Georgia Tech at #8 Clemson – Thursday, 11/14 7:30 pm EST, ESPN
Georgia Tech and Clemson is one of the more underrated rivalries in the southeast over the past decade. After first meeting in 1898, the two schools, separated by just a 120 mile stretch of I-85, have met 78 times with Tech holding a 50-26-2 edge. Since 2001, the rivals have split the regular season match ups at six a piece with GT winning a ACC Championship matchup in 2009. This year it’s a matchup of two teams that are complete opposites. While both teams feature top 20 offenses, Clemson relies on the 10th best passing attack in the nation and Georgia Tech leans on the 7th best rushing attack in the nation. Clemson struggles some against the run and Georgia Tech has a real hard time stopping teams in the air. The Tigers feature the better overall defense, though. If Georgia Tech wins, they remain alive in the Coastal division while a loss allows Duke to control their own destiny.
#25 Georgia at #7 Auburn – Saturday, 11/16 3:30 pm EST, CBS
The “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” takes place for the 117th time with the series tied 54-54-8. Lately, however, Georgia has dominated the rivalry winning 6 out of the last 7 with the last two meetings being Bulldog blowouts to the tune of 83-7. Auburn comes in to this one as the higher ranked team with a lot still to play for. The Tigers have made a remarkable turn around under first year head coach Gus Malzahn, especially on the offensive side of the ball. A run first team that averages an NCAA 3rd best 320 yards per game on the ground, Auburn will give a decent Georgia defense a tough task. The Tigers have three capable backs that can beat you led by 1,000 yard rusher Tre Mason. Quarterback Nick Marshall won’t beat you through the air much, but he’s run the spread option offense well this year and has 734 yards rushing himself. Georgia has received a much needed boost with the return of running back Todd Gurley and that is music to Georiga fans, and Aaron Murray’s ears. Both teams defenses can give up points, but Auburn seems to be better equipped to win a possible shootout.
#23 Miami at Duke – Saturday, 11/16 3:30 pm EST, ESPNU
A massive game in the ACC Coastal division as Duke and Miami face off in a pivotal game I n the race to the ACC Championship. After an undefeated start and Top 10 ranking, Miami has watched their season begin to unravel. Not only have they dropped their last two games to Florida State and Virginia Tech, they also lost their top offensive weapon in Duke Johnson to injury. The Hurricanes still possess enough playmakers in wide receivers Stacy Coley and Allen Hurns to give Duke defense lots of trouble. The big question will be the Hurricanes motivation, which has lacked on occasion in the last several years. Duke has a good enough team, with enough on offense, to upset the Canes. That becomes especially true if the Blue Devils are able to take advantage of opportunities like they have against Virginia Tech a couple weeks ago and NC State last Saturday. In the VT matchup, despite going 0-11 on 3rd down and being out gained 387-198, Duke was able to take advantage of four Logan Thomas interceptions and come away with the victory. While it won’t take that quite of meltdown for the Blue Devils to compete, they will need to take advantage of their opportunities when they arise.
Texas Tech at #5 Baylor – Saturday, 11/16 7:00 pm EST, FOX
Baylor continues their trek through the toughest part of the schedule hosting Texas Tech this weekend. The Bear potent offense that was averaging 63 points per game and over 700 yards was brought back down to earth a bit by Oklahoma last week. Against a good Oklahoma defense, Baylor finished with 459 yards and 41 points. The Red Raiders (86th S&P+ Defense) don’t have near the defense that Oklahoma (30th S&P+ Defense) does, but Texas Tech features a more explosive offense. The only hope Texas Tech really has is being able to match Baylor in a shoot out. However, despite being completely overshadowed by the offense, Baylor features a pretty good defense that should be able to get more stops than the Red Raider defense.
#4 Stanford at USC – Saturday, 11/16 8:00 pm EST, ABC
Stanford’s prize for knocking off #2 Oregon last Thursday night? A trip to Los Angeles to face a resurgent USC squad. After limping through the first half of the season at 4-3 and seeing head coach Lane Kiffin fired, USC has played much better ball the last 3 weeks, particularly on offense. That will be a much harder task against an excellent Stanford defense, however. The Cardinal physically dominated and shut down one of the most prolific offenses in the country last week in Oregon and certainly has the players and scheme to give USC fits. On the other side of the ball, however, Stanford will probably find a bit more trouble. They were able to pound away at a smaller Oregon front 7, but USC is much more stout against the run, even though they’re not much bigger. The Trojans give up just 112 yards per game on the ground at just a 3.62 yard per rush clip. Both of those stats rank among the Top 20-30 in the nation. If USC can slow the Stanford run game then they should have a good shot at the upset.