We are entering the stretch run of the 2024 college football season, and now that we are getting weekly playoff rankings, every game will become even more important.
This week’s biggest game on the schedule is in Athens, Ga., where No. 12 Georgia hosts No. 7 Tennessee. The Bulldogs were the first team out in this week’s rankings, and a third loss might be a dagger for their playoff chances. But a win over a top-10 team would almost certainly push them back in.
The only other game between teams in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff Rankings is in South Carolina, where the No. 21 Gamecocks host No. 23 Missouri.
The top four teams in the rankings are all playing games where they are double-digit favorites, including No. 2 Ohio State (against Northwestern at Wrigley Field) and No. 4 Penn State (at Purdue). Both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are favored by four touchdowns. No. 1 Oregon (at Wisconsin) and No. 3 Texas (at Arkansas) are both two-touchdown favorites.
There is a sneaky big ACC game in Pittsburgh. Pitt is trying to snap a two-game losing streak and keep its conference title hopes alive when it hosts No. 20 Clemson. Even with a win on Saturday, both teams would need help from SMU or Miami to reach the ACC title game.
No. 17 Colorado controls its path to a Big 12 championship (and, by extension, a playoff appearance) and is a big favorite against Utah.
There is another massive game in the AAC where Navy can play its way back into a top-two spot in the conference if it can beat No. 25 Tulane. A Navy win would put a potential Army-Navy conference championship game back on the table.
—Adam Gretz
All games listed are on Saturday. Kickoff times are Eastern. Rankings are from the College Football Playoff Rankings. All odds are from BetMGM.
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The SEC race is a jumbled mess, but Texas is in the upper portion of that group with one loss in conference play. The Longhorns, favored by about two touchdowns, hope to stay a game ahead of the chasing pack at Arkansas on Saturday.
As it stands, the Texas-Texas A&M game at the end of the regular season could decide which team goes to the SEC title game, but first, Texas must clear another rivalry reborn this weekend. Texas and Arkansas were both in the old Southwest Conference until Arkansas bolted for the SEC in 1992. Texas moved to the Big 12 in 1996, back when the number of teams in a conference actually dictated the conference’s name.
The recent series history between these two is symbolic of why “Texas is back” became a running joke. Arkansas has won four of the six meetings since the Southwest Conference days, including both bowl games between the two. That’s a good reminder that Texas was not back for a lot of years this century.
The Razorbacks haven’t always been an easy out for top teams this season. While LSU (34-1) and Ole Miss (63-31) decimated the Razorbacks, Arkansas shocked Tennessee 19-14 and held a fourth-quarter lead against Texas A&M before falling 21-17.
Arkansas is coming off a bye, while Texas is coming off what might have felt like a scrimmage. The Longhorns left no doubt in a 49-17 win against a Florida team that was on its third-string quarterback. Texas led 42-0 midway through the third quarter before calling the dogs off.
—Dan Santaromita
Picks against the spread
Everything is aligned for No. 17 Colorado to secure a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, starting with the game against Utah on Saturday. The Buffaloes are not only a double-digit favorite, but this is the first time they have been favored against Utah since 2016, the last time they beat the Utes.
If Colorado simply handles its business the rest of the way and beats three teams, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State (with a combined record of 10-18), the Buffaloes will have a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game and a chance to play their way into the College Football Playoff, completing an incredible turnaround from last year’s four-win season.
The Utes are the first team up in that stretch, and the Big 12 Championship comes down the road.
Utah enters the game having lost five in a row and dealing with major problems on offense. The Utes are on their third quarterback of the season after starter Cameron Rising and replacement Brandon Rose have both been lost for the season. Utah has scored more than 23 points in a game just three times and is averaging 15.5 points per game in Big 12 play.
Utah will need more offense than that on Saturday to keep pace with a Colorado team averaging 32.4 points per game. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is the focal point of the Buffaloes’ offense, completing more than 72 percent of his passes with 24 touchdown passes to six interceptions.
Two-way star Travis Hunter is also continuing his Heisman Trophy campaign by playing over 100 snaps per game and leading the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns while also being tied for the team lead in interceptions.
—Adam Gretz
Picks against the spread
Clemson at Pitt looked like a marquee game on the ACC schedule just a couple of weeks ago. Since then, Clemson got manhandled by Louisville at home, and the Panthers have dropped two straight. Still, both teams are in the ACC title race but need some help. Clemson is favored by two scores on the road.
This is Clemson’s ACC regular-season finale. The Tigers are 6-1 in ACC play, with a game against The Citadel preceding the in-state rivalry game against South Carolina. A win at Pitt leaves Clemson at 7-1 but in need of help from SMU and Miami to advance to the ACC title game.
Pitt is only 3-2 in the league and still has a trip to Louisville ahead, so the Panthers’ path to the title game is less likely and fraught with danger. On top of that, quarterback Eli Holstein left last week’s loss to Virginia due to injury. He got hit while sliding in the third quarter and did not return. It’s not yet clear if Holstein will play. Junior Nate Yarnell was 4-for-12 for 44 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in Holstein’s absence. Virginia outscored the Panthers 17-6 in the second half of a 24-19 win.
Clemson bounced back from its loss to Louisville with a 24-14 win at Virginia Tech, but the Tigers’ offense once again looked uninspiring. The Tigers were scoreless in the first half.
—Dan Santaromita
Picks against the spread
After Missouri beat Oklahoma last week, Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz said the win kept his team in the playoff picture. While Mizzou is a two-loss team in the SEC, making that statement technically true, it doesn’t seem likely for this Missouri team to stay a two-loss team by the end of the regular season. A big reason why is this week’s game at South Carolina, where the Gamecocks are favored by nearly two touchdowns.
The big question for Mizzou is the status of quarterback Brady Cook. Cook suffered a sprained ankle against Auburn four weeks ago. He went to the hospital during that game and returned to lead his team to a comeback victory. He then played against Alabama a week later and left with a hand injury that kept him out against OU.
While Cook returning would seem like the glimmer of hope Mizzou would need in this game, putting in an injured quarterback against this South Carolina defense sounds downright terrifying. The Gamecocks are third in the country in sacks with 33 and handily beat a Texas A&M team that destroyed a healthy Missouri earlier this season.
If Cook doesn’t play, the quarterbacks in this matchup are stylistically very different. Drew Pyne, yes, that’s former Notre Dame starter Drew Pyne, started against the Sooners and threw for three touchdowns in a wild game, but he makes Peyton Manning look fast at times. Meanwhile, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers has nearly 400 rushing yards on the season, including 106 yards in a gem against the Aggies.
Sellers is just one dynamic playmaker in this matchup. Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III is a likely first-round pick and South Carolina running back Raheim Sanders is averaging more than five yards per carry and has 11 touchdowns this season.
—Dan Santaromita
Picks against the spread
The biggest game on the Week 12 college football schedule will take place between the hedges on Saturday night when Tennessee and Georgia square off. The Volunteers are ranked higher than the Bulldogs but are sizable underdogs for this critical SEC contest.
If No. 7 Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC) defeats No. 12 Georgia (7-2, 5-2) and then Vanderbilt in two weeks, the Vols will be in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game and should also be in good shape to make the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs need to win out to have a shot at playing for a title of any kind.
The big concern for Tennessee is the status of redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He didn’t play in the second half of last week’s win over Mississippi State and was placed in concussion protocol. There’s optimism he’ll be cleared in time, but backup Gaston Moore could get the start.
The Volunteers’ offense has revolved around a rushing attack ranked second among Power 4 teams and averaging 235.1 yards per game. Dylan Sampson (SEC-leading 1,129 yards and 20 touchdowns) has been the workhorse, but Iamaleava’s role in coach Josh Heupel’s system can’t be overlooked. If he doesn’t play, that could be a big advantage for Georgia’s defense. The Bulldogs rank in the top 25 nationally against the run and are limiting conference opponents to 3.6 yards per carry.
The bigger issue for Georgia is that quarterback Carson Beck has thrown seven interceptions compared to two touchdowns in the last three games, and the team managed just 60 rushing yards on 32 attempts in last week’s loss at Ole Miss. It won’t get any easier for Beck and company against a Tennessee defense giving up fewer than 17 points per game to SEC foes.
Beating the Bulldogs is not something the Volunteers have done since 2016. Since then, Georgia has rattled off seven straight victories in this series. The 2016 season, head coach Kirby Smart’s first, was the last time the Bulldogs lost back-to-back games. Georgia has also won 28 in a row at Sanford Stadium.
—Mark Ross
Picks against the spread
No. 1 Oregon is in the “just don’t mess it up” section of its schedule, which consists of three soft games and a bye over the final four weeks. After easily dispatching Maryland, the Ducks head to Wisconsin as two-score favorites for the second game in this run.
The Ducks haven’t allowed an opponent to get within 21 points since they downed Ohio State 32-31 in Week 7 and have smothered teams in the second half of games. The Buckeyes managed just 10 second-half points, and they were the highwater mark. Opponents are averaging 6.2 points in the final two quarters over the last five weeks and Wisconsin, ranked 81st in total offense, isn’t equipped to buck the trend.
The Badgers aren’t in the top 50 in either rushing or passing and, outside of running back Tawee Walker, feature no individual challengers to Oregon’s defensive personnel.
The Ducks, meanwhile, have a Heisman candidate in quarterback Dillon Gabriel, and his favorite receiver, Tez Johnson, is tied for 11th nationally with eight touchdowns and is eighth in receptions (64). Wisconsin’s fifth-ranked pass defense could give them a fight, but Oregon can always turn to Jordan James on the ground. James has 10 touchdowns to go with nearly 1,000 yards and should have no problem chewing through the Badgers’ 91st-ranked run defense. Wisconsin is allowing 164.6 yards per game on the ground, and James is averaging nearly 95, so the Ducks should be just fine if the passing game is slow to get going.
Oregon should head into their bye week with just Washington between them and a perfect regular season. Then, in December, a likely Ohio State rematch awaits.
Just don’t mess it up.
—J.J. Bailey
Picks against the spread
Picking only the biggest games is not the smartest way to bet, so each picker is adding another bet with everything from every game on the table. We are tracking the records in these picks as well as counting them in the overall picks standings.
Austin Mock: Navy +7 vs. Tulane
Chris Vannini: Tennessee/Georgia under 49.5
Dan Santaromita: LSU -4.5 at Florida
David Ubben: Michigan State +3 at Illinois
| Writer | Overall record | Wild card picks | Last week |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Chris Vannini |
49-33 |
7-4 |
2-6 |
|
Dan Santaromita |
39-43 |
3-8 |
3-5 |
|
Austin Mock |
39-43 |
6-5 |
4-4 |
|
David Ubben |
37-45 |
6-5 |
1-7 |
(Photo of Dylan Sampson: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
Former Oregon Ducks tight end Terrance Ferguson got in the end zone for the first time in his young NFL career. The Los Angeles Rams rookie hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass from Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford in their 35-7 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
The Los Angeles Rams selected tight end Terrance Ferguson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Ferguson has not been involved too much in the passing game so far this season, but had his biggest reception in the Rams win over the Jaguars.
On a 4th down and 1 in the fourth quarter, Stafford went play-action and then reared back and delivered a perfect ball to a streaking Ferguson to bump the Rams lead up to 27-0. It was just second reception of the season for Ferguson, who now has two receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown. Check out the touchdown grab below.
Terrance Ferguson, first NFL TD!pic.twitter.com/lxgaVYfaue
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 19, 2025
It was a complete domination from the Rams, who stayed the whole week in Baltimore before flying across the pond to London the day before the game. The Rams were down star wide receiver Puka Nacua and that opened the door for other weapons to make plays, like Ferguson.
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Before being drafted by the Rams, Ferguson played his college football with the Oregon Ducks from 2021 through 2024. In his four years in Eugene, he totaled 1,537 receiving yards and 16 touchdown receptions.
Despite Oregon’s coach changing from Mario Cristobal to Dan Lanning after Ferguson’s freshman year, he stayed with the Ducks even when many players have decided to leave with a new coach coming in.
Ferguson’s receiving yards went up each season with Oregon, boosting his draft stock and eventually landing him as a third round pick. Is he helping pave the way for success for future Oregon Ducks tight ends?
Oregon’s top tight end in 2025 is Kenyon Sadiq. Sadiq is in his third season with Oregon and it has been his best year to this point. He has 21 receptions for 305 yards and five touchdown receptions.
Sadiq was one of the players of the game for Oregon in their last outing against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Ducks went on the road and dominated from start to finish in their 56-10 win. Sadiq had a game high 80 receiving yards on four receptions and two touchdowns.
This was an important win for Oregon, who bounced back from their home defeat to the Indiana Hooisers. The Ducks are now ranked No. 6 in the country in the updated AP Top 25 poll. They are 6-1 this season. Up next is the Wisconsin Badgers at Autzen Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 25.
EUGENE — Oregon moved in the polls after it ravaged Rutgers.
The Ducks are No. 6 with 1,317 points in the AP poll and No. 6 with 1,302 points in the coaches poll following their 56-10 win over the Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium.
That’s up from No. 8 with 1,175 points and No. 9 with 1,154 points, respectively, last week.
Oregon (6-1, 3-1) hosts Wisconsin (2-5, 0-4) on Saturday (4 p.m., FS1).
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As part of an estimated 2,600 other “No Kings” events held across the U.S., thousands of gathered in communities across Oregon on Saturday to denounce the Trump Administration.
Since the first “No Kings” rally back in June, President Trump has intensified crackdowns on immigrants, sent armed troops to largely Democratic cities, and has attempted to fire federal workers as the government shutdown nears its third week.
In Eugene, a crowed estimated by Eugene Police to number between 3,500 and 4,000 people gathered downtown.
Jenny Jonak, a Eugene 4J school board member, wore an inflatable frog costume to show solidarity for the Portland demonstrators who’ve done regular protests outside that city’s ICE facility. She said she objects to Trump and some conservative media outlets that have characterized Portland as a lawless city that’s on fire and ruled by Antifa.
“And featuring it as war torn when those of us who live in Oregon know that that’s clearly not the case,” said Jonak. “Whether it affects Eugene or not, we’re always concerned when we see our neighbors having encroachments like that and also just seeing something that deviates so much from the truth is disturbing.”
Dean Schlichting and his wife, Clara Lanyi, came to the Wayne Morse Federal Courthouse dressed in inflatable costumes, as a squirrel and bald eagle respectively.
Schlichting says as a federal worker himself, he’s very concerned for his peers.
“And I’m sympathetic to everything else that’s going on,” he said. “I mean there’s so many issues, it’s hard to pick a single one. Because it just seems like it’s a full court press to pull our attention in every direction. And make us feel weak and powerless, and that’s not the case as you can see here.”
“We are regular Americans, we are not terrorists,” said Lanyi. “We believe in the Constitution. We are patriots. And we don’t like to see what’s happening with our country today.”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pre-emptively criticized the “No Kings” rallies as anti-American.
That didn’t sit well with Bonnie Pettit, 66, whose father served in World War II. She held a sign of her father in uniform, which read “My father fought fascism in World War II. Now I will.” She sees Trump’s crackdown on the press, immigrants, and dissent as too similar to the fascist leaders of the 1930s and 40s, and wondered how her dad would react.
“Probably turning in his grave as most of the ‘Greatest Generation’ would be if they saw what was happening to America right now,” Pettit told KLCC. “I don’t think we were ever a true democracy. But we’re still trying. And I think basically our experiment is over.”
In that same vein was Kendra Northam of Eugene, who held a sign that read, “FREEDOM NOT FASCISM.” She said she was concerned over the rise in sexism, racism, and xenophobia with this administration.
“I think it’s always been there to a certain degree,” she said. “But when you have people in quote-unquote leadership, that promote and make it okay, it brings the worst out of some people and it makes it normalized which is really, really scary. And that’s what I’m saying, history is repeating itself.”
Northam said as a Korean American, she’s aware of discrimination and recalled how Japanese Americans were put into internment camps during World War II, and wonders if similar plans lie ahead for immigrants, people of color, and more.
The protests also stretched into more rural and politically conservative areas of Oregon.
In Roseburg, more than 1,000 people lined Stewart Parkway, attracting a stream of supportive honking and occasional jeers from passersby.
Wearing a frog hat in solidarity with Portland, protestor Lynn Bethan said she was there because she loves America, and wants to preserve its liberties for future generations.
“We’re known as a red city in a red county in a blue state,” said Bethan. “And by me being present here, I’m showing that there are progressive people here in this town.”
Roseburg is in Douglas County, where around two-thirds of voters supported Trump in last year’s election.
But Melissa Sherwood with Indivisible Douglas County said the new administration’s deportation policies are harming immigrants in the local community, while Trump’s promises of lower grocery bills haven’t come to pass.
“Billionaires are doing quite well. Millionaires are doing very well. The average working class American family is suffering,” said Sherwood. “I think that’s really waking people up, and I hope that it wakes up my neighbors.”
Dave Esper, a U.S. army veteran and Sutherland resident, brought a “don’t tread on me” flag to Saturday’s event. He said he was taking the symbol away from those who have taken the American flag from him.
“I’m representing myself as someone that says you’re not going to tread on me or my rights,” said Esper. “You’re not going to tread on my neighbor’s rights. You’re not going to tread on the immigrants that feed us, and feed this nation. You’re not going to tread on them.”
Saturday’s event drew a handful of religious and pro-Charlie Kirk counter-protesters.
Prior to the event, organizers told KLCC they’d learned of a credible threat of gun violence against the No Kings Day event, but they were able to identify and report the individual.
The Roseburg Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for more information about the alleged threat.
“ I’m taking it from them like they took my flag from me.”
Some of Trump’s allies have characterized the “No Kings” rallies as potentially violent “hate America” events, but the first ones held in June were peaceful. No violence has been reported so far from Oregon’s rallies.
Brian Bull reported from Eugene and Nathan Wilk reported from Roseburg.
Copyright 2025, KLCC.
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