Things are about to get serious in the Big Ten. The conference race will be shaped by these games in the second half of the college football season.

Outlook the rest of the way: It's the SEC, so Texas still has plenty of time to stack some quality wins. As with other two-loss teams, though, the 'Horns are skating on thin ice. There will be a glut of 10-2 teams by season's end, so that means it will be virtually impossible for any programs beyond that bar to make the cut for a 12-team playoff.

Michigan running back Justice Haynes was one of nine players from the Big Ten who made the AP midseason All-America team.

Michigan was one of the largest fallers in the ESPN rankings. After the loss to USC, the Wolverines plummeted five spots in the rankings. Michigan sits at No. 17 in the ESPN Football Power Index. Before the matchup against the Trojans, the Wolverines were flirting with the Top 10.

The intense battle of the Jeweled Shillelagh between the No. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 20 USC Trojans will go down as one of the most competitive mat

UCLA has come to life under interim coach Tim Skipper. The Bruins scored 42 and 38 points in back-to-back wins over Penn State and Michigan State. I was impressed with UCLA last week when they were in a tough spot coming off the big win over Penn State. The Bruins went on the road and toasted Michigan State 38-13 as 8.5-point underdogs.

What that means for the Spartans as they head to No. 3 Indiana on Saturday is nebulous.