The heat is on: Ten games with the highest stakes in 2016

— -- Imagine the college football schedule is a roulette board and you have a large stack of casino chips. Now, pick the circles where you want to place the most chips.

Remember, you're not selecting necessarily the biggest games or the fiercest rivalries or games guaranteed to shape the national title race. You're picking the games certain to carry high stakes, no matter what happens between now and kickoff. You are doing this right now, months before preseason camp begins and depth charts are finalized. Most of these contests should fall early in the season, but some later games also fit into the high-stakes category.

So what goes into a high-stakes game? It could have playoff implications for both squads. It also could feature a lengthy streak in an annual series. It could include a coach on thin ice with his fan base, needing this particular win to reach higher ground. It could start or end a critical stretch for one or both teams. Bottom line: These are the games every fan base has circled right now.

The roulette wheel is about to spin. It's time to place your bets.

Here's our list of 10 high-stakes games entering the 2016 season.

10. USC at Stanford, Sept. 17

9. Penn State at Pitt, Sept. 10

8. UCLA at Texas A&M, Sept. 3

7. LSU at Auburn, Sept. 24

6. Oklahoma vs. Houston, Sept. 3

5. Washington at Oregon, Oct. 8

4. Michigan at Michigan State, Oct. 29

3. Ohio State at Michigan State, Nov. 19

2. Clemson at Florida State, Oct. 29

1. Florida at Tennessee, Sept. 24