By BRANDON WILLIS
Student Writer
Week 10 of the college football season includes three top 25 matchups that will affect the conference championship races.
The 2015 College Football season has had many exciting moments and last second classics. These moments have had huge implications on conference standings. The week 10 matchups will also change the conference rage and affect the College Football Playoffs.
The first matchup to look out for is #17 Florida State Seminoles visiting #3 Clemson Tigers in Death Valley, South Carolina. Clemson currently is first in the Atlantic Coastal Conference and the Seminoles are second. This game will be for the first spot in their division which could eventually end up as one of the spots in the ACC championship game. According to NCAA.com, Clemson has the nineteenth ranked offense in the country and their defense is ranked fifth. Florida State comes into the game ranked 23 in total defense.
The second top 25 matchup of the day is #12 Oklahoma State versus #5 TCU. This Big 12 face off will take place in Stillwater. Both teams are undefeated and wield dominant offenses that can put points on the board quickly. The Horn Frogs offense ranks second in the nation in total offense which is led by quarterback Trevone Boykin. Boykin is a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy who can equally throw and pass. “
The Cowboys have a lot of fire power themselves as they rank fifteen in total offense. Oklahoma State is coming off a 70-53 comeback win against Texas Tech where they trailed at halftime. Many college football experts are looking to this game versus TCU to see if OSU is for real or not. OSU’s toughest opponent so far has been West Virginia who is 3-4 on the season and has suffered three losses in a row. This matchup will prove if OSU is a legit contender or not and it will prove if TCU is the dominant team that many experts believed they were in the preseason.
The huge matchup that could shake the rankings and have huge implications on the CFP is #4 LSU against #7 Alabama. The game is in Tuscaloosa, AL and has been a key matchup every year. LSU junior offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins described the rivalry best. “It’s always like a war,” Hawkins said. “Not really a lot of talking from either side, just action.” LSU comes into the game undefeated with an eighteenth ranked defense and sophomore sensation running back Leonard Fournette. Fournette has rushed for 1352 yards and 15 touchdowns in only 7 games and has cemented himself as the leader for the Heisman Trophy.
Alabama is 7-1 coming into the game and is coming off a bye. The Crimson Tide defeated LSU last year in Baton Rouge 20-13 in overtime. Their one loss came to Ole Miss on Sept. 19 43-37. If Alabama was to beat LSU, they would then have an opportunity to win the SEC and be included in the College Football Playoff.