'Saturday Storylines' -- Tucson tops list

1. -- With USC not scheduled to lose to anyone this week, the biggest game in the wacky Pac-10 is in Tucson, where Oregon and Arizona are two teams in control of their own destiny in the race for the Rose Bowl. The Ducks, however, have only two hurdles to clear to win the league, one less than the Wildcats, who are seeking their first trip to Pasadena. The last time Oregon visited Arizona Stadium in 2007, the Ducks were the No. 2 team in the country, but got toppled by the Wildcats, 34-24, in one of that season's biggest upsets (pictured). Last year, Oregon exploded for 45 first-half points in Eugene, but had to weather an Arizona storm before eventually prevailing, 55-45.

2. -- Three years ago this matchup pitted No. 1 vs. No. 2. This year, all we can pretty much say is that it's still Ohio State-Michigan. But that's still plenty. You can rest assured that anytime the Buckeyes and Wolverines are on the same field it's worthy of your attention. When Ohio State has the football, make sure to take special notice of No. 65 in one of those throwback Buckeye uniforms. That's Justin Boren and he used to play for Michigan. Never mind the football. It'll be in the end zone soon enough, if the Michigan defense continues its charitable ways. Just focus on Boren. That'll be quite interesting.

3. -- Another huge rivalry is headed in the opposite direction. This year the "Big Game" actually is. Admittedly, it's bigger for Stanford than California, but because of that it's huge for the Golden Bears as well. They don't want to play any role in the Cardinal making it to Pasadena (or even San Diego). It's too bad that Cal's Jahvid Best (concussion) won't be playing. Seeing him on the same field as Stanford's Toby Gerhart (pictured) would have been loads of fun. Two of the nation's most dynamic running backs, each with very different styles, both of them are simply outstanding. Nevertheless, Best's understudy Shane Vereen is quite capable, so don't be surprised if the unexpected occurs in Palo Alto.

4. -- Despite getting embarrassed by Missouri at home last weekend, 38-12, Kansas State is involved in a winner-take-all game at Nebraska for the Big 12 North title. But because of that loss, the Wildcats aren't yet bowl eligible and need to upset the Cornhuskers to extend their season. What a story that would be . . . Bill Snyder coming back to the Little Apple and steering the Wildcats to within 60 minutes of the Fiesta Bowl. All he needs to do to accomplish that and become eligible for any bowl game is lead K-State to its second win in Lincoln since 1968.

5. -- The ACC Championship Game will be set if Clemson can get past 21-point underdog Virginia. If not, then Boston College has a shot to sneak into Tampa through the back door if it can beat North Carolina on Saturday and Maryland next week. Assuming that the Tigers are able to take care of the Cavaliers, a rematch between Clemson and Georgia Tech for the conference title would be very interesting. Way back in Week 2, the Yellow Jackets blew a 24-point lead over the Tigers, but rallied to win at home, 30-27, on a last-minute field goal.

6. -- The top two teams in the SEC and nation will be in action on Saturday, but don't look for either Florida or Alabama to sweat much as they inch toward their titanic showdown in Atlanta on Dec. 5. The Gators will be hosting Florida International, while Alabama welcomes Chattanooga to Tuscaloosa. The most noteworthy aspect of these games will be the stats and memorable plays that Gator quarterback Tim Tebow and Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram add to their Heisman Trophy resumes before getting pulled at halftime.

7. -- In his final home game, Texas' Colt McCoy is poised to become the winningest starting quarterback in college football history (and clinch the Big 12 South). He is currently tied with former Georgia star David Greene with 42 wins. All that stands in McCoy's way is a careening Kansas team that's won only one Big 12 game this season and is embroiled in an ugly controversy involving allegations of player mistreatment by head coach Mark Mangino. Two years ago, after leading the Jayhawks to a 12-1 season, quarterback Todd Reesing (pictured) never would have imagined that his first (and last) collegiate game in his hometown of Austin would be mucked up like this.

8. -- Iowa and Penn State still have a shot at claiming a piece of the Big Ten title, but that would require Michigan upsetting Ohio State. Much more importantly, the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions are involved in their own non-contact battle against each other for an at-large berth into the BCS. Although no one can be quite sure of how the BCS "draft" will go down on Dec. 6, the merits of both Iowa and Penn State will be hotly debated in the next two weeks if they can win their respective games on Saturday against Minnesota and Michigan State.

9. -- Officially eliminated from the BCS last week, Notre Dame's new mission is to earn its New Year's Day spot in the Gator Bowl. A loss to Connecticut on Saturday in South Bend would probably drop the Irish down into the realm of the Sun Bowl. Maybe that wouldn't be all that bad, if we're talking about a rematch with USC in El Paso. The Huskies, who have lost their last three games by a total of 10 points, need to win two of their last three to become bowl eligible, but this game at Notre Dame is the most important since a victory would help open up a spot for a Big East team in the Gator Bowl, which would in turn create another spot for a team like the Huskies down toward the bottom of the bowl ladder.

10. -- The Conference USA East title won't be decided until next week, but UAB's trip to East Carolina on Saturday will have a huge say in the matter. It'll feature an interesting matchup between Blazer quarterback Joe Webb who passed for 378 yards and accounted for all of UAB's touchdowns in a 31-21 victory at Memphis last week. He'll be going up against a Pirate defense that scored three touchdowns of its own last week in the fourth quarter of a 44-17 victory at Tulsa.