Obviously, this weekend's meant for rivalries and the high-impact matchups. Nevertheless, here are five games that might be worth checking in on, even if conference championshps and BCS bids aren't necessarily on the line (or, at least, directly on the line).
1. Texas Tech at Texas. The Longhorns have made Thanksgiving evening theirs, and this time around, it's the Red Raiders that come to town for the Turkey Day clash. Even though Oklahoma State can clinch the Big 12's BCS spot with a win over the Sooners next Saturday, Texas or Baylor can still pull off a conference co-championship by winning out. Baylor hosts Texas in the finale at Floyd Casey Stadium next Saturday, which could be a matchup for a split championship with the Cowboys (or an outright Big 12 title and Fiesta Bowl bid should the Sooners win the Bedlam game).
2. Iowa at Nebraska. Hawkeye fans were feeling frustration at the beginning of the year, while the Cornhusker faithful were feeling hopeful of a division or conference crown. Well, the Big Ten Legends isn't on the line here, but these two programs seem to be trending in opposite directions. Can Iowa knock off Nebraska, accomplish a 4-game improvement from a year ago, and send Nebraska into bowl seasons with questions to consider? This could also give a little BCS computer boost to Northern Illinois, who beat Iowa back in Week 1, who continues to need the computer love to offset Fresno's human poll edge over the Huskies.
3. South Florida at Central Florida. Yes, the Bulls are terrible this season and should be a complete mismatch with the BCS-seeking UCF Knights. However, the ESPN Black Friday night game has brought us some surprises over the years - none more memorable than the 2010 stunner of Nevada over Boise State. Now, that Nevada team (who had Colin Kaepernick and finished 13-1) was a lot better than this USF team. But with the institutional rivalry between these two schools (Orlando vs Tampa, large student bodies, former Big East vs Conference USA), I'll be interested to see just how this winds up. This is the kind of loss that could turn into 2 for UCF and allow Louisville or Cincy right back into the BCS race!
4. Penn State at Wisconsin. Last year, a winning record for the Nittany Lions was initially unfathomable (particularly after losing to a mediocre Ohio and awful UVA to start off 2012). But, they pulled off a spectacular 8-4 with an impressive win against Wisconsin in the finale. This time around, the game is in Madison, and the Badgers have their sights set on their 4th straight BCS Bowl (though Ohio State and Michigan State may have something to say about that). In order to have any shot, it's a must-win for Wisconsin. For Bill O'Brien and Penn State, it's their season finale once again, and they'd love nothing more than to close out at 7-5 and secure a winning record once again.
5. Boston College at Syracuse. A win against Syracuse would complete a fantastic BC turnaround from 2-10 to 8-4...props to Steve Addazio! Also, some folks are tabbing BC's Andre Williams as a serious Heisman candidate; a quality performance could wrap up Andre's invitation to New York. A win for the Orange, however, would secure them bowl eligibility once again, and it would let the ACC be the first conference to have 11 bowl-eligible teams!
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