As part of BCS Know How’s 2010 college football season preview, we will be breaking down each week’s most important games that could have BCS and postseason implications in the “Road to Glendale 2011″.

Let’s move on to week eight where the nation’s best can begin to truly separate themselves from the pack.

Oklahoma at Missouri: Saturday Oct. 23, TBA

A young, unproven Missouri team put in a surprisingly good 2009 season, leading many to believe the Tigers are a legitimate Big 12 North contender despite their continued relative youth.

It’s not a stretch to think of the Tigers as co-favorites in the North with Nebraska, especially with junior quarterback Blaine Gibbert leading the way. Full of potential and of the classic quarterback mold, only Colt McCoy was better than Gibbert in terms of Big 12 passing efficiency in ’09.

Equipped with a stable of talented receivers, Gibbert is poised to break out in 2010.

If Missouri can make its way to a Big 12 North title, this game could be a Big 12 Championship Game preview, as Oklahoma is favored to return to the top of the always-competitive Big 12 South.

Quarterback Landry Jones and running back DeMarco Murray will take to the task of replacing the lost talent from the 2009 Sooners, and could be on their way back to a BCS bowl.

It wont be easy, but both the Sooners and Tigers could be undefeated coming into this late-October matchup in Columbia, meaning this could end up being among the most important games of the Big 12 regular season.

Wisconsin at Iowa: Saturday Oct. 23, TBA

Ohio State may rule the roost when the conversation turns to Big Ten favorites in 2010, but these two squads might have something to say about it once the 2010 season actually gets started.

Beside being considered co-favorites along with the Buckeyes, the Badgers and Hawkeyes feature two skill players who are more than capable of taking over a game and making sure their team wins. And if either wants a real shot at the Big Ten conference championship, they’ll have to bring their best to this midseason clash at Iowa City.

Making things all the more interesting is the Badgers will be fresh off the marquee matchup of the Big Ten season against Ohio State just seven days earlier at Camp Randall. If the Badgers can pull the upset, this could turn into a must win for either team if they want the Big Ten championship to themselves.

The obvious key to the game will be offense, as Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi and Wisconsin running back John Clay are among the early favorites for the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. However, defense will likely play a larger role in trying to shut down the game’s skill players, and there Wisconsin might have a slight advantage—especially in the back seven.

Houston at Southern Methodist: Saturday Oct. 23, 3:30 p.m. ET

The two names you might know in this matchup—Houston quarterback Case Keenum and SMU coach June Jones—will be vitally important to each team’s success in 2010. However, in this game, the unheralded players and coaches might play the key in a game that will likely decide the C-USA West Division champion.

Houston’s stable of wide receivers and running backs, anchored by senior wideout James Cleveland and junior running back Bryce Beall, will need to step up against an SMU defense that made huge strides in 2009 and is always ready to take on the pass-happy offenses of the C-USA.

Houston could easily make its way to this matchup undefeated, while SMU will have a more difficult road, but will also likely be undefeated in early C-USA play. Both likely will be favored in all of their remaining conference battles, so this matchup is vitally important to both teams’ hopes of a C-USA championship.

SMU went from 1-11 in 2008 to 8-5 in 2009 after just one year of tutelage from June Jones. Now among the C-USA favorites, can Jones continue the improvement and bring the Mustangs to where Hawaii was when Jones took them into the national spotlight?

This game will definitely be a window into how far the Mustangs have come and whether they have made enough strides to hang with the conference’s most nationally visible program in Houston.

Other Games of Note: LSU at Auburn, Wyoming at BYU,  Notre Dame at Navy, Alabama at Tennessee.

As part of BCS Know How’s 2010 college football season preview, we will be breaking down each week’s most important games that could have BCS and postseason implications in the “Road to Glendale 2011″.

Let’s move on to week seven where the Big Ten has two marquee matchups on the slate.

Arkansas at Auburn: Saturday Oct. 16, TBA

There’s no denying it—in 2010, the SEC West is absolutely loaded, and it could be any one’s division.

This midseason matchup might feature two undefeated or once-defeated SEC West squads still jockeying for conference positioning as the season turns the corner towards the home stretch.

Arkansas will be coming off a hellacious early-season SEC schedule, faced with taking on Georgia and Alabama on back-to-back weekends before taking on Texas A&M at home the week before this marquee SEC showdown.

If the Razorbacks are undefeated at this point, they would likely be favored to take the SEC West crown and this game at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. However, it’s possible that the Tigers will welcome Arkansas to their house with an undefeated record of their own.

Unlike the Razorbacks, the Tigers do not take on the cream of the SEC crop until later on in the season, and a victory here could propel them towards showdowns with the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide that could decide the conference title contenders.

Auburn will be hard-pressed to replace some significant holes at quarterback, running back, and defensive line, but by the time Week Seven rolls around the Tigers hope to have the wrinkles in their system worked out.

Arkansas, on the other hand, comes into the season very confident with its quarterback Ryan Mallet—who could be a strong Heisman contender when the Razorbacks take the trip to Auburn.

Iowa at Michigan: Saturday Oct. 16, 3:30 p.m. ET

The Wolverines come into the 2010 season with guarded expectations following an underwhelming 5-7 record in the ’09 season, including a very disappointing 1-7 showing in Big Ten play.

If coach Rich Rodriguez wants to cool down his coaching hot seat even a little bit, he’s going to have to come into this Week Seven matchup with a good record. Luckily for Rodriguez, the Wolverines’ first six games this season are winnable (although far from guaranteed) matchups against the likes of Notre Dame and Connecticut.

If Rodriguez and Michigan can come into this meeting with Big Ten co-favorites Iowa with an undefeated or one-loss record, hopes will be high in Ann Arbor for an upset.

However, standing in its way will be a tested and experienced group from Iowa, led by quarterback Ricky Stanzi and a deep group of running backs. The experience of the Hawkeye offense will prove especially vital in this matchup, as questions have become concerns on the defensive side of the ball for the Wolverines.

On offense the Wolverines can put the Hawkeye defense to the test, especially by utilizing Denard Robinson and Tate Forcier, a dynamic combination of quarterbacks for the Wolverines.

Ohio State at Wisconsin: Saturday Oct. 16, 7:00 p.m. ET

If Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema ever had a shot to prove he could get his Badgers over the hump and make a BCS bowl, it seems like 2010 might be the year.

Along with welcoming back most of the core from the ’09 team that tied for second in the Big Ten, the Badgers were gifted a fortuitous schedule, welcoming conference favorite Ohio State to Camp Randall in what should be a classic Big Ten-style football showdown.

Badger running back John Clay has the ability to batter even the best defenses, and by the middle of October he could be among the early Heisman favorites. A strong performance here would only further his candidacy, especially if he can lead his team to break the national title hopes of the Buckeyes.

It wont be easy though, no matter how excited the team and the crowd in Madison might be.

Ohio State has a Heisman hopeful of its own in quarterback Terrelle Pryor and a shockingly good and experienced defense that has few, if any, holes.

The Buckeyes will be a tough test for any team this season, but Wisconsin could be the team to knock the Buckeyes off the national title track and leave Columbus without a national title shot for another season.

Other Games of Note: Texas at Nebraska, Oregon State at Washington, Southern Methodist at Navy, BYU at TCU, Middle Tennessee at Georgia Tech.

This is second in a series of conference profiles as part of BCS Know How’s season preview. Today’s conference is the Big 10.

Conference: Big 10 Conference (Big 10)

Active Since: 1896

Current Member Schools: Illinois Fighting Illini, Indiana Hoosiers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Northwestern Wildcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Purdue Boilermakers, Wisconsin Badgers. (11)

Bowl Affiliations: Rose Bowl (BCS), Little Caesars Bowl, Insight Bowl, Texas Bowl, Dallas Football Classic Bowl, Outback Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Gator Bowl. (8)

2009 Results:
Conference Champion – Ohio State
Conference Runner-up – Iowa/Penn State
BCS Bowl Results: 2010 Rose Bowl – Ohio State 26 vs. Oregon 17; 2010 Orange Bowl – Iowa 24 vs. Georgia Tech 14
Overall Bowl Record: 4-3
Heisman Vote Recipients: None

2010 Outlook: The Big 10 is on the way up — other conferences be warned.

Viewed as a second tier BCS conference for the past few years, the Big 10 is back, and looking stronger than they have top to bottom in years.

Of course at the top is perennial power Ohio State. Led by the underachieving Terrelle Pryor for the past few seasons, Ohio State has fallen just short on multiple occasions, but if the Buckeyes’ last game is any indication, Pryor is finally ready to step into the spotlight that has been waiting for him for years. Add the fact that this year’s edition of the Buckeye defense looks up to usual standards and you might just have a national title favorite waiting in Columbus.

Not that the Buckeyes are the only reason the Big 10 is up this year.

Iowa too received a BCS bowl bid last season, and handily topped Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl, setting expectations high for the Hawkeyes. Iowa returns core players but will have to fill important holes all over the field, especially on the offensive line and linebacker positions.

Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Penn State all seem poised to post big seasons, with 10 wins a possibility for all four.

2010 Heisman Hopefuls: Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor, Penn State Evan Royster

BCS Know How’s 2010 Predictions:
Conference Champion – Ohio State Buckeyes
Conference Runner-up – Iowa Hawkeyes
BCS bids – Two: Ohio State – BCS National Championship Game; Iowa – Fiesta Bowl
Heisman Finalists – Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor

Ricky Stanzi limited his mistakes – and got help from his run game – and the Iowa defense contained the Georgia Tech triple-option as the Hawkeyes beat the Yellow Jackets 24-14 to capture the 2010 Orange Bowl.

Iowa raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on the arm of the quarterback Stanzi, who was starting his first game after missing the later part of the Hawkeye’s regular season.

However, Stanzi’s rust did begin to show, as his lone mistake of the game, an interception, was returned for a touchdown late in the first quarter.

After a scoreless second quarter, Iowa tacked on another field goal in the third to extend their lead to ten.

In the fourth quarter the Yellow Jackets finally put together a scoring drive, as Georgia Tech’s quarterback Josh Nesbitt finally found a grove while running the triple option.

However, after stopping a fake field goal, leaving the Jackets down just 3, Georgia Tech was unable to capitalize, punting the ball and then allowing the Hawkeyes to drive right down the field and score the game-clinching touchdown.

Stanzi finished the game with 230 yards and two touchdowns, while the Hawkeye rushing offense went for a combined 178 yards and a touchdown led by Brandon Wegher.

Nesbitt and the triple option offense were shut down, the Hawkeye offense holding the Jackets to just 155 net yards on the night.

Iowa’s victory was the Big 10′s second in the BCS, helping to mend a broken image of the Big 10 being an inferior conference when it came to the BCS.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Ohio State (9-2, 6-1) has clinched at least a share of the Big 10 title and has the tiebreaker, clinching the conference’s BCS bowl bid.

Game of Last Week: Ohio State 27 vs. Iowa 24. Ohio State’s backup kicker, Devon Barclay kicked a game winning field goal in overtime to give the Buckeyes a Rose Bowl bid.

Game of Next Week: Ohio State vs. Michigan. Bowl eligibility rides on this one for the Wolverines, although no reason is necessary for this game to be the game of the week in the conference.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Nebraska (North Division; 7-3, 4-2); Texas (South Division; 10-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Kansas State (North Division; 6-5, 4-3)

Game of Last Week: Oklahoma State 24 vs. Texas Tech 17. Needing to win in order to keep hope alive of a Big 12 title, the Cowboys delivered, doing just enough to beat the Red Raiders.

Game of Next Week: Kansas State vs. Nebraska. For the lead in the Big 12 North.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Iowa State Cyclones, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (10-0, 6-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (9-1, 5-0)

Game of Last Week: Cincinnati 24 vs. West Virginia 21. Tony Pike was the designated TD thrower, and the Bearcats kept hopes for a perfect season alive, barely escaping with the victory over the Mountaineers.

Game of Next Week: Louisville vs. South Florida. The Big East schedule is rather sparse next week, but Louisville can still become bowl eligible with victories in the next two weeks. They’ll need to beat South Florida to keep that hope alive.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers, Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Iowa (9-1, 5-1)

Lurking: Ohio State (8-2, 5-1)

Game of Last Week: Northwestern 17 vs. Iowa 10. Week after week, Iowa looked on the edge of a loss, and this week they finally were unable to make a late comeback, losing to the Wildcats.

Game of Next Week: Iowa vs. Ohio State. This one will likely be for the Big 10 title, and for the chance to play in the Rose Bowl

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers, Northwestern Wildcats.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas State (North Division; 6-4, 4-2), Texas (South Division; 9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Nebraska (North Division; 6-3, 3-2)

Game of Last Week: Colorado 35 vs. Texas A&M 34. With just 2:04 left, the Buffaloes scored the winning touchdown in a back and forth game between the Big 12 foes.

Game of Next Week: Oklahoma State vs. Texas Tech. Two teams with bowl aspirations and winning records face off in an important Big 12 matchup.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Nebraska Corn Huskers.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (8-1, 5-0)

Game of Last Week: Cincinnati 47 vs. Connecticut 45. With the help of their replacement QB Zach Collaros, the Bearcats scored nine points in 21 seconds, and the Bearcats stayed undefeated.

Game of Next Week: Cincinnati vs. West Virginia. With a win, West Virginia would reinsert itself into Big East title contention, with Pittsburgh up next in the Backyard Brawl.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers.

Big 10

Conference Leader: Iowa (9-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Penn State (8-1, 4-1)

Game of Last Week: Iowa 42 vs. Indiana 24. Down in the fourth quarter again, the Iowa Hawkeyes made another late-game comeback, scoring 28 unanswered in the final period to stay unbeaten.

Game of Next Week: Ohio State vs. Penn State. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions are gunning for second place in the Big 10, this will be their chance to stake their claim.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ohio State Buckeyes. Wisconsin Badgers.

Big 12

Conference Leaders: Kansas State (North Division; 5-4, 3-2), Texas (South Division; 8-0, 5-0)

Lurking: Nebraska (North Division; 5-3, 2-2)

Game of Last Week: Oklahoma 42 vs. Kansas State 30. Landry Jones continues to be a capable replacement for Sam Bradford, leading the Sooners to their fifth victory.

Game of Next Week: Oklahoma vs. Nebraska. Two teams stuck in second place in their divisions look to make big statements late in the season.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Big East

Conference Leader: Cincinnati (8-0, 4-0)

Lurking: Pittsburgh (7-1, 4-0)

Game of Last Week: Rutgers 28 vs. Connecticut 24. In their first game at home since the tragic death of one of their own, the Huskies were once again shocked in the final minutes, this time on a reception by Scarlet Knight Tim Brown with 22 seconds left.

Game of Next Week: Cincinnati vs. Connecticut. Looking to remain undefeated before their match up with Big East power West Virginia the following week, the Bearcats welcome the Huskies to Cincinnati in what could be a shootout.

Bowl Eligible Teams: Cincinnati Bearcats, West Virginia Mountaineers, Pittsburgh Panthers.