This week features important conference matchups, upset alert for college football

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No. 13 Syracuse University (8-2, 5-2) at No. 3 University of Notre Dame (10-0)

The Syracuse Orange will ride a four-game winning streak into this game against the Fighting Irish as the two teams will face off in Yankee Stadium on Saturday.

The Fighting Irish are one of the three remaining undefeated teams this season in college football.

The matchup in this game to watch is Syracuse’s high-powered offense that averages 44.4 points per game against Notre Dame’s defense, which has limited its opponents to 18.7 points per game.

The Oranges’ offense is led by senior quarterback Eric Dungy, who has thrown for 2,193 yards and thrown 14 touchdowns.

In the backfield along with Dungy is junior running back Moe Neal. Neal has rushed for 716 yards on 119 carries through the first 10 games, and he has also scored five touchdowns.

We will see if Dungy and Neal will be able to do damage to the Fighting Irish defense.

Notre Dames’ offense — which averages 34.5 points per game — is led by junior quarterback Ian Book. Book has achieved 1,824 yards on 152 completions.

Book’s favorite target, senior wide receiver Miles Boykin, has caught eight of Book’s 15 touchdown passes — along with 654 reception yards on 44 receptions.

Senior running back Dexter Williams has also been a force in Notre Dame’s offense. Williams has amassed 770 yards on 113 carries and has achieved 10 touchdowns.

The Orange have a shot at ruining the Fighting Irish’s undefeated season.

This game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC.

No. 22 Iowa State University (6-3, 5-2) at No. 19 University of Texas (7-3, 5-2)

This is a major game for both teams in the race for a spot in the Big 12 championship game, as both sit in a tie for second place in the conference.

The Cyclone’ are red hot, riding a five-game winning streak, and the Longhorns just got back to winning against, as they defeated Texas Tech on Saturday to snap a two-game losing skid.

It is safe to expect an evenly matched game since both teams have a good offense and defense.

Iowa State’s offense is led by true freshmen quarterback Brock Purdy — who has thrown for 1,315 yards on just 83 completions, as well as 13 touchdowns — has been having an exceptional season.

Purdy’s favorite target, junior wide receiver Hakeem Butler, has caught eight of Purdy’s 13 touchdowns. This duo could give the Longhorns’ defense a lot to deal with, as the Longhorns’ have allowed 276.2 passing yards per game.

Texas’ offense — which averages 270.9 passing yards per game — is led by sophomore quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger has 2,483 yards on 205 completions and 20 touchdowns.

The Cyclones’ defense that has allowed 235 passing yards per game will have its hands full against the duo of quarterback Sam Ehlinger and junior wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey. Humphrey is near the 1,000 yards receiving mark with 947 yards on 63 receptions, along with seven touchdowns.

This game will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday on Longhorn Network.

No. 9 West Virginia University (8-1, 6-1) at Oklahoma State University (5-5, 2-5)

This game might now look extremely appealing by the records, but Oklahoma State has shown that it can compete this year. The Cowboys have also shown they can pull off an upset on their home field in Stillwater, Oklahoma, as they defeated then-ranked No. 6 Texas 38-35 in week nine. They also just nearly upset Oklahoma in a gut-wrenching 47-48 loss in Norman, Oklahoma.

We can expect a high-scoring game as both offenses have put points on the board all year. The Mountaineers have averaged 40.9 points per game, and the Cowboys have averaged 39.2 yards per game.

Both quarterbacks — West Virginia senior Will Grier and Oklahoma State senior Taylor Cornelius — may be competing in a shootout since both teams’ defenses have given up more than 200 passing yards per game.

Grier has been off the charts this season — he has 31 passing touchdowns this season and has really come through in the clutch for his team this season.

Cornelius has been great this season for his team. The Cowboys’ record might not show it but he has allowed the Cowboys to compete this season against the highly ranked teams.

The Cowboys will have another chance at diminishing another team’s hope for the College Football Playoff, and in this case also for a conference championship.

This game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC.

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