College Football Previews

Michigan’s football program is making a serious run for a College Football Playoff berth and America’s favorite soap opera at the same time. The controversy swirling around coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff has taken many twists and turns. The team’s drive for a national championship, however, remains undeterred. The Wolverines (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten), ranked No. 3 in the latest poll, will play their penultimate regular-season game against Maryland on Saturday at College Park,

Ole Miss lost to Alabama in September to fall behind in the SEC West Division race. The Rebels lost to Georgia last week to snap a five-game winning streak. Both of those games were on the road. The No. 13 Rebels (8-2, 5-2) are 6-0 at home as they prepare to host Louisiana-Monroe in a non-conference game to conclude their home schedule Saturday. “The chance to have an undefeated home season is awesome, so obviously

Besieged this week by questions about the firing of his offensive coordinator, Penn State coach James Franklin implored reporters to address the No. 12 Nittany Lions’ next opponent. “At some point during this press conference I’d love to get just a few questions about Rutgers,” he said Monday. Despite Franklin’s efforts, the visiting Scarlet Knights (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) received little attention from the press corps ahead of the Saturday clash with the Nittany Lions

Cal has more than just “The Stanford Axe” in mind when it attempts to win the rivalry game against host Stanford on Saturday afternoon in the annual Big Game. It will be the school’s final meeting as members of the Pacific-12 Conference. The Golden Bears (4-6, 2-5 Pac-12) must win at Stanford (3-7, 2-6) and again on Nov. 25 at UCLA in order to get to .500 for the season and become bowl eligible. They

When the dust settles Saturday, Texas Tech or UCF will bag a sixth victory and stretch its schedule by one game with certified bowl eligibility. Wins usher both the Red Raiders (5-5, 4-3 Big 12) and Knights (5-5, 2-5) into Lubbock for their first Big 12 meeting. Texas Tech claimed a 16-13 triumph at Kansas last week with its best defensive effort of the season. UCF pounded Oklahoma State 45-3 in Orlando, riding a huge

After a two-day stretch that saw two Southeastern Conference West Division coaches get fired, rumors swirled that Arkansas coach Sam Pittman would be next. But Pittman — still standing — will lead his Razorbacks (3-7) against Florida International (4-6) in Fayetteville, Ark., on Saturday night in non-conference play, the first of Arkansas’ final two games of the season, both at home. The anticipation for Saturday’s game will not match last week’s fervor against division rival

After ending a 14-game losing streak in true road games last week, Northwestern will try to close a strong home season in Evanston, Ill., against Purdue on Saturday. The Wildcats (5-5, 3-4 Big Ten) can become bowl eligible by doing something they haven’t all season: winning consecutive games. Northwestern is coming off a 24-10 road victory against Wisconsin that featured the return of quarterback Ben Bryant, who had missed the previous four games with an

Virginia will conclude an emotional week in Charlottesville on Saturday by facing a Duke team desperately seeking a win. The visiting Blue Devils (6-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) have dropped three of their last four games after a 5-1 start, including 47-45 in double overtime last Saturday at rival North Carolina. The Cavaliers (2-8, 1-5) marked the one-year anniversary of the campus shooting deaths of three football players on Monday and also are dealing with

South Carolina’s quest to become bowl eligible will advance when the team hosts Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference clash on Saturday night in Columbia, S.C. The Gamecocks (4-6, 2-5) answered four straight losses with a 38-28 win over Jacksonville State on Nov. 4 and a 47-6 victory vs. Vanderbilt last Saturday. Should South Carolina beat the Wildcats (6-4, 3-4), it would set up a regular-season finale with Palmetto State rival Clemson on Nov. 25 for