After a riveting last Saturday, there are crucial games this Saturday in the SEC, Big 12, and Big Ten that have playoff ramifications. Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire and the LSU offense proved to be a little more than the Crimson Tide defense could handle in a 46-41 Bengal Tiger victory. Now LSU is No.1 in the playoff rankings with Ohio State at 2, Clemson at 3 and Georgia at 4. Alabama checks in at No.5 and Oregon is No.6. Utah is No.7 and the great Minnesota team that knocked off Penn State last Saturday 31-26 is right there at No.8. Penn State is 9 and Oklahoma is 10. OU is @ Baylor Saturday Night in a massive matchup against the No.13 Baylor Bears who are now 9-0. Should be electric in Waco. Major game on the Plains Saturday as the No.3 Dawgs play No.12 Auburn. The No.8 Golden Gophers are on the road at what will be a very hostile Kinnick Stadium facing the No.20 Iowa Hawkeyes. So a lot to be decided in those 3 contests. The Crimson Tide goes to Starkville for an 11 AM kickoff on ESPN.

So with all the excitement and chaos that can ensue in the upcoming weeks, here’s a look at this week’s spectacular slate.

Last week: 14-6

Overall: 188-70, 73%

All times Central

No.4 Georgia (8-1, 5-1) @ No. 12 Auburn (7-2, 4-2)

2:30 PM

CBS

Brad, Gary, Jamie

Georgia by 2 1/2

Always a difficult assignment for Georgia and Bama at Jordan-Hare and that’s what both teams face this season. Two years ago, Auburn defeated both the Dawgs and the Tide at home. Auburn’s defense is phenomenal, but so is Georgia’s and I like the experience of Jake Fromm over the talented but not as experienced Bo Nix, though Bo’s been to Florida and LSU and is at home, but I still like Fromm with a slight advantage. And I like the Georgia defense to carry the Dawgs over the top and keep them in the top 4.

Georgia 17, Auburn 13

No.5 Alabama (8-1, 5-1) @ Mississippi State (4-5, 2-4)

11 AM

ESPN

Steve Levy, Grease, McShay, Molly McGrath

Bama by 19

The Crimson Tide is still in the hunt but needs to win out and get some help. I like Alabama to get it back together this Saturday but it may be with Mac Jones. Tua is far from 100% right now. But I think the Crimson Tide is upset and will aim to prove the critics wrong that they are not a top 4 team. At Auburn November 30th looms large.

Alabama 42, Mississippi State 17

No. 10 Oklahoma (8-1) @ No. 13 Baylor (9-0, 6-0)

6:30 PM

ABC

Chris, Kirk, Maria

OU by 10

OU HAS to get this done against a Baylor team which doesn’t look great on the tape but just keeps winning. The Bears play some pretty solid defense. But I like Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma offense, which is close to impossible to stop though they do have a pretty anemic defense, to emerge out of this and remain in the playoff hunt.

Oklahoma 48, Baylor 37

No.8 Minnesota (9-0) @ No. 20 Iowa (6-3)

3 PM

FOX

Iowa by 3

I like P.J. Fleck and the Boats to come out on top in a slight upset. Believe in’em after last Saturday’s impressive victory over Penn State. This is a tough place to win, but Minnesota looks like the better team, so I’ll go with that.

Minnesota 21, Iowa 17

No.1 LSU (9-0) @ Ole Miss (4-6)

6 PM

ESPN

Sean, Todd, Holly

LSU buy 21

While the LSU offense is prolific, their defense is questionable. I like LSU to put some points up on the Rebels, but Ole Miss, which is improving, and stellar freshman quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to put some points on the board too and make it somewhat interesting.

LSU 45, Ole Miss 31

No.3 Clemson 52, Wake Forest 14

2:30 PM

ABC

Clemson by 34 1/2

Clemson doesn’t play a challenging schedule, but they have been on fire lately and their defense is better than last year’s. Really good defense for the Tigers and the offense is as loaded as it was last year.

No. 11 Florida 30, Missouri 17

11 AM

CBS

Florida by 7

Like the Gators to keep taking care of business and be in line for a New Year’s Six Bowl. This is a high caliber team on both sides of the ball. Kelly Bryant is probable to play, so Missouri can muster a little offense against the Gators, but not enough.

Texas A&M 34, South Carolina 21

6:30 PM

SEC Network

A&M by 11

A&M and quarterback Kellen Mond keep improving every week. Will be interesting Nov. 30th @LSU with LSU having major revenge on their minds from last year’s 74-72 seven overtime loss @ College Station in a game where LSU thought they were completely robbed by the refs and I wouldn’t argue with them at all. South Carolina just lost to now No.25 App State at home last Saturday and they’re kind of limping home.

Vanderbilt 24, Kentucky 21

2:30 PM

SEC Network

Kentucky by 10 1/2

Needed another upset and here it is. Vanderbilt gets one of their quarterbacks back from a concussion. Riley Neal has started most of the year but missed last Saturday’s 56-0 debacle at Florida. The Vanderbilt defense didn’t allow a point in the first quarter, but the offense was so bad with the 3rd string quarterback that the defense just ran out of energy. I like the Commodores with Neal at quarterback to pull off a big upset.

No.2 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 3

2:30 PM

Big Ten Network

Ohio State by 52

Ohio State is good, but you can’t tell how good from this soft schedule they’ve played. At Michigan November 30th will be tremendous.

No. 16 Notre Dame 31, Navy 30

1:30 PM CT

NBC

Irish by 7 1/2

The Irish survive a scare from the Midshipmen. Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry is a superb player and will give Notre Dame headaches all afternoon and help his team come close to pulling off the upset at South Bend.

No.6 Oregon 48, Arizona 20

9:30 PM

ESPN

Oregon by 27

Like the fighting Cristobals to keep their realistic playoff hopes alive. A Pac-12 Championship matchup with No. 7 Utah could be a massively important game if those 2 teams can take care of business the rest of the regular season and teams ahead of them lose. Both teams have a real shot at the Playoff.

No.7 Utah 42, UCLA 20

7 PM

FOX

Utes by 21

Utah and Oregon tuning up for a possible phenomenal championship game.

No. 15 Michigan 31, Michigan State 14

11 AM

FOX

Wolverines by 13 1/2

Michigan has gotten it together after a near miss at Penn State and a blowout victory over Notre Dame at home. The Wolverines could make it very compelling come November 30th when the Buckeyes invade the Big House.

Iowa State 34, Texas 31

2:30 PM CT

Fox Sports 1

Iowa State by 7

Iowa State came back last Saturday Night from a 42-28 deficit with 5 minutes left @ Oklahoma and were a missed 2 point conversion away from winning as they lost 42-41. I do like the Longhorns to make it very interesting but I’ll take the Cyclones to get the job done in Ames.

No. 18 Memphis 42, Houston 35

2:30 PM

ESPN2

Memphis by 10

Like the Tigers to survive on the road and to keep their New Year’s Six hopes very much alive. The American Conference is loaded with Cincy at No.17, Memphis at 18, and Navy at 23. SMU has fallen out of the CFB playoff rankings but they’re 20 in the AP Poll and still alive for the Group of 5’s conferences team to represent them in the Cotton Bowl Saturday, December 28th. The Goodyear Cotton Bowl is the bowl that is taking the top ranked Group of 5 team to play a Power 5 team. Boise State is right there too at No.21. So pretty fascinating race for the Cotton Bowl . Cincinnati goes to Memphis Friday, November 29th and may play them again the next week in the American Conference Championship game, but Memphis will have to win out and outlast Navy and SMU in the American Conference West Standings. Memphis is 4-1, and the Midshipmen and the Ponies are 5-1 but both have lost to Memphis @ Memphis. So extremely interesting scenario playing out in the American. Cincy is in the East and is 6-0 and 8-1 overall and clear of Central Florida by 2 games. UCF is 4-2 in the Conference and is 7-3 overall and Cincy has already defeated them. UCF has fallen off some in Josh Heupel’s 2nd year.