What to watch: Week 10 college football viewing guide

Let’s be honest: week 10 isn’t meant to be a blast.

Yes, we have a great top-five matchup to start the day in the Big Ten and an unexpectedly crucial ACC matchup to close it out on Saturday. But there’s not much in between. These two games are the only games on Saturday between ranked teams, as many teams in the AP Top 25 are off this weekend.

These are the matches you should pay attention to on Saturday. All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.

Time: afternoon | Television: Fox | Line: Ohio State -3.5 | Total: 45.5

Things seem to be going well for Penn State QB Drew Allar. His status has been in question after he left the first half of Penn State’s win over Wisconsin with a knee injury, but Penn State coach James Franklin provided a positive update after practice Wednesday night.

If Allar can’t go, Beau Pribula would start for the Nittany Lions. No matter who the quarterback is, Saturday’s game is the best test for a new-look Penn State offense that has been terrible against top opponents in 2023. In a 20-12 loss to Ohio State last season, Penn State had just 240 yards and averaged 1.9 yards per carry as Allar was 18 of 42 for 191 yards.

This season, Allar is averaging 14 yards per completion, while Tyler Warren has emerged as the best tight end in college football. Warren has 47 catches for 559 yards and four scores and he also has seven carries for 40 yards and a TD. We’re fascinated to see how Ohio State prepares for Warren.

Ohio State’s offense was in disarray in the second half of its Week 9 win over Nebraska. Yes, the Buckeyes got a 75-yard TD drive in the fourth quarter after Nebraska took a 17-14 lead, but the other complete drives were punt, interception, punt, punt and punt.

The Buckeyes could also play their No. 3 left tackle on Saturday. Zen Michalski was taken off the field in the fourth quarter of the win over Nebraska and appears unlikely to play. Michalski replaced Josh Simmons after Simmons suffered a season-ending ACL tear in Ohio State’s loss to Oregon.

Ohio State moved guard Donovan Jackson to a tackle spot in Michalski’s absence. A week of practice can be very helpful for a shuffled line.

Time: afternoon | TV: ESPN | Line: Ole Miss -7 | Total: 53.5

Ole Miss’s chances of making the College Football Playoff are better than their chances of making the SEC title game.

The Rebels are a virtual lock to reach the playoffs at 10-2. That record would include a win over Georgia next week. But that Georgia game is why this could be a trap game for the Rebels. Especially since another defeat would really hurt their playoff hopes.

Ole Miss had a slow first half a week ago against Oklahoma, but woke up on a 24-yard TD pass from Jaxson Dart to Caden Prieskorn. After scoring at least 40 points in each of its non-conference games, Ole Miss has not scored more than 27 points against an SEC opponent.

For Arkansas, the key is once again turnovers. Yes, we’ve said that before. The Razorbacks turned it over three times in a loss to LSU after beating Tennessee and then had just one turnover in a 58-25 win over SEC bottom-feeder Mississippi State. The Razorbacks have lost multiple times in half of their games this season, and they are 1-3 in those games. The only win came at Auburn, as the Tigers had five of their own.

Arkansas will also likely play without RB Ja’Quinden Jackson. He re-aggravated an ankle injury in the loss to LSU and missed the Mississippi State game. He was listed as out on the Hogs’ injury report on Wednesday.

Time: 3:30 PM | Television: CBS | Line: Oregon-14.5 | Total: 45.5

Is this the biggest game left for the Ducks? Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel is now the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy and he has a chance to surpass Bo Nix’s record for completion percentage with a strong finish to the season.

Nix completed 77.45% of his passes a season ago. This year Gabriel is at 76.2%. The record is probably out of reach, but we can’t rule it out completely.

Oregon hasn’t scored fewer than 31 points against an FBS opponent this season and the only time Michigan has allowed 31 was in the Week 2 loss to Texas. While Gabriel is slicing opponents through the air, Jordan James has 136 carries for 800 yards and eight scores.

A big key to slowing down Gabriel and the Oregon passing attack is Michigan CB Will Johnson. He missed the Wolverines’ win over Michigan State with a lower leg injury and will not play Saturday. Johnson is arguably the best defensive back in football and is at the top of Yahoo Sports’ draft board. He would be a big loss for the Wolverines, as Michigan likely needs a big day on defense.

The Wolverines went back to Davis Warren at QB against the Spartans after Jack Tuttle suffered a concussion and subsequently retired from football this week. Warren was 13 of 19 passing for 123 yards in the win. Overall, Michigan has thrown for just 1,044 yards in eight games. And 23 of those yards came on a TD pass from RB Donovan Edwards.

Time: 7:30 PM | TV: ESPN | Line: Clemson-10.5 | Total: 62.5

Week 10 is a great chance to check out Clemson if you haven’t seen much of the Tigers since their Week 1 loss to Georgia. The offensive improvement was significant.

As a team, Clemson has averaged almost six yards, while Phil Mafah has rushed 105 times for 682 yards and six touchdowns. QB Cade Klubnik is now the No. 5 favorite for the Heisman as he has thrown for 20 touchdowns and rushed for four more. Klubnik is completing 67% of his passes for 1,836 yards and has thrown just two interceptions since the Georgia game.

The receiving corps is deep. Seven different players have at least 10 catches and Antonio Williams leads the team with 28 grabs for 393 yards.

Clemson’s offensive success is bad news for a Louisville defense that played very poorly until a win over Boston College a week ago. The Cardinals allowed 7.6 yards per play to SMU and 7.5 yards per play to Miami. Both matches were losing games. In the win between those games, Virginia gained 5.5 yards per play.

Cardinals QB Tyler Shough has thrown for 2,348 yards through eight games and has 20 TDs and five interceptions. He is in his seventh season of college football and has already set a career high in games played this year. Before 2024, Shough never played in more than seven games in a single season.

Time: 8:00 PM | TV: ACC Network | Line: SMU -7.5 | Total: 58.5

The Panthers got some good news on Wednesday when Pat Narduzzi said QB Eli Holstein could play against the Mustangs. Holstein left Pitt’s big win over Syracuse early due to injury.

SMU is dealing with its own QB injury issues. Kevin Jennings is officially listed as questionable but says he will be ready to go on Saturday after being injured in the fourth quarter of SMU’s OT win over Duke. The Mustangs turned the ball over six times in that win, somehow winning despite Duke not turning the ball over at all.

This is a huge game for the ACC standings, even if you think Clemson and Miami will meet in the title game. The Tigers, Hurricanes, Panthers and Mustangs are all undefeated in the conference thus far, so there will be at most three teams undefeated in the ACC at the end of Week 10.

Other games to watch

Duke at No. 5 Miami (noon, ABC): Manny Diaz revenge game? The current Duke coach and former Miami boss will be on the sidelines for the first time since being fired for current coach Mario Cristobal. However, the Hurricanes are three-win favorites, so this could be over quickly if Duke’s offense can’t keep up with Cam Ward and Co.

Florida vs. No. 2 Georgia (3:30 p.m., ABC): Florida’s battle schedule continues with its annual rivalry game against the Bulldogs. The game is the first of four consecutive games against ranked opponents for the Gators before the regular season finale against Florida State.

No. 10 Texas A&M at South Carolina (7:30 p.m., ABC): The only undefeated team in SEC play is just a 2.5-point favorite against a team that has shown it can play with anyone in the conference. Yes, South Carolina is 2-3 in the SEC, but the Gamecocks have lost to LSU and Alabama by a combined five points.