No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 6 Baylor, 8 p.m. Saturday

Baylor (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) is undefeated, but ranked No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings due to its weak schedule. It begins a stretch of games against ranked opponents when it faces a respectable opponent when No. 12 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1 Big 12) visits Waco, Texas. Baylor’s prolific offense is paced by wide receiver Corey Coleman, who leads the nation with 20 receiving touchdowns.

No. 2 Alabama at No. 17 Mississippi State, 3:30 p.m. Saturday

The Crimson Tide (8-1, 5-1 Southeastern) are rolling after handling then-No. 2 LSU, 30-16, last week. Now, Alabama travels to Starkville, Mississippi, as the newly ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff. The Tide will take on No. 17 Mississippi State, (7-2, 3-2 SEC). The Bulldogs have won four straight games, though only two of those were against conference opponents.

Oregon at No. 7 Stanford, 7:30 p.m. Saturday

For the past half-decade, this game has typically decided the Pac-12 North division champion. That’s not the case this year, as Oregon (6-3, 4-2 Pac-12) visits Stanford as an underdog. The Cardinal (8-1, 7-0 Pac-12) are two games up in the standings, and have gone undefeated after losing its season-opener on the road to No. 18 Northwestern. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey is quietly building a Heisman Trophy case, averaging 6.1 yards per carry on 198 attempts so far this season.

No. 21 Memphis at No. 24 Houston 7 p.m. on Saturday

Memphis (8-1, 4-1 American Athletic) was a dark horse to make the College Football Playoffs up until last week, when the Tigers were blown out by Navy, 45-20. Undefeated Houston (9-0, 5-0 AAC) is ready to replace Memphis as the non-power conference front-runner. Both teams have high-powered offenses, with Houston averaging 43.5 points per game this season, and Memphis tallying 42.5 points per game thus far.

Minnesota at No. 5 Iowa, 8 p.m. Saturday

The Hawkeyes (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have flown under the radar to this point, riding two road wins against top 25 teams to the No. 5 spot in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. In order to reach its best start in school history, Iowa will have to defeat Minnesota (4-5, 1-4 Big Ten). The Golden Gophers have had a rocky season and head coach Jerry Kill stepped down two weeks ago for health reasons. But Minnesota could turn things around with a road victory over No. 5 Iowa.

SUNY Cortland at Ithaca College, 12 p.m. Saturday

In the biggest of central New York football rivalries, Cortland takes on Ithaca in the annual showdown for the Cortaca Jug. It’s the 57th matchup between the two schools, with Ithaca leading the Jug series 34-22. Cortland won last season’s game in dramatic fashion, 23-20, after a botched field goal snap led to an improbable touchdown pass on the game’s final play.

Columbia at Cornell, 1 p.m. Saturday

In a battle of Ivy League basement-dwellers, Cornell (0-8, 0-5 Ivy) travels to Ithaca to take on the Lions (2-6, 1-4 Ivy). Both teams close their seasons the following week, leaving the Big Red just two more opportunities to capture its first victory of the season. In 2014, it was Columbia finishing 0-10 on the year, while Cornell went 1-9.

Published on November 12, 2015 at 10:00 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27