This upcoming weekend only has one ranked versus ranked matchup and that is #3 Ohio State versus #18 Penn State. Since Penn State lost last week on a controversial, but I think correct call, this is a must win if they want to have a chance to win the B1G conference and hope for a playoff spot. If there was no pandemic and it was a full house in Happy Valley all dressed in white and loud as hell, then I think Penn State could have the possibility of pulling off the upset. Unfortunately, there will not be any crowd noise since no fans will be allowed in the stadium so the home field advantage is pretty much gone.
As for the rest of the schedule, there are a few games I will be interested in watching and could be good games. In the early games, #16 Kansas State at West Virginia could be a tough game for the Wildcats. The Mountaineers are always tough at home. Unlike the B1G, the Big 12 does allow some fans in the stadiums so the home field will be somewhat of an advantage.
Another good game in the early round is Memphis at #7 Cincinnati. Cincinnati has proven over the last few years that they are a solid team even though they play in the AAC. In fact, the AAC has been very competitive the last few years. I think the ranking might be a little high, but it's based on their recent success, plus Luke Fickell coming from Ohio State helps too to get higher rankings.
In the afternoon games, unfortunately LSU at Auburn does not look as sexy as normal since both have struggled this year and both are currently unranked. I think the best game in this afternoon set is Texas at #6 Oklahoma State. This is a HUGE game for the Big 12. The reason I say that is that OSU is the only remaining undefeated team in the conference. If they lose to Texas, especially at home, it will be very difficult for any Big 12 team to make the playoffs this year. If OSU loses to Texas in a very good, tightly-contested game and lose by only a couple points in regulation or OT and win convincingly in the Big 12 title game, they could get into the playoffs.
In the evening games, obviously the big one is #3 Ohio State at #18 Penn State. We already talked about this game so other interesting games are Arkansas at #8 Texas A&M and Missouri at #10 Florida. Arkansas is playing very well so the Aggies need to be careful. I think this game will help to see how good A&M really is and if they deserve the #8 ranking. The Mizzou at Florida game I find interesting since Florida has not played for a few weeks due to COVID so I'm curious to see how they perform. A couple ranked teams are on the road and need to be careful to avoid the upset. This would be #15 North Carolina at Virginia and #24 Oklahoma at Texas Tech. Another loss and the Sooners are done. The fact they are ranked with a 3-2 record is ridiculous. There are also some other rankings I find questionable, but I think I'll do another post about that subject.
Even though there is only one ranked versus ranked this week, I think there are many interesting games and should be a very enjoyable weekend to watch football.
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