College Football Cheat Sheet: Week 13

The final week of the regular season has arrived. There are still five remaining undefeated teams in the Power Five. There are four more teams with only one loss. The College Football Playoff race is wide open. That should create quite the festive rivalry weekend.

There are numerous trophy games on the slate in Week 13 with more than a handful of games sliding into the Black Friday window to give us quite the card. Bragging rights are at stake. There will be numerous in-game scuffles. Conference championship and playoff berths are on the line.

Let’s have a weekend. KSR’s College Football Cheat Sheet is here a day early to set the table for a very important Thanksgiving weekend.

The SlateNo. 12 Ole Miss at Mississippi State7:30pm ET (Thursday)ESPNNo. 17 Iowa at NebraskaNoon ET (Friday)CBSMemphis at TempleNoon ET (Friday)ESPNMiami at Boston CollegeNoon ET (Friday)ABCOhio at AkronNoon ET (Friday)CBS Sports NetworkTCU at No. 13 OklahomaNoon ET (Friday)FOXToledo at Central MichiganNoon ET (Friday)ESPNUUtah State at New Mexico3:30pm ET (Friday)CBS Sports NetworkUTSA at No. 23 Tulane3:30pm ET (Friday)ABCAir Force at Boise State4:00pm ET (Friday)FS1No. 9 Missouri at Arkansas4:00pm ET (Friday)CBSNo. 11 Penn State vs. Michigan State7:30pm ET (Friday)NBCTexas Tech at No. 7 Texas7:30pm ET (Friday)ABCNo. 16 Oregon State at No. 6 Oregon8:30pm ET (Friday)FOXUConn at UMassNoon ETESPN+No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 MichiganNoon ETFOXMiddle Tennessee at Sam HoustonNoon ETESPN+Houston at UCFNoon ETFS1Indiana at PurdueNoon ETBig Ten NetworkKentucky at No. 10 LouisvilleNoon ETABCMiami (Ohio) at Ball StateNoon ETCBS Sports NetworkNavy at SMUNoon ETESPN2Northern Illinois at Kent StateNoon ETESPN+Pittsburgh at DukeNoon ETACC NetworkTexas A&M at No. 14 LSUNoon ETESPNTroy at Southern MissNoon ETESPNUFlorida Atlantic at Rice1:00pm ETESPN+Georgia State at Old Dominion2:00pm ETESPN+Tulsa at East Carolina2:00pm ETESPN+UAB at North Texas2:00pm ETESPN+Wake Forest at Syracuse2:00pm ETThe CWSan Jose State at UNLV3:00pm ETMountain West NetworkWKU at FIU3:00pm ETESPN+Colorado at Utah3:00pm ETPac-12 NetworkULM at Louisiana3:00pm ETESPN+No. 25 Liberty at UTEP3:30pm ETCBS Sports NetworkNo. 8 Alabama at Auburn3:30pm ETCBSNo. 15 Arizona at Arizona State3:30pm ETESPNArkansas State at Marshall3:30pm ETESPN+BYU at No. 20 Oklahoma State3:30pm ETABCGeorgia Southern at Appalachian State3:30pm ETESPNUJames Madison at Coastal Carolina3:30pm ETESPN2Maryland at Rutgers3:30pm ETBig Ten NetworkNorthwestern at Illinois3:30pm ETBig Ten NetworkVanderbilt at No. 21 Tennessee3:30pm ETSEC NetworkVirginia Tech at Virginia3:30pm ETACC NetworkWisconsin at Minnesota3:30pm ETFS1Jacksonville State at New Mexico State4:00pm ETESPN+Washington State at No. 4 Washington4:00pm ETFOXSouth Alabama at Texas State7:00pm ETNFL NetworkNo. 5 Florida State at Florida7:00pm ETESPNNo. 18 Notre Dame at Stanford7:00pm ETPac-12 NetworkWest Virginia at Baylor7:00pm ETFS1Charlotte at USF7:30pm ETESPNUNo. 24 Clemson at South Carolina7:30pm ETSEC NetworkNo. 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech7:30pm ETABCKansas at Cincinnati7:30pm ETESPN2Iowa State at No. 19 Kansas State8:00pm ETFOXNorth Carolina at No. 22 NC State8:00pm ETACC NetworkWyoming at Nevada9:00pm ETCBS Sports NetworkCalifornia at UCLA10:30pm ETESPNFresno State at San Diego State10:30pm ETFS1Colorado State at Hawai’i11:00pm ETPPVWeek 13 Schedule Top 10 Games

1. No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan
2. No. 5 Florida State at Florida
3. No. 16 Oregon State at No. 6 Oregon
4. UTSA at No. 23 Tulane
5. North Carolina at No. 22 NC State
6. Texas A&M at No. 14 LSU
7. No. 17 Iowa at Nebraska
8. No. 24 Clemson at South Carolina
9. TCU at No. 13 Oklahoma
10. Texas Tech at No. 7 Texas

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The Big Game without Jim Harbaugh

A College Football Playoff play-in game will take place at high noon on Thanksgiving Saturday. Ryan Day ‘s Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0, 8-0) will look to end a two-game losing streak to the Michigan Wolverines (11-0, 8-0). In a battle of top-five unbeatens, the home team will have to knock off its biggest rival without the head coach on the sidelines.

Jim Harbaugh will finish up his three-game suspension on Saturday as offensive line coach Sherrone Moore will once again serve as the game-day head coach for Michigan. That could matter in a big way if this game goes into the fourth quarter undecided.

In a battle with top-five defenses, scoring could be at a premium. Ohio State has the most dangerous player on the field in Marvin Harrison Jr. at wide receiver. However, J.J. McCarthy is the best quarterback in the. The team that gets a star performance from their offensive stars will likely leave The Big House victorious.

However, you cannot belittle the importance of Harbaugh not being on the sidelines in a game of this magnitude. Does that end up burning Michigan?

Backup QB Bowl

Jordan Travis Graham Mertz were both having excellent seasons heading into Week 12. Travis had Florida State in the College Football Playoff hunt, and Mertz might have been the most surprising transfer addition in the SEC this season.

Unfortunately, each was knocked out of the game last week. FSU will have to try to win an ACC title and national championship with a backup quarterback. Florida will need a big home upset to get to bowl eligibility with a backup quarterback taking the snaps.

We will learn a lot more about Tate Rodemaker Max Brown on Saturday night in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Do these two programs have their QB of the future on the roster right now or is an addition needed?

Week 13 will give each a big-time opportunity in a heated rivalry matchup.

An odd Civil War

The best game on Friday night has been put into a prime-time window on FOX when No. 6 Oregon hosts No. 16 Oregon State. The Ducks would lock up a trip to the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win, but this is very much the end of an era.

After this season, Oregon is making the move to the Big Ten, and Oregon State will be left on the west coast with Washington State for a likely conference merger with the Mountain West. Now reports are coming out that Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith is a top target for Michigan State . That could make the stakes higher at Autzen Stadium.

Both the Beavers and the Ducks have top-20 offenses going against defenses that are not juggernauts. We could see some points in bunches on Friday night. We will miss the Civil War if Oregon decides to end the series. Dan Lanning could have more head-to-head battles with Smith in the Big Ten. Savor this matchup in a big spot.

This is yet another sign that the sport of college football is changing in a big way.

You couldn’t keep them out of this spot for long. After one week off, Big Ten West Champ Iowa will be playing for a 10-2 record on the road against Nebraska in the Degenerate under spot. Somehow the Hawkeyes are an underdog.

With a projected final score of 14-11.5, we should expect a ton of punts on Black Friday. The first team to score two touchdowns figures to have a massive advantage in this contest. Heck, one touchdown might be enough to win this Week 13 matchup.

In another game that will be played in the mud, I’m willing to ride with Iowa. Give defensive coordinator Phil Parker the Broyles Award.

— The Egg Bowl is back on Thanksgiving night and will give us a solid alternative to 49ers-Seahawks. Ole Miss can lock up a 10-2 season with a win in Starkville against a Mississippi State program that is currently conducting a coaching search. The Rebels should handle this matchup with ease, but this is a rivalry tends to get off the rails.

— Speaking of a 10-2 record, Missouri could lock up a New Year’s Six bid with a road win on Black Friday over Arkansas. However, the Hogs just announced that head coach Sam Pittman will be getting another season. Will that give the home team an emotional boost in a trophy game?

— The battle of outer space will occur in Orlando when UCF hosts Houston. Does this game have a rocket ship trophy? If not, it needs to get one stat.

— Can Jayden Daniels lock up the Heisman Trophy on Saturday? The LSU quarterback will need a big performance against Texas A&M in a rare noon game at Tiger Stadium. The last few weeks have shown us that head coach Brian Kelly is committed to winning that trophy for Daniels. If the Tigers can run it up they will against an Aggies team currently going through a coaching search.

— Oklahoma State can lock up a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game with a home win over BYU on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater. Mike Gundy should be getting heavy consideration for coach of the year honors. The Pokes have been one of the biggest surprises of the season and could get a chance to knock off both Oklahoma and Texas in the same year before the two bluebloods move to the SEC.