Northwestern forced to deal with Denard; Clemson hosts BC
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 Texas in Dallas (Saturday at noon on ABC)
While the Big 12's conference expansion soap opera rolls on, the league's premier game will be played Saturday. Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he is OK with there being high stakes as the Sooners square off with Texas in the Red River Shootout.
"If there is pressure on us, I welcome it. We are more than capable of handling it," Stoops told reporters earlier this week. "The pressure is there. Coming into this game, this is what you want. We want to be there getting after it. It's exciting coming into this atmosphere. It's exhilarating. It's something you want to feel. Players are usually more anxious this week in practice."
Texas coach Mack Brown overhauled his coaching staff after a disappointing 5-7 campaign in 2010, so many of his assistants are making their first trek to the annual rivalry game with OU at the State Fair of Texas. Brown said the coaches have been involved in major rivalry games at past stops and will enjoy OU–Texas.
"They will embrace it," Brown told reporters. "I feel like that they will be excited about the challenge. It's a fun week. It is unique for both schools in that it is like a bowl game in midseason, and there's difficulties of coaching the week before it and the week after it. But it's a fun week during it."
Boston College at No. 8 Clemson (Saturday at 3 p.m. on Raycom)
Boston College coach Frank Spaziani see the trip to Death Valley on Saturday as a chance for his struggling Eagles to turn their season around.
"It's always an opportunity to get a win," Spaziani told reporters. "You go down there, they're the eighth-ranked team and on a roll. It's about how you approach it. It's a tremendous challenge. The higher the reward, the more opportunity there is."
Despite its 5-0 record, Clemson won't be sleeping on the 1-4 Eagles. BC defeated the Tigers last fall in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
"Boston College is a typical Boston College team," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters. "They're tough and physical. They're a tough team for us every year.
"They're a team that beat us last year and went on to have a good season. We haven't scored an offensive touchdown against them the last two years. We know we're in for a tough game. They'll come in confident."
Missouri at No. 20 Kansas State (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC)
After a stirring 36-35 victory over Baylor and Heisman candidate Robert Griffin III, K-State finds itself ranked just a week after being unranked. But KSU coach Bill Snyder said he has stressed to his team it can't be satisfied.
"You have to prove yourself every day," Snyder told reporters. "Whatever the media says, whatever the polls say, if you start letting that change the way you prepare yourself, how you live your life, how you do different things, you probably can get yourself in some serious trouble, particularly in athletics. I just want our young guys to understand how they got where they are and not forget how we got to where we are, continue to improve upon where we are and not get sidetracked or distracted or deviate from that path because whatever is said externally."
No. 12 Michigan at Northwestern (Saturday at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network)
The 5-0 Wolverines are finally playing a game away from Ann Arbor, Mich., and coach Brady Hoke said he isn't sure if it will affect his team.
"I don't know if it's different or not. We'll find out," Hoke told reporters. "They're out of ... their security of the Campus Inn. There's a lot of familiarity [at home] with a lot of guys, especially guys who have played a lot of football here. It's all those distractions that are out there that you may not have when you're here."
Northwestern, coming off a heartbreaking loss to Illinois, will be forced to deal with explosive dual threat quarterback Denard Robinson. Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald was very complimentary of Robinson.
"There's no question he's a special player," Fitzgerald told reporters. "Denard's a Heisman Trophy candidate for a reason. He is explosive with his legs; he's made great decisions this year, from what I've seen on tape, with throwing the football. He's a difference-maker no matter when he touches the ball."
Ohio State at No. 14 Nebraska (Saturday at 8 p.m. on ABC)
After being thumped by Wisconsin in the program's first Big Ten game, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said his team's focus this week is pretty simple.
"Us. We need to get better at executing," Pelini told reporters. "Things I thought we needed to make progress on creeped up on us the other night. We just have to keep getting better and keep working. The process continues. There were a lot of things we could have done better, but what is glaring to me is the technique and the fundamental aspects of the game and the lack of execution. We need to be on the same page and do what we need to do.
"There were times when we needed to, bottom line, make plays. When you're in position, you need to make plays."