College Football Previews

After joining the Big Ten together in 2014, Maryland and Rutgers have slowly moved toward the middle of the pack in a tough football conference. Both the Terrapins and host Scarlet Knights will try to shore things up before bowl season when they meet Saturday in Piscataway, N.J. Both programs have obtained bowl eligibility but will finish behind titans Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the final year of the Big Ten East division.

Dino Babers finally ran out of chances at Syracuse, and Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson might not be far behind. Six days after firing their coach, the Orange will host the Demon Deacons on Saturday in the regular-season finale for both teams. Babers posted two winning seasons in eight years at Syracuse and just watched his team collapse following a 4-0 start in non-conference action. The Orange (5-6, 1-6 ACC) have lost six of seven games

UCF will look to capitalize on its second opportunity to become bowl eligible when it hosts Houston on Saturday afternoon in Big 12 Conference action in Orlando, Fla. The first chance did not go well for the Knights (5-6, 2-6), who squandered a 14-point lead and dropped a 24-23 decision to Texas Tech last Saturday. The win allowed the Red Raiders to become bowl eligible. Now, UCF will need to defeat another first-time Big 12

Pittsburgh and Duke have both lost four of their last five games entering Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season finale in Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils (6-5, 3-4) hope for home relief after losing 30-27 at Virginia last Saturday and 47-45 in double-overtime the previous week at North Carolina. Duke is bowl eligible but on a downward spiral following a 4-0 start to the season. “We have to very quickly try to figure out how to

Bragging rights and the Old Oaken Bucket are at stake on Saturday when Indiana visits in-state rival Purdue in West Lafayette for a Big Ten matchup and season finale. Both squads enter the game reeling and wanting to head into the offseason with a positive vibe. Indiana (3-8, 1-7) has won just one time in its last seven games and is coming off a disappointing home loss to Michigan State on Saturday, a game in

The long-scuffling Missouri football program hasn’t posted a double-digit victory total since 2014. The Tigers have a chance to change that — and secure a New Year’s Six bowl game — when they finish their regular season Friday against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark. Missouri (9-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) kept its special season alive with a dramatic 33-31 win over Florida lat Saturday. That raised the stakes for this rivalry game with Arkansas (4-7, 1-6). “I

Boston College and Miami will look to cap the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season on a high note in their first meeting since 2018 on Friday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Eagles (6-5, 3-4) moved from 1-3 to bowl eligible during a five-game winning streak, but last week’s 24-16 setback at Pitt was their second straight loss to a sub-.500 team. Despite Thomas Castellanos’ 14th touchdown pass and Kye Robichaux’s third 100-yard rushing game

A bowl bid might not have been realistic to Nebraska at the beginning of the season, particularly with a first-year head coach admitting a massive rebuilding plan was set to begin. And then the Cornhuskers found themselves one win from postseason eligibility entering November. Victory No. 6 remains elusive. The Cornhuskers are still one win shy of being bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Their last chance comes Friday when they host Iowa

A lot of on the line in Norman, Okla., on Friday in the regular-season finale between Oklahoma and TCU. The Sooners need a win to keep their hopes of making the Big 12 championship game alive and stay in the hunt for a New Year’s Six bowl berth. College Football Playoff national championship runner-up in January, the Horned Frogs need a win over the Sooners to secure bowl eligibility with a sixth win. There are