Florida football: Your Saturday football viewing guide (11/9)

Florida football heads back home for the first time in a month to face Vandy. A 10-win season and New Year’s Six bowl bid is still at stake for the Gators.

12:00 PM ET

#4 Penn State at #17 Minnesota (ABC) – P.J. Fleck and the Gophers aren’t just the upstart looking to ruin the Lions’ perfect season. A win here would help Minnesota to put themselves in great position for a Big Ten West championship. The high in Minneapolis on Saturday is expected to be around 38 degrees.

#12 Baylor at TCU (FS1) – Sooner or later we’ll have to acknowledge that Baylor is still undefeated, right? I’ll personally choose to wait until later when the Bears play the Sooners before considering an unbeaten Baylor anything more than a product of a weak schedule. A win on the road in Fort Worth will not be an easy task.

The Game of the Day

Vanderbilt at #10 Florida (ESPN) – Florida football should be able to take out some frustration from last week on the lowly Commodores. Vandy rose up out of nowhere to knock of Mizzou two weeks ago but went back to being Vandy last week against Carolina. Florida got off to a slow start in Nashville last season before ripping off a huge comeback, hopefully, Mullen & Co. can make things less exciting this year.

3:30 PM ET

#2 LSU at #3 Alabama (CBS) – This needs some space.

Why this game matters:

• Two playoff unbeaten goliaths square off in a matchup that has been dominated by the team with the injured quarterback.
• The Tigers are primed to finally get over the Bama hump and take charge in the West.
• Will this game impact the perception of Alabama if LSU can knock off the Tide?

Why this game is merely an appetizer for the postseason…let’s run through this not overly unrealistic scenario:

• Alabama loses to LSU.
• The loss is excused due to an injured Tua.
• #1 Ohio State knocks off #4 Penn State in two weeks.
• LSU knocks off Georgia in the SEC title game.
• Oklahoma drops to another to Baylor (Baylor drops one along the way too), Oklahoma State or in the Big 12 title game.
• Oregon tops Utah for the Pac 12 Championship.

This would leave Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, and a fourth team to be named and which team do you think the playoff committee would select? The Tide would roll into the College Football Playoff without winning the SEC.

You can do the same math problem with an LSU loss to Bama.

So…while Saturday’s game will give the winner control of the driver’s seat to the SEC West and the playoff, it will not necessarily eliminate the loser from playoff contention.

#16 Kansas State at Texas (ESPN) – Herman needs a big win against a Kansas State team that showed no signs of a letdown against in-state rival KU last weekend. Texas has struggled with K-State in their recent past, however, a win here would go a long way to healing some wounds earlier losses. The Wildcats need to win out and have Baylor beat Oklahoma next weekend for a shot at the Big 12 Championship.

#19 Wake Forest at Virginia Tech (ACC) – 7-1 Wake Forest is in control of their ACC destiny. Put away Va Tech on the road this weekend and the Demon Deacs will travel to Clemson next week for a shot at the division. Can Wake take care of business and avoid looking ahead?

USC at Arizona State (ABC) – Despite middling records, the Trojans and Sun Devils have both played entertaining football in 2019. Let’s hope both teams’ penchant for interesting games shows up at the same time on Saturday. With FSU moving on from Taggart, look for the media scrutiny around the USC job to heighten over the next couple of weeks.

4:00 PM ET

#18 Iowa at #13 Wisconsin (FOX) – Both teams are in a two-game hole to the Gophers in the West, but a win here would solidify which team will be the top challenger to Minnesota for the West’s spot in Indy. Should Minnesota lose to Penn State on Saturday, the Hawkeyes or Badgers will have a shot to stake their claim to the Big Ten West crown since both teams still have a remaining game against the Golden Gophers.

7:00 PM ET

Missouri at #6 Georgia (ESPN) – If you like to torture yourself with the idea of Florida having a shot at making it to Atlanta, this game will be on ESPN. Last night was the first time in three days I didn’t have nightmares of Fromm making an ugly, off-balance throw on yet another third down to kill any hopes of seeing Orange & Blue in Atlanta next month.

Appalachian State at South Carolina (ESPN2) – Appy State finally took an “L” last week against a pesky Georgia Southern team. If the Mountaineers had found a way to win, the stakes in this one would have been much higher, however, the lack of “stakes” cannot take away from the fact that this is a solid matchup. Muschamp and the Cocks razor-thin bowl hopes are pinned on beating an App State team that already took down North Carolina earlier in the season.

7:30 PM ET

#5 Clemson at NC State (ABC) – The playoff committee sent a soft, one-week message to Clemson that they are not impressed. As soon as Bama-LSU ends on Saturday, Clemson will assume the next playoff position. It would be unwise for the Tigers to overlook a trip to Raleigh though. Two years ago, Clemson had to sneak out a close game on the against the Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium.

#15 Notre Dame at Duke (ACC) – The Irish survived a scrappy effort from Va Tech on their home turf. On paper, Notre Dame should rout the Blue Devils, but I’ve lost confidence in the Notre Dame offense since their visit to Ann Arbor two weeks ago. If Duke can manage to play a clean game, Cutcliffe’s crew is more than capable of hanging around and making things interesting.

Tennessee at Kentucky (SECN) – Tennessee’s stock is rising, Kentucky is over-achieving with a wide receiver at quarterback, and Mark Stoops may be headed to Tallahassee after the season. Now is the time for the Vols to strike and take one step closer to a bowl bid. Imagine going back a month and telling yourself that Pruitt had the Vols in position for a bowl bid after what we witnessed from Tennessee in September.

8:00 PM ET

Iowa State at #9 Oklahoma (FOX) – Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is another prominent name at the forefront of the FSU rumor mill, however, I don’t think that will play much of a role in this game. Oklahoma needs this one badly to stay in the playoff hunt.

10:15 PM ET

Wyoming at #22 Boise State (ESPN) – A Wyoming win would give the Cowboys control of their own destiny in the Mountain West, but winning on the blue turf may be too tall of a task.

11:00 PM ET

San Jose State at Hawaii (Facebook) – Should be a high-scoring, entertaining way to close out the day.

Remember, No. 10 Florida football hosts Vanderbilt at noon Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.