With Week 10 of College Football upon us, we have fewer ranked matchups to feast our eyes on, with only three this week - #3 Texas A&M visits #20 LSU, #15 Missouri plays at #10 Vanderbilt, and #8 Ole Miss heads to Norman to face #13 Oklahoma.
All SEC matchups in a year where that conference is eating itself, and only one involving an unbeaten team. Which means there is a whole lot of college football flying under the radar. Games that matter for teams completing long rebuilds, games that matter in conference races, even for possible CFP positioning.
Let's take a look at the best of these matchups that few are paying attention to, outside their own fanbases:
#18 USF Bulls (6-1) at Memphis Tigers (6-1)
While neither team is in first place in the American Conference, this game has significance. Both teams have future games against undefeated Navy coming up, and a potential CFP berth on the line.
Memphis has the harder schedule, with another 6-1 team in Tulane, as well as easier matchups against East Carolina (4-3) and Rice (3-4).
USF has UTSA (3-4), the aforementioned matchup with Navy, then 3-4 teams UAB and Rice.
A shot at the CFP's 5th conference champion berth awaits the winner, provided they can take care of their other games.
#11 BYU (7-0) at Iowa State (5-2)
With a third straight win over their hated rival Utah, BYU stands alone at the top of the Big 12 conference and undefeated, but now they face multiple ranked teams in-conference over the next few weeks and must rise higher if they want to stay in the CFP race.
The Cyclones started the year with statement wins over then-ranked Kansas State in Dublin, at home against in-state rival Iowa, and conference foe Arizona to rise to #14 in the AP Poll, before stumbling a bit in one-score losses on the road against Cincinnati (6-1) and Colorado (3-4) and falling out of the rankings. While they haven't looked as strong as of late, Rocco Brecht is still dangerous and could help Iowa State spring the upset.
While the Cougars have a huge matchup against #14 Texas Tech in Amarillo in two weeks, they cannot afford to take Iowa State for granted, or the Cyclones will get themselves back in the Big 12 title mix with a win.
Houston (6-1) at #24 Arizona State (5-2)
Houston might just be the most overlooked 6-1 team in college football this season. While they have one loss (35-11 to Texas Tech a few weeks ago) they have won all of their other games, even if the strength of schedule hasn't been heavyweight.
Arizona State blew the Big 12 race wide open a week ago, and they are eager to show they're not the team that took an ugly loss the week before at Utah when QB Sam Leavitt was sidelined.
The Sun Devils have a golden opportunity to knock Houston out of the Big 12 title chase, while inserting themselves back in the thick of it. The Cougars can solidify their place at the top of the conference by beating ASU this weekend, and staking a claim that they deserve to be ranked in the AP Top 25.
Northwestern (5-2) at Nebraska (5-2)
Both of these teams have proud histories, and have been working to return to respectability after very different downturns in recent years.
The Cornhuskers can reach bowl eligibility with a win, giving them back-to-back bowl seasons for the first time since 2015-16, and would be a statement that the program is truly back after years of futility.
The Wildcats are also knockjng on the door of bowl eligibility, and finally turning the page on the Pat Fitzgerald era, as current coach David Braun has reinstilled a scrappy, fighting bunch that is right where they want to be, a game out of first place in the Big Ten.
Don't think that either of these teams will take this matchup lightly - both are ready to show they belong in the Big Ten and are ready to make some noise with a win.