College Football Weekend Watch Party: Utah-USC Pits Performance Against Potential

Editor's note: Every Friday, we'll use this space to tell you about the college football game you absolutely need to watch that weekend, even if it's flying under the radar. It might not always be the matchup of the two best teams, but it will definitely be the most entertaining contest. Because fun is what college football is all about, right?

Disclaimer: this is the worst week of games in recent memory, without a "must-see" contest in the bunch. That said, the Utah-USC game has piqued my interest—and it should pique yours, too.

No. 3 Utah is undefeated, with some of the most impressive victories in the country. Meanwhile, once-upon-a-time Pac-12 favorite USC is 3-3, riding a two-game losing streak and reeling from the firing of head coach Steve Sarkisian less than two weeks ago. Advantage, Utah. A blowout in the making—or so you'd think. Only USC is favored, and the line has gone from three to four points.

What gives?

Talent. I've been on the USC bandwagon all year, even as the wheels have come off, because Trojans quarterback Cody Kessler is outstanding and the school has future NFL players and former top recruits all over the field. When everything clicks, USC can be dangerous: see the Trojans' impressive comeback attempt against Notre Dame last week, which ultimately was thwarted in the fourth quarter. All that ability has to play to its potential eventually, so why not this weekend in a spoiler role?

Besides, Utah is vulnerable. The Utes have suffered from some offensive inconsistency, and muddled through close games against Arizona State and Cal. Coach Kyle Whittingham's team has done what it needs to do in order to win, which is good, but they haven't been dominant enough to move the USC betting line in their favor.

Oh, and this might be the most significant game this weekend in terms of College Football Playoff implications. So check it out.

Years ago, Tennessee was one of the SEC's standard-bearers. That might be hard to believe, given that the Vols haven't won a game in this series since 2006, the year before Nick Saban took over in Tuscaloosa. Coincidence? Probably not. The Volunteers almost certainly aren't going to win this game either—neither Tee Martin nor Peyton Manning are walking through that door—but they do have some young talent, and it will be interesting to see how far the program is from the level it wants to get back to.

What do we know about Oklahoma? We know the Sooners are sometimes really good (like when they won at Tennessee and beat Kansas State 55-0) and sometimes really bad (like when they lost to Texas). Texas Tech looks like it's having a bounce-back year under star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Red Raiders might be able to pull the upset. Either way, lots of points—and as regular readers of this column know, points are always really good.

Remember, there are no good games this week. However, not enough people have seen Baylor's incredibly efficient and explosive offense, and no game will showcase the Bears like this one. Also, this matchup reminds me of a cruelly hilarious moment from a few years ago: Baylor was beating Iowa State, 64-0, and Iowa State finally scored a touchdown—only to see Baylor return the ensuing kickoff for a score to win 71-7. Might happen again!

This is the only matchup of ranked teams this week, and it could have been much bigger, only both teams lost last week—Texas A&M to Alabama and Ole Miss to Memphis. Both of these teams have a lot of talent, and they have the pieces in place to be special down the road, but neither team seems ready for the spotlight. Do expect a hard-hitting game from both defenses as well as some fireworks from both offenses, but don't expect to see two elite teams.

Vanderbilt is ranked No. 119 in the country in scoring offense. Missouri is ranked No. 125. Vandy's offense ranks No. 109 in the advanced stats; Missouri's ranks No. 121. Translation? That's bad! This game will finish 6-4—three safeties to two safeties—and may a higher power have mercy on the souls of any non-alumni, non-inebriated, non-degenerate gambler college football fans who bother to tune in.