College Football Games To Watch: Week 10

A look at all the non-Notre Dame games I'll be focused in on in week 10 of the college football season

All five Power 5 conferences will be in action this weekend, and there are plenty of games that could impact Notre Dame's ultimate postseason destination beyond just the Irish vs. Clemson matchup.

#23 Michigan Wolverines (1-1) at #13 Indiana Hoosiers (2-0)

Time: 12:00 PM ET
Network: FS1
Line: Michigan -3.5

Michigan looked really good in its season opening win at Minnesota, but all of those positive vibes were destroyed when the Wolverines lost at home to Michigan State in game two. This was the same Michigan State team that was coming off a 38-27 loss to Rutgers. I repeat, they lost to Rutgers, in convincing fashion.

Michigan now hits the road against an Indiana team that is 2-0 to start the season. The Hoosiers are ranked 13th in the AP Poll, but I need to see them beat Michigan before I become a believer and put them in my Top 25.

The Wolverines spanked Indiana in this matchup a year ago (39-14), but the Hoosiers played Michigan tough the previous four seasons. A win over Michigan today would be a huge boost for Indiana from a program reputation standpoint, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt them on the recruiting trail.

A Michigan loss would be disastrous for them … but it would be something a lot of Notre Dame fans would certainly enjoy watching.

Arizona State Sun Devils (0-0) at #20 USC Trojans (0-0)

Time: 12:00 PM ET
Network: Fox
Line: USC -10.5

No, this is not a misprint, this game kicks off at noon eastern time, which means it will start at 9:00 AM on the west coast.

USC made a lot of changes this offseason, and this is the first step towards seeing if the defensive makeover will work. Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels had a strong freshman season, and now he will look to become one of the best signal callers in the league. Arizona State has a potentially potent offense, so the Trojans will certainly be tested.

On offense, I want to see what kind of strides quarterback Kedon Slovis makes for the Trojans. He gets a lot of hype, but were his numbers last season about how good he is, how good his supporting cast is, scheme related or a little bit of all three factors.

#8 Florida Gators (3-1) vs. #5 Georgia Bulldogs (4-1)

Time: 3:30 PM ET
Network: CBS
Line: Georgia -3.0

Who you want to win this game depends on what you want out of the SEC this season. For me, the best bet for a one-loss Notre Dame team to make the College Football Playoff is for there to be only one SEC team with less than two losses. That’s why I think Georgia winning is better for the Irish.

Georgia simply does not have a good enough offense to beat Alabama in a SEC title game rematch, and the Bulldogs also still have to play at Missouri and at South Carolina. I feel a lot better about Georgia taking a L before the CFP committee makes its final four picks.

Florida, on the other hand, plays Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky (at home), Tennessee and LSU (at home) to finish out the season. The Gators also have an offense that could potentially be potent enough to give Alabama a game in the SEC title game, and possibly pull off the upset. A Georgia win knocks Florida out.

#7 Texas A&M Aggies (4-1) at South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4)

Time: 7:00 PM ET
Network: ESPN
Line: TAMU -10.0

Much of my focus in scoreboard watching the SEC has been on the SEC East, but Texas A&M is putting together a quietly good season. After losing to Alabama, the Aggies have defeated Florida, Mississippi State and Arkansas. Neither of its last two wins were aesthetically pleasing, but we all know the committee is going to give a one-loss SEC team a very strong look, even if that team doesn’t play in the title game.

A&M plays three road games to finish the season (at South Carolina, at Tennessee, at Auburn), but they are all winnable games. They have home games against Ole Miss and LSU. Texas A&M hasn’t been impressive enough for me to look at their schedule and chalk all those games up to wins, but the fact is so far the Aggies have been getting the job done.

South Carolina isn’t very good this season, but they weren’t very good in 2019 and beat Georgia, so you just never know. The Gamecocks are also 2-3 and still have to play at Ole Miss, at Kentucky, and at home against Georgia and Missouri. They need to pull off an upset to somewhat salvage their season, and an upset here would certainly be impactful for Notre Dame.

Stanford Cardinal (0-0) at #12 Oregon Ducks (0-0)

Time: 7:30 PM ET
Network: ABC
Line: Oregon -8.5

I don’t think a Pac 12 team should be considered for the CFP, undefeated or not. Think about it, Notre Dame’s schedule thus far (six games) would be all she wrote for the regular season if the Irish were in the Pac 12.

But it appears the Pac 12 will get consideration, and Oregon is a trendy pick to be a CFP contender. I don’t buy it, and we’ll start to see tonight if I’m on to something, or if the Ducks are in fact a team that could run the table in the shortened Pac 12 season.

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