the most intriguing uniform pairing of the Thursday night schedule, with both teams reaching into their uniform pasts and perhaps hinting at their fut

College football fans have been spoiled this season with one fantastic weekend after another.Dont shrug your shoulders at Week 7 -- its second-chance Saturday.With top-10 matchups in the Big Ten and SEC, theres plenty at stake as No. 8 Wisconsin hosts No. 2 Ohio State (8 p.m. ET, ABC) and No. 9 Tennessee hosts No. 1 Alabama. There are parallels to be drawn between the two games, as its a chance for both Tennessee and Wisconsin to salvage their seasons with signature wins over the conference favorites.Heres a deeper dive into those games and what they mean to the College Football Playoff race:No. 1 Alabama at No. 9 TennesseePlayoff impact: Tennessee gets a second chance at the best of the SEC West after losing in double overtime last week to Texas A&M. If the Vols lose their second straight, Florida is right back in the SEC East race and the Gators can win the division if they win out. The only bright spot for Tennessee in that scenario is Florida still has to play at Arkansas, and if both Florida and Tennessee finish the season with two losses, the Vols would still own the tiebreaker and win the East.For Alabama, this is the Tides second straight road trip after beating Arkansas last week, and the second game in a season-defining stretch that also includes Texas A&M and a road trip to LSU. The Tide still has some wiggle room and can survive a loss to the Vols -- but only if they win out, as the Aggies are undefeated right now, too.No. 2 Ohio State at No. 8 WisconsinPlayoff impact: Wisconsin gets a second, and final, attempt to maintain national relevance in a game that could change the Big Tens entire playoff picture. With an upset, Wisconsin would earn its third win over a top-10 team for the first time in program history and knock the Buckeyes below Michigan and Wisconsin in the Big Ten pecking order. If Wisconsin loses to both Ohio State and Michigan during the regular season, though, its playoff hopes are over. The Badgers have already lost to Michigan, 14-7, and still have to face undefeated Nebraska on Oct. 29.This game is just as much about Ohio State and Michigan as it is about Wisconsin, because it will either cement the Buckeyes ranking ahead of the Wolverines, or it will catapult Michigan to the top of the Big Ten. The selection committee would likely view a road win over Wisconsin more impressive than Michigans home win over the Badgers, but thats just one snapshot of two teams that still have to play each other.On The BubbleNorth Carolina at No. 16 Miami Playoff impact: Its second-chance Saturday for both of these Coastal Division teams, which are trying to rebound from conference losses last week. UNC lost a critical division home game to Virginia Tech, and the Canes lost a heartbreaker to rival Florida State. If Miami can rebound and win its division, though, it would have a chance to upset Clemson in the ACC championship game and certainly make things a little more difficult on the selection committee. The loser of this game becomes an afterthought in the Coastal Division race and nationally, while the winner joins the Hokies as the frontrunners in the division.Unbeaten watchThere are 11 undefeated teams remaining and three of them -- Michigan, Washington and Texas A&M -- are off this weekend. Heres a quick rundown of what the others are facing:Colorado State at No. 15 Boise State: If the playoff were today, based off of the Associated Press Top 25, the Broncos would be in the Cotton Bowl as the projected highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of 5, but they have to keep it up and win the Mountain West to stay there.NC State at No. 3 Clemson: The Wolfpack is confident after its win over Notre Dame, but momentum is about all you can take from a win in that weather. NC State will need more to upend the Tigers in Death Valley.No. 20 West Virginia at Texas Tech: This should be a tricky trip for the Mountaineers, as ESPNs Football Power Index basically considers it a toss-up, giving WVU just a 48.9 percent chance to win.No. 10 Nebraska at Indiana: The Hoosiers played Ohio State tough -- for a half -- last weekend, and theyll need four strong quarters to upend Tommy Armstrong and the Huskers. Armstrong leads the Big Ten with a 77.3 total QBR.No. 24 Western Michigan at Akron: With two road wins against Big Ten opponents, the Broncos should be highly regarded by the selection committee if they can remain undefeated. ESPNs FPI projects them to win every remaining game.Kansas at No. 11 Baylor: The Bears are the Big 12s highest ranked team and join WVU as the only undefeated teams left in the league, but theyve got no margin for error because of a weak strength of schedule. The committee says it will evaluate Baylors performances only on the field.SuperlativesMost intriguing mascot battle: Brutus Buckeye vs. Bucky Badger. Go on, say it three times real fast. Itll drive you nuts -- no pun intended.Upset watch: West Virginia at Texas Tech. The Mountaineers have just one win over an FBS opponent with a winning record, K-State, and they won by just one point. The Red Raiders have the third-most efficient offense in the nation, averaging 3.8 points per drive and 7.7 yards per play.Can-miss game: Florida at LSU. Just ask the guys in the suits at both schools and the SEC. Otherwise it would have been played or rescheduled by now.Player in the spotlight: Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett. He completed only nine passes last week in the win against Indiana, but Wisconsins defense is built to stop the run, so if the Buckeyes are going to win on the road, theyre going to have to get more out of their passing game.Matchup to watch:?Tennessees ground game vs. Alabama front seven. Vols running back Jalen Hurd is expected to play after missing last week with an injury, and Tennessee tailback Alvin Kamara is coming off a school-record 312 all-purpose yards on 30 touches against Texas A&M. And dont forget QB Joshua Dobbs, who has rushed for 331 yards outside the tackles this season. Alabamas defense has allowed a total of 211 rushing yards outside the tackles this season, second-fewest among Power 5 teams.Under-the-radar game: UCLA at Washington State. The Bruins still have an 18 percent chance to win the Pac-12 South, according to ESPNs FPI, but Washington State has won three straight by a combined score of 149-55. Not bad for a JC softball team.Must-win game: Kansas State at Oklahoma. The Sooners are undefeated in league play but have zero margin for error after losses to Houston and Ohio State. They will face a K-State defense that kept Texas Tech out of the end zone on six straight drives.Dont forget about: Ole Miss at Arkansas. Arkansas is projected to play the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the FBS, according to ESPNs FPI. The Rebels still have plenty to play for, but theyve got to run the table -- and hope Alabama loses. Evan Engram Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Carl Banks Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. http://www.giantsonlineteamshop.com/oshane-ximines-jersey-cheap.html . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. Carl Banks Cheap Jersey . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Darius Slayton Cheap Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Last nights Rams-Seahawks game wasnt the best-looking Color Rush game of the season (that honor goes to Octobers?Broncos-Chargers matchup), but in many ways it was the most intriguing uniform pairing of the Thursday night schedule, with both teams reaching into their uniform pasts and perhaps hinting at their futures.The more dynamic look, of course, belonged to the Seahawks, who wore a full-body treatment of their neon-toned action green color (and you can bet they would have added a matching green helmet if not for the NFLs one-shell rule). This felt like the culmination of the uni-verses long drive toward peak-neon that began in the early 1990s. Thats when the Orlando Thunder of the old World League of American Football -- later rechristened NFL Europe -- wore a neon green uniform that looked outrageous for its era but seems pretty conventional compared to what the Seahawks wore last night.The Thunder were endlessly ridiculed for wearing that uniform design, which showed up for years in Worst Uniforms Ever lists. But in the quarter-century since, neon and fluorescent uni colors have gone from being garish and disdained to, well, garish and popular. A key step in that evolution was taken by the Seahawks themselves, who wore a neon green alternate jersey for one game in 2009.More recently, neon tones have been adopted by a wide range of teams and individual athletes, so Seattles move to go full-neon seems like the logical conclusion of this trend.Assuming the Color Rush program is retained for next season, the Seahawks will presumably keep this uniform in their wardrobe. Would they ever consider re-designating the green jersey as their primary look? That seems highly unlikely -- their solid-navy scuba suit has become an institution. But with the popularity of neon tones still on the upswing, dont be surprised if the Seahawks find new ways to expand the role of green in their color scheme.Now lets take a look at the Rams, who went with white helmet horns for the first time since 1972 -- their third horn color of the season (and no, that doesnt violate the one-shell rule, because the horns are decals that can be swapped out, just like a side logo or striping tape).Those white horns, and the blue-and-white uniforrms they were part of, are apparently a favorite among Rams fans.ddddddddddddWhen the team announced its move from St. Louis to Los Angeles early this year, your friendly uniform columnist received an avalanche of emails and tweets that said, Heres hoping they change uniforms and go back to the blue and white!Thats somewhat surprising, on several levels. For starters, if you look at the Rams uniform history, youll see that they only wore the blue-white color scheme from 1964 through 1972 -- a short period, a long time ago. Moreover, the blue-white combo, while handsome, seems rather plain compared to the technicolor snazziness of the royal-and-yellow uniform that replaced it (although either design would be an improvement over the teams current primary look).In any case, fans of the blue-white format have had a lot to be excited about this season. The Rams have worn solid white for many of their home games (not the same as the vintage blue-white design, of course, but it still has some of that old flavor), and much of the teams stadium signage and online branding has been rendered in blue and white. Toss in last nights revival of the white helmet horns and you end up with the obvious question: Is the team planning a blue-white makeover?Its too soon to know for sure. The feeling here at Uni Watch HQ is that the Rams probably wont go for a full-scale redesign until they move into their new stadium in 2019. But a blue-white throwback in the interim? Its easy to imagine them going that route. Lets see if that happens.Would you like to nominate a uniform or uni element to be showcased in a future Friday Flashback installment? Send your suggestions here.Paul Lukas pulled an April Fools prank in 2009 about the Seahawks adding a neon-green alternate jersey -- and then it came true six months later! If you like this column, youll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so youll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here. ' ' '