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Don't Worry, Roughly the Same Number of People Show Up At McAlister for the Trojans

(All times listed are Eastern.)

USC vs Stanford (10:00 at the Los Angeles Coliseum)

Quibble with their style of play if you must, but you certainly can’t fault the Trojans for knowing when to hold an event in style. The red half of Los Angeles takes their act away from the uber-depressing McAlister Field and instead fifteen minutes from Hollywood into the Los Angeles Coliseum for the first of two matches in the expansive and legendary stadium. Intimate it ain’t, but sometimes a grand stage is definitely preferred to over intimacy, and this appears to be one of those occasions. The match itself is a beautiful contrast in styles, the rugged hard nosed Trojans running into Stanford’s champagne football. Despite the home side’s baffling inability to beat San Diego, they still have more the enough in the tank to challenge the undisputed top team in the country if Stanford is off their game.

DePaul vs Rutgers (4:00)

DePaul lives! The Blue Demons have won three straight Big East matches in extra time (all by a 2-1 scoreline, BTW) to fight their way back onto the bubble with a big weekend to come. Rutgers have also revived their slight NCAA Tournament hopes with three wins in four in Big East play. Those wins were all at home though, and the Scarlet Knight have dropped both of their road league matches so far. The winner of this match will be in with a good shot of making the Big Dance with good form in their run-in to the Big East Tournament.

Colorado vs Missouri (6:00)

The roller coaster ride of Colorado’s season plunged once more last week as the Buffs lost a pair of 0-1 Big XII matches on the road. Now Colorado finds themselves back on the ropes and in need of critical wins back in the comfort of Boulder. Iowa State on Sunday should be a doable task, but the Buffs will have their hands full when an equally desperate Missouri side rolls into town on Friday. The Tigers have gotten off to a decent start in league play with two wins in three but still need more to boost their profile after a poor non-conference season. With Colorado on Friday and Nebraska on Sunday, this could be the weekend to define Mizzou’s campaign.

Louisville vs Villanova (7:00)

It might be time to hit the panic button for the home side. They’ve lost four of five, including three straight matches in the Big East. The loss to Notre Dame is understandable. The loss to West Virginia was a tough setback. The loss to Pittsburgh was inexcusable for an NCAA Tournament contender. With four straight on the road to end Big East season, the Cardinals have to make the most out of their final home weekend. Villanova will be happy to qualify for the conference tournament after a stuttering start to Big East play. With West Virginia and Notre Dame still to play in coming weeks, it may be a tough ask.

UCF vs Houston (7:00)

What an interesting position Houston finds themselves in. The Cougars have begun CUSA play on fire, winning all four of their opening matches and not conceding a goal in the process. It’s been enough to drive Houston up the RPI charts and into a spot where a good season in league play could get them some at-large consideration. The Cougars only have two losses on the year, and that defeat to Baylor doesn’t look so bad now. Central Florida are doing what they usually do: win. The Golden Knights figure to be in the final mix for both league and conference tournament titles and could keep plowing in that direction by holding serve at home.

Virginia vs North Carolina (7:00)

What a complicated web the ACC weaves. After results elsewhere on Thursday meant that Florida State was surprisingly on top of the pile with twelve points, they also meant that the winner of this Friday night tilt would match Wake Forest on nine points in second place. Of course that also means that the loser will be six points back after Friday night and in need of some serious help to emerge on top of the hill at the end of ten rounds. Virginia will be full of confidence after topping Boston College in extra time (although that might be tempered just a fraction by seeing Maryland down the Eagles on Thursday), while North Carolina will be eager to get back into action after a week off after the win over NC State. It’s another massive ACC showdown in one of the grandest facilities in college soccer, Klockner Stadium.

Alabama vs Florida (8:00)

Todd Bramble’s Alabama side face possibly their biggest match to date under his reign. The Tide have been the SEC’s surprise package in 2010, undefeated in six since a loss to Memphis. 3-0-1 in league play, Bama sit atop the SEC’s Western Division, ahead of such bigger names as Auburn and LSU. On the precipice of an unlikely NCAA Tournament bid, the Tide could all but wrap their place up in the Big Dance with an upset over Florida in Tuscaloosa. That will be a lot easier said than done considering that the Gators have looked like a fine tuned unit of destruction thus far in conference play. Task #1 for the Tide will be stopping UF striker McKenzie Barney, a consistent goalscorer for the Gators so far in 2010.

Auburn vs South Carolina (8:00)

The Tigers find their at-large hopes on life support after two weeks of Sunday losses that have sent their RPI plummeting. Karen Hoppa’s side must surely get something out of this weekend’s homestand against South Carolina and Florida to avoid a gargantuan task through the final weeks of the SEC season. The visitors have hardly missed a beat since SEC play started, a draw with Vanderbilt the lone mark against them thus far. As long as the Gamecocks keep winning, an end of season showdown with Florida for the league title will loom. The team that does the better job of shutting down the opponent’s talisman, Katy Frierson for Auburn and Kayla Grimsley for South Carolina, will likely emerge victorious on The Plains on Friday night.

Iowa vs Ohio State (8:00)

The Hawkeyes have their at-large hopes on life support after four straight matches without a win. While it could be argued that their schedule eases up a whole lot towards the back end of Big Ten play, they still really need a win or two to point to on their resume, especially after a bubble loss to Nebraska and a bad draw with Saint Louis. Ohio State are 2-0 in league play with winnable matches on Iowa and Northwestern on tap. If the Buckeyes can get through this weekend unscathed, it sets up a massive three match run Columbus against Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois that could decide the conference.

LSU vs Kentucky (8:00)

A somewhat unlikely SEC bubble eliminator after both schools came up big with a draw and a win last weekend. Now both sides are creeping around on the tail end of the bubble and will be eager to get themselves a little higher up the food chain with a win. Both sides also have eminently winnable fixtures on Sunday, which means a clear winner in Baton Rouge will have an inside track to a huge six point weekend. Doubly, a win would also ease any lingering fears about not qualifying for the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach.

Texas vs Texas Tech (8:00)

Hopefully Texas Tech has caught their breath and replenished their energy reserves after Sunday’s bonkers match with Nebraska, because they’ll need every little bit they can dig up against a fuming Texas side. The Horns probably threw away their hopes of a Big XII title with last weekend’s loss to Kansas, leaving them winless in the league through three rounds. No matter how good the Horns’ RPI looks at the moment, if they don’t get to San Antonio and the Big XII Tournament, they aren’t going dancing in November. The Red Raiders look to be in good shape for the NCAA Tournament, but a victory over their state rivals should end any suspense left in the matter.

Texas A&M; vs Baylor (8:30)

I might be driving the “A&M; is Overrated” bus until the Aggies beat someone of note this season. Baylor certainly counts as someone and will be flying sky high after six points in Waco this past weekend. The Aggies need to win and keep winning to stay with Oklahoma State in the league title race, while the Bears are just trying to keep clawing and scratching for every little bit they can stuff on their resume in hopes of an unlikely at-large bid. A result in College Station for the visitors won’t be easy, but if they can snag something, it’ll send them over the moon for the second half of the weekend against Texas on Sunday.

UCLA vs Cal (10:00)

Morgan Mania is running wild after the college senior was one of the few U.S. Nats with a pulse on Wednesday night against China in Philadelphia. The question now has to be whether the youngster will make the final cut for CONCACAF Gold Cup play. Bears coach Neil McGuire would probably prefer that Morgan not be on that plane down to Cancun but will just have to make do with his star for the time she has left with Cal. That time won’t include Friday night’s match though, with Morgan still training with the National Team in Philly. That could be problematic for the Bears who looked somewhat lost in drawing with St. Mary’s without their talisman. UCLA can sympathize, having lost to Pepperdine without Sydney Leroux in the mix. The pressure is on the Bruins to get a result here, because Stanford comes to Drake on Sunday.

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