Ranking the 10 Best College Football Games in Week 11
TJ Inman
Host · Writer
We are now nearing the final stages of the college football regular season, and the Week 11 schedule is filled with great games. Some of these games have conference title implications, some have College Football Playoff chances on the line, and some should be really entertaining showdowns. Here are the ten best (in chronological order)!
1. Tulane at Memphis (-5.5) – Friday at 9:00 on ESPN
The Memphis Tigers are currently the favorite to land the Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff. That’s a great spot to be in November, but it has been a dangerous mantle to hold thus far, and Friday represents another major hurdle as the Tulane Green Wave comes to town. Tulane suffered a significant setback last week, getting waxed by UTSA, but the Roadrunners are very good at the Alamodome. The Green Wave has a strong coaching staff that should be able to get the team to respond after a significant loss. For reference, the only previous loss for Tulane this season was followed immediately by three straight victories. Memphis will need to be alert and play well to stay in the driver’s seat in the American Athletic Conference. A loss for the Tigers would thrust teams like North Texas, South Florida, and James Madison into contention for the playoff spot.
2. IU (-15.5) at Penn State – Noon on FOX
Curt Cignetti rewrites the Indiana University football record books on a near-weekly basis. IU is 9-0 and is ranked second in the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings. It is unexplored territory for the Hoosiers, and they get another chance this week to add a program first: win in Happy Valley. IU has never beaten Penn State in Beaver Stadium, but they are two-touchdown favorites over Penn State and interim head coach Terry Smith. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is right in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race, and this could be a good comparison point to Ohio State after the Buckeyes beat the Nittany Lions 38-14 just last week. PSU has the talent to make this game interesting, and it’s always tough to win on the road.
3. Georgia (-7.5) at Mississippi State – Noon on ESPN
The Mississippi State Bulldogs were flirting with it for weeks, but they finally broke through last Saturday. Jeff Lebby’s team won an SEC game. It was close, but they found a way to win the game (38-35 over Arkansas). Mississippi State now returns home to play a Georgia team that has flirted with disaster but routinely found ways to win, including last week against the Florida Gators. Starkville is going to be fired up, and I think there’s a real chance that Georgia is overlooking this game. Do you know who UGA has next week? The Texas Longhorns in Athens. If they are not paying full attention to the Mississippi State Bulldogs, those cowbells will be clanging, and the maroon and white Bulldogs will earn a signature victory. UGA does not rush the passer well, and Lebby is a well-respected offensive mind who could take advantage of that.
4. BYU at Texas Tech (-10.5) – Noon on ABC
The BYU Cougars have been doubted all season, but they keep on winning. On Saturday, they face their toughest test as they clash with Texas Tech in Lubbock. This is probably the “Game of the Year” in the Big 12, and it will go a very long way towards determining what the matchup is for the Big 12 Championship Game. The BYU Cougars are allowing only 19.4 points per game, and I trust head coach Kalani Sitake to drag this game down into the mud and make it close. The Cougars are 11.5-point underdogs, but they’ll continue to prove the doubters wrong and find a way to grab a close win in a game that is much lower scoring than expected. Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier has not been phased by anything this season, and BYU is equipped to slow the Red Raiders’ rushing attack. This game could go a long way towards determining if the Big 12 can be a two-bid league in the College Football Playoff.
5. Texas A&M (-6.5) at Missouri – 3:30 on ABC
The Texas A&M Aggies have been fantastic this season, combining a top-notch defensive line with an offense that has as much speed, athleticism, and explosiveness as any in the country. Missouri is coming off a bye week, head coach Eli Drinkwitz is linked to the Penn State, Auburn, LSU, and Florida jobs, and looks likely to leave the Tigers or at least get a giant raise to stay. They will be starting a freshman quarterback against Mike Elko’s great defensive line and have to find a way to score enough points to keep pace with a terrific offense. Why is the line only 6.5 points? That short line raises some real alarm bells and should make Aggie fans a bit nervous. A win for the Missouri Tigers thrusts them right back into the playoff picture and puts Texas A&M’s SEC title hopes (and hopes for a first-round bye) in jeopardy.
6. Oregon (-6.5) at Iowa – 3:30 on CBS
The Iowa Hawkeyes should be ranked, but they still find themselves out of the AP Top 25 and generally not viewed as a College Football Playoff contender. That is going to change this Saturday as they topple the Oregon Ducks in Kinnick Stadium. The Hawkeyes are 6-2 with the lone losses coming in close fashion to the Indiana Hoosiers at home and at Iowa State early in the season. The Hawkeyes blasted Wisconsin 37-0, beat Penn State 25-24, and then manhandled Minnesota 41-3 last weekend. Oregon has looked vulnerable at times this season, and the Hawkeyes know precisely how to grind a game against a high-powered offense that prefers to play at a quick pace to a snail’s pace. They’ll limit possessions, try to create a couple of turnovers and a special teams play in their advantage, and be right there to take the game in the fourth quarter.
7. Auburn at Vanderbilt (-6.5) – 4:00 on SEC Network
The Auburn Tigers have plenty of talent. Will that start to shine after head coach Hugh Freeze was fired following the loss to Kentucky? DJ Durkin is in as the interim head coach, and he certainly seems to have the defensive players’ respect. Vanderbilt is a little bit beat up after their loss to Texas last weekend. The Tigers will open things up a bit on offense and find a way to pull off the upset in Nashville using the familiar coaching change bump we’ve seen so many times in sports. Auburn is always good for some drama and intrigue, and Diego Pavia is one of the most fun players to watch in college football.
8. Wake Forest at Virginia (-6.5) – 7:00 on ESPN
The Virginia Cavaliers are 8-1 and 5-0 in the ACC, but there is no way this is the 12th-best team in the country, and their one loss was to North Carolina State (which counted as a non-conference game). The Cavaliers have wins by eight points, three points, two points, one point, and ten points. Wake Forest is trying to bounce back from a 42-7 loss against Florida State in a game where everything went wrong. Before that, the Demon Deacons were playing really well with wins over SMU, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, and a close loss to Georgia Tech that should have been a win if not for a brutal missed call. The Demon Deacons have a stout defense and play a deliberate pace that will cause some problems for the Cavaliers. The line on this game is only 6.5 points, which should be a red flag.
9. LSU at Alabama (-9.5) – 7:30 on ABC
The annual battle between LSU and Alabama is routinely one of the most anticipated games in the country. Alabama has done its part and is ranked fourth with a clear path to the SEC Championship Game. The same cannot be said for the LSU Tigers. Brian Kelly was fired before the bye week as the Tigers fell to 2-3 in the SEC. They have shown absolutely nothing on offense that makes me think they are capable of hanging with Ty Simpson and the Crimson Tide in a night game at Alabama. On top of that, the Crimson Tide have been the best home team in college football recently, going 31-1 at Bryant-Denny Stadium over the past 32 games. That said, maybe Garrett Nussmeier got healthy during the bye week, and perhaps the Tigers will throw some new wrinkles at Alabama and catch them off guard. There is still plenty of talent on this LSU roster, and they could be capable of surprising everyone under an interim coach who really cares about LSU and the state of Louisiana.
10. Navy at Notre Dame (-25.5) – 7:30 on NBC
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are big favorites over the Navy Midshipmen, and this game should not be particularly competitive. Notre Dame’s advantage in the trenches is far too vast for Navy to be able to hang around. That said, Notre Dame is ranked tenth in the College Football Playoff rankings, which means they have zero margin for error. The Midshipmen can slow this game down, churn out seven or eight-minute drives, and quarterback Blake Horvath is fun to watch. For nothing more than the spectacle of seeing Notre Dame Stadium at night, this game deserves a spot on the list.
Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.
