# Week 13 and the College Football Playoff race’s top 10 games: USC-Oregon, BYU-Cincy and more
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== Honorable mention: Kansas at Iowa State, Washington State at JMU, Baylor at Arizona, Missouri State at Kennesaw State, Arkansas at No. 17 Texas, Duke at North Carolina, ECU at UTSA, TCU at Houston, No. 20 Tennessee at Florida, North Texas at Rice.
10. Louisville (7-3) at SMU (7-3), Noon, ESPN2
9. No. 18 Michigan (8-2) at Maryland (4-6), 4 p.m., BTN
This game is only here because of what it could set up for next week. If Michigan (without running back Justice Haynes) can manage a road win over Maryland — losers of six straight and without a win since Sept. 20 — it adds a little extra to the rivalry game against Ohio State on Nov. 29. As if it needs it. Could a 10-2 Michigan squad that knocks off the top-ranked, undefeated Buckeyes in the final week of the regular season sneak into an at-large Playoff spot? It all feels a little far-fetched … but not as much as last year’s Wolverines beating the eventual national champions in Columbus.
Line: Michigan -14
8. Kentucky (5-5) at No. 14 Vanderbilt (8-2), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
7. Kansas State (5-5) at No. 12 Utah (8-2), 4 p.m., ESPN2
6. No. 13 Miami (8-2) at Virginia Tech (3-7), Noon, ESPN
The most contentious debate of the CFP rankings has been the disparity between Notre Dame and Miami. The two-loss Irish (who host reeling Syracuse) are at No. 9 in the rankings, four spots ahead of the two-loss Hurricanes, which beat Notre Dame in the season-opener in South Beach. Hunter Yurachek, chair of the CFP selection committee, said the two teams haven’t been close enough in the committee’s rankings to directly compare and consider the head-to-head result, an argument we don’t have the space to properly parse here. But if both Miami and Notre Dame win as expected this weekend, and either Utah, BYU or Alabama loses (the Tide play Eastern Illinois), it could force the committee to finally reckon with a debate it has punted on thus far.
5. No. 24 Tulane (8-2) at Temple (5-5), 3:45 p.m., ESPNU
4. No. 22 Missouri (7-3) at No. 8 Oklahoma (8-2), Noon, ABC
3. Pittsburgh (7-3) at No. 16 Georgia Tech (9-1), 7 p.m., ESPN
This one will either bring a sense of order to the ACC or sprinkle more chaos into the mix. Georgia Tech, playing its final conference game of the season, locks up a spot in the ACC championship with a win, as well as the school’s first 10-win season since 2014. Pitt needs a win to stay in contention and could lend some hope to a few others with a victory. It will have to slow down Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King and the top offense in college football (7.5 yards per play), though Georgia Tech’s close call against Boston College last week — and a defense in the bottom 25 of the FBS — should provide Pitt some encouragement.
2. No. 11 BYU (9-1) at Cincinnati (7-3), 8 p.m., Fox
1. No. 15 USC (8-2) at No. 7 Oregon (9-1), 3:30 p.m., CBS
This one is easily the biggest game of the weekend. Oregon is safely in the field at the moment despite an increasingly flimsy resume. Its best wins — at six-loss Penn State and four-loss Iowa — are no longer as impressive as they seemed in the moment. But the Ducks do have a top-three offense and defense in terms of yards per play and can quiet the doubters with a win against a resilient USC team that boasts the second-rated offense in the FBS. The same opportunity is there for the Trojans, who desperately need this one to have a shot at an at-large bid. A win boosts Oregon to a 93 percent Playoff probability in The Athletic’s projections; an upset would bump USC from 20 percent up to 79 percent. Long live the Pac-12.
