College football: Play it forward

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1. Oregon can’t be satisfied in thinking its win over Stanford was the last obstacle on its way to the four-team playoff. The Ducks must regroup quickly for next weekend’s unexpected championship deal-breaker at better-than-expected Utah, coming off an overtime loss at Arizona State.

2. Notre Dame continues its tricky trilogy against upper-echelon Pac-12 Conference schools when the Irish play a season-defining game at Arizona State. The game is effectively an elimination game for two schools very much alive in the playoff race. Notre Dame has already defeated Stanford and has a pending trip to USC.

3. The “old” Big Ten Conference often used to be decided with a defining November game pitting Ohio State and Michigan. The “new” Big Ten, split into seven-team divisions, will likely be decided Saturday when Ohio State plays at Michigan State for first place in the East Division.

4. Surprise, surprise, Alabama and Louisiana State will play a defining role in the national title race. LSU has already lost twice in the Southeastern Conference West but could climb back into the top 10 with a win over top-five Alabama in Baton Rouge, La.

5: No one would have predicted in September that Kansas State at Texas Christian would be such a pivotal game in the Big 12 Conference race. But with a win in Fort Worth, Kansas State can take command of the league race and overtake TCU in the College Football Playoff rankings.