Big Ten & SEC Weekend Preview: Alabama-LSU, Nebraska-Ohio State Headline Week 10 Slate
In the tenth week of the college football season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee are making visits throughout Big Ten and SEC country, meeting with fans across both conferences in advance of the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on December 31st.
#1 Alabama at #13 LSU– 8:00 p.m. on CBS
Top-ranked Alabama (8-0, 5-0 SEC) travels to Baton Rouge to meet LSU (5-2, 3-1 SEC) under the lights in Death Valley. Dating back to September of last season, the Crimson Tide have won 20 straight games including last year’s 30-16 victory over the Bayou Bengals. It is the fourth-longest streak in school history and the longest under Nick Saban. LSU enters the contest 3-0 under interim head coach Ed Orgeron. Their combined margin of victory in those three games (84) matches their total points scored through the previous four. Meanwhile, the Tigers’ defense continues to cause problems for opposing offenses, allowing just eight touchdowns on the season (the fewest in the nation). Both teams were off last week following victories at home over ranked conference opponents the previous week. Alabama leads the all-time series with LSU, 50-25-5, including a 26-9-2 mark on the road. The Crimson Tide have won the past five meetings; however, the previous five meetings in Death Valley have been extremely tight with a combined score of 103-103 including two overtime games. The Tigers last win in the series came by way of a 9-6 victory overtime victory in Tuscaloosa in 2011.
#10 Nebraska at #6 Ohio State – 8:00 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
Nebraska (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) heads to Columbus to face Ohio State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) looking to stay atop the Big Ten West Division and keep their Big Ten Championship hopes alive. Despite suffering a tough 23-17 overtime loss on the road against Wisconsin last week, the Huskers still hold a one-game advantage in the division race. Ohio State will not make it easy as they need a win to keep their conference championship hopes alive as well. The Buckeyes are 15-4 in night games at the Horseshoe including wins in 13 of their past 14. The Buckeyes are also 14-3 against ranked opponents under Urban Meyer and have yet to lose more than one regular season game in a season during Meyer’s four-year tenure in Columbus. The Cornhuskers and Buckeyes have met just four times prior with the Buckeyes holding a 3-1 edge. The two programs have not played since 2012 when Ohio State rolled to a 63-38 victory at home.
Iowa at #12 Penn State– 7:30 p.m. on BTN
In another Big Ten divisional crossover game, Iowa (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten) travels to Penn State (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) for the first meeting between the programs since 2012. The Nittany Lions are on a four-game winning streak and 5-0 at home this season. The Hawkeyes have won nine straight road contests dating back to 2014,tied for the second-longest ongoing streak in FBS and trailing only Alabama (10). The Nittany Lions have won the past two meetings to take a 13-12 lead in the all-time series, but the road team has had better success in the series holding a 15-10 advantage. The Hawkeyes have also won the past four meetings where Penn State entered the game ranked.
#8 Wisconsin (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) at Northwestern (4-4, 3-2 Big Ten) – 12:00 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
Maryland (5-3, 2-3 Big Ten) at #3 Michigan (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) – 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Vanderbilt (4-4, 1-3 SEC) at #9 Auburn (6-2, 4-1 SEC) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN
#11 Florida (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at Arkansas (5-3, 1-3 SEC) – 3:30 p.m. on CBS
Georgia (4-4, 2-4 SEC) at Kentucky (5-3, 4-2 SEC) – 7:30 p.m. on SECN/ESPN