key Players: WR Myles Boykin, DB Drue Tranquill
Wisconsin (6-4) vs. Purdue (5-5)
Saturday, November 17 – 3:30 PM ET
Ross-Ade Stadium– West Lafayette, IN - BTN
Preview: We learned last week exactly how important Alex Hornibrook is for Wisconsin, as the Badgers only managed 10 points. Hornibrook is questionable, meaning that Wisconsin is going to have to dig deep against Purdue. On the flip side, freshman Rondale Moore has been phenomenal for the Boilermakers and is now within 100 yards of 1,000 for the season. Neither of these teams have a chance to reach the Big 10 title game, so now it is all positioning for bowls. Purdue also has to deal with the potential of their head coach leaving at the end of the season for Louisville. If Hornibrook plays this might not be close, but with him out this might be a good game.
UW Key Players: RB Jonathan Taylor, LB T.J. Edwards
PU Key Players: QB David Blough, LB Markus Bailey
Missouri (6-4) vs. Tennessee (5-5)
Saturday, November 17 – 3:30 PM ET
Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN– CBS
Preview: Missouri and Tennessee come into this game with both teams looking to take that next step in their seasons. Missouri is coming off of a close win against Vanderbilt and Tennessee is coming off of a win over Kentucky, that frankly is a season-changing win. If the Vols can get their offense to get going like they did against the Cats, they can find themselves bowl eligible, which a lot of people weren’t so sure about in the early parts of this season. This is going to be a battle of the quarterbacks. Drew Lock will need to make big plays over the middle and stretch the field whereas Guarantano will have to be efficient and get all of the playmakers involved for the Vols. Each defensevalso will have a major factor in this game, especially up front. This could end up being a low scoring game but it’s one to keep an eye on.
MIZ Key Players: QB Drew Lock, LB Cale Garrett
TENN Key Players: QB Jarrett Guarantano, LB Daniel Bituli
#9 West Virginia (8-1) vs. Oklahoma State (5-5)
Saturday, November 17 – 3:30 PM ET
Boone Pickens Stadium – Stillwater, OK– ABC
Preview: It is hard to imagine that OK State is not at least a little emotionally drained after losing by one to Oklahoma in Bedlam. Can they dig deep and produce the same quality of offensive performance? We have come to expect ridiculous offensive production from West Virginia, and with Will Grier at the helm this could be a combined 100 point game. WVU will most likely pull this one out, but if the Mountaineers overlook the Cowboys they will be punched in the gut. At the end of the day, I expect a Bedlam part 2 for OK State.
WVU Key Players: QB Will Grier, LB David Long
OK ST Key Players: QB Taylor Cornelius, CB Rodarius Williams
Duke (7-3) vs. Clemson (10-0)
Saturday, November 17 – 7:00 PM ET
Memorial Stadium – Clemson, SC – ESPN
Preview: Clemson looks nearly unbeatable since their close game against Syracuse and there’s a good chance it stays that way, but it has to be said that Duke’s offense has picked up some big time steam over the last couple weeks. Daniel Jones accounted for nearly 600 yards of offense against UNC and Deon Jackson has been consistently good for the Blue Devils too. The jump from UNC to Clemson is drastic so realistically, this could be a long day for Duke. Clemson will bring that vaunted defensive line and try to get off to a hot start and keep their foot on the gas. They just have to be sure they don’t have a classic case of the overlooks with them having already clinched their spot in the ACC Championship.
DUKE Key Players: RB Deon Jackson, LB Joe-Giles Harris
CLEM Key Players: RB Travis Etienne, S Isaiah Simmons
UAB (9-1) vs. Texas A&M (6-4)
Saturday, November 17 – 7:00 PM ET
Kyle Field – College Station,TX – ESPN2
Preview: UAB is probably the best one-loss team that isn’t being talked about in the country. Two years ago they didn’t even have a football program anymore. And now they’re 9-1 and they’re no joke. They have one of the best run defenses in the nation, but they have yet to see a running back quite like Treyveon Williams. This is their first Power 5 opponent but again, UAB is not a joke, you have to be careful. Texas A&M has had two battles in the last two weeks with a win over Ole Miss after a horrendous letdown loss against Auburn. They are in big time need of a power win and this could be the one they are looking for. This is a very underrated game.
UAB Key Players: RB Spencer Brown, DB Broderick Thomas
TAMU Key Players: TE Jake Sternberger, LB Otaro Alaka
#16 Iowa State (6-3) vs. #15 Texas (7-3)
Saturday, November 17 – 8:00 PM ET
Royal Texas Memorial Stadium – Austin, TX – Longhorn Network
Preview: This is a tough game to project. Iowa State is prone to overachieving against better opponents, and Texas tends to underachieve against lesser foes. But furthermore, the stakes are fairly high in this game. Oklahoma and West Virginia are in the driver’s seat to earn spots in the Big XII title game, but the race is not over. Both teams in this game are just one game back from the OU and WVU, and the top two teams still have to play each other. Furthermore, ISU holds tiebreaker against West Virginia, and Texas holds it against Oklahoma. In short, the winner of this game has a solid chance at the two-seed in the Big XII, but the loser is mathematically eliminated from the conference title race.
ISU Key Players: QB Brock Purdy, DB Greg Eisworth
UT Key Players: WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey, DB Cade Sterns
Cincinnati (9-1) vs. UCF (9-0)
Saturday, November 17 – 8:00 PM ET
Spectrum Stadium – Orlando, FL – ABC
Preview: College Gameday will be in Orlando, marking a rite of passage for UCF into the ranks of college football’s top programs. Coming to town is Cincinnati, who is a year ahead of schedule in their rebuild under second year head coach, Luke Fickell. UCF will clinch the AAC East division with a win, but Cincinnati would all but clinch the division should they win. Cincinnati is easily the best team UCF has played this year, but are the Bearcats good enough to end the nation’s longest active win streak?
UC Key Players: RB Michael Warren II, S James Wiggins
UCF Key Players: QB McKenzie Milton, DB Richie Grant
