The college football fan's guide to Week 10 games

Week 10 welcomes Pac-12 and the MAC to the party, meaning all 10 FBS conferences will be playing this season. But the week's biggest games probably involve College Football Playoff contenders in the ACC and SEC.

There are two top-10 matchups this week: No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia against No. 8 Florida in Jacksonville, Florida.

Week 10 preview: Top games to watch

No. 9 BYU at No. 21 Boise State | 9:45 p.m. ET Friday | FS1

Drink some late afternoon coffee and stay up late to start the weekend. While UGA-Florida and obviously Clemson-Notre Dame will hog most of the attention, don't literally sleep on this one. In the New Year's Six chase, both the Cougars and the Broncos are thinking big. BYU QB and Heisman hopeful Zach Wilson (2,152 passing yards, 26 total touchdowns) will get a nice spot to show off. 

No. 23 Michigan at No. 13 Indiana | 12 p.m. Saturday | FS1

The 2-0 Hoosiers have their highest national ranking since No. 11 in 1987 after beating then-No. 8 Penn State and Rutgers to open this season. That win against PSU was IU's first against a top-10 team since 1987 (No. 9 Ohio State). Notice a pattern with 1987? Well, here's another mention of that year. The Wolverines have defeated Indiana 24 consecutive times. The last IU win? 14-10 in 1987.

Arizona State at No. 20 USC | 12 p.m. Saturday | FOX

The Pac-12 wades into noon Eastern kicks, which will make for a 9 a.m. start out in Los Angeles. This is also the first Pac-12 game of the season. Oregon goes into the season as the perceived conference favorite, but USC and coach Clay Helton would love to have a huge run with QB Kedon Slovis. However, Arizona State has a fun quarterback, too, in Jayden Daniels.

FBS NEWS: Schedules, updates related to COVID-19

No. 8 Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia (Jacksonville, Florida) | 3:30 p.m. Saturday | CBS

The SEC's top game this week is one of the nation's fiercest rivalries. Georgia has won the last three meetings to help secure the SEC East. It's possible — or even likely? — the winner of this will find itself in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game next month. The three-game UGA run has upended the pecking order in the division, but the Gators must feel like they have an edge at quarterback with Kyle Trask.

No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC

Here's the big one. But one important piece won't be on the field: QB Trevor Lawrence. Out because of a positive COVID-19 test and with mild symptoms, the (perhaps) best player in the country will have to watch his No. 1 Tigers. That makes freshman D.J. Uiagalelei the most intriguing player on Saturday. He had an impressive first start against Boston College, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another score to rally Clemson. But now he'll have to do it on the road against a College Football Playoff contender.

RANKINGS: All major college football polls

Big Week 10 questions

What can we expected from the Pac-12?

First, here's what's scheduled. Each team will play a seven-game, conference-only schedule, with five divisional games and one crossover game. The remaining game will be played the final week, as will the Pac-12 Championship Game between the division champions.

Oregon is perceived to be the favorite, and the Ducks are the highest-ranked Pac-12 team at No. 12 in the AP Poll. Yes, the Ducks lost a lot from last year's team and from opt-outs. But new OC Joe Moorhead should have fun molding and working with first-year quarterback Tyler Shough.

Not surprisingly, two other contenders are teams that have strong quarterbacks. Of Arizona State and USC, we'll know which one is the more serious contender, as the two meet this week. Cal could also be a team to watch, as the Golden Bears should remain strong on defense with CB Camryn Bynum even with new faces elsewhere.

Is Justin Fields the new Heisman favorite?

When Troy Smith won the Heisman as Ohio State's quarterback in 2006, he finished the season with 2,542 passing yards (30 touchdowns, 6 interceptions) and added a score on the ground.

Last season, Justin Fields was a Heisman finalist and passed for 3,273 yards (41 touchdowns, three interceptions) and rushing for 484 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Not only do those numbers tell you how much the sport has changed — that was a year where Smith won in a landslide with 91.6 percent of first-place votes with numbers that look tame now — but they illustrate just how good Fields was in his first season as a starter.

This season has been just as impressive, if not more. Through two games, Fields has almost as many passing touchdowns (six) as incompletions (seven).

With Clemson's Trevor Lawrence out because of COVID-19, Fields and Alabama QB Mac Jones have a chance to pull away from other contenders.

Both Fields and Jones have exciting games ahead, so the race is far from over — and there's still time for a surprise.

College football rankings: Top 25 for Week 10

RANK	ASSOCIATED PRESS	COACHES POLL
1.	Clemson (33)	Clemson (43)
2.	Alabama (29)	Alabama (17)
3.	Ohio State	Ohio State (2)
4.	Notre Dame	Notre Dame
5.	Georgia	Georgia
6.	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
7.	Texas A&M	Texas A&M
8.	Florida	Florida
9.	BYU	BYU
10.	Wisconsin	Miami
11.	Miami	Wisconsin
12.	Oregon	Oklahoma State
13.	Indiana	Indiana
14.	Oklahoma State	Oregon
15.	Coastal Carolina	Marshall
16.	Marshall	Coastal Carolina
17.	Iowa State	Iowa State
18.	SMU	SMU
19.	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
20.	USC	USC
21.	Boise State	Auburn
22.	Texas	Army
23.	Michigan	Boise State
24.	Auburn	North Carolina
25.	Liberty	Michigan