Ian Boyd's blog

There's a lot on the line in terms of bowl berths and postseason fates, but most likely this weekend will determine whether Ohio State or Oklahoma can lay claim to the last spot in the Playoff.

It's Rivalry Week in college football -- and the biggest rivalry game in the land will see Dwayne Haskins and Ohio State battle Michigan, with a berth in the Big 10 title game and (likely) a shot in the Playoff on the line.

Hope you have access to the Longhorn Network; it's the only place to watch Hakeem Butler and the Iowa State Cyclones take on Texas in a key Big 12 matchup that's the most important game of the week. Other key games include Notre Dame-Syracuse, West Virginia-Oklahoma State, and Central Florida-Cincinnati.

Kyler Murray squaring off with Justice Hill in Bedlam is the headline rivalry game of the week, while other major games include Ohio State-Michigan State, Penn State-Wisconsin, and Texas-Texas Tech.

Yes, Georgia-Kentucky, West Virginia-Texas, and Penn State-Michigan are all critical conference matchups. But all eyes will be on Baton Rouge, where the Alabama Crimson Tide face their first stiff test this season against Joe Burrow and LSU.

Georgia! Florida! The world's largest outdoor cocktail party! And other games.

Saturday's biggest game has Nick Fitzgerald and the Mississippi State Bulldogs squaring off against LSU. Other notable matchups include Michigan-Michigan State, Oklahoma-TCU, and Ohio State-Purdue.

It's a big week on the West Coast, where the eventual finalists in the Pac-12 Championship Game could be determined. USC will square off with Colorado in a battle for first place in the South, while Myles Gaskin and the Huskies batt Oregon for control of the north.

Big games this week include LSU-Florida, Florida State-Miami, Kentucky-Texas A&M, and of course the Red River Showdown between Kyler Murray's Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns.

Conference play begins in earnest, with top matchups including West Virginia-Texas Tech, Ohio State-Penn State, and Oregon-California. All that plus Stanford traveling to Notre Dame to take on Ian Book and the Fighting Irish.