What to Watch: Games in Knoxville and Madison could alter the CFP race

We’re in Week 7 and the quest for the top four spots in the College Football Playoff is starting to ramp up. Both No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Ohio State have tough road games that will help them solidify their places at the top of the heap while several other teams are nipping at their heels. Conference play has a way of weeding out the pretenders and the next couple weeks will be no different.

Here’s the rest of what you should be watching this week:

Game of the week:
No. 1 Alabama at No. 9 Tennessee, 3:30 p.m. ET

Alabama coach Nick Saban has spent the week preaching to his team the importance of playing all 60 minutes of the game. In five of Tennessee’s six contests this season, the Vols have come back from first-half deficits to either win or force overtime. The second-half magic ran out last week against Texas A&M, but the Vols remain a dangerous obstacle in the Crimson Tide’s quest for an SEC West title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs had his best game of the season last week against the Aggies, but replicating that against this Alabama defense will be tough. The Tide defense is allowing 292.5 yards per game and the scoring defense is allowing 15.8 points per game. And, as usual, the Tide are especially stingy against the run, leading the nation with just 69.2 yards per game.

That means Tennessee will have to get creative with its backfield like it did against A&M. In that game, Alvin Kamara, who was starting in place of the injured Jalen Hurd, had a career day with 288 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. Kamara had 161 of those yards catching passes out of the backfield.

Even if the Vols can get their offense moving against the Alabama defense, they’re going to have trouble stopping the Tide. The Tennessee defense will be without tackle Danny O’Brien (dismissed) and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder) and that’s bad news against an offense that averaging 489.8 yards per game and 44.8 points per game.

Game to watch:
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 8 Wisconsin. 8 p.m. ET

Saturday’s game against Wisconsin might be the first time the college football world sees exactly of what Ohio State is made. Sure this is a 5-0 Buckeyes team that has dominated its competition to this point, but it hasn’t faced a defense that’s as spirited or as talented as the Badgers.

Wisconsin ranks 11^th nationally in total defense and fourth in scoring defense allowing 12.2 points per game. Two weeks ago, Wisconsin held a Michigan team that was averaging 52 points per game to just 14 points and the second touchdown didn’t come until the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Badgers, the offense hasn’t been nearly as consistent. The Badgers rank 106^th in total offense and are scoring just 26 points per game. New starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook struggled against Michigan and is going to find a similarly stingy defense against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are ranked in the top 10 statistically in every defensive category and the Badgers’ running game, which had been the program’s bread and butter, has been woeful so far this season.

On the other side, this might be a Heisman-defining game for Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett. Barrett had his worst game of the season against Indiana, completing 9 of 21 passes for a touchdown and an interception. He made most of his offense with 26 runs for 137 yards.

This contest also has College Football Playoff implications. The Buckeyes are trying to stay in the top four and even ascend to the No. 1 spot supplanting Alabama. Wisconsin, which already has a loss against Michigan, is trying to give itself a chance for a CFP berth. However, another loss, even if it’s to the nation’s No. 2 team, will most likely knock it out of contention.

Also check out…
No. 12 Ole Miss at No. 22 Arkansas, 7 p.m. ET

Ole Miss will play its first true road game when it travels to Fayetteville this weekend for what some might consider a payback game. Last year, the Rebels thought they had this game won late before Arkansas converted a fourth-and-25 courtesy of a hook-and-lateral and ultimately forced overtime. In overtime, the Razorbacks had two shots at a 2-point conversion (thanks to a facemask penalty) and quarterback Brandon Allen ran the second try in to win the game.

Most of the Razorbacks involved in that dramatic upset are gone, but several of the Rebels are still around, including quarterback Chad Kelly, who had three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in the loss.

This year could be a similar shootout. Arkansas averages 35 points per game and Ole Miss averages 41.6. Kelly is averaging about 319 passing yards per game this season and completing 66 percent of his passes. Most of Ole Miss’ success has come in the first half while teams have been able to creep back against them in the second. It’s been the opposite for Arkansas, which has seemingly played better as the game has gone on.

Both of these teams are still battling for position in the SEC West, but the Razorbacks’ chances of winning the conference are now slim with losses against Alabama and Texas A&M. Ole Miss only has one loss in conference play, so with some help, the Rebels could find themselves in play for the division title.

If nothing else, this game, if it’s anything like past contests between these two teams, should be a lot of fun.

Channel surf through…

North Carolina at No. 16 Miami, 3:30 p.m. — Both North Carolina and Miami are coming off losses, but both are still in the hunt for the ACC Coastal Division. Miami controls its own destiny since it has yet to play Virginia Tech, but another loss by North Carolina, which lost to Virginia Tech last week, might end its division title hopes.

No. 10 Nebraska at Indiana, 3:30 p.m. ET — The last time Nebraska was ranked in the Top 10 it lost to Northwestern. Enter Indiana, a team that’s playing dramatically better than anyone thought and already has a win against Michigan State under its belt. This could be a dicey game for the Cornhuskers.

Iowa State at Texas, 7 p.m. ET — This game is on the list for anyone looking to add a nail to the coffin of Texas coach Charlie Strong. The Longhorns won their first two games and have lost their last three, including last week’s 45-40 loss to Oklahoma. Iowa State is just 1-5, but it’s pushed Baylor and Oklahoma State to the brink in the last two weeks. This could be a bad week for Texas.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday