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College football Week 8 preview: Showdown Saturday in SEC

Kirby Smart and No. 5 Georgia face a critical matchup at No. 1 Texas. John Adams/Icon Sportswire

The second half of the college football regular season begins this week, and we can only hope that it clears the bar set by the first half. We've had seven matchups between AP top-15 teams, and four of them were awesome games decided by a combined 14 points. Meanwhile, we've also had 10 unranked teams upsetting top-15 teams, including three top-5s. When the biggest games are great, and there are unexpected plot twists at every turn, you know you've got one hell of a season on your hands.

Between the Oregon-Ohio State headliner, a Penn State-USC overtime thriller and the unexpected chaos of Illinois-Purdue, the Big Ten took center stage last Saturday. On paper, it appears it will be the SEC's turn to hog the spotlight in Week 8. The league currently has five teams in the AP top 11, and four of them will pair off against each other Saturday. That includes No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in a Saturday night main event. (We're also getting one of the most reliably nutty games of recent history: LSU vs. Arkansas for the Golden Boot.)

The College Football Playoff stakes are ramping up, so there's plenty to follow in that regard. And lord only knows which wacky fourth quarters we'll be trying to keep up with. Here's everything you need to follow over yet another exciting college football weekend.

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