What to Watch, Week 13: Let’s decide some division races, shall we? 
We’re going to do a little different format this week simply because there are too many great games this weekend to pinpoint just three.
It is, as you all know, the weekend that decides several conference championship games and could decide whether teams are in or out of the college football playoff.
With that said, here’s what to watch in Week 13 (games are Saturday unless otherwise noted):
No. 15 Navy at Houston, noon ET, Friday: This game won’t only decide the West Division of the American Athletic Conference and home-field advantage in the conference title game, it likely will determine the Group of Five representative in the New Year’s Six Bowl. Navy has dominated the AAC in its first year in the league and one more victory would set the school record for wins and give the program its first 10-1 start since 1905. If it does so — and caps an undefeated regular season conference campaign — it also might earn quarterback Keenan Reynolds a trip to the Heisman ceremony in New York.
No. 4 Iowa at Nebraska, 3:30 p.m. ET, Friday: Nebraska will attempt to spoil Iowa’s perfect season with an upset win. The Hawkeyes moved from fifth to fourth in the CFP rankings and is two wins away from securing its coveted spot in the postseason. Nebraska needs a win to earn bowl eligibility. The Cornhuskers haven’t missed a bowl berth since 2007. Nebraska already has one major upset under its belt, a controversial 39-38 win against Michigan State, but no one’s been able to take down the Hawkeyes yet.
No. 7 Baylor at No. 19 TCU, 5 p.m. ET, Friday: Baylor is not out of the Big 12 or CFP race just yet, but Friday’s game against a severely hobbled TCU team doesn’t bring as much cachet as it might have earlier in the season. That said, Baylor has its own injuries with both its starting and backup quarterbacks out and its third stringer, Chris Johnson, starting his first career game. TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, who missed last week’s game, would add a big boost for TCU, but without star receiver Josh Doctson, who is out for the season with a wrist injury, the Horned Frogs’ chances of keeping pace with Baylor’s high-powered offense are slim.
No. 8 Ohio State at No. 10 Michigan, noon ET : With Ohio State losing last week, this game isn’t nearly as interesting as it could have been. Still, Ohio State has a chance to play for the Big Ten title should it beat the Wolverines and Michigan State lose to Penn State. The most interesting thing about this contest might be how Ohio State responds to not only last week’s loss, but the comments made by running back Ezekiel Elliott following it. Elliott had issues with the playcalling and coach Urban Meyer said he would get more involved. The Buckeyes have had trouble finding continuity on offense all year and that could be a real problem against a Michigan defense that’s been tough all season.
Penn State at No. 5 Michigan State, 3:30 p.m. ET: The goal is simple for Michigan State — win and you’re in. Thanks to last week’s win against Ohio State, the Spartans are one win away from playing for the Big Ten title and perhaps two wins away from a spot in the College Football Playoff. There’s still a question whether quarterback Connor Cook will start Saturday’s game. Cook sat out with injury last week and Tyler O’Connor and Damion Terry split snaps to lead the Spartans to victory. They’ll need to be even better this week against a tough Penn State defense.
No. 22 UCLA at USC, 3:30 ET: Many believed the Pac-12 South title would run through Los Angeles, but it took a circuitous route to get to this point. The winner of this game will face Stanford for the Pac-12 title. That’s really the only prize here, but it’s a significant one considering USC hasn’t won a conference title since 2008 and UCLA hasn’t won one since 1998. Both of these teams have beaten up defenses and USC star receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was dealing with various injuries during last week’s loss to Oregon. UCLA has won each of the last three contests in this series, but these teams are pretty even and this game could be closer than past contests.
No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 9 Stanford, 7:30 p.m. ET: Both of these teams are actually fighting for the College Football Playoff lives in this contest. Notre Dame slipped to No. 6 in the latest CFP rankings after a lackluster performance against Boston College. In that game, the Irish had three redzone turnovers (five overall), something that has plagued them at times this season. Defensively, Notre Dame has been hit and miss and will have trouble containing Stanford’s do-everything player Christian McCaffrey, who is inching closer to Barry Sanders’ all-purpose yards record. This is Notre Dame’s last chance to prove it belongs in the CFP, but it needs to dominate Stanford — and have some key teams lose — to even get a sniff at the top four.
No. 3 Oklahoma at No. 11 Oklahoma State 8 p.m. ET: Oklahoma could be the first team to truly solidify its spot in the College Football Playoff with a win against rival Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Sooners jumped from No. 7 to No. 3 in the weekly rankings and a road win over the No. 11 team in the country would seemingly solidify their spot. This game will hinge on the Oklahoma defense and its ability to get pressure on quarterback Mason Rudolph, who was disrupted all game in the loss to Baylor. Sooners’ quarterback Baker Mayfield missed the second half of last week’s game against TCU with concussion symptoms, but will be back this week. The offense runs smoothly with him under center and the Sooners will need to score early and often to put this one away.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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