Miami-Notre Dame tops wall-to-wall slate of must-watch games as the playoff race begins in earnest

This is the week the race kicks off in earnest for the College Football Playoff now that the selection committee has released its initial set of rankings.

Let the games begin. And there are some good ones on tap Saturday.

The marquee showdown is No. 1 Miami (8-0) at No. 4 Notre Dame (7-1). Miami tops both The Associated Press Top 25 and the CFP rankings . The Irish are playing for their playoff lives after starting out No. 11 in the CFP rankings.

With a win, the Hurricanes very well could keep that No. 1 ranking through the regular season with unranked Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College their remaining opponents, all at home, ahead of the ACC championship game. The only teams that have started No. 1 in the CFP rankings and won the national championship were Alabama (2020) and Georgia (2021).

Control of the Big 12 race is at stake when No. 7 BYU (7-1) visits No. 3 Utah (8-0) in the Holy War rivalry. Utah has turned over the ball twice in each of its last four games and the Utes coughed it up a total of five times in their last two meetings with BYU, losses decided by a total of four points.

No. 10 Texas (6-2) plays at No. 19 Missouri (6-2) in what could be a playoff knockout game. The Tigers are 4-0 at home, Missouri's Austin Simmons has put up better numbers than Arch Manning and SEC rushing leader Jamal Roberts went over 1,000 yards for the season last week.

No. 5 UCLA, going for its first 9-0 start since 1998, faces a big challenge in its road game against Minnesota (5-3) . The Golden Gophers don't have much offense, but they've knocked off Michigan and a ranked Iowa team at home. UCLA's Ty Dieffenbach will make his first road start since replacing injured quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

No. 9 Alabama (6-2) visits No. 15 LSU (6-2), and it amounts to a prove-it game for a Crimson Tide team ranked No. 5 by the CFP. Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell is going to need the running game to get going to counter an LSU pass rush that's second in the nation with 34 sacks.

No. 8 Kentucky (7-1) plays at No. 16 Tennessee (6-2). The Volunteers could use this one to burnish its CFP hopes and have never lost to Kentucky in five meetings under Josh Heupel, who has played coy on whether George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon will start at quarterback.

No. 11 Ohio State (6-2) hosts Oregon (5-3) in a game that loomed large when the teams entered the season ranked No. 1 and 2. It’s still a huge game because of the playoff (elimination) implications for both of these Big Ten powers.

Darian Mensah, Malachi Toney and the Hurricanes put their high-scoring offense up against the nation's top-ranked defense in Notre Dame. Irish QB CJ Carr will be going against a Miami secondary that’s given up over 300 yards passing in three straight games.

No. 2 Georgia (7-1) visits No. 12 Mississippi (6-2) in a big one for the Rebels, ranked No. 10 by the CFP. Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss has been sharp in two previous meetings with the Bulldogs, passing for 635 yards and having a hand in five touchdowns.

No. 21 Iowa, coming off a 30-0 win over Wisconsin, goes on the road to face a Northwestern team coming off a loss at Oregon. Both teams are 6-2 and still have Big Ten title game hopes.

Miami’s Mensah and Notre Dame's Carr will go head-to-head in a meeting of the current Heisman Trophy favorite and the preseason favorite.

Mensah threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-35 win at North Carolina and has completed 80.1% of his passes with 25 touchdowns. Carr is passing for better than 230 yards per game and has thrown 18 touchdowns. Each has one interception.

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith will play his second game with freshman Luke Fahey at quarterback in place of the injured Julian Sayin. Smith had 10 catches for 83 yards in a loss at Southern California but remains the nation's second-leading receiver behind Oregon State's Jesse Legree.

Chambliss is the only other player in the favorites mix behind Smith, Mensah and Carr.

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