Five College Football Games to Watch: Week Ten

This piece is a continuation of our weekly series, Five Games You Should Watch. The premise is simple: if you’re an Oregon State Beavers fan, it’s a safe bet that you’ll watch Oregon State versus Washington State. Here are five more games to consider watching.

Tonight - #25 Memphis at Rice - 4 PM (PST) on ESPN2

After dispatching South Florida last week, Memphis is now the highest-ranked group of five school in the country. If the Tigers win out, they’re strongly positioned to seize the G5’s only guaranteed spot in the college football playoff.

To do so, they’ll have to run a gauntlet - their final three regular season opponents (Tulane, East Carolina, and Navy) have just two conference losses as of this writing - add tonight’s matchup with Rice (4-4 overall, 1-3 AAC) and my eyes are on the Tigers’ difficult quest.

MORE: Washington State Head Coach Jimmy Rogers on Oregon State: “I don’t care what their record is”

Saturday - #9 Vanderbilt at #20 Texas - 9 AM (PST) on ABC

If reading Vanderbilt in this series feels like déjà vu, yes, you’re right; I keep spotlighting Commodores’ games this season. They have a compelling underdog story, and every game seemingly goes down to the wire.

Sixth-year senior quarterback Diego Pavia looked pedestrian last Saturday - throwing just ten completed passes for 129 yards and no touchdowns - but Vandy’s running game and defense did the rest. Contrast the Commodores’ team effort with Texas, who needed a herculean effort from Arch Manning (29-of-46 for 346 passing yards and 3 touchdowns) to come from behind against Mississippi State. The heir to the Manning throne can’t do it alone, and might not do it at all Saturday if he can’t pass concussion protocols. Regardless, the Longhorns’ faithful will offer a hostile crowd and a difficult test for one of this season’s great underdog stories.

Saturday - Fresno State at Boise State - 12:30 PM (PST) on Fox Sports 1

Throw the records out; over their last eight matchups, Boise State and Fresno State are even 4-4. What’s more, the Bulldogs have won the past two skirmishes (the 2022 Mountain West Championship game, and a 2023 regular season contest).

Even though Fresno State is coming off of a shutout loss to San Diego State, they’ll still offer plenty of challenges for the smurf-turfers tomorrow.

MORE: Pac-12 Football Notebook: Week Ten

Saturday - #13 Texas Tech at Kansas State - 12:30 PM (PST) on Fox

Consider the perspective of Kansas State offensive coordinator Matt Wells. On Saturday, his Wildcats face his former employer - Wells was the head honcho in Lubbock for three seasons - in a game that will showcase his playcalling prowess to the entire country.

For Wells, a nationally-televised win over one of the nation’s top defenses would boost his resume at an opportune time. Openings are all around in college football, including a school led by one of Wells' old bosses. For added measure, an upset would dish out sweet revenge to the program that fired him; if the Red Raiders have any hope of catching up to Big 12 unbeatens BYU and Cincinnati, then they can’t afford to lose this game.

Saturday - #17 Cincinnati at #24 Utah - 7:15 PM (PST) on ESPN

One of those aforementioned Big 12 unbeatens, Cincinnati (7-1 overall, 5-0 in conference) steps on shaky ground Saturday night. Rice-Eccles Stadium is one of the toughest plays to play in all of college football, and the top 25 Utes will have plenty of reasons to play hard.

Like I wrote earlier regarding Texas Tech, Utah absolutely cannot afford another Big 12 loss. Their extremely narrow path to the Big 12 title game hangs on by a thread. I think these two schools will empty their holsters and give fans everywhere something special to watch.

More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI