A Viewing Guide to Step Up Saturday

Survey the schedule for today in college football, and it’s hard not to notice that the top is a little light: Florida and Texas don’t play today, and Alabama has Kentucky, so the Tide should roll. It’s the supporting cast of college football that will make up for the stars not shining today, and they will do it either by proving they belong in the firmament or by flaming out. (All times Eastern.)↵↵Michigan at Michigan State. Tate Forcier’s confidence-slash-audacity has so far been backed up by results, but the trip to East Lansing is, incredibly, Michigan’s first road game of the year. Both defenses, put kindly, are offense-friendly, so Forcier may need to come through in the clutch again for the Wolverines, this time away from the Big House. Result: Michigan State 26, No. 22 Michigan 20 OT↵

↵↵South Florida at Syracuse. We learned last week that the Bulls have a defense that can control a game with pressure. What we don’t know is how good the Bulls are on offense, because the win over Florida State is their only game against a BCS conference foe, and they only put up 17 points. Syracuse shouldn’t, in this or any other universe, be as tough a foe as FSU, but the Bulls have a history of letdowns. If B.J. Daniels can guide them through the Carrier Dome unblemished, it may be time to consider USF a Big East contender. Results: South Florida 34, Syracuse 20↵

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↵↵LSU at Georgia. Can Jordan Jefferson throw against Georgia’s porous-is-an-understatement pass defense? Can Georgia move the ball against an LSU defense that hemorrhages yards against legitimate competition? Will Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson slobber all over A.J. Green? These are the questions society asks itself, I’m sure. (Also: Can LSU deliver a game that makes their lofty ranking look less like a typo?) Result: No. 4 LSU 20, No. 18 Georgia 13↵

↵↵UCLA at Stanford. Strange though it may seem, the winner of this game may briefly be considered a Pac-10 power. Stanford combines Andrew Luck’s big arm with Toby Gerhart’s churning running, and will ride each against the 15th-ranked defense in the country. Result: Stanford 24, UCLA 16↵

↵↵Washington at Notre Dame. It’s simple: If Notre Dame loses this game, they’re not going to get to ten wins in the regular season, because the Irish will not beat USC. But if Washington wins, let us be clear, Jake Locker and Co. will not claim a measure of revenge for deposed U-Dub coach Ty Willingham; they’ll just continue a Husky resurgence that has been one of the pleasant surprises of this college football season. Result: Notre Dame 37, Washington 30 OT↵

↵↵Auburn at Tennessee, 7:45. Prediction: The Vols’ defense tries to slow down Gus Malzahn’s turbo-button offense by playing Eric Berry at multiple positions, which leads to at least one highlight reel play, which leads to Chris Todd doing his best Jonathan Crompton imitation, which leads to Crompton showing Todd the full Crompton. Oh, and Auburn gets to prove that it has the offensive firepower to upset one of the heavies in the SEC West.↵

↵↵USC at California, 8. Jahvid Best at his best is the only way Cal wins this game: If USC cheats up on defense and challenges Kevin Riley to beat them through the air, things will end badly for the Golden Bears. USC’s offense hasn’t been anything special, though. Winner earns the mantle of Pac-10 favorite.↵

↵↵Oklahoma at Miami (Fla.), 8. Two of 2011’s best quarterbacks, Miami’s Jacory Harris and Oklahoma’s Landry Jones, hook up for what could be a shootout in Miami. Of course, the Sooners will probably just try to run over a ‘Canes team that got worked last week by Virginia Tech. For OU, a win would return them to the fringe of BCS title contention; for Miami, a loss would drop them to a 2-2 mark after four games that would have been regarded as a success by ‘Canes fans doing forecasts in August.↵

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