Guest Post: College Football Marquee Matchups Week 10

Several highly ranked teams lost last weekend which shakes up the BCS standings and the national title picture. The Florida Gators lost to the Georgia Bulldogs, the USC Trojans blew any outside chance they had of making the championship game with a loss to the Arizona Wildcats and the Oregon State Beavers ruined their perfect season by falling to the Washington Huskies. Week 10 offers several top 25 matchups, which should keep college football fans at the edge of their seat. No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies at No. 15 Mississippi State Bulldogs – The Texas A&M Aggies are coming off an impressive 63-21 victory at the hands of the Auburn Tigers last week. Aggie fans were happy to see their team rebound nicely after losing to the LSU Tigers a week before. Against Auburn, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns, continuing his excellent season. The Aggies piled up 352 rushing yards against Auburn. Running back Trey Williams carried the ball 19 times for 109 yards and one touchdown while Manziel added another 90 yards on just nine carries and scored three touchdowns. Christine Michael ran for 75 yards on nine carries as Texas AA&M pretty much had their way with the Auburn rushing defense. Things figure to be much more difficult for the Aggies this week when they travel to Mississippi State to face an upset Bulldogs team. Mississippi State was manhandled by the Alabama Crimson Tide last week by a final score of 38-7. During that game, the Bulldogs failed to sustain any type of offense, and only managed to gain 256 total yards. Quarterback Tyler Russell will be looking to make up for last week’s mediocre performance in which he threw for only 169 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. With Mississippi State still alive to win the SEC West, Texas A&M should expect their best effort this Saturday afternoon. No. 4 Oregon Ducks at No. 17 USC Trojans – The Oregon Ducks continue to destroy their opponents yet still find themselves outside of the top two in the BCS rankings. Last Saturday, the Oregon Ducks had their way with an overmatched Colorado Buffaloes team, beating Colorado by a final score of 70-14. The game was virtually over at halftime as the Ducks built a 56-0 lead. De’Anthony Thomas ran for 97 yards on just five carries while Kenjon Barner added another 104 yards on nine carries. Oregon managed to gain 617 yards of total offense in the game, including an astonishing 425 rushing yards. The USC Trojans will certainly have their hands full when they face this high flying Oregon Ducks offensive attack this Saturday night. The USC Trojans entered the 2012 college football season with a lot of expectations surrounding their program. Not only were the Trojans expected to win the Pac 12 conference, but the team was also expected to boast the Heisman trophy winner while playing for the national championship. After an early season loss to the Stanford Cardinal and a loss last week to the Arizona Wildcats, the Trojans have no shot of playing for the national championship. However, if USC can win the rest of their games, they will represent the Pac 12 South in the conference championship game, and could salvage some of their season. If last week’s game against the Arizona Wildcats was any indication of how the USC defense will handle a spread offense, the Trojans may be in for a very long Saturday. Arizona piled up 588 total yards last Saturday, including 369 yards through the air. USC will have to focus on providing a much better defensive effort if the Trojans have any hope of keeping up with Oregon. Also, USC committed 13 penalties for 117 yards last week against the Wildcats. Through nine weeks, the USC Trojans are the most penalized team in the country, averaging 10.4 penalties per game for 84.6 yards. Penalties are something you cannot commit when playing the Oregon Ducks. USC will have to make a concerted effort to cut down on their penalties in this game if they want to win. No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 5 LSU Tigers – The Alabama Crimson Tide will take their perfect record and number one ranking on the road to Tiger Stadium to play the LSU Tigers in a pivotal SEC West showdown. These two longtime rivals have played numerous big games over the years, and this year’s contest is just another addition to the storied rivalry. Alabama is coming off a convincing 38-7 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in which their defense held Mississippi State to just 256 yards of total offense. Seeing as how the LSU Tigers have struggled offensively all season long, the Crimson Tide defense should have another good game this Saturday night. Quarterback A.J. McCarron was highly effective against Mississippi State, throwing for 208 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He will need to have another good game if the Crimson Tide hope to escape Baton Rouge, LA with a win. The LSU Tigers are coming off of a bye week and will be well rested for their showdown with Alabama. After losing to the Florida Gators 14-6 back on October 6th, the LSU Tigers have won two straight games and are back in the SEC West race. A win over Alabama will help put LSU on the path to represent the West division in the SEC championship game. Running back Jeremy Hill had an excellent game the last time the Tigers were on the field against Texas A&M running for 127 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. LSU will rely on Hill to carry the offensive load this week as quarterback Zach Mettenberger continues to struggle passing the ball. No. 24 Oklahoma State Cowboys at No. 2 Kansas State Wildcats – The Kansas State Wildcats jumped up to No. 2 in the BCS poll after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders last weekend by a final score of 55-24. It was the second consecutive week the Wildcats scored 55 points in a victory over a ranked opponent. While the final score was a blowout, the game was actually closer than the score may indicate. Kansas State led 13-10 at halftime but outscored the Red Raiders 42-14 in the second half. Collin Klein continued his bid for a Heisman trophy by throwing for 233 yards and two touchdowns as well as running for another 83 yards and two scores. Klein will need to have another big game against Oklahoma State if the Wildcats want to extend their magical season. Oklahoma State is coming off an impressive victory of their own, defeating the TCU Horned Frogs 36-14 last weekend. With just one conference loss, the Oklahoma State Cowboys are still in the thick of the Big 12 race. A win over the Kansas State Wildcats would put the Cowboys in the driver’s seat to win the Big 12 and represent the conference in a BCS bowl game. By Don Phan - Just another sports enthusiast.