College Football Cheat Sheet: Week 10

September and October are over. That means the first playoff push in the 12-team tournament era starts now. Championships are not won in November, but the results from this month will put the pieces in place for the postseason. The drive to the most anticipated December in college football history begins now.

KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet is back to set the table. Full schedule, top games, matchups to watch, and much more.

Let’s football.

The Slate

Georgia State at UConn	7:00pm ET (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
South Florida at Florida Atlantic	7:30pm ET (Friday)	ESPN2
San Diego State at No. 15 Boise State	8:00pm ET (Friday)	FS1
Air Force at No. 21 Army	Noon ET	CBS
Virginia Tech at Syracuse	Noon ET	The CW
Toledo at Eastern Michigan	Noon ET	ESPNU
Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois	Noon ET	FS1
Memphis at UTSA	Noon ET	ESPN2
Buffalo at Akron	Noon ET	CBS Sports Network
Stanford at NC State	Noon ET	ACC Network
Duke at No. 5 Miami	Noon ET	ABC
No. 19 Ole Miss at Arkansas	Noon ET	ESPN
No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State	Noon ET	FOX
Northwestern at Purdue	Noon ET	Big Ten Network
Vanderbilt at Auburn	12:45pm ET	SEC Network
Maine at Oklahoma	2:30pm ET	ESPN+
Tulsa at UAB	2:30pm ET	ESPN+
Old Dominion at Appalachian State	2:30pm ET	ESPN+
ULM at Marshall	3:30pm ET	ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at UTEP	3:30pm ET	CBS Sports Network
Texas Tech at No. 11 Iowa State	3:30pm ET	ESPN
No. 17 Kansas State at Houston	3:30pm ET	FOX
Arizona at UCF	3:30pm ET	FS1
North Carolina at Florida State	3:30pm ET	ACC Network
Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia (Jacksonville)	3:30pm ET	ABC
UCLA at Nebraska	3:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
No. 13 Indiana at Michigan State	3:30pm ET	Peacock
No. 1 Oregon at Michigan	3:30pm ET	CBS
Navy at Rice	4:00pm ET	ESPN2
Wyoming at New Mexico	4:00pm ET	TruTV
Coastal Carolina at Troy	4:00pm ET	ESPN+
UMass at Mississippi State	4:15pm ET	SEC Network
Hawaii at Fresno State	7:00pm ET	PPV
Arizona State at Oklahoma State	7:00pm ET	FOX
USC at Washington	7:30pm ET	Big Ten Network
Wisconsin at Iowa	7:30pm ET	NBC
No. 10 Texas A&M at South Carolina	7:30pm ET	ABC
Louisville at No. 11 Clemson	7:30pm ET	ESPN
Georgia Southern at South Alabama	7:30pm ET	ESPNU
Kentucky at No. 7 Tennessee	7:45pm ET	SEC Network
No. 18 Pittsburgh at No. 20 SMU	8:00pm ET	ACC Network
TCU at Baylor	8:00pm ET	ESPN2
Colorado State at Nevada	8:00pm ET	CBS Sports Network

Top Games

1. No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State
2. No. 18 Pittsburgh at No. 20 SMU
3. No. 19 Ole Miss at Arkansas
4. No. 1 Oregon at Michigan
5. Louisville at No. 11 Clemson
6. No. 10 Texas A&M at South Carolina
7. Duke at No. 5 Miami
8. Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia
9. Wisconsin at Iowa
10. Minnesota at No. 24 Illinois

College Football Gambling Corner

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— Luckett’s Locks: Remember November

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Is Penn State playing with house money?

Ohio State will travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State in a top-five matchup and the biggest game of the Week 10 card. The contest could be an eliminator in the Big Ten title race, but it could also serve as a playoff preview.

The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions might not play each other in December or January, but they can both make the field and probably will make the field as long as they do not lose more than two games. This is no longer an all-in matchup. That’s probably a good thing for the home team because Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is currently dealing with a knee injury entering this matchup.

This contest is an example of the new college football model in 2024. The November game doesn’t have the big stakes it used to, but there are still some stakes, and the game at Beaver Stadium could tell us where each top-10 team sits. Ohio State has more to lose after dropping a road game to Oregon, while a home loss wouldn’t hurt Penn State’s resume much.

Playoff seeding and a conference title are on the line, but both of these teams will have an at-large case no matter the winner/loser. The winner will have an inside track to the postseason. Penn State has more wiggle room, and that’s a change from previous meetings where the Nittany Lions were in a must-win situation.

A true eliminator in the ACC

Ohio State and Penn State could both get into the postseason field. The same is not true for Pittsburgh and SMU. We’ve got an eliminator game in the ACC.

Pitt (7-0, 3-0) has won three games by one score and gets Clemson at home in Week 12. The path to the playoff is there, but the Panthers need a quality win over another top 25 team. That could happen this Saturday.

SMU (7-1, 4-0) has a close home loss to BYU on its resume, but that is not hurting the Mustangs much. Rhett Lashlee‘s team survived a scare at Duke last week but has a soft close to the season (Boston College, at Virginia, California). The Mustangs must win this game to have a chance to make the field.

The winner will be a true College Football Playoff contender to close the season. The loser will have to go play a bowl game after a great season and likely become one of the first teams left out of the field.

A massive game for both programs.

Checking in on Ole Miss

It was playoff or bust for Ole Miss (6-2, 2-2) this season. The Rebels are a loss away from that coming off the table. The week before a huge home game against Georgia will feature a road trip to Arkansas to face a team that is much better than expected.

The Hogs have been great underdogs under Sam Pittman and will look to pull off another upset on Saturday afternoon. This season will likely go down as a disappointment as the Rebels, but the season going bust before that Georgia game arrived would be something no one saw coming.

Arkansas can ruin a season this weekend.

The rest of the college football card

— Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-1) has quietly won three consecutive ACC games by double-digits, and a road win over Syracuse would create a huge game against Clemson next week in Blacksburg. The Hokies are still alive in this conference title race. Brent Key’s team would create quite the stage in Lane Stadium with a win on the road.

— Miami (8-0, 4-0) will welcome Manny Diaz back in the noon window when the Canes host Duke (6-2, 2-2). The Blue Devils do not have enough offense to win this game, but this will be the best defense that Cam Ward and this high-octane offense has seen this season. However, the postgame handshake between Diaz and Mario Cristobal might be the most interesting storyline in this game.

— Unranked Minnesota (5-3, 3-2) is laying points on the road against ranked Illinois (6-2, 3-2). The Gophers have put three consecutive conference victories together and could make some noise in November with a win in Champaign. Meanwhile, a 10-2 finish is very possible for the Illini with a win.

— Auburn (3-5, 1-4) will have a chance to get revenge on Diego Pavia when the Tigers host Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2) at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Hugh Freeze has seen this New Mexico State/Vanderbilt offense twice and has yet to slow it down. Does that change on the Plains this weekend?

— The Cocktail Party will add another chapter on Saturday afternoon when Georgia (6-1, 4-1) and Florida (4-3, 2-2) meet again. The Bulldogs have reached 30 points in every game but one this season, and that is unlikely to change. The real storyline to watch is how five-star true freshman quarterback DJ Lagway performs in his second career start. A big performance might be the first big step in Billy Napier returning to Gainesville in 2025.

— Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0) hits the road after the big home win over LSU to face a rested South Carolina (4-3, 2-3) squad. The Gamecocks have a ferocious pass rush, but A&M’s run-first offense could give the Gamecocks some challenges. The Aggies have the inside track to an SEC Championship Game berth with another conference victory.

— Louisville (5-3, 3-2) is out of the ACC title race unless pure chaos arrives in November, but the Cards will get a chance to play spoiler this weekend. Clemson (6-1, 5-0) has won every game by at least 16 points since the season-opening loss to Georgia and is now all the way up to No. 6 in points per drive. We could get a shootout in Death Valley.