College football Week 13: Players to watch

Book has been really good this year, but he's been dealing with injuries down the stretch. If Notre Dame gets past USC on Saturday, he'll have a month to get healthy for a probable College Football Playoff spot. Win or lose, this will be the last time we'll see the Irish until the end of the year. So if Book looks like he has all season long, then Notre Dame will be comfortably in the Playoff. Last week against Syracuse, he threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns in the win. USC has limped down the stretch but would love nothing more than to end Notre Dame's championship hopes. Book can't let them.

Michigan's defense has been stout the last few seasons and will get a huge test when the Wolverines head into Columbus to face Ohio State on Saturday. A spot in the Big Ten championship game is on the line as well as the hopes for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Bush, a Butkus Award finalist, leads a defense that is No. 1 in the country against a Buckeyes team that is capable of putting up a lot of points. It is a rivalry game that stirs emotions even if nothing is on the line, so how Bush impacts the game with his play and his ability to sniff out plays could be the difference between losing yet another game to Ohio State or playing for a national championship.

It's Thanksgiving night, and the only college football game on will be the Egg Bowl between Mississippi State and Ole Miss. It will be one of the final games to see Nick Fitzgerald, a unique quarterback who is so dynamic rushing the football. Fitzgerald leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 901 yards and 10 TDs...meaning he needs just 99 yards to hit the 1,000 yard mark for the second time. He's thrown for over 5,900 yards for his career, with 53 passing touchdowns and nearly 3,400 rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns. 

Florida-Florida State is just another in-state rivalry game this week with no national stakes to care too much about. Well, there is one major theme about this one: Florida State's bowl streak. The Seminoles have been to a bowl game for 36 straight seasons. If the Gators go into Tallahassee and beat the 'Noles, that streak will likely end. (Florida State would be 5-7 and would need a miracle to qualify for a bowl spot.) Florida is playing for a nicer bowl game but nothing would be sweeter than being the team that put that nail in the coffin. Franks has had a solid sophomore season, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 20 TDs while leading the Gators in rushing scores (six). Last season, he threw three picks in a home loss to Florida State, so he would just love to come up big and usher in the end of Florida State's bowl streak.

This season has been a trying one for the folks at Ohio State, with the Urban Meyer controversy beginning the year (and becoming a story throughout the season), a defense that has been uncharacteristically soft and some struggles in games that they shouldn't. Lost in all that is just how well Haskins has been. He's done a great job following J.T. Barrett by being one of the nation's top quarterbacks (3,685 yards, 36 TDs, 7 INTs, four rush TDs). In a huge game against Michigan on Saturday, not only is one of sport's best rivalries getting renewed but also it is for the Big Ten East title and a spot in the Big Ten championship game. It's pretty much a College Football Playoff game unto itself. As much as people are down about the Buckeyes, they can beat Michigan, win the Big Ten title next week and have a shot at getting one of those postseason bids. Haskins needs to be able to navigate through the Wolverines' defense to do so. If he can, it will be his finest moment yet. 

Memphis hosts Houston and with a win would head to the AAC Championship game. Henderson leads the AAC in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this season and has six games of at least 160 yards rushing this year. Last year against Houston, the Tigers mounted a comeback for the win, but Henderson wasn't a factor. He ran just four times for minus-1 yard on the day and would love nothing more than to explode on the Cougars this time around. 

Jeudy is reliable, even for a big-play receiver. He's already hit the 1,000 yard receiving mark and leads the team with 10 touchdown receptions. That's impressive in an offense with other weapons like Jaylen Waddle and Henry Ruggs III as well as running backs Damien and Najee Harris. However, Jeudy hasn't scored a touchdown since grabbing one against Tennessee over a month ago. Last year against Auburn, the little-used Jeudy caught a 36-yard touchdown pass (his only catch of the day).

Snell looks like he finally turned it around after a few tough weeks for him and the Wildcats. Against Middle Tennessee, he rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns...only the second time in seven games he's gone over 100 yards. He's one of the best players in Kentucky history and can pile on his already school-record statistics against a bad Louisville defense this Saturday in his last crack at his rivals. 

It is interesting that the four teams likeliest to get into the Playoff all have new quarterbacks this season. Of the four, Clemson's may be the most interesting. Lawrence was one of the highest-ranked recruits coming into the season and beat out Kelly Bryant, who took Clemson to the Playoff last year. Lawrence has thrown for 2,095 yards and 21 TDs (to just four picks) this year. He hasn't thrown video game numbers like those of Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa nor is he an experienced transfer like Michigan's Shea Patterson. But he's managed to take control of an offense and give the team a vertical dimension it didn't have under Bryant. He's played well in his big opportunities, and he has nothing but those kind of games left. South Carolina may not be Notre Dame or Alabama but it wants nothing more than to end Clemson's title chances. Lawrence better be ready.  

Utah State heads north to face Boise State, with the winner heading to the Mountain West championship game next week. Love has had a roller coaster of a season, especially over the last eight weeks. He follows a fantastic statistical game with a much more mediocre effort...then explodes again. That's good news for the Aggies, as Love threw for just 169 yards and a touchdown last week against Colorado State in the freezing rain. Utah State would love a game from Love like two weeks ago when he threw for 491 yards and five TDs against San Jose State. The Aggies are looking to win their 11th straight game and an outside shot at a New Year's Six bowl game.

The Cougars are getting little respect despite going 10-1 and being on the road to winning a Pac-12 title. Minshew leads the nation in passing yards (4,325), and his 36 touchdowns tie Ohio State's Dwayne Haskins and Houston's D'Eriq King for the top spot. "The 'Stache" has been a hit in the Pacific Northwest but isn't making the kind of buzz he should be east of the Rockies. Last week against Arizona, all he did was throw for 473 yards and seven touchdowns. Friday night on Fox in front of a national audience, Minshew gets to show his wares in the Apple Cup against rival Washington. A win pits the Cougars against Utah (who they narrowly beat already) in the conference championship game and a bit closer to a CFP spot if chaos ensues elsewhere. 

Murray needs to have a huge game if he wants to keep two lofty goals alive: a spot in the College Football Playoff and a chance to close the gap in the Heisman race. Murray has been fantastic in his lone year as a starter, tossing for 3,310 yards, 34 touchdowns and just six interceptions. (He's also rushed for 10 touchdowns.) The Sooners offense has put up at least 45 points in each of the last seven games and will face a high-octane offense in West Virginia this Friday. The winner of Oklahoma-West Virginia will be in the Big 12 title game next week, while the loser will not (unless Kansas does the unlikely and upsets Texas). So it is all on the line for Murrray and the Sooners.

Sills is second in the nation in touchdown receptions with 13 (he led FBS in that stat last year) and will be ready to make some big plays in a big game against a poor Oklahoma defense this Friday. He has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of the last six games and is champing at the bit to take on the Sooners. Last season, quarterback Will Grier was out of the game with a season-ending injury, so the Mountaineers feel as if it was a missed opportunity. This time, the winner heads to the Big 12 title game, while the loser likely will not. The senior from Delaware is looking to bring WVU its first Big 12 championship.

The Sun Belt has only 10 teams, but it is split into two divisions and is having the first conference championship game next week. On the last week of the regular season, who is playing in it is up in the air. In the West, Louisiana, UL Monroe and Arkansas State are still alive, while the East comes down to the Troy-Appalachian State game this Saturday. Smith leads the Sun Belt in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He's rushed for at least 85 yards in his last seven games (five went for over 100 yards), and he'll be counted on to carry the Trojans to the first Sun Belt title game.

This season just didn't turn out like many thought it would for Wisconsin. Still, it's been a good season for Taylor, who likely will end the season as the nation's rushing leader. He is 131 yards away from reaching the 2,000 yard mark and could do it against Minnesota on Saturday. Last week against Purdue, he ran for 321 yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 8.9 yards per carry over the last three games. He has ran for 714 yards over those three weeks after one of his worst games ever in a loss to Northwestern.