Wayne Staats | NCAA.com | November 15, 2019 College football Week 12 preview: Top games, what to watch, rankings 5 college football games to watch in week 12 Share We're getting down to the final stretch of the college football regular season. In Week 12, the conference and division races will become more clear as teams hope to move up the rankings. Below, find our preview of the Week 12 top games, what to watch out for and the Top 25 rankings. College football Week 12 preview: Top games Michigan State at No. 15 Michigan | 12 p.m. Saturday | FOX Michigan has looked much, much better since a brutal start to the Penn State game. The schedule gets tougher here, though, even if Michigan State has slumped to 4-5. The Wolverines still get Indiana and rival Ohio State to close the season. But Michigan should continue its ascent against the Spartans. LATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS COVID-19 UPDATES: Schedule tracker | Game times, TV info | Bowl schedule RANKINGS: AP Top 25 Poll | USA Today Coaches | CFP top 25| Every poll, explained MORE: How accurate are Lee Corso's picks? | 13 of the most successful walk-ons HISTORY: National champs | Winningest teams | Coaches with most titles Indiana at No. 9 Penn State | 12 p.m. Saturday | ABC How will Penn State regroup after losing for the first time this season? This will be a test, as Indiana is 7-2 and is ranked for the first time since 1994. PSU is 21-1 all-time against IU and needs to win this and shock Ohio State next week to have a chance in the East. No. 23 Navy at No. 16 Notre Dame | 2:30 p.m. Saturday | NBC The Irish won 43 in a row in this series before Navy memorably won in 2007. The Midshipmen have won three more times since then and bring a national ranking into this one. Notre Dame is hoping to close strong to possibly get into a New Year's Six game. The Irish can't let Navy dictate the pace. Wake Forest at No. 3 Clemson | 3:30 p.m. Saturday | ABC This looked like it could be a test, but Wake Forest lost to Virginia Tech by 19 points last week. So this won't be a game against an AP-ranked team for the Tigers. Also, those Trevor Lawrence interception concerns might be a thing of the past — he's thrown nine touchdowns without a pick in his last three games. UNDEFEATED WATCH: Tracking the remaining undefeated teams this season No. 4 Georgia at No. 12 Auburn | 3:30 p.m. Saturday | CBS Georgia has rounded into championship contender form since losing to South Carolina and beating Kentucky in a slog. Still, Auburn might be primed for the upset. Tigers QB Bo Nix could find a new level at home in front of what will be a loud crowd. No. 8 Minnesota at No. 20 Iowa | 4 p.m. Saturday | FOX Minnesota has now raised expectations after stunning then-No. 4 Penn State. The Big Ten West title is getting closer to reality, as are the College Football Playoff hopes. But this is a series Iowa has dominated lately, even taking the last four. No. 1 LSU at Ole Miss | 7 p.m. Saturday | ESPN OK, LSU. You beat 'Bama. Now don't go through a letdown at Ole Miss. The Rebels are 4-6, so they'll need to beat the Tigers and then win the Egg Bowl to become bowl eligible. They'll be hyped up and ready to go. But LSU should be good for another huge offensive game behind Heisman favorite Joe Burrow. No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 13 Baylor | 7:30 p.m. Saturday | ABC Baylor continues to be ranked behind the other remaining undefeated teams. The Bears have played some close games this season, though Oklahoma has also looked less than dominant. The Sooners' defense has struggled in recent weeks, plus Baylor has the tough defense that could stand tall against QB Jalen Hurts and WR CeeDee Lamb. TOP 25 POLLS: College Football Playoff | Associated Press | Coaches Poll College football preview: What to watch What does the 1-loss team hierarchy look like? It's possible the College Football Playoff will have four undefeated teams: LSU, Clemson, Baylor and the Big Ten champion (Ohio State or Minnesota). But it's more likely there will be at least one 1-loss team playing in the semifinals. 2014: Three of the four semifinalists had one loss 2015: Three of the four semifinalists had one loss 2016: Three of the four semifinalists had one loss 2017: ALL four semifinalists had one loss 2018: One of the four semifinalists had one loss Of the current batch of 1-loss teams, which ones could have the strongest case? You have to start with the SEC, where Georgia could end up 12-1 with wins against Florida, Auburn and possibly LSU in the conference title game. That's a really strong resume. If Alabama wins out, it would be 11-1 without any real big wins (Auburn might be the top one by season's end — if the Tide beat Auburn) and with no division or conference title. Penn State is one of the most highly ranked 1-loss teams, but the Nittany Lions might pick up a second loss soon with Ohio State on Nov. 23. If PSU shocks the Buckeyes, a 12-1 PSU team would be very, very hard to leave out. A lot can change, but one of the more interesting debates would be between a 1-loss Oklahoma (or Baylor) against a 1-loss Pac-12 champion (Oregon or Utah). If the Ducks and Utes play in the Pac-12 title game, it could very well end up being a quasi-play-in game if things break right elsewhere. CFP: Examining the state of the Playoff race after Week 11 What's next for Alabama? Alabama has been so dominant for so long with Nick Saban, it's always eye-opening when the Tide lose. It's even more so when Alabama loses at home (first time 2015 to Ole Miss) and gives up 559 yards and 46 points. 'Bama still has Tua Tagovailoa and Najee Harris and an incredibly talented receiving group, but the defense isn't a force. And with a lack of major wins (the best win now is...unranked Texas A&M?), Alabama will need to hold off fast charging 1-loss conference champions if it's going to make the College Football Playoff again. It's unlikely Alabama wins the SEC West, so it'll likely finish at best 11-1 with a win against Auburn as the highlight. Is that enough? The Tide made the CFP in 2017 without winning the SEC West and ended up winning the national title. There might be too many 1-loss conference champion contenders this season for Alabama to get the benefit of the doubt again. College football rankings for Week 10: College Football Playoff, AP Poll, Coaches Poll RANK CFP ASSOCIATED PRESS Coaches Poll 1. TBD LSU (54) LSU (55) 2. TBD Ohio State (5) Ohio State (5) 3. TBD Clemson (3) Clemson (4) 4. TBD Alabama Alabama 5. TBD Georgia Georgia 6. TBD Oregon Oregon 7. TBD Minnesota Minnesota 8. TBD Utah Oklahoma 9. TBD Penn State Utah 10. TBD Oklahoma Baylor 11. TBD Florida Penn State 12. TBD Baylor Florida 13. TBD Auburn Auburn 14. TBD Michigan Michigan 15. TBD Wisconsin Wisconsin 16. TBD Notre Dame Notre Dame 17. TBD Cincinnati Cincinnati 18. TBD Memphis Memphis 19. TBD Boise State Boise State 20. TBD SMU SMU 21. TBD Navy Navy 22. TBD Texas Iowa 23. TBD Iowa Texas 24. TBD Indiana Appalachian State 25. TBD Oklahoma State Indiana Week 12 college football schedule, game times, TV channels Tuesday, Nov. 12 Western Michigan at Ohio | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2 Eastern Michigan at Akron | 8 p.m. | ESPNU Wednesday, Nov. 13 Bowling Green at Miami (OH) | 8 p.m. | ESPNU Northern Illinois at Toledo | 8 p.m. | ESPN2 Thursday, Nov. 14 Buffalo at Kent State | 7 p.m. | CBSSN North Carolina at Pitt | 8 p.m. | ESPN Friday, Nov. 15 Louisiana Tech at Marshall | 7 p.m. | CBSSN Fresno State at San Diego State | 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2 Saturday, Nov. 16 Indiana at Penn State | 12 p.m. | ABC Kansas at Oklahoma State | 12 p.m. | FS1 Alabama at Mississippi State | 12 p.m. | ESPN Florida at Missouri | 12 p.m. | CBS Michigan State at Michigan | 12 p.m. | FOX Tulane at Temple | 12 p.m. | ESPNU Alabama State at Florida State | 12 p.m. | ACC Network Extra UMass at Northwestern | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network TCU at Texas Tech | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 VMI at Army | 12 p.m. | CBSSN Wisconsin at Nebraska | 12 p.m. | Big Ten Network UTEP at UAB | 1 p.m. | ESPN3 Navy at Notre Dame | 2:30 p.m. | NBC Idaho State at BYU | 3 p.m. | ESPN3 Troy at Texas State | 3 p.m. | ESPN3 UL Monroe at Georgia Southern | 3 p.m. | ESPN+ Coastal Carolina at Arkansas State | 3 p.m. | ESPN+ Georgia at Auburn | 3:30 p.m. | CBS Ohio State at Rutgers | 3:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network West Virginia at Kansas State | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN Wake Forest at Clemson | 3:30 p.m. | ABC Kentucky at Vanderbilt | 3:30 p.m. | SEC Network Texas at Iowa State | 3:30 p.m. | FS1 Memphis at Houston | 3:30 p.m. | ESPN2 Central Michigan at Ball State | 3:30 p.m. | CBSSN Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech | 3:30 p.m. | RSN Minnesota at Iowa | 4 p.m. | FOX Wyoming at Utah State | 4 p.m. | ESPNU Syracuse at Duke | 4 p.m. | ACC Network Incarnate Word at New Mexico State | 4 p.m. | FloSports Stanford at Washington State | 4:30 p.m. | Pac-12 Network Rice at Middle Tennessee | 4:30 p.m. | ESPN+ Louisiana at South Alabama | 5 p.m. | ESPN+ Hawai'i at UNLV | 5 p.m. | Spectrum Sports Southern Miss at UTSA | 6 p.m. | ESPN+ LSU at Ole Miss | 7 p.m. | ESPN Air Force at Colorado State | 7 p.m. | ESPN2 Cincinnati at South Florida | 7 p.m. | CBSSN Appalachian State at Georgia State | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU Oklahoma at Baylor | 7:30 p.m. | ABC Arizona State at Oregon State | 7:30 p.m. | FS1 Louisville at N.C. State | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network South Carolina at Texas A&M | 7:30 p.m. | SEC Network UCLA at Utah | 8 p.m. | FOX New Mexico at Boise State | 10:15 p.m. | ESPN2 Arizona at Oregon | 10:30 p.m. | ESPN Southern California at California | 11 p.m. | FS1 2020 NCAA FCS championship field announced The field of 16 teams competing for the 2020 NCAA Division I Football Championship was announced on Sunday, April 18, by the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee. READ MORE DII Report: Colorado Mesa, Central Missouri baseball battle for top spot in closest Power 10 rankings, so far The race for No. 1 in the latest DII baseball Power 10 rankings are closer than ever with Colorado Mesa and Central Missouri continuing to roll. We also take a look at some impressive DII football numbers in this week's DII Report. 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