No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 2 Florida State will whittle the field of unbeatens in major college football when they meet Saturday night in Tallahassee, Florida.Big game for sure, but the loser can take heart that their playoff hopes, while damaged, won’t be destroyed.For playoff contenders that have already lost once, teams such as Alabama and Oklahoma, elimination is likely one misstep away.Now that’s pressure.The seventh-ranked Crimson Tide could find a tonic for an ailing offense when it returns home to face No. 21 Texas A&M and its forgiving defense. Alabama, which looked like an offensive juggernaut in its first four games, has scored only three offensive touchdowns in the last two. The Tide followed up an upset at Mississippi with a one-point win at Arkansas.A win is win and there is no such thing as a bad one, but at the risk of getting Tide coach Nick Saban angry again, it’s only fair to note that Alabama hasn’t played especially Alabama-like. More Alabama-ish.”Everyone wants us to win 60-0, and that’s just not possible,” Tide offensive tackle Austin Shepherd said.A second SEC West loss could put the Tide into the odd role of spoiler down the stretch.Like Alabama, No. 11 Oklahoma lost two weeks ago (at TCU) and rebounded with a win then didn’t quite signal all is well with the Sooners. Texas had Oklahoma in trouble. Credit the Longhorns, but Oklahoma will need to do better at home against No. 14 Kansas State to avoid a second Big 12 loss. If not, the Sooners will buried before Halloween.The picks:MARQUEE MATCHUPSNo. 5 Notre Dame (plus 12) at No. 2 Florida StateBrings back memories of the 1993 classic when the Irish knocked off the top-ranked ‘Noles. Back then FSU lost and still won the national title. …
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