Play it forward: This week in college football

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1. UCLA and USC limp back into action after giving up 97 points combined in losses to Stanford and Notre Dame. Will games against potent California (Thursday for the Bruins) and Utah (Saturday for the Trojans) threaten the triple-digits mark for points given up?

2. Clemson is streaking and running out of chances to lose. One test comes Saturday when the Tigers travel to Miami. The only obstacle after that might be Clemson’s home showdown against Florida State on Nov. 7.

3. Ohio State at Rutgers is a game that could have been conceived only by conference realignment. Tale of two Rutgers: On Oct. 10, the Scarlet Knights spiked ball on fourth down in a close loss. On Saturday, they rallied from 25 points down to defeat Indiana.

4. Florida State at Georgia Tech begs the question: What happened to Georgia Tech? The Yellow Jackets, picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal, are 2-5 after consecutive losses to Notre Dame, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson and Pittsburgh.

5. A few weeks ago, Texas A&M at Mississippi looked as if it might decide the Southeastern Conference West. Now it’s more like the “Re-Boot Pride Bowl” as the Aggies and Rebels try to rebound from tough losses to Alabama and Memphis.