No. 5 Washington at No. 24 USC
Saturday, Nov. 4 — Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — Los Angeles
6:30 p.m. on ABC
The past several weeks haven’t been easy on the Pac-12’s top two teams. While Washington remains undefeated at 8-0, each of its past four games have come within single digits. The Huskies earned a major win over No. 8 Oregon on Oct. 14, but sleepwalked the next two weeks in victories over lowly Arizona State and Stanford.
In that same time frame, USC lost two of its four games, with both wins coming by a combined 3 points. Nail-biting victories over Arizona and California sandwiched a 48-20 blowout to No. 21 Notre Dame and a walk-off loss to No. 14 Utah. Regardless, the Trojans remain second in the conference with a chance to supplant the Huskies at the top this weekend.
While USC’s junior quarterback Caleb Williams has likely seen his repeat Heisman hopes dashed, they’ve been taken by Washington senior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. The signal-callers are the top two passers in the nation with Penix leading with 2,945 yards. Williams is tied for the most passing touchdowns with 25 while Penix is right behind with 24.
The stars will be out on Saturday night in Hollywood, and fans can prepare for plenty of passing. At the end of the day, the Trojans’ high-powered offense won’t be able to save them, as the Huskies will be too much for their woeful defense to handle.
Prediction: Washington 45, USC 35
No. 10 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
Saturday, Nov. 4 — Boone Pickens Stadium — Stillwater, Oklahoma
2:30 p.m. on ABC
The 188th meeting between these two rivals has geared up to be an exciting showdown. Oklahoma needs a win to keep its playoff hopes alive while Oklahoma State is riding a four-game win streak.
The Sooners are looking to rebound from their upset loss to Kansas last week. Senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel played fantastic football as he threw for 2,131 yards and 19 touchdowns in the first seven games, but only threw for 171 yards with an interception versus the Jayhawks.
Oklahoma State started the year off in an interesting place, to say the least. The Cowboys only beat FCS Central Arkansas 27-13, in Week 1 and then unconvincingly beat Arizona State 27-15, in Week 2. Things turned south after South Alabama blew out the Cowboys 33-7, but the season almost imploded after a 34-27 loss to Iowa State.
However, the Cowboys have won four straight off the back of sophomore running back Ollie Gordon II. Gordon II surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark last week versus Cincinnati when he rushed for 271 yards and two touchdowns against the Bearcats, which wasn’t even his best game this season. The week before versus West Virginia, Gordon II rushed for 282 yards and four touchdowns.
For an Oklahoma defense giving up an average of 132 yards rushing per game, Gordon II could be a serious problem for the Sooners this game.
Prediction: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 34
No. 23 James Madison at Georgia State
Saturday, Nov. 4 — Center Parc Stadium — Atlanta
2:30 p.m. on ESPN2
Georgia State is playing for a chance at a division title. James Madison is playing for a chance to continue to give the NCAA the largest middle finger possible.
The Dukes are undefeated, ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and sit atop the Sun Belt East standings, closely followed by Georgia Southern and Georgia State. But James Madison is ineligible for postseason play — something that has rallied both Duke fans and the college football world against the NCAA’s FBS transition rules — so it’s up to the Panthers to chase down Georgia Southern after the Eagles got the head-to-head win last week.
Can the unstoppable force defeat the immovable object? Georgia State senior running back Marcus Carroll ranks second in the country in total rushing yards with 1060, but James Madison leads the nation in rushing defense, conceding a mere 48.9 yards a game.
The Dukes also have the nation’s leader in sacks in senior defensive lineman Jalen Green, but these teams also bring the two worst passing defenses in the Sun Belt to the table against a pair of average passing offenses ranking seventh and tenth in the conference.
The answer to the question above? James Madison’s immovable object shuts down Carroll and the Panthers’ unstoppable force to keep the nation furious at the NCAA for another week.
Prediction: James Madison 27, Georgia State 20
No. 25 Kansas State @ No. 7 Texas
Saturday, Nov. 4 — Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium — Austin
11 a.m. on Fox
Texas is basically bound to be the final Big 12 game and could potentially sneak in the playoffs. The last remaining test for the Longhorns is a Kansas State team hungry for an upset.
The Wildcats find themselves in a comfortable position with a three-game win streak. The two lone losses at the hands of Mizzou and Oklahoma State were a bit worrisome, but have since bounced back, including putting up 41 points in back-to-back weeks.
For the team down in Austin, the orange and white have had its best season in a while, potentially living up to the term “we’re back,” coined by Seth Ehlinger. The Longhorns rolled through Alabama and Kansas State before dropping a close one against Oklahoma.
However, a big blow for Texas is the loss of sophomore quarterback Quinn Ewers. Though a bit rocky, Ewers has been the catalyst of the Longhorns’ offense and for now, coach Steve Sarkisian has decided on freshman quarterback Maalik Murphy over freshman phenomen Arch Manning.
Though Texas loses Ewers, the stellar defense and run play by sophomore running back Jonathon Brooks will be more than enough to finish off the Wildcats en route to the Big 12 Championship and potentially the playoffs.
Prediction: Texas 38, Kansas State 24