One of the words that seems to crop up often in college football circles is the idea of a game being a "test"—a chance for a playoff or conference contender to prove its mettle or come up short. Every team has to face these games throughout the season, though some more than others, and they're often what separates the true giants of the sport from those trying to make a claim to the throne.
Take the Big Ten, for example: Michigan passed their only major test of the season with flying colors, racing past Penn State in the second half of a 41-17 victory. Illinois, meanwhile, didn't have the offensive depth to keep up with Purdue in last week's 31-24 loss, putting their hopes of a New Year's Six bid on life support. Now the Illini serve as a test themselves, challenging the Wolverines' ability to put away a lesser (but still dangerous) opponent ahead of The Game next week.
November is full of such games, and they always trip up a few playoff hopefuls before the truly titanic showdowns of Rivalry Week. Last week, Oregon, UCLA, and Ole Miss all entered their games with one loss, and the first two were considerable favorites; all three lost, creating further twists in the playoff picture.
In the Pac-12, all remaining hopes of a College Football Playoff spot hinge on 9-1 USC, which must take down UCLA, Notre Dame, and a conference championship game opponent to put themselves in the conversation. In the SEC, meanwhile, every team in the West has multiple losses, and LSU must upend a dominant Georgia team to have a shot at the playoff. Those misfortunes have also raised the odds of contenders elsewhere—Clemson and North Carolina continue to survive and advance towards a decisive ACC title game, while the crowd of teams that could finish 12-1 with a conference championship tiebreaker over Tennessee has thinned somewhat.
Week 13 and the title games will understandably earn top billing as the decisive moments of this season, considering how many possible CFP teams will face off against one another. But to get there—as teams from Syracuse to Penn State, from Oklahoma State to Ole Miss, from Alabama to Illinois were unable to—avoiding defeat in lesser games is vital. The stakes may be higher down the road, but this last seemingly quiet week is one of many that determine where they stand.