Gameday - Week #13

It is a cold day in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where today's edition of ESPN's College Gameday is broadcasting in 34 degree (F) weather in anticipation of tonight's game between #4 Baylor and #10 Oklahoma State (8:00 PM Eastern ABC).  A victory for the Bears would put them in a position to clinch a share of the BIG XII championship and maybe pass #3 Ohio State in the BCS rankings.  However, if Oklahoma State triumphs, we will see a situation where three teams (Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Texas) in the BIG XII would be tied for first place.  Of course, the conference's automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl would go to the team with the highest BCS ranking.  As for the rest of the BIG XII, #20 Oklahoma will play Kansas State at Noon Eastern on Fox Sports 1 while Iowa State will host Kansas tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern on the same network.  As for Texas, the Longhorns have a bye this week.  They will play Texas Tech on November 28th (Thanksgiving Day) to earn their share of the BIG XII Turkey.

In the Big Ten today, the outcomes of two border rivalry games may determine who goes to Indianapolis for the conference championship game on Saturday, December 7th.  At Noon on ESPN, #13 Michigan State will play Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois.  A win here for the Spartans will allow them to clinch the Legends division championship.  In the Leaders division, #3 Ohio State will host Indiana at 3:30 PM on either ABC or ESPN2 (Check Local Listings).  Ohio State has to win today in order to clinch a berth in the Big Ten Championship, but Indiana's strong offense may make it difficult for the Buckeyes to maintain their winning streak.  Last year, Indiana only lost by three points in a 52-49 shootout against Ohio State.  Will this year's game be any different?  We will find out later this afternoon.  The Big Ten's slate also features two inter-divisional games.  Penn State hosts Nebraska this afternoon at 3:30 PM on the Big Ten Network while #25 Minnesota hosts #19 Wisconsin at 3:30 PM on ESPN.   The Golden Gophers and the Badgers will be playing for Paul Bunyan's Axe, which looks like this:

Special Thanks to ESPN for this image.

The PAC-12 today also features a rivalry game involving an Axe trophy.  #9 Stanford hosts California in a rivalry known as "The Big Game" and their Axe trophy looks like this:

Image source:  http://coacheshotseat.com/

Today's Stanford-Cal game may not have much of an impact on the BCS standings, but two games in the PAC-12 may determine who clinches a berth in the conference championship.  #5 Oregon travels to Arizona at 3:30 Eastern on ESPN2 or ABC (Check Local Listings) and #17 Arizona State faces #14 UCLA in Pasadena.  A win here for Arizona State would enable the Sun Devils to clinch the PAC-12 South division title while Oregon could clinch the North division if they beat the Wildcats.  A loss by Oregon today would put Stanford, should they beat Cal, back into the BCS debate.

Finally, in the SEC, #8 Missouri travels to Oxford to play #24 Ole Miss this evening (Kickoff is at 7:45 PM Eastern on ESPN).  One can argue that this is the most important game in the Southeastern Conference this week since #1 Alabama is playing Chattanooga, #11 South Carolina is playing Coastal Carolina, and Auburn has a bye this week.  The Tigers have to win this game in order to remain in consideration for the SEC East division title.  However, as more than one team has found out (especially a #6 ranked LSU), it has been very difficult to beat the Rebels at home this year.  So far, the only team to do so has been Texas A&M.  But even with Johnny Manziel, the Aggies only won by three points (final score:  41-38).  Speaking of #12 Texas A&M, they play #22 LSU at 3:30 Eastern on CBS.  Enjoy the day, everybody!!