Week 14 and the CFP race’s high 10 video games: Texas-Texas A&M, Michigan-Ohio State and extra

This is school soccer, unleaded. Black Friday video games. Rivalry week. Conference championships and College Football Playoff bids on the road. Maybe we would have liked final week’s lackluster slate to mentally and bodily put together us for the feast that awaits. Either means, the ultimate weekend of the common season ought to be an absolute banger, which is one thing we are able to all be pleased about.

Here are the highest 10 video games of Week 14 and the CFP image, beginning with a number of honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable Mention: Navy at Memphis (Thu.), No. 13 Utah at Kansas (Fri.), Iowa at Nebraska (Fri.), Temple at North Texas (Fri.), No. 25 Arizona at No. 20 Arizona State (Fri.), Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State, LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma, James Madison at Coastal Carolina, No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford.

(All level spreads are courtesy BetMGM. All kickoff instances are Eastern and on Saturday except in any other case famous.)

10. No. 21 SMU (8-3) at Cal (6-5), 8 p.m., ESPN

That’s proper, a basic ACC rivalry between Southern Methodist and California. But we’re coping with the ACC chaos first, and what this matchup lacks in historical past, it makes up for with CFP stakes. SMU clinches a spot within the ACC Championship Game with a win over the Bears, who fired head coach Justin Wilcox on Sunday. The Mustangs at present have the perfect odds amongst ACC colleges in The Athletic’s Playoff projection mannequin at 48 %, however they must win the convention title to get there.

Line: SMU -11.5

9. Virginia Tech (3-8) at No. 18 Virginia (9-2), 7 p.m., ESPN

At least there’s some historical past on this one, a Commonwealth Clash that can even form the ACC title sport. Like SMU, Virginia locks down a berth with a victory. The Hoos are coming off an idle week to face a Hokies program that has misplaced three straight and is far more targeted on the long run below the lately employed James Franklin. But Virginia has solely crushed its in-state rival twice within the final 21 years. A victory would safe Virginia’s second 10-win season in program historical past and first since 1989, and ship the Cavaliers to the ACC championship for the primary time since 2019, once they misplaced to Clemson.

Line: Virginia -10.5

8. No. 12 Miami (9-2) at No. 22 Pitt (8-3), Noon, ABC

Miami stays locked out of an at-large spot, and a win at freshly ranked Pitt in all probability gained’t be sufficient to alter that by itself. The Hurricanes nonetheless have a path to the ACC championship as nicely, nevertheless it requires SMU and/or Virginia (and possibly Duke) dropping. It’s an analogous state of affairs for the Panthers, who can sneak into the title sport with a win and a loss by both the Mustangs or Cavaliers. Either means, each of those groups nonetheless have one thing to play for. And for Miami, a victory would cement the talk in opposition to Notre Dame as one of many defining arguments of this 12 months’s Playoff area — even when the Canes wind up on the quick finish of it.

Line: Miami -6.5

7. No. 6 Oregon (10-1) at Washington (8-3), 3:30 p.m., CBS

A possible must-win for the Ducks, who’re a lock for the Playoff with a win however might be liable to tumbling with a shock loss to their outdated Pac-12 nemesis. The superior metrics adore Oregon, and the group largely passes the attention check, with a convincing victory over USC final week offering a much-needed enhance to the resume. The Ducks have an 84 % probability to succeed in the CFP in The Athletic’s projections, however Dan Lanning and his gamers will breathe so much simpler if they will handle enterprise in opposition to a Washington squad that rebounded from a stunning loss to Wisconsin with back-to-back blowout wins.

Line: Oregon -6.5

6. No. 7 Ole Miss (10-1) at Mississippi State (5-6), Fri., Noon, ABC

The Rebels are within the Playoff with an Egg Bowl win in Starkville, and so they’re nonetheless alive within the SEC race if Alabama and Texas A&M each lose. This matchup is among the most intense, animosity-fueled rivalries in school soccer, but a lot of the eye on this Black Friday sport might be targeted on the Lane Kiffin sweepstakes, with the Ole Miss athletic director stating a choice on the coach’s future is anticipated someday this weekend. The rising sentiment appears to be that Kiffin will go away for both LSU or Florida, establishing a doubtlessly unprecedented teaching departure for a Playoff group. It might be fascinating to see what impression, if any, the noise has on Ole Miss’s efficiency.

Line: Ole Miss -7.5

5. No. 4 Georgia (10-1) vs No. 23 Georgia Tech (9-2), Fri., 3:30 p.m., ABC

It appears unattainable that this version of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate may stay as much as final season’s eight-overtime prompt basic, nevertheless it stays a must-see rivalry, significantly when each side are ranked for less than the twelfth time in 119 matchups and for the primary time since 2014. Georgia Tech’s loss to Pitt last week probably scuttled the Yellow Jackets’ hopes of enjoying for an ACC title and making the Playoff, however every of those groups nonetheless have situations to succeed in their convention championship video games. The Bulldogs nonetheless have CFP seeding issues on the road as nicely, and even when Tech’s Playoff hopes are in all probability dashed, and although the sport is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as an alternative of Bobby Dodd Stadium, Tech can nonetheless shake up the rankings with its first rivalry win since 2016.

Line: Georgia -13

4. No. 10 Alabama (9-2) at Auburn (5-6), 7:30 p.m., ABC

It’s win-and-in for Alabama, for each the SEC Championship Game and the 12-team Playoff. The Tide are at present simply above the CFP lower line, claiming the ultimate at-large spot. An Iron Bowl victory ought to be sufficient to safe a Playoff spot it doesn’t matter what occurs within the SEC championship, although each group under Alabama within the rankings is rooting for a misstep that will drop the Tide and crack open the at-large door. It will take fairly the stunner from Auburn, which has misplaced six of its final seven in opposition to convention opponents, is enjoying below an interim head coach and hasn’t crushed Bama since 2019, however the Tigers are at dwelling and fewer than a landing underdog.

Line: Alabama -6

3. No. 14 Vanderbilt (9-2) at No. 19 Tennessee (8-3), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

It’s the largest sport within the historical past of this rivalry. The 119th assembly between Vanderbilt and Tennessee is the primary wherein each groups are ranked, with Vandy nonetheless within the Playoff hunt. The Commodores and Heisman hopeful quarterback Diego Pavia want a highway upset and a few assist to sneak into the CFP, whereas the Vols are on the lookout for a seventh straight victory over their in-state foe. Vanderbilt has only a 29 % probability of reaching the CFP, however whatever the Playoff consequence, this system can be looking for its first 10-win season in class historical past.

Line: Tennessee -2.5

2. No. 3 Texas A&M (11-0) at No. 16 Texas (8-3), Fri., 7:30 p.m., ABC

The Aggies, already a shoo-in for the CFP, will go to the SEC Championship Game with a win on Black Friday. A victory would additionally put a bow on this system’s first undefeated common season since 1994, when A&M was within the Southwest Conference, although that 12 months featured a tie and bans from the convention title, postseason and tv as a result of NCAA sanctions. The program’s final undefeated season with no ties was 1939. The Longhorns are a CFP longshot even with an upset, however they will spoil the Aggies’ good season and doubtlessly knock them out of the convention title sport. Quarterback Arch Manning is coming off his greatest sport of the season, a six-total-touchdown efficiency in a win over Arkansas.

Line: Texas A&M -2.5

1. No. 1 Ohio State (11-0) at No. 15 Michigan (9-2), Noon, Fox

The high spot has to go to The Game. Michigan has gained 4 in a row, and final 12 months’s upset in Columbus proved that something and every part is on the desk on this rivalry. Here we’re once more, with an Ohio State group ranked No. 1 and a double-digit favourite, however with the specter of 4 straight losses hanging over them. Now they need to go on the highway, in opposition to a peaking Michigan group that would doubtlessly play its means into the CFP and the Big Ten title sport if it extends the streak to 5. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes hope to get their two stud receivers again and are headed again to the Playoff it doesn’t matter what, and this system exorcised lots of demons with that nationwide championship run final season. But there’s nonetheless one left to conquer.

Line: Ohio State -10