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Every now and then, the regular season presents us with one game that looms larger than the rest.Here it is, in Week 8: No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama, the One Game that dwarfs all others.Both teams are unbeaten. Theyre elbowing each other for the lead in the SEC West. And its the only matchup of top-10 teams this week. There are only two other games featuring two Top 25 teams: No. 23 Ole Miss at No. 25 LSU and No. 17 Arkansas at No. 21 Auburn.There will be plenty at stake in games all across the country, but the playoff perspective begins with ...No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 1 Alabama (3:30 p.m. ET)The loser of this game is in a serious bind but not necessarily eliminated. The 12 members of the selection committee do not have to take four conference champions. Their task is to pick the four best teams, period. Head-to-head results, conference championships and strength of schedule are used as tiebreakers when ranking comparable teams, but its a subjective process that opens the door to the loser of this game still finishing in the top four.Heres a closer look:If Alabama loses: The Tide would then need to win out and hope the Aggies lose two of their five remaining games to win the West. With the exception of Saturdays game, ESPNs Football Power Index favors Texas A&M in every remaining game on its schedule. Alabama would be in a significant hole, but if its a close game, and the Tide finish the season in dominant fashion, they could sneak into the top four without playing in the SEC title game.At 11-1, the defending national champs would have wins over USC, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn -- and five of those six wins would have come on the road or at a neutral site. The question would be: How many of those opponents are ranked by the committee heading into Dec. 4? If the committee regards the SEC as highly as the AP voters do, it would be a tough résumé to beat -- even for a few Power 5 conference champs.If Texas A&M loses: The Aggies would be in a similar hole, needing to win out AND have Alabama lose twice in its final four games -- an even slimmer possibility, as the Tide have at least a 66 percent chance to win each of their remaining games, according to the FPI. If the Aggies run the table -- with their lone loss a nail-biter on the road against the No. 1 team in the country -- the selection committee would consider an 11-1 SEC West runner-up. Much like Alabama, the Aggies would have a win over a Pac-12 team in UCLA, and they also would have beaten Tennessee. That would look even better if the Vols go on to win the East and play for the title.Heres what else you need to know for Week 8:Undefeated updateWashington: The Huskies have a 98 percent chance to beat Oregon State at home, and they need to -- especially with Washington State still undefeated in league play. If Wazzu heads into the Apple Cup with one loss or undefeated and pulls off the upset, it will win the North.Nebraska: The Huskers shouldnt have any problem against a Purdue team that just fired its coach. They cant get caught looking ahead, though, to back-to-back road games against Wisconsin and Ohio State. That stretch will define their season.Ohio State: The Buckeyes are playing their second straight road game, and Penn State is fresh off a bye week, but the Buckeyes are simply more talented and have the edge on the sideline.Michigan: The Wolverines defense, Jim Harbaugh coming off a bye and home-field advantage? Good luck, Illinois. ESPNs FPI has the Wolverines win probability at 98.6 percent. Its just another lily pad to step on en route to The Game.West Virginia: This will be a tricky home game against TCU, and the Mountaineers need to go undefeated to leave no doubt in the committees mind theyre a top-four team. The good news is theyre playing defense -- unlike the rest of the Big 12.Baylor: The Bears have a week off to prepare for a trip to Texas, the start of a stretch that will finally reveal just how good Baylor is this year. The best thing for the Big 12 would be to have Baylor and WVU still undefeated when those teams meet in Morgantown on Dec. 3.Bubble watchLouisville (5-1): Not only do the Cardinals have to win every game, they cant afford to win ugly, either -- especially at home against an unranked opponent. NC State is coming off an emotional overtime loss at Clemson and now has to travel to Louisville, which has the Heisman front-runner in quarterback Lamar Jackson.Utah (6-1): If the Utes can survive the next two games -- at UCLA on Saturday and home against Washington on Oct. 29 -- they will legitimize their chances of playing for a Pac-12 title. The nonconference strength of schedule and loss at Cal, though, will haunt them in their playoff pursuit, regardless.Wisconsin (4-2): The Badgers have now lost back-to-back games, albeit against two top-five teams, and their chances of winning the West will disappear with a loss at Iowa on Saturday.Oklahoma (4-2): The Sooners cant lose again, period. After nonconference losses to Houston and Ohio State, OU needs to avoid an upset at Texas Tech this weekend and run the table. The Sooners will also need other Power 5 champs to trip up.Colorado (5-2): The Buffs are the FPIs favorite to win the Pac-12 South, with a 60 percent chance, but with losses to Michigan and USC, theyre probably relegated to the role of spoiler in the CFP picture. The more they win, though, the better Michigans résumé looks. Theyve got a tough trip to Stanford this weekend.Group of 5 watchBoise State: The Broncos are the only undefeated team left in the Mountain West and kick off at 10:15 p.m. ET against BYU. With wins over Washington State and Oregon State, they are in the hunt for a New Years Six Bowl as the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion.Western Michigan: These Broncos are the only undefeated team remaining in the MAC and should stay that way after playing Eastern Michigan this weekend. Road wins at Northwestern and Illinois will help separate them in the eyes of the committee.Houston: The Cougars have lost their shot at the top four, but if the New Years Six Bowls were slotted today, based on the current Associated Press Top 25 poll, theyd still be in the Cotton Bowl against Boise State. The Broncos would be there because theyd earn the bid as the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion, and then Houston would go because it would be the highest-ranked available team after the Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls were filled.South Florida: With a win at Syracuse, and their only loss to Florida State, dont discount the Bulls. Theyre leading the AAC East, and if they run the table could earn that New Years Six bid.SuperlativesMost intriguing mascot battle: Lets give a little love to the FCS this week, where Campbell hosts Stetson, because its hard to beat a hat vs. a camel. OK, more precisely, Campbells Gaylord the Camel vs. the John B. Stetson mascot (yes, after the guy who actually made the Stetson hat). Dont worry, his boots are alligator skin -- not camel hair.Upset watch: North Carolina at Virginia. The Tar Heels have been living on the edge in the ACC race, beating Florida State, Pitt and Miami by a combined 10 points. Now they have to travel to Virginia for a second straight road game. If the Cavaliers dont turn the ball over, this could be close.Player in the spotlight: Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook. Hell be integral in helping the Sooners keep pace with Texas Tech. Westbrook has 26 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns in his past three games. QB Baker Mayfield is completing 89.3 percent of his attempts (25-of-28) when targeting Westbrook during that span.Matchup to watch: Alabamas defensive line vs. Texas A&Ms offensive line. A&M is giving up only one sack per game; Alabama is averaging four sacks. The Aggies are averaging 532.8 yards per game, and the Tide are holding opponents to an average of 274.Under-the-radar game: Memphis at Navy. Memphis is also undefeated in the AAC West, and Houston is on the edge of its seat waiting for the Midshipmen to trip up. Navy has to lose twice for Houston to win the division, and this could be a tricky one for the Middies.Must-win game: Wisconsin at Iowa. As the only undefeated team left in the West, Nebraska is the front-runner to win the division, but the winner of this game still has a shot. The Badgers enter the game with a 29 percent chance to win the division, and the Hawkeyes are at 14 percent, according to the FPI.Dont forget about: Utah at UCLA. Dont snooze on the Utes. Theyre the only one-loss team remaining in the Pac-12 South, and theyre heading to the Rose Bowl for what should be a defensive clinic.Dylan Windler Jersey . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Darius Garland Cavaliers Jersey . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. https://www.thecavalierslockerroom.com/Tristan-Thompson-City-Edition-Jersey/ . At a Manhattan federal court hearing, attorney Jordan Siev said his law office has gotten more evidence nearly every day to support its lawsuit accusing MLB and Selig of going on a "witch hunt" to ruin Rodriguezs reputation and career. He said the defendants went "way over the line. Alec Burks Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Nik Stauskas Cavaliers Jersey . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up.Back in 1996, Amy Van Dyken entered her first Olympics as a relative unknown. She wasnt expected to do much of anything -- and then did something no other woman had ever done before in Olympic history: She won four gold medals in a single Games and became the most successful athlete of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.Today Van Dyken says she continues to draw strength and motivation from her Olympic success as she continues to recover from a spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Although 20 years have passed since her historic run in Atlanta, the memories are as strong as ever.I didnt feel any different until I got to the Olympics. I joke that after I made the Olympic team, I woke up and was excited to look in the mirror because I was an Olympian now and everything would change. But that wasnt true until we got there. All of a sudden youre handed all of this stuff with USA on it. You get that swim cap with the flag and your last name on it. Youre just like, Oh my gosh, this real. Ive been dreaming about this since I was 10 years old and its finally happening.People didnt really care who you were, they just cared that you were an American -- and they went nuts for you. To be in our own country was amazing -- it was really, really neat to have an entire crowd behind you every time out there. At my first race, you could see my eyes were huge because Id never swam in front of a crowd like that before.Then, all of sudden, you start to feel pressure. A lot of it. But Im one those people who wouldnt do a book report until the night before it was due. I love pressure, so I started to feed off of it. I always wanted to show people what I could do.No one knew who I was. No one cared who I was. I was supposed to win one bronze medal as part of a relay team. The media was not focusing on me at all before the Games, so I had the luxury of being able to sit back and really enjoy the experience and process it without all of the cameras in my face. I watched my friend Janet Evans and she didnt have that luxury; cameras and people were around her all the time. She didnt even have a second to stretch by herself.The first gold I won was in the 4x100 relay. Relays are always so much fun because youve got these other three girls that youve competed against your entire career and then youre put together on a team. You all get to swim together for a common goal, which is incredible! I actually ended up posting the fastest split in history, which is really cool, and the only reason I did that was because of the motivation I drew off those other three girls. I didnt want to disappoint them -- and thats more pressure than anything.People were wondering if I should pull out of the next race. It was the 100-meter butterfly, and when I made the team in the butterfly, it was kind of shock to everybody. I was just not one of the top two butterflyers in the US. I was definitely one of the top three or four, but not top two. So there was a little bit of controversy around that race leading up to the Games. People were saying that I should let someone else swim it who would have a better shot than I would. But I thought to myself, there is a reason that I made it in this event and Im going to do best that I can do.So wiinning it, I mean, that was crazy! There are some words you will never forget.dddddddddddd When they said: The gold medal goes to Amy Van Dyken from the United States of America thats something Ill always remember.On the podium, there is an emotion that overtakes you that is unbelievable. It does not feel real; you feel like youre floating above yourself, watching yourself in a dream and youre going to step off the podium into a big sea of Skittles and then youre going to take off on a unicorn.That race is probably the one that I will most vividly remember forever. Like, when I am on my deathbed, Ill be telling my great-grandchildren about it. Because I was not supposed to win it. But I did.And thats when I realized: If I can win an event thats not my strongest, whats the limit for me at these Games?As I started winning gold medals, everything was different. The birds sang louder. Next up was the 4x100 medley relay. I was the anchor leg and we won gold in that. Then I started looking at my stash and suddenly I had three gold medals. I was not supposed to do this! And now Ive got my best event coming -- the 50-free -- and that was my jam.You want to talk about being in the zone? Before that race, everything got really quiet, really calm. I remember standing on the blocks and just thinking to myself, this is going to cap off your whole Olympics. Before the gun went off, the last thing I said to myself was, Its yours. Go get it.We got in the water and started swimming and my main competitor was from China. I always took one breath in the 50-free. I took my breath and she took her breath at exactly the same time and we looked at each other. I put my head back in the water and the things that I said to myself, I cannot repeat because they are so foul. I was basically like, This is my home turf. This is my race.I didnt really know what that fourth gold medal meant in the grand scheme of it. It wasnt until I saw my coach, Jonty Skinner, crying on the pool deck that I realized something big had just happened. I remember sitting on the deck of the warm-down pool and my feet were in the water thinking to myself, I just wanted to make the team -- and I made history.I always wondered, why dont women get the same TV coverage as men??But in 96, the women took over in such a way that the TV networks had no choice but to show all these amazing women and what they were accomplishing. It seemed like every time you were watching an event, an American woman was just killing it. Then to hear that they were calling it the Olympics of the Woman was the coolest thing ever. To know that I had some part in that is really special.I think back to when I watched the Olympics growing up and the people I cheered for. Besides Janet Evans, the hallmark athletes everyone focused on were men. I thought it was so cool that little girls sitting at home in 96 were able to watch women dominate and have someone their own gender to look up to and aspire to be.From the moment everyone walked off the field, we knew what we had done as women. It used to be the Olympic fraternity. Because of the 96 Games, we now have a sorority. ' ' '