Preview the big matchups, plus conference title contenders and Week 10 previews of the week

Week 10 of college football is here as we look forward to some exciting conference games.

Saturday will feature a must-see matchup between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 3 Penn State at Beaver Stadium. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard is ready to face the team he rooted for because of growing up in Penn State, while Penn State quarterback Drew Allard is a game-time decision after suffering a left knee injury. What changes will the Nittany Lions need to make if Allar can’t play?

No. 18 Pitt and No. 20 SMU face each other in a big ACC matchup on Saturday night, with both teams entering this matchup undefeated in conference play. While both teams went through some changes in the offseason to help them get to this point, how have those changes affected their game this season?

Our college football experts preview the big games and conference title contenders and share quotes from the week leading up to the Week 10 slate.

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Ohio State-Penn State | Contenders for the conference title | SMU/PET changes
Quotes of the week

What does each team need to leverage to win?

Ohio State: Penn State coach James Franklin said this week that quarterback Drew Allard’s status will be a game-time decision. Alar is coming off a left knee injury that forced him to sit the second half of last weekend’s win over Wisconsin. Led by defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimolo, the Buckeyes have the best sack rate in the Big Ten (9.7%). If Alar plays, his movement may still be limited due to injury. Those numbers give Sawyer, Tuimolo and Ohio State’s other pass rushers prime opportunities to sack Allard or pressure him.

If the Nittany Lions have to use second-year backup quarterback Bo Pribula, Ohio State will have the opportunity to exploit his relative inexperience. Either way, the Buckeyes have to pressure the passer better than they did in their Oct. 12 loss to Oregon. In that 32-31 defeat, they failed to sack Dillon Gabriel once. Ohio State’s defense also failed to force a turnover. If the Buckeyes can’t force Penn State’s quarterback — whoever he is — into a negative play, they may have a hard time getting out of State College with a victory. — Jake Trotter

Pennsylvania: Regardless of whether it’s Allar or Pribula at quarterback, Penn State needs to showcase a creative offense that makes big plays. Franklin hired offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki specifically for such games. In last year’s 20-12 loss at Ohio Stadium, the Lions averaged just 3.5 yards per play with one play longer than 20 yards. Kotelnicki could take some clues from Oregon State, which challenged Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke and others with an aggressive game plan. He also has versatile options like tight end Tyler Warren. Penn State’s defense also has a chance to dominate the line of scrimmage against an Ohio State offensive front that has dealt with injuries and inconsistency, recording just 64 receiving yards last week against Nebraska.

Abdul Carter (four sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss) could be an important factor in putting pressure on Will Howard, and the Lions would be really helped if Danny Dennis Sutton plays to provide a good complement to Carter. Penn State should also be very aware of Tuimoloau, who had the best single-game defensive performance I’ve ever seen two years ago in Beaver Stadium, when he had two interceptions, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and a tipped pass that led to an interception. last. He hasn’t had a game anywhere near this good since, but Penn State can’t ignore him. — Adam Rittenberg

Who looks like a conference title contender in Week 10?

Administrative Coordination Committee: The ACC used to be known for its coastal mayhem — the annual madness in its coastal section that upended expectations and led to highly complex playoff scenarios in which NASA had to intervene. And now the virus has spread. SMU, Clemson and Miami all remain undefeated in ACC play — and none of them play against each other. That leaves a very real chance that the three will end up tied with only two able to move on to the ACC title game. And that’s not mentioning Pitt, which is 7-0 (but will play SMU and Clemson over the next three weeks) with an eye on the title game as well. What does it all mean? At this rate, Virginia Tech (3-1 in ACC play) might end up winning it all. — David Hale

The Big Ten: Oregon State and Penn State are the obvious answers, and Ohio State still has the most star power in the conference, despite some scrimmage concerns. But Indiana certainly showed the look of a true contender. The Hoosiers dominated games from the start, outscoring their opponents 87-0 in the first quarter and 372-113 overall. Yes, the scheduling concerns are valid, but this kind of dominance in a Power 4 league is no fluke. Even last week, without starting quarterback Curtis Rourke, Indiana struck first against Washington on a D’Angelo Ponds interception return 67 yards for a touchdown. The Hoosiers are not overly reliant on one player or position group.

Rourke isn’t the only effective quarterback, Judge Ellison is one of several capable linebackers, and Elijah Sarratt is one of six players with 15 or more receptions. Meanwhile, the offensive line was exceptional, ranking 10th nationally in fewest sacks against. IU’s defense has standouts like linebacker Aiden Fisher and end Mikail Kamara, but the collective strength of the unit — 13 players with two or more tackles for loss, 15 with at least half a sack — consistently shines through. The Hoosiers will likely be tested Saturday at Michigan State and in the coming weeks, but they are showing the qualities of a legitimate Big Ten contender. — Rittenberg

Big 12: Let’s start with the obvious: BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) and Iowa State (7-0, 4-0) remain undefeated and won’t play each other unless they meet in the Big 12 title game. If both can reach To the finish line without losing, it is possible for the winner to get a playoff spot while the loser remains eligible for the playoff. There are a lot of variables to understand what could happen in this scenario, but they are influential. But given the parity of the conference, it may be too early to look that far ahead.

BYU was just shy of a loss to winless Oklahoma State (0-5 Big 12), so it would be silly to feel confident about the outcome of any conference game remaining on the schedule. With just one loss each, Kansas State (4-1) and Colorado (4-1) have been in the mix, and it wouldn’t be a surprise, at this point, if either played their way to the title game. Those appear to be the four primary contenders, but five others lost two conferences — TCU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Arizona State — meaning their hopes are not dead. — Kyle Bonagura

second: Fans around the league have already floated scenarios that could produce a four-way tie in the SEC before the conference championship game. There are some interesting possibilities too, with several teams in the mix playing each other over the next five weeks. But the team that seems to be hitting its stride, improving and playing its best football at just the right time is Georgia, which is coming off a bye week after beating then-No. 1 Texas 30-15 two weeks ago in Austin. It’s Kirby Smart time, which means he’s been exceptionally good at getting his teams to play their best in the games that matter most. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven best-of-five matchups. They also had the last week rested and healthy, and Smart is hopeful his best offensive lineman, senior right guard Tate Rutledge, will be able to play Saturday against Florida after missing the past four games with a high ankle sprain. Surgery required.

Defensively, having Michael Williams back and healthy has made a big difference, especially when it comes to pass rush. Now, opposing offenses must take into account Jalon Walker and Williams, who combined for five sacks in the win over the Texans. The road will not be easy for Georgia. After a rivalry game against Florida in Jacksonville, the Bulldogs travel to Ole Miss the following week and then return home to face Tennessee. There is still a lot to be resolved at the SEC, but the Dawg top looks to be the same as we have seen for most of the last three years. — Chris Low

In what ways has SMU/Pitt changed from last season to maintain a top 25 finish?

SMU: SMU’s defense has been the story of this season, living by the old adage that stopping the run and winning the turnover battle will win you some ballgames. The Mustangs’ defense was stout, giving up 88.4 yards per game and 2.72 yards per carry, both fifth-best nationally. They are tied for ninth in the country with 17 turnovers and have four games with at least three takeaways, tied for the most. The result is that they are giving up just 21.4 points per game, including a remarkable situation last week in which SMU’s offense gave up six turnovers and the defense gave up zero of those, with Duke getting into SMU territory 11 times and coming up with just 27 points.

The Mustangs have looked to shore up the defense in recent years, and it’s paid off: a pair of Miami transfers, Elijah Roberts and Jeffery Harvey, are tied for the team lead with six tackles for loss, and lead the team in rushing. , with nine for Roberts and seven for Harvey, and each of them added three sacks. Harvey then blocked a 30-yard field goal attempt by Duke on the final play of regulation to salvage a 28-27 win. — Dave Wilson

house: After a miserable 3-9 last season, Pat Narduzzi decided he needed a makeover on offense. He brought in Kade Bell to run the tempo system, which is often anathema to defensive-minded coaches like Narduzzi. So far, the results have been what one might have expected: Pitt has scored more goals, but the defense has been on the field more often as a result of the speed at which the offense moves (the Panthers rank 133rd in time of possession). . The miracle for Pitt is that all those defensive plays didn’t seem to matter. Pitt picked off Kyle McCord five times in last weekend’s win over Syracuse, and the defense held its own despite playing more plays per game (76.3) than any other team in the country. — cardamom

Quotes of the week

“I’m stoked, stoked, I can’t wait. It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life, they didn’t think I was good enough. I guess we’ll see (Saturday) if I am.” ” – Ohio State QB Will Howard, who grew up in Downingtown, Pennsylvania

“I’m looking forward to going down to Dallas and seeing what they have there. I’ve never played SMU. It’s one of those games you never play in, a very different stadium. Growing up, Eric Dickerson in those goggles, that’s what I grew up with in that era. It was “This guy’s a guy watching him run over there. We’re the homecoming team, so maybe I’ll run into Eric Dickerson at the 50-yard line or something.” – Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, on making friends in new conferences.

“We’re trying to focus on one game, and that’s the next game. I don’t know that it’s helpful for us to look ahead and talk about the potential of the season. The most important thing is to attack all week and try to do that. To prepare for the next game, which is what we’re doing in this game. There’s “Enough emotion and enough risk in this game… Our guys know, and they’re mature enough to know what’s going to happen if we do. We can continue to have success, but there’s no more important game on our schedule than this game.” – Army coach Jeff Monken’s Black Knights (7-0, 6-0) are ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and are competing for a Group of Five berth in the College Football Playoff and a second straight Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.