There are 14 undefeated FBS teams heading into the second half of the college football season. No more than seven can get through championship Saturday that way.
Of those 14 unbeatens, all but one is guaranteed to avoid playing another unbeaten team between now and the College Playoff Football selections on Dec. 6.
That would be No. 3 Utah, the last remaining unbeaten team in the Pac-12. Despite not having to face another team with a perfect record, the Utes road to an undefeated season and a spot in the playoff is anything but smooth.
A major hurdle to clear comes Saturday when Utah goes to Southern California. The Trojans have lost three games and had their coach fired, but as they showed last week at Notre Dame there is no shortage of talent at USC.
In fact, odds-makers favor USC, so don’t call it an upset if the Utes fall to Troy.
Speaking of upsets, only one game matches ranked teams this weekend — No. 15 Texas A&M at No. 24 Ole Miss. If the national title race gets a shake, it will be come from somewhere unexpected.
THURSDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
No. 20 California (plus 3) at UCLA — Even with two conference losses, Bruins can still hope for a Pac-12 title — but not with three ... UCLA 35-28.
No. 22 Temple (plus 3) at East Carolina — Pirates aren’t getting much attention in the American, but they have close losses at Florida and BYU ... EAST CAROLINA 27-20.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
No. 18 Memphis (minus 10) at Tulsa — Potential trap game for Tigers coming off huge win against Mississippi ... MEMPHIS 45-38.
MARQUEE MATCHUP
No. 3 Utah (plus 3 1-2) at Southern California — Trojans could use a coach like Utah’s Kyle Whittingham ... USC 33-27.
No. 15 Texas A&M (plus 5 1-2) at No. 24 Mississippi — After Ole Miss’ loss to Memphis, it would probably be in the SEC’s best playoff interests to have the Rebels out of the conference title picture ... UPSET SPECIAL, TEXAS A&M 31-29.
TRYING TO STAY UNBEATEN
No. 1 Ohio State (minus 21) at Rutgers — Buckeyes one of two No. 1 teams in New Jersey this weeknd; top-ranked Coastal Carolina of FCS is at Monmouth ... OHIO STATE 45-20.
Iowa State (plus 37) at No. 2 Baylor — Bears trying to reach 60 points for the sixth straight game ... BAYLOR 63-28.
No. 6 Clemson (minus 6 1-2) at Miami, No. 9 Florida State (minus 6) at Georgia Tech — Couple weeks away from an ACC showdown in Death Valley, both contenders are on upset alert ... CLEMSON 28-24 and FLORIDA STATE 31-24.
Indiana (plus 16) at No. 7 Michigan State — Spartans have won six straight meetings and 10 of 11 against the Hoosiers ... MICHIGAN STATE 38-21.
Western Kentucky (plus 16 1-2) at No. 5 LSU — WKU QB Brandon Doughty is averaging 387 yards passing per game ... LSU 45-24.
Kansas (plus 33 1-2) at No. 14 Oklahoma State — Cowboys have not had many easy games ... OKLAHOMA 51-17.
No. 19 Toledo (minus 14 1-2) at UMass — Last Saturday game of the season for Rockets who move into weekday #MACtion in November ... TOLEDO 38-28.
No. 21 Houston (minus 21 1-2) at UCF — Knights are only team in FBS averaging less than 4.0 yards per play (3.87) ... BEST BET, HOUSTON 42-10.
CONFERENCE CALLS
Tennessee (plus 15) at No. 8 Alabama — Tide winning streak in series is eight ... ALABAMA 38-20.
Washington (off) at No. 10 Stanford — Huskies freshman QB Jake Browning is uncertain to play because of a shoulder injury ... STANFORD 31-13.
Texas Tech (plus 14 1-2) at No. 17 Oklahoma — Sooners QB Baker Mayfield went from walk-on to starter at Texas Tech then transferred to Oklahoma ... OKLAHOMA 42-30.
No. 23 Duke (plus 2 1-2) at Virginia Tech — Hokies get QB Michael Brewer back from a shoulder injury ... DUKE 20-14.
No. 25 Pittsburgh (minus 6 1-2) at Syracuse — Panthers lead the ACC in sacks with 22 ... PITTSBURGH 27-20.
Last week’s record: 16-5 straight; 13-8 vs. spread.
Overall: 105-37; 75-62-3.
Upset specials: 3-5.
Best bets: 2-4.
