Top-ranked Oregon hosts Stanford in premier game
No. 21 Southern Cal @ No. 17 UCLA, 3:05 p.m., FOX
The two L.A. crosstown rivals meet for the 74th time Saturday with the famed Victory Bell and the Pac-12 South title on the line. Southern Cal has had a disappointing season after being ranked the preseason No. 1. It suffered its third loss two weeks ago at home against Oregon, warming the seat of coach Lane Kiffin. A victory Saturday, however, would salvage the Trojans a division title and a likely rematch with Oregon in the conference championship game, as this is their last conference game before their traditional season-ending showdown with Notre Dame. A UCLA victory would also clinch the Bruins the South crown before their season finale with Stanford. Southern Cal is led by Matt Barkley, who continues to have a strong season at quarterback, throwing to two of the most prolific receivers in college football, Marqise Lee and Robert Woods. The duo has combined for 2,100 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. UCLA has an offense ranked in the Top 25 nationally in points scored. The Bruins are led by freshman quarterback Brett Hundley, who has thrown for 24 touchdowns, but he has also been sacked 31 times, the third most in the NCAA.
NC State @ No. 11 Clemson, 3:30 p.m., ABC
Clemson will look to keep its Atlantic Division title hopes alive Saturday when it hosts the Wolfpack in Death Valley. The Tigers need to win and hope Maryland pulls off an upset at home against Florida State. The ‘Noles hold the head-to-head over the Tigers by virtue of the Seminoles’ win over Clemson in Tallahassee on Sept. 22. Clemson’s offense, led by quarterback Tajh Boyd, running back Andre Ellington and wide receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, averages nearly 43 points a game. After three consecutive games where the Tigers defense gave up more than 30 points, they’ve played four straight games not conceding more than 20 points. The Wolfpack, whose season looked to be on the upswing after upsetting then-No. 3 Florida State on Oct. 6, have dropped games since to mediocre Miami and Virginia teams. In the bottom 10 of the FBS in rushing yards, NC State has struggled to run the ball this season, but it has a capable passer in senior Mike Glennon and a solid receiving core led by Quintin Payton and Bryan Underwood.
No. 23 Texas Tech @ No. 15 Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m.
There figures to be a lot of scoring in this Big 12 battle as two high-powered offenses square off against two mediocre defenses. Oklahoma State is third in the country in points scored and gave then-No. 2 Kansas State a real test two weeks ago before being outscored 44-30. Running back Joseph Randle leads the Big 12 in rushing yards with 1,008. Freshman quarterback J.W. Walsh has thrown for more than 1,450 yards and 10 touchdowns in coach Mike Gundy’s spread offense, sharing snaps about 60-40 this season with another freshman, Wes Lunt, who is out with a concussion. Texas Tech has lost to three ranked teams this season: Texas, Arizona and Kansas State. Senior quarterback Seth Doege has had an impressive season, completing 70 percent of his passes for 3,350 yards and 34 touchdowns. Receivers Eric Ward and Darrin Moore have scored 10 touchdowns each. The winner of this game will take sole possession of fourth place in the Big 12, with a chance to move to third or better in the season’s final two weeks.
No. 13 Oklahoma @ West Virginia, 7 p.m., FOX
Oklahoma will look to keep its Big 12 title hopes alive against a reeling West Virginia team when it visits Morgantown for the first time Saturday. The last time these two teams met was in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, which WVU won 48-28. Once the Heisman frontrunner, quarterback Geno Smith’s season has rapidly deteriorated since Mountaineers beat Texas on Oct. 6. Since then, they’ve lost four straight games to fall to 5-4 after a 5-0 start and dropped to sixth in the Big 12. While Smith and the WVU offense is still having a great season, the Mountaineers’ porous defense has let them down all year, allowing an FBS-worst 41.4 points per game on the season and 49.5 points per game during their current losing streak. Oklahoma still has a lot to play for. Despite losing to two current top-3 teams, Kansas State and Notre Dame, the Sooners could be in position for a BCS at-large bid and are still in the conference title hunt, although they would need KSU to drop both its final games because they beat the Sooners on Sept. 22.
No. 14 Stanford @ No. 1 Oregon, 8 p.m., ABC
The marquee matchup of Week 11 has big implications in both the Pac-12 North and national championship races, as Stanford tries to slow down Oregon’s offense, the top-scoring unit in college football. The Ducks, while superb on offense, have some injury issues on defense. Three defensive linemen were already out last week against Cal, and Oregon lost safety Avery Patterson for the season to a knee injury. The Ducks may even have to look into playing star running back De’Anthony Thomas in the secondary. Stanford’s defense ranks 12th in points against, and its efficient offense, led by star running back Stepfan Taylor, should keep the Cardinal in the game. Oregon’s offense doesn’t figure to be slowing down anytime soon. Freshman quarterback Marcus Mariota has developed from being a good freshman quarterback into one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. Thomas is as good a pass-catching running back as there is in college football, and his backfield mate Kenjon Barner has injected himself into the Heisman race after a career performance at Southern Cal two weeks ago. He has rushed for 19 touchdowns and 1,360 yards on the season.