College football: Saturday morning national blitz 10.04.14
Hot reads
1. State gone wild: Imagine Duke playing UNC in the Final Four and the frenzy that would create in the Triangle. Multiply that by about 100 – because that’s what you do with SEC football – and you can begin to understand what Saturday means to the people in Mississippi.
Only everything.
No. 11 Mississippi hosts No. 3 Alabama, and No. 12 Mississippi State hosts No. 6 Texas A&M.
“Four undefeated teams ranked in the top 12 playing on the same day, 93 miles apart?” longtime Mississippi columnist Rick Cleveland told Yahoo! “In Missi-bleeping-sippi?”
The schools are almost close enough for GameDay’s crew to go back and forth Saturday, or better yet, set up shop in Calhoun City, midway between Oxford and Starkville.
In a typical year, their annual Egg Bowl is The Only Game, big to them, but not to many others.
This isn’t the typical year. This? This is Elvis big.
If both teams win at home Saturday, it will be remembered as the greatest Saturday of college football in that state in maybe forever.
“There have been some big games, some big moments and some great players in this state, but I’m not sure anything tops what we're going to see,” longtime Mississippi State football employee Rockey Felker told ESPN.com.
“A lot of eyes will be on the state of Mississippi.”
Mississippi State All-American safety Cody Prewitt can’t wait to represent.
“There's a pride here,” he told ESPN.com. “Now, you've got two football programs here that are putting the state on the map. It’s only going to reinforce to everybody around the country what all of us here in the state already know. This is just the start of something great.”
And if Ole Miss and Mississippi State both lose? Well, it’ll be their version of our Black Sunday.
Heisman watch: Tarboro’s Todd Gurley leads ESPN’s (unscientific) weekly watch. Gurley is trying to become the first North Carolina product to win the award. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota was the only other player to receive a first-place vote among the 10 selectors. But his bid will take a hit after the No. 2 Ducks lost at home to Arizona late Thursday night. Mariota was just so-so (276 yards, 2 TDs).
SEC wins without playing: Oregon’s loss Thursday night creates even more room for a one-loss SEC West team that doesn’t make the conference title game to be selected to the Final Four.
Tracking the Top 25
Saturday’s games ... comments where deserving.
No. 1 Florida State (4-0) vs. Wake Forest (2-3), 3:30 p.m.: Finally, FSU gets to reclaim control of this series. Beginning in 2006, FSU is just 4-4 against Wake Forest, 40-18 against the rest of the ACC.
No. 3 Alabama (4-0) at No. 10 Mississippi (4-0), 3:30 p.m.: Nick Saban has lost nine games in the past seven seasons – all to ranked teams – but he hasn’t lost to Ole Miss.
No. 4 Oklahoma (4-0) at No. 25 TCU (3-0), 3:30 p.m.: After allowing 33 combined points in first three wins, Sooners gave up 33 last week to West Virginia.
No. 5 Auburn (4-0) vs. No. 15 LSU (4-1), 7 p.m.: The “other” game in the SEC West features the Tigers, the lowest-ranked of the division’s six teams in the Top 15.
No. 6 Texas A&M (5-0) at No. 12 Mississippi State (4-0), Noon: Kenny Trill rallied the Aggies with 21 fourth-quarter and OT points to avert disaster against Arkansas. Mississippi State isn’t as fancy, but the Bulldogs ran for 302 yards in an upset at LSU.
No. 7 Baylor (4-0) at Texas (2-2), 3:30 p.m.: Baylor’s first quiz of the season after putting up big numbers against four bad opponents. The test comes next week against TCU. All tune-ups for the season-defining showdown at Oklahoma on Nov. 8.
No. 8 UCLA (4-0) vs. Utah (3-1), 10:30 p.m.: Star QB Brett Hundley returned from injury and helped the Bruins manhandle then-No. 15 Arizona State in one of the better performances you didn’t see this season.
No. 9 Notre Dame (4-0) vs. No. 14 Stanford (3-1), 3:30 p.m.: The Cardinal is favored, on the road, because its defense is among the best in the country.
No. 10 Michigan State (3-1) vs. No. 19 Nebraska (5-0), 8 p.m.: Best-case scenario for Big Ten’s slim College Football Playoff hopes: Huskers star RB Ameer Abdullah solidifies his Heisman candidacy with big road performance and win against stingy Spartans.
No. 13 Georgia (3-1) vs. Vanderbilt (1-4), 4 p.m.: Abdullah leads the nation with 833 yards in five games. Tarboro’s Todd Gurley has 610 in parts of four games.
No. 16 Southern Cal (3-1) vs. Arizona State (3-1), 7:30 p.m.
No. 17 Wisconsin (3-1) at Northwestern (2-2), 3:30 p.m.
No. 20 Ohio State (3-1) at Maryland (4-1), Noon: The Terps, 6-18 in their final three seasons in the ACC, lead the Big Ten East.
No. 21 Oklahoma State (3-1) vs. Iowa State (1-3), Noon
No. 22 East Carolina (3-1) vs. SMU (0-4), Noon: Pirates QB Shane Carden needs 300 yards to reach 9,000 in his career. 11,000 isn’t out of reach.
No. 23 Kansas State (3-1) vs. Texas Tech (2-2), 7 p.m.
Number to know
42 Points ECU is favored by against SMU.
Final Word
“Dear people from Oxford: I can’t get you on the set. Dear people from ESPN: I cant get you into the City Grocery on Friday night #GameDay.” – Tweet from noted Mississippi native and talented sports writer Wright Thompson.
Compiled by Chris Wright, with help from ESPN.com, Pat Forde, AP and various team websites
This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 6:53 PM with the headline "College football: Saturday morning national blitz 10.04.14."