Six ranked SEC teams in head-to-head matchups spread across the day? One of the most storied rivalries in college football perhaps coming to an end (at least in its current format) Saturday? Another long-running rivalry series known as the “Holy War” that will shake up the Big 12 standings?
Yes, yes and yes.
Week 8 of the college football season sets up for a full day of high-stakes action not to be missed.
Here are the five games any true college football fan will want to plan around Saturday …
(All times Eastern; all point spreads via ESPN Bet)
No. 5 Ole Miss (6-0, 3-0 SEC) at No. 9 Georgia (5-1, 3-1)
3:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Of the schools that have been in the conference since the inception of the SEC championship game in 1992, only Ole Miss, Kentucky and Vanderbilt have never played in the title game.
The Rebels are trying to change that this year.
Lane Kiffin’s team is off to the program’s best start since 2014 and, with its No. 5 national ranking, getting respect not just as a legitimate SEC contender but as a true national championship contender.
Like everything in college football, though, that’s tenuous from week to week.
Ole Miss has an opportunity to make a real statement toward those goals Saturday as it visits No. 9 Georgia in the most anticipated game on the college football slate this week.
The Rebels already have a top-10 win over LSU, but it’s not clear yet just how good that Tigers team actually is or what it says about Ole Miss, which also curiously barely got past a bad Washington State team at home last week (24-21).
But winning in Athens against the Bulldogs would say everything.
Meanwhile, the Rebels aren’t the only team with plenty to prove Saturday.
Georgia hasn’t exactly racked up style points so far this season, needing a missed field goal and then overtime to escape Tennessee, losing at home to Alabama and then falling down 10-0 at Auburn last week — and a whisker away from it being 17-0 if not for a controversial goal line fumble — before rallying to win.
It may only be mid-October, but if Georgia takes a second SEC loss (and gives Ole Miss a head-to-head tiebreaker) the Bulldogs may be out of the SEC championship chase.
So the stakes are high — and so should be the entertainment value.
It’s a prime opportunity for fans to watch one of the most interesting players in college football in Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who was playing at Division II Ferris State last year, opened the season as the Rebels’ backup QB and has since run away with the job. In four starts, he has passed for 1,227 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception with 260 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs.
Georgia is a 7.5-point favorite.
No. 20 USC (5-1) at No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2)
7:30 p.m. Saturday on NBC
USC and Notre Dame have played every year since 1926 with exception to three years during World War II and during the Covid-shortened season in 2020.
But this is the last meeting officially on the books between the storied rivals.
That doesn’t mean they won’t play again. Both sides have expressed interest in continuing the series, but the fact it’s not already figured out beyond 2025 is telling in its own right.
Even without the specter of the series ending or taking a hiatus or changing in any way, this installment of the rivalry Saturday has enough stakes on its own.
Notre Dame reached the national championship game last year and was expected to be elite again this season, but the 4-2 Fighting Irish has lost both of its games against ranked opponents so far (to Miami and Texas A&M). Could the Irish weather a third loss and still find its way back to the playoffs? Hard to say.
Meanwhile, USC has momentum and the opportunity to show that things are truly changing in Lincoln Riley’s fourth season. The Trojans rolled over then-No. 15 Michigan last week, 31-13 at home, and back-to-back wins over ranked opponents would really signal that Riley has gotten things turned around after two forgettable seasons. It would also make the Trojans a real part of the CFP conversation.
Notre Dame is a 9.5-point favorite.
No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1, 3-0)
7:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Alabama has reeled off three straight wins over ranked opponents in victories at Georgia, over Vanderbilt and at Missouri and will look to make it four in a row Saturday with Tennessee coming to Tuscaloosa.
If the Crimson Tide does keep that momentum going, it would be hard to deny that once-embattled second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer has Alabama looking a whole lot like the Alabama of old.
Quarterback Ty Simpson (1,678 passing yards, 16 TDs, 1 INT) is a top contender for the Heisman and can further strengthen his case with another big performance.
But don’t discount the Vols. They’re a missed field goal late in regulation vs. Georgia (before ultimately an overtime loss) away from being undefeated.
Alabama is a 7.5-point favorite.
No. 10 LSU (5-1, 2-1 SEC) at No. 17 Vanderbilt (5-1, 1-1)
12 p.m. Saturday on ABC
Vanderbilt is favored in a game against LSU for the first time since 1948!
The Commodores are a fun story, off to their best start since 2008, with their lone loss coming at Alabama and a 24-point win over South Carolina in their other SEC game so far.
Quarterback Diego Pavia is the catalyst for Vandy, with 1,409 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 4 interceptions along with 352 rushing yards and 2 scores. He’s proven himself in these kind of games before, leading the Commodores to an upset of then-No. 1 Alabama last year.
Also, LSU has looked plenty vulnerable so far. It hasn’t scored more than 20 points against a Power Four opponent yet and lost its only other game against a ranked foe so far, 24-19 at Ole Miss.
Vanderbilt is a 2.5-point favorite.
No. 23 Utah (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) at No. 15 BYU (6-0, 3-0)
8 p.m. Saturday on Fox
The “Holy War” returns for its 97th installment with both Utah and BYU alive in the CFP hunt, but this might be a must-win for either to keep it that way.
Only one Big 12 team made it into the 12-team field last year, and No. 7 Texas Tech is the clear class of the conference this season with a glut of teams battling for a spot in the Big 12 championship game and a potential ticket to CFP.
BYU may be undefeated, but the Cougars also haven’t had a tough path to that 6-0 record with their best win coming last week in double-overtime at Arizona. Utah lost convincingly to Texas Tech earlier this season but has otherwise looked very formidable, including a 42-10 win over reigning Big 12 champ Arizona State last week (though the Sun Devils were missing starting QB Sam Leavitt in that game).
This game will tell a lot about where these teams stand entering the final stretch of the season.