The top 10 GOP candidates are scheduled to take the stage for the third Republican presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 28 on the campus of the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Time & Moderators

Given all the recent changing dynamics in the crowded GOP field, host network CNBC will appear to be the place to be for the 8 to 10 p.m. ET-aired telecast. Cleveland.com reports the moderators for the "Your Money, Your Vote" themed showdown are slated to be Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick and John Harwood.

Trump vs. Carson

As for all the added intrigue, for starters polls now show political neophyte Ben Carson leading party front-runner Donald Trump in the critical, early voting state of Iowa. According to CNN, both a Des Moines Register and Bloomberg Politics poll show Carson now receiving 28 percent of the vote to Trump's 20 and 19 percent respectively.

"I've done really well with the evangelicals and with the tea party and everything and I just don't understand the number, but I accept the number," Trump recently told reporter of his suddenly sagging poll totals. "It means I have to work a little bit harder in Iowa."

For Trump, that typically means going on the offensive, and in the case of Carson that approach doesn't appear to be in danger of changing anytime soon.

"I like Ben, but he cannot do with trade like I do," he said. "He can't do with a lot of things like I do, so we'll just have to see what happens."

On the equally critical issue of immigration, he added, "He's very, very weak on immigration and I'm very strong on immigration. Ben Carson is very, very weak on immigration. He believes in amnesty strongly. He believes in citizenship. He's going to give citizenship to people who are here illegally -- you can't do that."

By contrast, Trump has boasted if elected he could rid the country of as many as 11 million immigrants through deportation in less than two years.

The overall GOP front-runner has consistently maintained doing so would simply be a matter of "good management."

Debate Candidate List

Other candidates set to participate in the main debate include Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich and Rand Paul.