college football

The NFL playoffs start, and the college bowl season nears its close. Here's what to watch this weekend:

Star quarterback Teddy Bridgewater leads Louisville into its second-ever BCS bowl game. But he'll be tested by the Florida Gators and one of the nation's toughest defenses.

Terrance Broadway passed for 316 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 108 more plus another score to lead Louisiana-Lafayette to its second consecutive New Orleans Bowl victory. Alonzo Harris added 120 yards and two scores for ULL. The Ragin’ Cajuns jumped out to a 28-7 lead early in the second quarter only to see East Carolina go on a 24-3 run in the next 13 minutes to tie the game at 31

#1 NOTRE DAME (11-0) AT SOUTHERN CAL (7-4) [Saturday, 8 p.m. on ABC] Notre Dame is 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and know they are just one game away from a national-title shot. The Fighting Irish have risen to the top thanks to a defense that is tied with Alabama for first in scoring defense, allowing just 10.1 points per game

This week’s rankings will look very different when the new AP Poll comes out following a Saturday full of upsets. Four Top Ten teams fell this week and five ranked teams suffered their first losses of the season. Meanwhile, Collin Klein and Manti T’eo boosted their Heisman chances while Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame continued to make their case for a shot in the national title game.

Friday, Oct. 26 Cincinnati at (15) Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, Louisville; 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN Two of the Big East's best teams meet on a Friday night in Kentucky. Fifteenth-ranked Louisville (7-0 overall, 2-0 Big East) is led by quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and running backs Senorise Perry and Jeremy Wright. Cincinnati (5-1, 1-0) was ranked and undefeated before dropping its game against Toledo last week. The Bearcats have beaten Louisville in the last four meetings between the teams.

#13 Mississippi State (7-0) at #1 Alabama (7-0) [Saturday at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN] After steamrolling through its first seven opponents, the Crimson Tide now gets to the meat of its schedule with a three-game stretch vs. #13 Mississippi State, at #6 LSU and vs. #22 Texas A&M. Thus far, Alabama hasn’t really been challenged, outscoring its opponents by almost 33 points per game. The Tide defense has been as good as we’ve seen in years, ranking first in almost all defensive categories. But while the defense understandably gets the publicity, the Alabama offense has been no slouch either, scoring 40+ in five of seven games this year. Quarterback A.J. McCarron leads the nation in pass efficiency and the offense ranks 14th nationally in scoring.

#9 Louisiana State 23, #3 South Carolina 21 After rushing for just 71 total yards in the Tigers’ six previous games, freshman running back Jeremy Hill exploded for 124 yards and two touchdowns to lead LSU to its first home conference win of the year. South Carolina actually led 14-10 with less than 11 minutes to play in the game before LSU rattled off 13 unanswered points in the game's next six minutes.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images For a week that was supposed to be lacking in big games or traditional rivalries, this week sure gave us a lot of excitement. West Virginia and Baylor showed us an offensive shootout for the ages. Stanford became the latest Top Ten team to bite the dust. And Texas and Nebraska both needed fourth quarter comebacks to keep their conference title hopes alive.

Since his 2000 hiring, Gary Patterson has transformed the Horned Frogs from Division I doormat into a regular top 10 team. Under Patterson, TCU has won at least 11 games in seven out of the last nine seasons. That consistency has racked up five conference championships and an impressive seven bowl wins. Patterson was also named the A.P. Coach of the Year in 2009, and has overseen the development of some legendary players. Most importantly, TCU’s 2012 jump to the Big 12 will finally provide Patterson’s squad with the strength of schedule of a legitimate national contender.