FAVORITE TEAMS

My college football takeaways from Week 11:

Baylor and TCU be teasing before overtime. No touchdowns for the first four quarters before overtime? Come on now!!! lol

LSU vs. Alabama was a good showing and LSU proved to be a serious playoff contender. Alabama only falls to 5 but have flaws that can’t be easily fixed going down the stretch before the Iron Bowl. They need help getting back in while LSU’s in the driver seat until the SEC conference championship.

With Georgia and Alabama ranked 4 and 5, Auburn may re-enter the playoff conversation, but that’s a huge “outside looking in” situation.

Oklahoma escapes Iowa State, but they’re also hurting themselves after a disappointing second half performance overall. Baylor has a chance to make a statement this weekend, but win or lose, they need a lot of help moving up due to their weak non-conference schedule.

Clemson jumps right back into the Top 4, but now they have Wake Forest, who Clemson beat only 28-14 at home two seasons ago.

Minnesota continues their amazing run after a huge upset over Penn State. Now they head to Kinnick Stadium, where most ranked teams don’t fair so well. It’s been a long time since the Gophers won there too.

 

 

10) WAKE FOREST (7-2 OVERALL; 3-2 ACC) AT #3 CLEMSON (10-0 OVERALL; 7-0 ACC) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [ABC]

What are the chances that Wake Forest upsets Clemson? Looks very slim since they expect Clemson to roll them by about five touchdowns. It’s possible knowing that Wake Forest’s defense is pretty weak, especially without lineback Justin Strnad. Their offense is much better and more dangerous but they’re without receiver Sage Surratt, so Scotty Washington and Kendall Hinton must lead without him. It’s up to quarterback Jamie Newman to play well without making mistakes and letting the pressure get to him. If Wake defeats Clemson, Clemson’s eliminated from playoff contention without question.

 

9) INDIANA (7-2 OVERALL; 4-2 BIG TEN) AT #9 PENN STATE (8-1 OVERALL; 4-2 BIG TEN) – 9AM PT / 12PM ET [ABC]

Indiana has one win against Penn State in 22 matchups all-time. That was in 2013. Penn State comes off a dramatic loss to Minnesota. Even though they return home, they play Indiana who’s on their 4-game winning streak right now and feel confident after becoming bowl-eligible. Penn State’s defense is strong, but they’re vulnerable against the pass, and Indiana’s passing offense is pretty good. If they want to keep their conference title hopes alive at least, they must pressure the quarterback and shut down their receivers.

 

8) AIR FORCE (7-2 OVERALL; 4-1 MOUNTAIN WEST) AT COLORADO STATE (4-5 OVERALL; 3-2 MOUNTAIN WEST) – 4PM PT / 7PM ET [ESPN2]

Air Force is staying in the hunt with Boise State for the Mountain division title with a 4-game winning streak. They head to Colorado State and they need two games to become bowl-eligible themselves. They’re at home and could have a shot at stealing the Mountain division title. They have Air Force, Wyoming and Boise State to finish their campaign. Their first task is upsetting Air Force to start the domino effect, but they also need Utah State to lose out to have an opportunity as well.

 

7) #18 MEMPHIS (8-1 OVERALL; 4-1 AAC) AT HOUSTON (3-6 OVERALL; 1-4 AAC) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [ESPN2]

Since coach Tom Herman left Houston for Texas, Houston lost three-straight to Memphis and former Houston Major Applewhite had to go. Despite everything that has happened to this program the past few weeks, their competition hasn’t ceased. They lost a close game to formerly ranked SMU and stayed close with UCF for most of the first half. Memphis is expected to win their fourth straight matchup, but it won’t be easy. The last time they played in Houston, they escaped 42-38 and all of their points came in the second half. Yeah, seriously.

 

6) #25 APPALACHIAN STATE (8-1 OVERALL; 4-1 SUN BELT) AT GEORGIA STATE (6-3 OVERALL; 3-2 SUN BELT) – 4:30PM PT / 7:30PM ET [ESPNU]

Appalachian State comes off an emotionally intense victory at South Carolina and also retake control of the Sun Belt East division after both Georgia State and Georgia Southern lost that same weekend. Now they head down one state to play Georgia State and they have steadily improved this season. Georgia State senior backfield Dan Ellington and Tra Barnett will lead the charge at home in hopes of upsetting renewed ranked App State just like Georgia Southern did a couple of weeks ago. Appalachian State’s win gives them near control of the division by winning out while Georgia State’s win sets up the division title bout with Georgia Southern in two weeks.

 

5) UCLA (4-5 OVERALL; 4-2 PAC-12) AT #7 UTAH (8-1 OVERALL; 5-1 PAC-12) – 5PM PT / 8PM ET [FOX]

UCLA coach Chip Kelly said that UCLA controls their own “fate”. Not destiny, “fate”. And that is what’s exactly happening. UCLA’s still alive for the South division title but they haven’t beaten Utah in three seasons and are on the road. However, they downed Washington State on the road and defeated Stanford, Arizona State, and Colorado to go on a three-game winning streak. Their defense also improved despite the 22 points allowed in the fourth to Arizona State. They’re playing hot but this is the most challenging situation of their entire season.

 

4) #23 NAVY (7-1 OVERALL) AT #16 NOTRE DAME (7-2 OVERALL) – 11:30AM PT / 2:30PM ET [NBC]

An intriguing matchup between two ranked rivals battling for a chance to play in a New Year’s Six Bowl. Navy made dramatic improvements from last season and the majority of it is on defense. They definitely need their defense to slow down quarterback Ian Book. Navy hopes to end their two-game losing streak to Notre Dame, which would be their first win in South Bend since 2009 and Notre Dame’s first loss at home since September 2017.

 

3) #10 OKLAHOMA (8-1 OVERALL; 5-1 BIG 12) AT #13 BAYLOR (9-0 OVERALL; 6-0 BIG 12) – 4:30PM PT / 7:30PM ET [ABC]

This is a do-or-die game for this weekend’s matchup. Baylor is in position to at least be considered for the New Year’s Six Bowl spot. Oklahoma enters Waco with recent struggles there since 2011 when Baylor won their first ever matchup behind the arm and leg of quarterback Robert Griffin III. Oklahoma has more to lose than Baylor because they have a better opportunity for a playoff spot, but they need a lot of help getting there. For Oklahoma to come away with a win, they must keep the turnovers down against an improved Baylor defense and defensive coordinator Alex Grinch must find ways to stifle quarterback Charlie Brewer and the talented backfield and receivers.

2) #8 MINNESOTA (9-0 OVERALL; 6-0 BIG TEN) AT #20 IOWA (6-3 OVERALL; 3-3 BIG TEN) – 1PM PT / 4PM ET [FOX]

Minnesota wins one of the most important games of the season in their program history, but now they enter Kinnick Stadium immediately on upset alert. Michigan and Ohio State were the previous victims that lost in Kinnick Stadium that ended their road to the playoffs. Also, Minnesota hasn’t won in Iowa City since 1999. If Minnesota can eclipse past 20 points against Iowa, it’s safe to say that they’re legitimate playoff contenders with only Wisconsin and a Big Ten East division winner to play.

1) #4 GEORGIA (8-1 OVERALL; 5-1 SEC) AT #12 AUBURN (7-2 OVERALL; 4-2 SEC) – 12:30PM PT / 3:30PM ET [CBS]

This matchup is number one for a reason. Georgia’s fighting to stay alive for the SEC championship and protect their spot for the playoffs. Auburn’s looking to spoil their run since they’re at home for the rest of the season. When Georgia played at Jordan-Hare in 2017, they were rolled over and the run game suffered. In order for Georgia to win, quarterback Jake Fromm must play his A-game and running back D’Andre Swift and the offensive line must open holes to break down Auburn’s defense. Believe it or not, Auburn’s path to the playoffs starts with a win over Georgia. Why? The committee put Georgia and Alabama at #4 and #5. They also lost to LSU that happens to be #1 this week.