position with the committee.The road back for the loser

HOUSTON -- When No. 25 LSU and No. 22 Texas A&M meet in the only college football game on Thanksgiving day, both teams will be looking to cap the regular-season on a positive note after disappointing and inconsistent years.With eight wins, a victory by the Aggies could help them nab a prestigious New Years Day bowl game.Our guys are aware of it, coach Kevin Sumlin said. Without a doubt we still have opportunity to win double-digit games. Very few teams have that. Thats what most important. In order to do that cant look past Thursdays and say that. Focus still remains on Thursday and trying to be 1-0 this week.A win by the Tigers (6-4) could help interim coach Ed Orgeron keep the job full time. LSUs players have been clear about their support for Orgeron, who took over when Les Miles was fired in September.This Thursday, obviously there will be a lot of different motivations and I dont think itll be hard to be motivated for this game because you want to get the bitter taste of a loss out of your mouth, fullback J.D. Moore said. You want to play for coach O whos willing to take the whole blame of an entire team on his shoulders even when it may not be entirely his fault. So its easy to play for a guy like that.Texas A&M will look for another big game from defensive end Myles Garrett , who had a career-high 4 1/2 sacks last week against UTSA. It was the first game Garrett has been healthy after struggling with an ankle injury for several weeks.LSU quarterback Danny Etling knows hell have to watch out for Garrett, who is predicted to be one of the top picks in the draft if he declares.Hes one of those players who is a special talent, Etling said. They have a good defense as a whole but hes obviously what stands out on film and has made a lot of plays. They use him to kind of disrupt some plays in the passing game and hes a good pass rusher.But in the running game I think hes shown that he can play on all those different downs ... hes kind of an all-down defensive lineman who can make a lot of plays for them all over the field, he said.Some things to know about the LSU-Texas A&M game:FOURNETTES STATUSLSU star running back Leonard Fournette has an ankle injury that may keep him out of Thursdays game. Fournette has been slowed by the injury for much of the season and Orgeron said earlier this week that he was day to day and that he was very sore. Orgeron said it has been tough not being able to have him at full strength for the majority of the season.It was something we had to deal with, Orgeron said. We won three games without him being there. He came in and had a great game against Ole Miss. Wed love for him to be healthy.CLOSING IN ON 1,000Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams needs 44 yards rushing to become the first true freshman in school history to rush for 1,000 yards. Williams had 80 yards rushing last week and has had three games over 100 yards rushing, including a season-high 217 yards rushing in a win over Tennessee.IN THE MIDDLELSUs defense took a considerable hit when senior starting middle linebacker Kendell Beckwith went out with an apparent left knee injury against Florida. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Beckwith, a clear-cut NFL prospect., has been LSUs leading tackler with 91 tackles, including six tackles for losses, a sack and fumble recovery. He was also the leader of the front seven, if not the whole defense. While Orgeron downplayed the long-term seriousness of Beckwiths injury, he ruled him out against A&M. Donnie Alexander, a junior from New Orleans and former Edna Karr high school teammate of Aggies receiver Speedy Noil, is slated to make his first start for Beckwith.FOCUSED ON FINISHINGAlthough LSU only scored 10 points last weekend against Florida, it wasnt because they couldnt move the ball. The Tigers racked up 423 yards, outgaining the Gators by 153 yards. Etling was 14 of 26 for 204 yards without an interception. If not for their failure to get more than a field goal out of their last four times inside the Florida 10-yard line because of a fumble, botched field goal and gal line stand, the Tigers might have won last weekend.We put up a lot of yards, we executed our game plan and unfortunately we shot ourselves in the foot when we needed some big plays and especially inside the red zone, Etling said.---AP Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report. Yeezy Boost China Wholesale .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. http://www.ultraboostclearance.com/yeezy-boost-shoes-wholesale/350.html . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Ultra Boost Womens Sale .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Cheap Authentic Ultra Boost . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Wait. Do not -- repeat, do not -- eliminate the losers of Week 5s biggest games.Unless its Clemson. (More on that in a bit.)The Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten will take center stage as each league features a game between top-10 undefeated teams, but none of those teams playoff hopes are walking a tightrope this week like the Tigers. Clemsons chances of returning to a semifinal will sink like Howards Rock if they lose at home to Louisville.A one-loss team isnt doomed in October, you argue. True. Look back at the first two years of the CFP: Six of the eight teams lost a game, and some of them were ugly. Thats why Stanford, ?Wisconsin, Michigan (and maaaaybe Louisville) could all survive a loss this weekend.Clemson might not be so fortunate.Heres a deeper look at whats at stake in the three biggest games of Week 5:No. 8 Wisconsin at No. 4 Michigan (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) What it means for the winner:?A Wisconsin win would further legitimize the Badgers playoff hopes and should convince more people to buy into them as a serious contender in the Big Ten. Even after wins against LSU and Michigan State, Wisconsin is still playing in the shadow of the Big Tens East Division. This would be its second straight road win, though, against one of the Easts best teams. For Michigan, it would be the first win against a ranked opponent, which the Wolverines résumé needs after playing just one team so far (Colorado) with a winning record. If Michigan wins this one, though, it should be 7-0 heading into Michigan State on Oct. 29 and in a great position with the committee.The road back for the loser:?Both could certainly rebound to win their respective divisions and possibly meet again in the Big Ten championship game, but the margin of error shrinks drastically. Michigan still has road trips to East Lansing, Iowa and Ohio State -- the latter being the only game on its schedule that ESPNs Football Power Index does not project the Wolverines to win. Wisconsin has a bye week to recover from a loss and will need it -- to prepare for Ohio State. Of the three games featuring undefeated teams, this one would be the easiest to recover from because it is cross-divisional.No. 3 Louisville at No. 5 Clemson (8 p.m. ET, ABC) What it means for the winner:?A Louisville win puts the Cardinals atop the Atlantic Division standings and changes the balance of power in the ACC, where Clemson and Florida State have been the leagues lone national title contenders in recent years. Louisville already throttled Florida State 63-20, but thats only half the equation. A win in Death Valley would leave no doubt Louisville is the ACCs new king. A win for Clemson, and the ACCs three-way tiebreaker doesnt seem so far-fetched anymore. If Clemson wins, and then Florida State beats Clemson in Tallahassee on Oct. 29 -- and none of them lose again -- the ACC would then turn to SportSource Analytics to break its tie.The road back for the loser: If Clemson loses, the three-way tiebreaker goes out the window, along with the Tigers playoff hopes. Clemson would then need Louisville to lose twice, and Dabo Swinney has a better chance of throwing a pizza party for Florida State fans than that happening. Check out the rest of Louisvilles schedule: The only ranked opponent remaining is a Thursday night road trip to Houston. Its a tough game Louisville could certainly lose, but not one that would keep it out of the ACC championship game. Louisville plays the Coastal Divisions two weakest teams this year in Duke and Virginia. ESPNs Football Power Index projects the Cardinals to win every remaining game. Clemson would need Louisville to have a complete meltdown to get back in the ACC race. If Louisvillle loses, it would need Clemson to lose twice -- another long shot, as Clemsons toughest remaining opponents are FSU and Pitt.ddddddddddddIt also could still hope Florida State beats Clemson and it wins the three-way tiebreaker. Bottom line: The loser of this game no longer controls its position in the playoff picture.On the playoff bubbleNorth Carolina at No. 12 Florida State (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) Playoff plotline: The Tar Heels are heading to Tallahassee confident off a win against Pitt, and FSUs playoff hopes are already on life support. An upset here, and the Noles are done.No. 22 Texas at Oklahoma State (Noon ET, ABC) Playoff plotline: The Longhorns had a bye week to recover from their devastating road loss to Cal, but they havent even played a conference game yet. Texas has no margin for error, but if it can win out, it can get back in the CFP debate.Oklahoma at No. 21 TCU Playoff plotline: The Sooners can still win the Big 12, but TCU is in a better playoff position because it has only one loss, which was in double overtime to Arkansas. Even if OU wins the league, it will have a difficult time getting into the top four with two losses and no league title game to help compensate for it.No. 11 Tennessee at No. 25 Georgia Playoff plotline: The Vols asserted themselves as the team to beat in the SEC East with last weeks win over Florida, but if they come out flat and stumble in Athens, its anyones game. Instead of appearing to have a serious playoff contender, though, the East will again look average, with little hope of upending the West champ.Week 5 superlativesMost intriguing mascot battle: Zippy the Kangaroo vs. Flash the Golden Eagle. Psst, hey Kent State, want to know a secret? Kangaroos cant walk backward. Look it up. Get her on her heels and you might win ...Upset watch: Tennessee at Georgia. The Bulldogs havent looked great this season, struggling against Nicholls, being fortunate to escape Mizzou with a win, and then losing to Ole Miss, but we havent seen Tennessee respond to success yet, and Nick Chubb might want to make a statement against the team he tore his ACL against -- that is, if he has recovered from a sprained ankle.Can-miss game: Alcorn State at Arkansas. Poor Alcorn State, the rebound date for Arkansas after it lost to Texas A&M. ESPNs FPI gives Arkansas a 99.5 percent chance to beat the 1-2 FCS team.Player in the spotlight: Wisconsin QB Alex Hornibrook. The Badgers appeared to have found their QB in the win over Michigan State, but Michigans defense has pressured opposing quarterbacks on 42 percent of their dropbacks this season, second-highest rate in the Power 5.Matchup to watch: Louisvilles offensive line vs. Clemsons defensive line. Its the nations No. 1 offense against the No. 3 defense, and it all starts up front. Clemson, led by Christian Wilkins, Carlos Watkins and Dexter Lawrence, ranks in the top 10 nationally in tackles for loss (38) and is giving up fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.Under the radar: Utah at Cal. This matchup was a thriller last year, when the Utes won 30-24. This time, the Bears are averaging 45.5 points per game, and the Utes are allowing just 15.8. Somethings gotta give.Must-win game: Too many. Texas, Florida State, TCU, Clemson, Louisville -- theyre all likely eliminated from the CFP conversation with a loss.Dont forget about: Ole Miss lost to Memphis last year. The Rebels certainly didnt forget. Memphis is off to a 3-0 start under first-year coach Mike Norvell, but ESPNs FPI pegs the Rebels chances at earning revenge at 86 percent. ' ' '