College Football Previews

Nebraska may be headed in the right direction, but last weekend’s loss still got coach Matt Rhule fired up. Either Nebraska or visiting Maryland will achieve bowl eligibility when they face off Saturday in Big Ten action in Lincoln, Neb. The Cornhuskers (5-4, 3-3) had won three straight before a 20-17 loss at Michigan State. While claiming his program isn’t made up of “excuse-makers,” Rhule bemoaned officiating in his team’s close losses to Minnesota and

Wisconsin will try to regain its offensive stride against visiting Northwestern on Saturday as the Badgers look to remain in contention in the Big Ten West. The Badgers (5-4, 3-3) will return to Madison after a 20-14 setback last Saturday at Indiana, their third loss in four games. Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) lost to Iowa 10-7 at Wrigley Field the same day on a field goal with 14 seconds left. Wisconsin is tied with Nebraska and

Boston College will aim for its first six-game winning streak since 2007 when the Eagles host Virginia Tech in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Saturday at Chestnut Hill, Mass. The Eagles (6-3, 3-2) return home looking to build on last Friday’s 17-10 win at Syracuse, an outcome that secured their bowl eligibility for the third time under fourth-year coach Jeff Hafley. “I’d be crazy to think that our guys aren’t paying attention to what’s going

Pitt and Syracuse have taken a beating in Atlantic Coast Conference play this season, leaving both teams longing for a victory Saturday when they meet at Yankee Stadium in New York City. The Panthers (2-7, 1-4) have lost three straight games, including the last two by a combined margin of 82-14. They fell to Florida State 24-7 last weekend, although the game was tight until the Seminoles scored two touchdowns in the final four minutes

North Carolina State has done some heavy lifting in the past couple of weeks, and there’s little room for a slip-up. The Wolfpack visit struggling Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday at Winston-Salem, N.C., with some big questions, however. NC State (6-3, 3-2) has won back-to-back home games against Clemson and Miami, and those victories have allowed the Wolfpack to stay in the race for the second spot in the ACC championship

Bowl eligibility is at stake as Clemson hosts Georgia Tech in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday in South Carolina. Both teams are coming off their fifth victories of the season as Clemson (5-4, 2-4) notched an upset of Notre Dame while Georgia Tech (5-4, 4-2) soundly beat Virginia. Somewhat surprisingly, the Yellow Jackets are still in the hunt for a berth in the ACC championship game, as they are in third place in the

Indiana might not embrace the common ground with a neighboring Big Ten rival ahead of a Saturday afternoon date at Illinois in a Big Ten crossover game. But the Hoosiers (3-6, 1-5) and Fighting Illini (4-5, 2-4) can’t ignore it exists. Neither team performed to the level it had hoped and through nine games is grasping at faint hope for a postseason. But there is optimism thanks to upset wins by both programs last week.

Though BYU and West Virginia have the same overall records, they come into their Saturday Big 12 matchup at Morgantown, W.Va., following entirely different experiences last weekend. In their first-ever visit to the state of West Virginia, the Cougars (5-3, 2-3 Big 12) hope to bounce back after a 35-6 road loss to then-No. 7 Texas. The Mountaineers (5-3, 3-2) will look to keep momentum gained last week in a 41-28 win at UCF after

Arizona is looking for its third consecutive victory over a ranked team but will have to solve No. 19 UCLA’s chaos-creating defense when the teams meet Saturday night in Tucson, Ariz. The Wildcats (5-3, 3-2 Pac-12) will be trying to make a claim of their own for the Top 25 if they knock off the Bruins (6-2, 3-2), who are 10th nationally in total defense (277.5 yards allowed per game), third in sacks (3.88 per