The college football season is quickly drawing to a close, but fear not fans, we’ve still got a few more weeks of action to tide us over until bowl season. With rivalry week on the horizon, it’s time to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

Both on the field and in the battle for King of Experts’ Picks, Barrett Sallee has made a charge to close the gap on Adam Kramer, with the rest of the field trailing back. Let’s take a look at the top five games this week—including some conference battles that will either provide clarity or create utter chaos. 

B/R

In the Big Ten, it’s put-up-or-shut-up time for both the Michigan State Spartans and Ohio State Buckeyes, as the Spartans travel to Columbus this weekend. Both teams are flawed and have each looked very impressive and very unimpressive at times this season, and this will be the game that could boost one of them to greater heights. Spartans quarterback Connor Cook was injured last week vs. Maryland, but he’s expected to be back and at full strength. For the Buckeyes, expect them to give the Michigan State defense a healthy dose of Heisman-hopeful running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Speaking of two teams that have looked unimpressive at times this year, the LSU Tigers travel to the Grove to play the Ole Miss Rebels. The Tigers are reeling from back-to-back beatdowns from Alabama and Arkansas, respectively, and it is starting to look like their initial undefeated start was all smoke and mirrors and Leonard Fournette. The Rebels, on the other hand, have been the ultimate roller-coaster team; one that can beat Alabama one week and lose to Memphis two weeks later. It won’t be the best game of the week, but it should be entertaining. 

In the Pac-12, we have a pair of resurgent teams facing off with the Oregon Ducks hosting the USC Trojans. The Trojans have won four in a row since firing Steve Sarkisian in October, including an impressive victory over then-No. 3 Utah. They’ve started to click on offense, where they are loaded with weapons.

Similarly, the Ducks have won five out of six games since losing to Utah in September, culminating in last week’s upset of the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto. Both teams are still mathematically alive to win their respective divisions, but they will need to win this game to stay in contention. 

Finally, we head to the Big 12 for two games in its back-loaded action. Fresh off their win at Baylor last week, the Oklahoma Sooners host the TCU Horned Frogs, who are reeling from injuries and managed only a seven-point victory last week at winless Kansas. Both Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson are currently questionable to play Saturday, giving Oklahoma a clear advantage.

With Baker Mayfield playing lights-out right now, the Horned Frogs will likely have no shot without their star battery combo. However, if Boykin and Doctson do suit up, they have enough talent and playmaking ability to help TCU pull the upset. For the sake of this game, let’s hope they suit up. 

This is also the week we find out if the Oklahoma State Cowboys are for real. Their win over TCU was impressive, sure, but the Cowboys looked lifeless for much of the game last week at Iowa State and needed a furious comeback to escape with victory. Baylor will be very motivated to come out and show that, despite its loss last week, it’s still a force to be reckoned with both in conference and nationally. In what should be one of the most entertaining games of the weekend, seeing how the Pokes’ physical secondary can match up with Corey Coleman and the rest of the Bears’ talented receiving corps will determine who comes out on top, and who stays alive for the conference title. 

What do you think of the picks this week? Please sound off in the comments and let us know who you’d take.