Play it forward: Week ahead in college football

Five things to watch this week in college football:

1. Enjoy Thanksgiving dinner on Fox Sports 1 with Texas Tech at Texas in a game that will feature tight camera shots of Mack Brown and endless speculation about who might replace him as Texas coach. Hasn’t Todd Graham put in enough time at Arizona State? He has been there nearly two years.

2. What a block party: Auburn fans saw their Tigers move up in the polls during a bye week while they positioned their recreational vehicles in the parking lot more than a week in advance of the biggest Iron Bowl. The only hard part now will be defeating Alabama.

3. So much for late-season drama as the Pac-12 Conference title matchup was confirmed the instant Arizona State held off UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Arizona State will play Stanford in two weeks and can even play host to the game if the Sun Devils defeat Arizona in the Territorial Cup.

4. Wait a minute. The Big Ten Conference title game is also set? The answer is yes. Ohio State and Michigan State have clinched their divisions but the undefeated Buckeyes are playing for more than a Rose Bowl berth. They need to beat THAT school in Ann Arbor (Michigan) to keep their national title hopes alive.

5. Applications for the Heisman Trophy are still available. This year’s race is completely muddled after Marcus Mariota (Oregon), Bryce Petty (Baylor) and Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M) fumbled their weekend chances. Florida State’s Jameis Winston would be the clear favorite if not for his legal issues.

—Chris Dufresne