Big game for USC at Oregon

Five things to watch for this week:

1 No. 4 USC plays at No. 10 Oregon on Halloween night with the ESPN “GameDay” crew in town and Lee Corso possibly putting a pumpkin on his head. It’s the game of the year in the Pac-10 as Oregon tries to go 5-0 in conference and USC tries to win in Oregon for the first time since 2005.

2 Florida and Georgia hook up in Jacksonville for their annual “Cocktail Party” game with the Gators (7-0) struggling on offense yet somehow moving back to No. 1 in the polls. Georgia (4-3) seeks to salvage a disappointing season with a signature victory against a bitter rival.

3 Bill Snyder is at it again. In his second stint at Kansas State, the man who turned around the worst program in college football history has the Wildcats leading the Big 12 North with a 3-1 record. Now comes a huge up next: at Oklahoma.

4 Notre Dame, which became America’s Team in the 1920s under legendary coach Knute Rockne, is sharing again by playing a nonconference game Saturday in San Antonio. The Irish picked the right opponent: Washington State.

5 We’re not sure why Texas didn’t move to No. 1 after crushing Missouri, 41-7, but the Longhorns might take back the top spot next week if they can beat No. 13 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Texas owns the all-time series with a 21-2 record.

-- Chris Dufresne