SportsPulse: USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg and George Schroeder debate which team will come out on top, the Oregon Ducks or the Stanford Cardinal. USA TODAY
Most top playoff contenders have now played at least one meaningful game, but for the most part Week 4 of the campaign is still the early stage. This is the point at which conference competition begins in earnest, and we start to sort out who will be in the hunt for the long haul.
Here are this week’s five games with the most impact on the playoff pursuit.