College Football Week 14 Picks: Top Betting Odds for Saturday's Late Games
The Florida State Seminoles carry the most questions about their College Football Playoff credentials into Saturday.
The fourth-ranked team in the CFB Playoff rankings could be down to its third-string quarterback in the ACC Championship Game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who started for the injured Jordan Travis, is a game-day decision, per ESPN.com's David Hale.
FSU is not completely doomed if it is forced to go to third-stringer Brock Glenn because of its defense.
The Seminoles contained the Florida Gators last week in the first game without Travis and that unit will be vital to staying undefeated with or without Rodemaker in Charlotte.
The second-ranked Michigan Wolverines are not expected to have any troubles on Saturday night versus the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Jim Harbaugh's team is a three-score favorite in the Big Ten Championship Game and the margin of victory might be much bigger than the final point spread.
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Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC
Florida State's quarterback situation is concerning.
Mike Norvell's team could fight for an undefeated season, ACC championship and CFB Playoff berth with a third-string quarterback, or at least a banged-up backup.
Florida State needs to rely on its defense more than at any point this season to secure all of those achievements.
The Jared Verse-led unit is more than capable of slowing down the Louisville offense and holding the Cardinals to a low point total.
Florida State has not allowed an opponent to go over the 20-point mark since its overtime win over the Clemson Tigers on September 23.
FSU's defense has been especially tough in the second half, as it allowed 13 points after halftime in its last four games.
The Noles would love to play in a low-scoring grind-it-out style game in the first half so that the pressure is removed from whomever starts at quarterback.
That defensive momentum can keep up in the second half with the form that has been displayed in that part of the game over the last month.
Louisville's defense has not been as good in its last three games, but a 20-30-point concession seems unlikely given FSU's quarterback situation.
The Cardinals earned their three biggest ACC wins by outscoring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Tech Hokies 90-20, but all of those wins came at home.
Louisville was tougher to figure out in its three true road games, and the tough matchup against FSU's defense, could limit what Jack Plummer and the offense create inside Bank of America Stadium.
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox
Iowa will probably watch Michigan in awe of what it could be.
Michigan does everything well than Iowa does, but it executes that game plan in a far more dominant fashion.
Both teams love to run the ball and play tough defense, but Michigan thrives in those facets of the game way better than the Big Ten West champion.
The Wolverines also have a functional quarterback in J.J. McCarthy, who should be the ultimate difference-maker in moving the ball inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
McCarthy proved throughout Big Ten play that he can deliver a handful of key throws to either produce touchdowns, or extend drives.
Blake Corum's complement to McCarthy in the rushing attack makes Michigan not just dangerous on Saturday, but in the CFB Playoff as well.
The Wolverines smothered Iowa two years ago in the Big Ten Championship Game by a 42-3 score.
A similar score line should be in the cards with the Wolverines defense going up against Deacon Hill, who has a single 200-yard passing performance this season.
Hill completed just 48.3 percent of his passes this season and he was sacked on multiple occasions in three of his last five games.
Hill could be on the ground and off the field a lot in Indianapolis and that will not allow the Hawkeyes to be competitive.
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