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What to watch, Week 10: Which ranked team is in for a fright?

Graham Watson
What to watch, Week 10: Which ranked team is in for a fright?

It’s almost like the season has started anew.

With the recent release of the College Football Playoff rankings, the race is on to become one of the nation’s top four teams and now every team knows exactly how far they must go to achieve that goal..

The rankings we saw this week will be different next week thanks to several key matchups that pit ranked teams, but it will be interesting to see if the level of play changes now we’re headed down the home stretch.

Here’s what to watch in Week 10:

Game of the week:
No. 3 Auburn at No. 4 Ole Miss, 7 p.m. ET
When the College Football Playoff rankings were announced Tuesday, no one saw this game being a matchup that would knock one team out of playoff contention. Both of these programs already have a loss and can ill-afford another, especially with several one-loss teams nipping at their heels. We already know Auburn’s offense can score, but it’s defense looked suspect against South Carolina last week. Ole Miss looked great on defense in its loss to LSU, but the offense couldn’t score for three quarters and quarterback Bo Wallace let his frustration get the better of him at the end. This game will come down to the fourth quarter.

Game to watch:
No. 7 TCU at No. 20 West Virginia, 3:30 p.m. ET
Like Scoring? Hate defense? Well, this game might be right up your alley. TCU has been the big surprise of the Big 12 with an offense that has rivaled any in the country this season. Quarterback Trevon Boykin has become a legitimate Heisman contender and the Horned Frogs are poised to crash the College Football Playoff. This is exactly where West Virginia wants them. It’s easy to forget West Virginia is in the hunt for a conference title, too, and a win in this game would go a long way toward that goal. West Virginia has already held the two potent offenses it’s faced so far this season — Baylor and Oklahoma — well below their offensive average. Is TCU next?

Also check out…
No. 17 Utah at No. 14 Arizona State, 11 p.m. ET
There’s some bad history between these two teams, especially after Arizona State stormed back from a 19-7 fourth-quarter deficit last season to beat the Utes 20-19. Utah has lost 10 straight to the Sun Devils dating back to 1976, but this team is probably as good as any to break that streak. This game will be all about the Utah defense shutting down quarterback Taylor Kelly and the ASU offense. Last week, the Utes were able to top Cody Kessler and USC and now put themselves in a position to grab at least a share of the Pac-12 South title. Arizona State struggled some with Washington last week and this could be another hotly-contested game. One thing is for sure though, this game is definitely a reason to tune in to Pac 12 After Dark.

Don't waste your time with:
No. 15 Nebraska at Purdue, 3:30 p.m. ET
Why is this game in this section? Well, Purdue has made things interesting this season for some teams, so it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility that it could do the same for the Huskers. The Boilermakers played close with Notre Dame and gave Michigan State fits before the Spartans pulled away. Those games should serve as cautionary tales for the Huskers, and behind Heisman hopeful Ameer Abdullah, they should shut this one down early.

Keep an eye on:
Bo Wallace, QB, Ole Miss
If you listen to the Dr. Saturday podcast, and you should, I expressed concern about some friction between Wallace and coach Hugh Freeze. Why? Well, Freeze threw his QB under the bus (rightfully so) after throwing up an ill-advised pass in the waning seconds of last Saturday’s loss to LSU. Similarly, Wallace not-so-subtly called out his coach for conservative play calling. Look, Wallace has been a changed player this year, but his final play against LSU, his antics toward the crowd during the game and these comments reek of the old Bo Wallace trying to surface. Wallace has helped the Rebels get this far, it would be a shame to see it all fall apart now. Can he be the composed player we’ve seen most of this SEC season against Auburn? Or will the old Bo come back to bite him?

Upset alert:
No. 18 Oklahoma (-16.5) at Iowa State, 12 p.m. ET
Strange things happen in Ames, that is an undeniable fact. While the Cyclones probably won’t win this game outright, this contest has a chance to be a lot closer than people expect. Remember, this is the same Iowa State team that gave Kansas State and Baylor a little bit of a run for their money at home, so don’t expect this game against the Sooners to be any different.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!

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