College football Week 10: The 10 best games this week

It’s November and we’re in week 10 of the college football season, which means the stretch run begins this weekend.

The games this week aren’t as good as last week’s, but there still are matchups that will help determine division races/league races in the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Mountain West.

Here are the 10 best games of Week 10. All games are Saturday, and all times are Eastern.

10. Oregon (7-1) at Washington (4-4)

Time/TV: 7:30 p.m., ABC
The buzz: As nasty as the Oregon-Oregon State and Washington-Washington State series are, this is the best rivalry in the Pacific Northwest; this will be the 113^th meeting. As mediocre (or, at times, flat-out bad) as Washington has been this season, an upset of the Ducks means the Huskies would be tied for the Pac-12 North lead. The Huskies’ rushing attack has showed some periodic signs of life, especially the season-high 229-yard performance in this past Saturday’s win over Stanford. (And remember that Stanford beat Oregon.) Still, U-Dub’s run defense has been shaky all season, and that bodes ill against the Ducks. Oregon obviously has to win to keep its Playoff hopes alive, and unless the Ducks turn it over three or four times, they should win. The Ducks have a plus-8 turnover margin.

9. Tennessee (4-4) at Kentucky (6-2)

Time/TV: 7 p.m., ESPN2
The buzz: The Wildcats are coming off a loss to Mississippi State that put a big hurt on their hopes for a New Year’s Six bid. Another loss would end those hopes. UK has rushed for just 117 yards in its past two games and desperately needs to get RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. back on track. Vols QB Hendon Hooker is going to stress UK’s defense, which has allowed at least 400 yards in three consecutive games. UK’s secondary has been spotty this season, and the Vols have the ability to hit a few chunk plays through the air each game. Keeping Hooker under wraps on the ground has to be the top priority for the Wildcats’ defense, though.

8. Baylor (7-1) at TCU (3-5)

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m., Fox
The buzz: This will be TCU’s first game without Gary Patterson as coach since 2000. Baylor has been one of the nation’s biggest surprises and is squarely in the hunt for the Big 12 title; TCU, meanwhile, has been one of the biggest disappointments in the Big 12. Led by Abram Smith, who is averaging 112.3 yards per game, Baylor is a run-first team. TCU’s run defense is bad; the Horned Frogs are allowing 5.3 yards per rush and have surrendered 19 rushing TDs. They also have allowed at least 29 points in all five league games.

7. Liberty (7-2) at Ole Miss (6-2)

Time/TV: Noon, SEC Network
The buzz: Just call it the “Hugh Freeze Bowl.” (Oh, my, the potential for “commemorative” T-shirts for this one are enormous.) This likely will be a tough game for the Rebels, who lost this past weekend at Auburn and play host to Texas A&M next weekend. Liberty hasn’t been as good as expected; the Flames have lost to Syracuse and ULM, and their run defense is shaky, which is not good with Ole Miss next. But the Rebels’ defense figures to be tested by Liberty dual-threat QB Malik Willis. Ole Miss QB Matt Corral should put up big numbers, too.

6. Boise State (4-4) at Fresno State (7-2)

Time/TV: 7 p.m., CBS Sports Network
The buzz: Fresno State is coming off a victory over San Diego State and is ranked 25^th this week. Fresno State is in a three-way tie for the West Division lead in the Mountain West, but the Bulldogs own the tiebreaker over both SDSU and Nevada. Boise State, meanwhile, is a game back in the Mountain Division, but the Broncos beat division leader Utah State handily; given Utah State’s less-than-stellar remaining opposition, Boise’s hopes for taking the division title mean winning out and hoping the Aggies are upset once. While Fresno prefers the pass to the run, Boise’s rush defense has been mediocre, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Bulldogs decide to attack. Fresno State’s Jake Haener is seventh nationally with 23 TD passes.

5. Mississippi State (5-3) at Arkansas (5-3)

Time/TV: 4 p.m., SEC Network
The buzz: Arkansas looked to be the surprise team in the SEC West early in the season; of late, though, Mississippi State has taken that moniker. The Bulldogs are coming off an impressive victory over Kentucky and also own a win over Texas A&M. Still, Mississippi State also has games remaining against Auburn and Ole Miss, so a .500 finish is a distinct possibility. Arkansas is second in the league in rushing, but Mississippi State has been surprisingly stout against the run, allowing only 89.6 yards per game and four total touchdowns. Arkansas has allowed just five TD passes, and figure on Arkansas DC Barry Odom almost always dropping eight into coverage.

4. Wake Forest (8-0) at North Carolina (4-4)

Time/TV: Noon, ABC
The buzz: Wake Forest is the only unbeaten team in the ACC overall and in league play — but even if it loses this, it still would be unbeaten in the league. That’s because this season, this is a non-conference game. This will be the 109^th meeting overall, but these teams are not in the same division in the ACC, so they no longer play annually. This should be a high-level quarterback matchup between Wake’s Sam Hartman (335.4 yards of total offense per game) and UNC’s Sam Howell (348.5 ypg). Both should be expected to put up big numbers because neither defense is that good — UNC surrenders 396.6 yards per game and Wake gives up 421.6 yards per game. The Tar Heels have allowed at least 35 points five times, including three consecutive games; the Demon Deacons have given up at least 34 three times.

3. Oklahoma State (7-1) at West Virginia (4-4)

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m., ESPN
The buzz: WVU looked dead in the water, but has won two in a row and is coming off a home upset of Iowa State that basically eliminated the Cyclones from Big 12 title competition. Iowa State beat Oklahoma State two weeks ago, and another Cowboys loss might basically eliminate them from the league race, too. WVU RB Leddie Brown has rushed for 220 yards and five TDs in the past two games; the Cowboys have been sterling against the run all season and that needs to continue. Oklahoma State has relied heavily on RB Jaylen Warren, a Utah State transfer. WVU’s run defense has been shaky the past three weeks, which means the Mountaineers likely get a steady dose of Warren.

2. Michigan State (8-0) at Purdue (5-3)

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m., ABC
The buzz: The Spartans are coming off an emotional victory over Michigan and need to guard against a big letdown. Purdue, which upset then-No. 2 Iowa a few weeks ago, is solid defensively, and only Wisconsin has been effective on the ground against the Boilermakers. Can Purdue slow Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III? Despite its unbeaten record, Michigan State has been mediocre defensively, and the Spartans’ secondary figures to have trouble with Boilermakers WR David Bell and TE Payne Durham. If you’re Michigan State, no way can you allow yourself to lose to Purdue after you’ve beaten Michigan. Michigan State has won eight in a row in this series, but the teams haven’t played since 2018 and the first game in the current streak was in 2007.

1. Auburn (6-2) at Texas A&M (6-2)

Time/TV: 3:30 p.m., CBS
The buzz: Both are alive in the SEC West race, but Auburn (3-1 in the league) is in better shape than A&M, which has two division losses. Auburn actually is tied with Alabama in the loss column. The Tigers are coming off maybe their best win of the season, a 31-20 victory over Ole Miss in which Auburn both ran effectively and stymied Ole Miss’ rushing attack. One problem for the Tigers: A&M’s defense is much better (and much more physical) than the Rebels’. One positive for the Tigers: The Rebels’ offense is better than the Aggies’. A&M needs to run effectively to win this, so keep an eye on how well the Tigers fare against Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane, who have a combined 1,369 yards and 10 TDs on the ground. The same goes for Auburn: The Tigers need to run effectively to win, so keep an eye on how the Aggies fare against RBs Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter and QB Bo Nix; they’ve rushed for a combined 1,385 yards and 14 TDs.