College Football Cheat Sheet: The Final Push

Another college football weekend has arrived. There are only two weekends left in the 2025 season. The unexpected has happened all season long. There is no reason to think it won’t happen in the penultimate weekend.

We’ve got a huge game in the Big Ten, two SEC teams in must-win situations at home, and some chaos likely teed up in the ACC.

The Slate

Tulsa at Army	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Kansas at Iowa State	Noon	FS1
No. 13 Miami at Virginia Tech	Noon	ESPN
Louisville at SMU	Noon	ESPN2
Delaware at Wake Forest	Noon	ACC Network
Rutgers at No. 1 Ohio State	Noon	FOX
Minnesota at Northwestern (Wrigley Field)	Noon	Big Ten Network
No. 22 Missouri at No. 8 Oklahoma	Noon	ABC
Charlotte at No. 4 Georgia	12:45pm	SEC Network
Washington State at James Madison	1:00pm	ESPN+
Baylor at Arizona	1:00pm	TNT
Old Dominion at Georgia Southern	1:00pm	ESPN+
Nevada at Wyoming	2:00pm	Mountain West Network
Missouri State at Kennesaw State	2:00pm	ESPN+
Ball State at Toledo	2:00pm	ESPN+
Marshall at App State	2:30pm	ESPN+
UConn at Florida Atlantic	3:00pm	ESPN+
Liberty at Louisiana Tech	3:00pm	ESPN+
New Mexico State at UTEP	3:00pm	ESPN+
Sam Houston at Middle Tennessee	3:00pm	ESPN+
USF at UAB	3:00pm	ESPN+
Duke at North Carolina	3:30pm	ACC Network
East Carolina at UTSA	3:30pm	ESPN+
Southern Miss at South Alabama	3:30pm	ESPN+
Syracuse at No. 9 Notre Dame	3:30pm	NBC
Jacksonville State at FIU	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
No. 15 USC at No. 7 Oregon	3:30pm	CBS
Kentucky at No. 14 Vanderbilt	3:30pm	ESPN
Michigan State at Iowa	3:30pm	FS1
Arkansas at No. 17 Texas	3:30pm	ABC
No. 24 Tulane at Temple	3:45pm	ESPNU
TCU at No. 23 Houston	4:00pm	FOX
Georgia State at Troy	4:00pm	ESPN+
No. 18 Michigan at Maryland	4:00pm	Big Ten Network
Kansas State at No. 12 Utah	4:00pm	ESPN2
Oklahoma State at UCF	4:00pm	ESPN+
Coastal Carolina at South Carolina	4:15pm	SEC Network
Furman at Clemson	4:15pm	The CW
ULM at Texas State	5:00pm	ESPN+
Pittsburgh at No. 16 Georgia Tech	7:00pm	ESPN
Colorado State at Boise State	7:00pm	FS1
New Mexico at Air Force	7:00pm	CBS Sports Network
No. 21 Illinois at Wisconsin	7:30pm	Big Ten Network
Nebraska at Penn State	7:30pm	NBC
No. 20 Tennessee at Florida	7:30pm	ABC
California at Stanford	7:30pm	ACC Network
North Texas at Rice	7:30pm	ESPNU
WKU at LSU	7:45pm	SEC Network
No. 25 Arizona State at Colorado	8:00pm	ESPN2
No. 11 BYU at Cincinnati	8:00pm	FOX
Washington at UCLA	10:30pm	NBC
San Jose State at San Diego State	10:30pm	FS1
Utah State at Fresno State	10:30pm	CBS Sports Network

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Playoff bubble moments in the SEC

Texas A&M, Georgia, and Alabama are playing buy games this weekend before some huge rivalry contests. Ole Miss has the weekend off. The top dogs in the SEC aren’t really playing for anything in Week 13, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t important games in the league.

The schedule is a bit quiet but two playoff bubble teams play important games at home.

— Missouri (7-3, 3-3) at Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2): Boomer Sooner surprised everyone with road wins over Tennessee and Alabama. That puts Oklahoma firmly in the playoff field — for now. With remaining home games against Missouri and LSU, OU cannot afford another loss. Mizzou is getting starting quarterback Beau Pribula back in the lineup. Defenses should rule the day in what is expected to be a slugfest.

— Kentucky (5-5, 2-5) at Vanderbilt (8-2, 4-2): The Wildcats are surging with redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley. Vandy is potentially two wins away from securing a playoff spot, but has a huge road game with Tennessee looming along with some defensive concerns after Texas and Auburn lit up this defense. UK could spoil a dream season in Nashville.

— Tennessee (7-3, 3-3) at Florida (3-7, 2-5): The Vols saw their playoff bubble pop with a home loss to Oklahoma, but this team has a chance to finish the season strong. To do that, they will need to end a long losing streak in Gainesville. There has been some fan unrest on Rocky Top with Josh Heupel. That will get gassed up with another loss in The Swamp.

A huge game in Eugene

Indiana plays idle and Ohio State is a huge home favorite against Rutgers. Nothing should change at the top of the league, but we will get more clarity about the rest of the playoff contenders. A huge game looms large at Autzen Stadium.

— USC (8-2, 6-1) at Oregon (9-1, 6-1): The Trojans have quietly put a good season together with home wins over Michigan and Iowa plus a road win against Nebraska. The Ducks are rolling again but could use a strong resume win. This is a big game with stakes in Eugene. A loss eliminates USC from the playoff but a win allows Oregon to climb up the seed line.

— Michigan (8-2, 6-1) at Maryland (4-6, 1-6): The Terps gave head coach Mike Locksley a vote of confidence after last week’s loss to Illinois. Will the team respond to that on the field? Michigan messed around with Northwestern last week and has the huge game with Ohio State looming.

A wide open Big 12

Texas Tech is off this week and needs just a win against West Virginia next weekend to lock in a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. Who will they play? This race is wide open.

BYU has just one league loss. Four other teams have two league losses. This race will get clearer in Week 13.

— TCU (6-4, 3-4), at Houston (8-2, 5-2): The Horned Frogs are perhaps the most disappointing team in this conference while the Cougars are the biggest surprise. A win on senior day keeps Houston in this race.

— Kansas State (5-5, 4-3) at Utah (8-2, 5-2): The Utes continue to crush anyone outside of Texas Tech and BYU. K-State is not having a good season. A win in Salt Lake City keeps Utah very much in the playoff race — for now.

— BYU (9-1, 6-1) at Cincinnati (7-3, 5-2): The Cougars continue to roll. The Bearcats took a tough home loss to Arizona last weekend. With a home game against UCF next weekend, a win at Nippert Stadium would all but secure a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game for BYU.

— Arizona State (7-3, 5-2) at Colorado (3-7, 1-6): The Sun Devils are still (somewhat) alive in this race. A huge home game against Arizona looms next week. They need to handle business in Boulder on Saturday night to set up a huge final week.

Expect some more chaos in the ACC

It’s another college football weekend. That means more ridiculousness in the ACC. What’s up next? Let’s dive in.

— Miami (8-2, 4-2) at Virginia Tech (3-7, 2-4): It’s celebrate James Franklin day in Blacksburg. Will that lead to an inspired effort from the home team? The Canes are in the playoff hunt but could use some style points.

— Louisville (7-3, 4-3) at SMU (7-3, 5-1): The Cards are out of the hunt after consecutive losses in November and have a very long injury report. SMU needs some help to get to Charlotte but they have to win out first.

— Pittsburgh (7-3, 5-1) at Georgia Tech (9-1, 6-1): The Yellow Jackets can secure a spot with an ACC Championship game with a win. However, Pitt is firmly in this race and controls its own destiny. Can the Panthers bounce-back after a brutal home loss to Notre Dame?