When it comes to the U.S. College Football season, we're at a point now where we know what teams are capable of and more importantly, what teams are in desperation mode to win and keep their standings in the BCS to give themselves the best chance at the national championship game.
This Saturday, I see three ranked teams that are not only favoured to win, but have to win in order to stay relevant when it comes to the BCS standings. Some might say that the pressure of having to win every single game might force some of these teams to crack, and there's something to that, but with the opponents that my chosen teams have, they may crack under the pressure and still come out ahead.
Arizona Wildcats (-9) vs. UCLA Bruins
There was a lot of talk of what this team from Los Angeles could be capable of after an upset win over Texas a few weeks ago. All that talk has changed after the Bruins have dropped to 3-4 and the Longhorns have lost a couple of more times since then. Meanwhile, everything is rosy in the world of the Wildcats as they've picked up 6 wins out of a possible 7 to start the campaign.
The big problem I see here is the UCLA pass offence with their backup quarterback going up against the Arizona defence. UCLA is 117th in the country in passing offence, while the Wildcats have the best defence in the Pac-10 this season.
Auburn Tigers (-7) vs. Mississippi Rebels
The BCS standings have the Tigers at the top of the mountain and in prime position to make it to the National Championship. It's a double-edged sword to be in that spot because on one side, Auburn knows now that all they have to do is win out and they're in. There's no concern about being undefeated and still being on the outside looking in. On the other hand, the thought of one slip-up possibly costing them that number one spot might spook some of their players.
Regardless, they may be able to get away with a couple of slip-ups against a 3-4 Ole Miss team that is just happy to keep it close against ranked opponents. Ole Miss has the 10-ranked defence in the SEC and Auburn has ran for over 300 yards a game in the last four contests against SEC opposition.
Utah Utes (-7) vs. Air Force Falcons
Utah is used to being in this terrible position every single season. They can win every single game and will still most likely not be a part of the national championship game. However, the Utes have proved year-in and year-out that they can thrive in these kind of spots despite knowing that it could all for not.
The key to this game will be running and how well each team can do against the other. The Falcons are all about running with their triple-option offence as they lead the nation in running yards per game at 326.5. However, the Utes have the sixth-best running defence in the country. On the other side, the Utes have scored almost 50 points a game and take on a Falcons run defence that gives up about 200 yards rushing per game.