WEEK 13: USC-Oregon top game as playoff bracket takes shape

Two matchups of Associated Press Top 25 teams will have College Football Playoff implications Saturday and a bevy of other games will impact conference races.No. 16 Southern California heads to No. 6 Oregon for what essentially will be a battle for the third spot in the Big Ten's CFP pecking order behind Ohio State and Indiana. No. 23 Missouri visits No. 8 Oklahoma, a game the two-loss Sooners need to win to further strengthen their position for a bid.With two weeks left in the regular season, six teams remain alive for spots in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. The game to watch is Pittsburgh at No. 15 Georgia Tech, which would lock up a spot in Charlotte with a win.No. 11 BYU plays at Cincinnati in the Big 12's top game. The Cougars and No. 6 Texas Tech have the inside track to the conference title game. BYU would clinch Saturday if Arizona State (at Colorado) and Houston (vs. TCU) lose their games. Texas Tech has an open date before finishing at West Virginia.No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 10 Alabama are first in line for the Southeastern Conference championship game with Georgia and Mississippi still alive. Nothing will be solved until next week, though, because Mississippi has an open date and the other three teams are playing nonconference games.No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana remain on a collision course in the Big Ten. Oregon and USC still have improbable paths to the title game and so does No. 18 Michigan.No. 22 North Texas controls its destiny in the American. The Mean Green hold the tie-breaker over Navy and would play for the title if they win out against Rice (road) and Temple (home). Navy is in if it wins at Memphis next week. Tulane must win out and have UNT or Navy lose.Best game No. 16 Southern California (8-2) at No. 6 Oregon (9-1), 3:30 p.m. This is their first meeting since they moved from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten last year and their first as ranked opponents since 2015. The key matchup is USC's top-10 offense against Oregon's third-ranked defense.Nothing has come easily for the Trojans since their loss at Notre Dame. Nebraska gave them a four-quarter game, Northwestern pushed them into the second half and they had to come back from a 14-point deficit late in the first half to beat Iowa.Oregon had an extra day to prepare for this game after easily handling Minnesota a week after escaping Iowa with a win on a field goal with 3 seconds left.Under the radarWashington State (5-5) at No. 21 James Madison (9-1), 1 p.m. James Madison already has locked up a spot in the Sun Belt Conference championship game and is a serious contender for the Group of Five's automatic CFP bid. The Dukes have one loss, to Louisville, so that makes this nonconference game crucial. The selection committee almost certainly won't take a two-loss team from the Sun Belt.JMU is favored, but this is not a gimme. Washington State has beaten Mountain West-leading San Diego State and has two road losses by a combined five points against then-No. 4 Mississippi and then-No. 18 Virginia.Heisman watchIndiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza has become the overwhelming Heisman Trophy favorite among the wagering public. Mendoza opened the season at plus-5,500, or 55-to-1, on BetMGM Sportsbook and now is the only player with negative odds. He entered the week at minus-115, meaning a bettor would have to put up $115 to win $100.Mendoza strengthened his position by going 22-of-24 passing with four touchdowns in last week's win over Wisconsin. The Hoosiers have an open date this week and close the regular season at Purdue.Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (9-to-4) and Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (5-to-1) are the second and third wagering choices.Numbers to know3 — Sacks allowed by Cincinnati, fewest ever through 10 games by a Big 12 team.18 — Oklahoma's consecutive home wins against Missouri, which hasn't won in Norman since 1966.29-6 — Temple coach K.C. Keeler's career home record, when his team is coming off an open date, entering the Owls' game against Tulane.35 — Bret Bielema's win total at Illinois, the program record for a coach's first five seasons.100% — Rice opponents' conversion rate on 26 trips inside the 20-yard line entering its game against national scoring leader North Texas.Hot seatSouth Carolina went from what looked as if it would be the high point of its season to the low in a matter of two hours last week. The Gamecocks led No. 3 Texas A&M 30-3 at half on the road, and 30 minutes of football stood between Shane Beamer and the highest-ranked win in his five seasons. By game's end, the Aggies had erased a 27-point deficit to win 31-30 and Beamer's job security was a hot topic.There were so many positive vibes surrounding the Gamecocks back in August. They had ended the 2024 regular season with six straight wins, four of them over ranked opponents. Beamer got a new contract, he and his family were featured on a Netflix documentary about SEC football, and his team was No. 13 in the AP preseason poll.Following a 2-0 start, the Gamecocks have lost seven of eight entering Saturday's home game against Coastal Carolina. They can't qualify for a bowl, so their home game against Clemson on Nov. 29 will end the season.Beamer's contract runs through 2030. If he's fired after the season, he will be owed $28 million, according to the Greenville (S.C.) News.