National Games with Duck Implications

This is a potential biggie: ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting that Auburn has changed their stance from "Cam Newton is eligible" to "No comment." Newton might not play Saturday, and that is a blow to Auburn's title hopes, and a three-color black eye for college football.

Auburn hosts Georgia at 12:30 tomorrow on CBS. The Bulldogs are 5-5 this year, 3-4 in the SEC East, coming off an overtime loss two weeks ago to Florida, and an easy win over Idaho State in week 10. Freshman quarterback Aaron Murray has 18 touchdowns and just six picks on the season. The game figures to be a shootout: the over is at 63, and both teams have trouble defending the pass. In the event of a last-minute development Auburn's backup quarterback is sophomore Barrett Trotter who has eight career pass attempts and three rushes for 31 yards.

#23 South Carolina at #22 Florida 4:15 ESPN

The winner of this game is the likely representative of the SEC East in the SEC title game, earning the last shot at Auburn before the national championship. The Tigers have to get past Georgia, Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and the winner here, and that is a rough road.

The Ducks have challenges of their own, but with the crucible of national investigation, scandal and NCAA and FBI inquiry into the Newton allegations, Auburn is in the thick of the kind of "outside distractions" Chip Kelly strives to avoid.

TCU hosts 7-2 San Diego State on Saturday, and Boise is clubbing Idaho, up 28-0 in the first quarter. The Broncos have remaining games versus 6-2 Fresno State and at 8-1 Nevada, but they are likely to finish third no matter what they do.