No. 22 Notre Dame at No. 4 Stanford (Saturday at 8 p.m. on ABC)
The Cardinal avoided a late comeback by rival California to return to the winning side Saturday with a 31-28 victory in the annual Big Game. With resurgent Notre Dame on the horizon this week, Stanford will look to maintain the momentum gained from coach David Shaw’s first win over the Golden Bears.
“It was tough sledding. We didn’t make some plays in the game that I actually thought we should have, and they took advantage of it. Our kids fought back,” Shaw said. “[Quarterback Andrew Luck] was phenomenal, not just in running and throwing but once again in dictating the plays that we run and all the field plays we have. It wasn’t pretty, but doggone it, we fought to the end, and we got the win.”
No. 6 Virginia Tech at No. 24 Virginia (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC)
One would need an impressive memory to recall the last time the Commonwealth Cup had as much riding on it as it does this year. Coming off a down-to-the-wire victory over Florida State in Tallahassee, Virginia enters its annual matchup with the Hokies one win away from earning its first ever invitation to the ACC Championship.
“It was a great win for the program — for the players and coaches,” said UVA coach Mike London following the win over the Seminoles. “It was kind of like a David and Goliath type of thing. It talks about David. He picked up the stones and ran towards Goliath. When you play a great team like Florida State, you can’t sit back on your laurels. You can’t sit and wait to see what’s going to happen because they are a tremendous team with tremendous athletes. We just found ways to win the game on both sides, all three phases.”
No. 20 Penn State at No. 15 Wisconsin (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN)
The Badgers needed a second-half comeback against Illinois to keep their hopes for a conference title alive. Sitting just one win away from an invitation to the first ever Big Ten Championship, Wisconsin will likely need another impressive outing from tailback Montee Ball to knock off Penn State at home this weekend.
“I can’t say enough about what he’s been able to do,” said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema. “I’ve never had a running back compete in practice as hard as he does. That’s why the games slow down for him, as easy as they are. He works his tail off every day of the week.”
Texas at Texas A&M (Thursday at 8 p.m. on ESPN)
The annual Lone Star Showdown has lost a bit of its spotlight with both the Longhorns and the Aggies sitting outside the top 25, but Texas A&M finally enters a matchup with a bit of momentum on its side, coming off a 61-7 beat-down of Kansas for its first win since October. Playing host to Texas, A&M coach Mike Sherman said keeping emotions in check will be important as his players prepare to face their in-state rival.
“You want to control some of it, but not all of it,” Sherman said. “You don’t want to peak on Sunday or Monday in preparing for this game. It’s kind of like the state championship in high school football. That’s such a big deal here in the state of Texas. This year it’s the same thing on the collegiate level.”
Ohio State at No. 17 Michigan (Saturday at noon on ABC)
The Wolverines enter the final weekend of the regular season in position to earn their first victory over the rival Buckeyes since 2003. Coming off an impressive 45-17 victory at home against Nebraska, Michigan coach Brady Hoke said a similar outing will likely be needed against Ohio State.
“Our guys played their best game as a team on Saturday. I thought they all complemented each other well,” Hoke said. “This is a special week because you’re playing the greatest rivalry there is in sports. When you get the chance to play or coach in this game, it’s always a fun week.”
No. 8 Houston at Tulsa (Friday at noon on Fox Sports Net)
The Cougars kept the hopes for a BCS bowl invitation alive with a 37-7 victory over SMU in front of ESPN’s “College GameDay.” Faced with a road trip to Tulsa this weekend, which enters the weekend also boasting a perfect 7-0 Conference USA record, Houston will look to keep its high-powered offense playing at a high level.
“We have to give it to SMU. That was the best defense that we played all year,” said Houston quarterback Case Keenum. “They came out and played extremely well and really hard. They made us earn everything we got tonight.
“The level of play at the end of the year steps up, and we’re stepping up [to play Tulsa]. We’re going to prepare the same way we did this past week.”
Iowa at No. 22 Nebraska (Friday at noon on ABC)
The Cornhuskers fell out of the race for the Big Ten Legends division title with last week’s disappointing defeat on the road against Michigan. With a chance to earn its ninth win of the season this weekend against Iowa, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini said his team will need to quickly move past its poor performance against the Wolverines.
“I thought our guys emotionally were fired up for the Michigan game. You can’t come out and make mistakes — bottom line, especially on the road,” Pelini said. “You can’t let that stuff happen to you. It seemed like things happened in a myriad of ways. I told our guys yesterday that you have to have respect for the game and come out ready to execute. If you don’t, you’re going to put yourself in a tough position.”