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TV / CBS (Channel 10)
FAVORITE / Alabama by 7
RECORDS / Alabama 5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference; South Carolina 3-1, 1-1
LAST MEETING / Alabama won 20-6 last season in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Alabama leads series 12-2
THE SKINNY / The key to stopping Alabama is simple to identify, much more difficult to accomplish. Mark Ingram is averaging 7.9 yards per carry, and Trent Richardson is averaging 7.4 yards per attempt.
"To slow down Alabama, you've obviously got to slow them down to start with," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said.
Stopping the run was a problem for the Gamecocks in their most-recent game, Sept. 25 against Auburn. South Carolina allowed 334 rushing yards in a 35-27 defeat.
In the loss, Spurrier pulled starting quarterback Stephen Garcia in the second quarter after he fumbled for the third time this season. Spurrier said that Garcia will remain the starter.
The Crimson Tide is coming off an easy win over then-No. 7 Florida. Alabama was supposed to be tested, but the Crimson Tide jumped to a 24-0 lead en route to a 31-6 victory. Ingram ran for two touchdowns, and the defense forced turnovers on two of the Gators' first three possessions.
"The first 30 minutes of the Florida game is sort of the standard that we talk about that we want to play to," Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
Alabama has 19 consecutive wins, and South Carolina hasn't defeated a team in the top three since knocking off No. 3 North Carolina in 1981.
No. 12 Louisiana State at No. 14 Florida
7:30 P.M., GAINESVILLE, FLA.
TV / ESPN
FAVORITE / Florida by 61/2
RECORDS / LSU 5-0, 3-0 in Southeastern Conference; Florida 4-1, 2-1
LAST MEETING / Florida won 13-3 last season in Baton Rouge, La.; Florida leads series 30-23-3
THE SKINNY / LSU running back Stevan Ridley has 557 yards and four touchdowns on 97 carries (5.7 yards per carry). He ran for the winning touchdown on the final play of the game to give the Tigers a 16-14 win over Tennessee last week. Florida will try to bounce back from a loss to Alabama. Freshman Trey Burton was held in check against the Crimson Tide, but two weeks ago he scored six touchdowns against Kentucky.
No. 23 Florida State at No. 13 Miami
8 P.M., MIAMI
TV / ABC (Channel 6)
FAVORITE / Miami by 6
RECORDS / Florida State 4-1, 2-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference; Miami 3-1, 1-0
LAST MEETING / Miami won 38-34 last season in Tallahassee, Fla.; Miami leads series 31-23
THE SKINNY / This rivalry used to be the crown jewel of the college football schedule, but this is the first time in four years that both teams are ranked heading into their game. Florida State ranks second in the conference in fewest yards allowed and leads the league with 25 sacks. Miami is allowing 266.8 yards per game and forced six turnovers in a 30-21 win over Clemson last week. The Hurricanes are looking for their third straight win since losing at Ohio State.
Purdue at Northwestern
7:30 P.M., EVANSTON, ILL.
TV / Big Ten Network
FAVORITE / Northwestern by 81/2
RECORDS / Purdue 2-2, 0-0 in Big Ten; Northwestern 5-0, 1-0
LAST MEETING / Northwestern won 27-21 last season in West Lafayette, Ind.; Purdue leads series 49-27-1
THE SKINNY / Northwestern enters with an eight-game regular-season winning streak, its longest since winning nine straight in 1995. QB Dan Persa leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency and completion percentage and is second in passing yardage (271.6 yards per game). Purdue senior defensive end Ryan Kerrigan leads the conference with 12 tackles for loss. Despite missing one game, he leads the team with 34 tackles and has 41/2 sacks.
Illinois at Penn State
NOON, STATE COLLEGE, PA.
TV / ESPN2
FAVORITE / Penn State by 8
RECORDS / Illinois 2-2, 0-1 Big Ten; Penn State 3-2, 0-1
LAST MEETING / Penn State won 35-17 last season in Champaign, Ill.; Penn State leads series 14-3
THE SKINNY / Penn State's inability to get going has cost them all season. In last week's loss to Iowa, Penn State managed just 1 yard of offense in the first quarter and punted on five of six first-half possessions. New defensive coordinator Vic Koenning has made a big difference for Illinois. Last season, the Illini were 96th in the nation in allowing 30.2 points per game. This season, they are 29th (18 per game).
Southern California at No. 16 Stanford
8 P.M., STANFORD, CALIF.
TV / None
FAVORITE / Stanford by 10
RECORDS / Southern California 4-1, 1-1 in Pacific-10; Stanford 4-1, 1-1
LAST MEETING / Stanford won 55-21 last season in Los Angeles; Southern California leads series 58-26-3
THE SKINNY / Stanford is fourth in the nation in scoring (44.6 points per game) and USC is tallying 35.8 points per game. Both teams had tough losses last week. USC lost when Washington kicked a field goal on the game's final play, and Stanford let a 21-3 lead slip away against then-No. 4 Oregon. USC likes to throw with highly touted QB Matt Barkley, but Lane Kiffin might be more inclined to move the ball on the ground. Trojans RB Allen Bradford leads the nation with 9.8 yards per carry, and Stanford is 84th in the country against the run.
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame
3:30 P.M., SOUTH BEND, IND.
TV / NBC (Channel 4)
FAVORITE / Notre Dame by 6
RECORDS / Pittsburgh 2-2; Notre Dame 2-3
LAST MEETING / Pittsburgh won 27-22 last season in Pittsburgh; Notre Dame leads series 44-20-1
THE SKINNY / Notre Dame's run defense keeps getting stronger. In the first three games, the Irish gave up 21 carries of longer than 10 yards; in the past two games, the defense has allowed just one. In last week's win at Boston College, Notre Dame shut out an opponent on the road for a half for the first time since blanking Washington on Oct. 25, 2008. Pittsburgh will try to disrupt that recent success with sophomore running back Ray Graham. In his first career start last week against Florida International, Graham rushed for 277 yards on 29 carries and scored on runs of 34, 79 and 19 yards.
No. 11 Arkansas vs. Texas A&M
3:30 P.M., ARLINGTON, TEXAS
FAVORITE / Arkansas by 51/2
RECORDS / Arkansas 3-1; Texas A&M 3-1
LAST MEETING / Arkansas won 47-19 last season in Dallas; Arkansas leads series 39-24-3
THE SKINNY / These teams met every year from 1934 to 1991 before Arkansas left for the SEC. It's the first game for Arkansas since a 24-20 loss at home to top-ranked Alabama on Sept. 25, when QB Ryan Mallett threw three interceptions as the Razorbacks blew a 13-point second-half lead. The Aggies lost at Oklahoma State last week as Jerrod Johnson threw four interceptions for the second-straight game. Last year, he set a Big 12 record by going 242 straight completions without an interception.
