College Football Week 10: College Football Playoff Contenders, Key Conference Matchups Highlight ESPN’s Schedule

Derek Volner October 30, 2017

Big Ten Contenders: No. 3 Ohio State and 4 Wisconsin on the Road
ACC Contenders: 6 Clemson and No. 9 Miami in Pivotal Conference Matchups
Big 12: No. 10 TCU and No. 14 Iowa State Look to Stay Atop The Standings
Pac-12: Arizona’s Khalil Tate vs. USC’s Sam Darnold

On the heels of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s first rankings reveal on Oct. 31 (7 p.m. on ESPN), ESPN’s week 10 college football schedule will feature numerous College Football Playoff contenders including No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 6 Clemson, and No. 9 Miami. The Big Ten contenders will both be on the road, while the two ACC teams face key intra-division matchups.

ABC’s Saturday Night Football Features Top 15 ACC Matchup; Late Afternoon Window Sees No. 6 Clemson at No. 20 NC State
ABC’s Saturday Night Football Presented by Walmart will feature a ranked matchup of ACC teams as No. 13 Virginia Tech is at No. 9 Miami (8 p.m.) in a pivotal battle atop the ACC Coastal Division. The Hurricanes, undefeated on the season, look to continue to bolster their CFP resume with a top 15 win, while the Hokies, who only have one loss on the year, look for their most marquee victory of the season. Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Maria Taylor will call the game from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

In the late afternoon window, ABC will air No. 6 Clemson at No. 20 NC State (3:30 p.m., ABC), a key matchup that will help decide a berth into the ACC Championship game. The Tigers, who have already suffered a road conference set-back this season, have little margin for error as they look to make the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive year. The Wolfpack, undefeated in conference play, would be in the driver’s seat for the ACC Championship game with a victory. Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe will be at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., for the call of the game.

Big Ten Leaders – No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 3 Ohio State – Look to Further Solidify College Football Playoff Standing
Both the Big Ten’s marquee College Football Playoff contenders will be showcased as No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 3 Ohio State each face a road challenge with the Badgers at Indiana (noon, ABC) and the Buckeyes at Iowa (3:30 p.m., ESPN). Both Wisconsin and Ohio State control their own destiny to qualify for the Big Ten Championship, which would further boost their standing in the eyes of the College Football Playoff selection committee. Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill will be in Bloomington, Ind., while Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay will be in Iowa City.

No. 10 TCU and No. 14 Iowa State Among the Top Teams in the Big 12
No. 10 TCU and No. 14 Iowa State look to keep pace atop the Big 12 standings, as the Horned Frogs host Texas (7:15 p.m., ESPN) and the Cyclones travel to West Virginia (3:30 p.m., ESPN2). Iowa State is coming off its second top 5 victory of the season, which has vaulted them up the AP Poll.

Pac-12 QB Battle: No. 23 Arizona and QB Khalil Tate Meet No. 17 USC and QB Sam Darnold
In the final game window on Saturday, No. 23 Arizona will be at No. 17 USC (10:45 p.m., ESPN) in a matchup of teams with outstanding quarterback play. Arizona’s Khalil Tate has been dynamic for the Wildcats, rushing for over 800 yards in the last four games, while leading his team to four straight victories. Pre-season Heisman Trophy candidate Sam Darnold has the Trojans atop the Pac-12 South standings, but with just a slim lead over the Wildcats.

American Athletic Conference Heats Up
The American Athletic Conference will have some key matchups across ESPN’s networks: No. 22 Memphis is at Tulsa on Friday, Nov. 3 (8 p.m., ESPN2), and on Saturday, No. 15 UCF at SMU (7:15 p.m., ESPN2) and South Florida visits UConn (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).

Rounding out the ranked teams on ESPN’s networks, No. 16 Auburn is at Texas A&M (ESPN) and No. 21 Mississippi State hosts UMass (SEC Network) both at noon.

Please note: AP Rankings were used in this release; however, College Football Playoff rankings will be used starting Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. and through the duration of the season

Date	Time (ET)	Game	Network
Tue, Oct 31	8 p.m.	Miami (Ohio) at Ohio Mike Corey, Rocky Boiman	ESPN2
		Bowling Green at Kent State Dave Lamont, Ray Bentley	ESPNU
Wed, Nov 1	8 p.m.	Central Michigan at Western Michigan Chris Cotter, Desmond Howard, Quint Kessenich	ESPN2
Thu, Nov 2	6 p.m.	Northern Illinois at Toledo Mike Couzens, Tom Luginbill	ESPNU
	8 p.m.	Navy at Temple Dave Flemming, Mike Golic, Mike Golic Jr., Laura Rutledge	ESPN
	9:15 p.m.	Idaho at Troy Mark Neely, Jay Walker	ESPNU
Fri, Nov 3	8 p.m.	No. 22 Memphis at Tulsa Adam Amin, Dusty Dvoracek, Molly McGrath	ESPN2
Sat, Nov 4	Noon	No. 4 Wisconsin at Indiana Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Tom Luginbill	ABC
		No. 16 Auburn at Texas A&M TV: Beth Mowins, Anthony Becht, Rocky Boiman Radio: Kevin Winter and Dusty Dvoracek	ESPN & ESPN Radio
		Florida at Missouri Jason Benetti, Kelly Stouffer, Kris Budden	ESPN2
		Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt Mike Couzens, John Congemi	ESPNU
		UMass at No. 21 Mississippi State Taylor Zarzour, Andre Ware, Olivia Harlan	SEC Network
		Sacred Heart at Bryant	ESPN3
		Evangel at Avila	ESPN3
		Valparaiso at Jacksonville	ESPN3
		California (PA) at Edinboro	ESPN3
	12:20 p.m.	Syracuse at Florida State	ACC Network Extra
	1 p.m.	Presbyterian at Monmouth	ESPN3
		Western Illinois at Illinois State	ESPN3
		Youngstown State at Indiana State	ESPN3
	1:30 p.m.	Chattanooga at Wofford	ESPN3
	2 p.m.	Western Carolina at The Citadel	ESPN3
		Missouri State at Southern Illinois	ESPN3
		South Dakota at Northern Iowa	ESPN3
		Incarnate Word at Sam Houston State	ESPN3
	2:30 p.m.	Austin Peay at Tennessee Tech	ESPN3
	3 p.m.	Georgia Tech at Virginia	ACC Network Extra
		Appalachian State at Louisiana-Monroe Jim Barbar, Watson Brown	ESPN3
		Georgia State at Georgia Southern Matt Stewart, Tyoka Jackson	ESPN3
		New Mexico State at Texas State David Saltzman, Stanford Routt	ESPN3
		North Dakota State at South Dakota State	ESPN3
		West Alabama at Valdosta State	ESPN3
		SE Oklahoma State at Arkansas Tech	ESPN3
	3:30 p.m.	No. 6 Clemson at No. 20 NC State Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe	ABC
		No. 3 Ohio State at Iowa Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Todd McShay	ESPN
		No. 14 Iowa State at West Virginia\| Mike Patrick, Tommy Tuberville, Paul Carcaterra	ESPN2
		South Florida at Connecticut Dave Lamont, Ray Bentley	ESPNU
		Charlotte at Old Dominion	ESPN3
	4 p.m.	Ole Miss at Kentucky Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb, Dawn Davenport	SEC Network
		Coastal Carolina at Arkansas Mike Morgan, Barrett Jones	SEC Network Alternate
		Cincinnati at Tulane Shawn Kenney, Wayne Gandy	ESPN3
		Louisiana at South Alabama Dave Weekley, Forrest Conoly	ESPN3
		Butler at Stetson	ESPN3
	5 p.m.	North Alabama at West Florida	ESPN3
	6 p.m.	Limestone at Wingate	ESPN3
	7 p.m.	Nevada at Boise State Clay Matvick and Kirk Morrison	ESPNU
		Grand Valley State at Ashland	ESPN3
		Southeastern Louisiana at McNeese	ESPN3
		Central Arkansas at Lamar	ESPN3
	7:15 p.m.	Texas at No. 10 TCU Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard, Allison Williams	ESPN
		No. 15 UCF at SMU Anish Shroff, Ahmad Brooks, Roddy Jones	ESPN2
	7:30 p.m.	Southern Miss at Tennessee Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic	SEC Network
	8 p.m.	No. 13 Virginia Tech at No. 9 Miami Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor	ABC
	10 p.m.	Oregon at No. 12 Washington Bill Rowsinski, David Norrie, Ian Fitzsimmons	ESPN Radio
	10:30 p.m.	San Diego State at San Jose State Kevin Brown, Rene Ingoglia	ESPNU
	10:45 p.m.	No. 23 Arizona at No. 17 USC Mark Jones, Rod Gilmore, Quint Kessenich	ESPN
		BYU at Fresno State Roy Philpott, Tom Ramsey	ESPN2

Please note: Not all ESPN3 and ACC Network games are exclusive

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner