Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.
This weekly feature aims to preview the five college football games with the most impact on the playoff race. In reality, this week’s slate will have little to no such impact – barring some truly unimaginable results.
Thanks to some scheduled open dates, a little rearranging and yes, naturally, several COVID-19 cancellations, a number of the top contenders aren’t taking the field at all. The two that are from the SEC will be heavy favorites and will be trying to fine-tune things for next week’s head-to-head showdown.
We should note here that there is a Top 25 matchup in the ACC, but No. 8 Miami has little realistic chance of overtaking enough teams ahead of it to be a factor, even with a win against No. 20 North Carolina.
That leaves the Pac-12, whose two remaining undefeated teams won’t face each other but still have hope for a league title – and a whole lot of chaos next week.