As for our first team, let’s go out west to Los Angeles where the USC Trojans (6-5) will play host to the No. 5 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 pm ET on CBS. For a Notre Dame program whose best win is a road victory over the Texas A&M Aggies, it will be key for the Fighting Irish, who have a loss at home to Northern Illinois, not to slip up at USC, and if they do, then their CFP outlook could come into question not being in a conference.

Next, the result that could potentially impact Alabama in the rankings most is the matchup between the No. 12 ranked Clemson Tigers (9-2) hosting the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (8-3) at 12 pm ET on ESPN this Saturday. Clemson is the lone team sitting between Alabama and the CFP field, and with a South Carolina win, the Tigers would certainly drop below the Crimson Tide, while the Gamecocks, even despite a big win, would likely still be behind Alabama in the rankings whom they lost to 27-25 back in October.

Looking at the ACC, the No. 6 ranked Miami Hurricanes (10-1) need a road victory at the Syracuse Orange (8-3) to keep their conference title hopes alive, with kickoff set for 3:30 pm ET on ESPN this Saturday. A loss Saturday could be detrimental to Miami’s CFP hopes who already have a loss this season at Georgia Tech, while their best win is a 52-45 road victory at Louisville.