This Weekend in College Football: Week 11

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

  • Missouri @ Tennessee (CBS): Tennessee figures to bounce back against a good defense instead of an all-time great one like they faced last weekend.
  • Notre Dame vs. Navy (@Baltimore, MD; ABC): This game is all about an old promise made, otherwise, it’s notable for a long losing streak. While that streak was interrupted a while back, this year doesn’t figure to help with the perception.
  • Indiana @ Ohio State (FOX): Indiana has had a mixed season, but they shouldn’t take the expected blowout here too hard.
  • Louisiana State @ Arkansas (ESPN): Arkansas can definitely still sneak up and WOMP ya, but LSU seems to have arrived very quickly under Brain Kelly. Again, this game is always tricky for the Tigers, but I like them here.
  • Purdue @ Illinois (ESPN2): I don’t really want to think about this game that much, so, uh, Illni?
  • Oklahoma @ West Virginia (FS1): Neal Brown might be coaching for his job here, which, well, that doesn’t project to work out too well!
  • Southern Methodist @ South Florida (ESPNU): USF is just… bad. Ponies rumble here.
  • Vanderbilt @ Kentucky (SEC): Vandy is just… bad. Cayuts tread all over them here.
  • Pittsburgh @ Virginia (ACCN): I’m still not sure what’s going on with Pitt this year, but I like their chances to complete smother a hapless UVA team and win with defense.
  • Rutgers @ Michigan State (BTN): It’s been a weird year for both of these teams, but Sparty just figures to have a talent advantage here.
  • Liberty @ Connecticut (CBSS): I want the Huskies to win so bad, but after what Liberty did to Arkansas last week, I just can’t pick them.
  • Virginia Tech @ Duke (ACC/RSN): Duke figures to romp here, which says more about the Hokies than anything else. Then again, the ACC Coastal is just seemingly a massive rock fight this year, so who knows?

1:00:

  • James Madison @ Old Dominion (ESPN+)
  • Louisiana-Monroe @ Georgia State (ESPN+)

3:00: Temple @ Houston (ESPN+)

3:30:

  • Maryland @ Pennsylvania State (FOX): The Terps likely want to make something out of this season, but Penn State’s position as the most thoroughly third-best team in the Big Ten makes that unlikely.
  • Nebraska @ Michigan (ABC): The Michigan-Ohio State clash in a couple weeks just feels inevitable.
  • Alabama @ Mississippi (CBS): This game figures to be tough for the Tide, but the main reason they lost to LSU last week was that the Tigers’ defense was able to barely contain a pedestrian (by Bama standards) offense. I don’t think Ole Miss has the talent to pull that trick off two weeks in a row.
  • Louisville @ Clemson (ESPN): While Louisville is better than anyone expected this year under what figured to be a dead-man walking in Scott Satterfield, I still can’t pick them to beat even this relatively mediocre Clemson team.
  • Central Florida @ Tulane (ESPN2): Arguable the game of the week, this figures to be for G5 supremacy. I still like Cincy personally, and I’ll take the Gus Bus and UCF here.
  • Iowa State @ Oklahoma State (ESPNU): Is Oklahoma State’s careening vehicle enough to make me pick the Cyclones here? It looks pretty dodgy, and you know what, I don’t track these anyway, so let’s have some fun.
  • Wisconsin @ Iowa (FS1): Speaking of fun… this figures to be the opposite of that. Iowa, since they’re at home and Wisconsin has enough trouble scoring as-is.
  • Boston College @ North Carolina State (ACCN): BC is just hapless, Wolfpack all the way here.
  • Northwestern @ Minnesota (BTN): Not sure what happened with the boat and the rowing thereof, but this figures to be a win for the Gophers.
  • New Mexico @ Air Force (CBSS): Air Force all the way here.
  • Army @ Troy (NFLN): Similarly, Troy.
  • Arizona State @ Washington State (Pac12): I can’t think of a reason that the Sun Devils would win this at the moment.
  • North Texas @ Alabama-Birmingham (Stadium)
  • Miami @ Georgia Tech (ACC/RSN): We sure did beat VPI last weekend, huh. It was a weird game in the midst of a weird season. I don’t think Brent Key has locked up the permanent gig, at least, I hope not. We still have a lot of problems on both sides of the ball that I don’t think can really be fixed in season. We may have a QB battle in our midst as well, but I still like Sims if he’s healthy just because he’s more dynamic. Either way, my honest thought is that this game is gettable, but on paper at least Miami should out-talent us. It should be interesting.
  • Charlotte @ Middle Tennessee State (espn3.com)
  • Appalachian State @ Marshall (“Mountain Warfare”; ESPN+)
  • Louisiana Tech @ Texas-San Antonio (ESPN+)

4:00: South Carolina @ Florida (SEC):

5:00: Texas State @ South Alabama (ESPN+)

7:00:

  • Washington @ Oregon (FOX): This classic Pacific Northwest rivalry is renewed once again, and I’m definitely looking forward to a shootout here. Still, hard not to like the Ducks at home.
  • Georgia @ Mississippi State (ESPN): If there’s any team that seems incapable for suffering a let down after a big win, it seems to be Georgia.
  • Kansas State @ Baylor (FS1): K-State has been good, but the degree to which they can get away with against more talented teams on the road is still a coin flip. While they do it more often than most, it’s hard to exactly rely on it.
  • Wyoming @ Colorado State (“Border War”; CBSS): This is a pretty old rivalry game (played 113 times!) but it won’t get a lot of sizzle. At least this year, that’s because the Rams are awful.
  • Florida Atlantic @ Florida International (“Shula Bowl”; Stadium)
  • Kansas @ Texas Tech (ESPN+)

7:30:

  • Texas Christian @ Texas (ABC): I have Texas winning here. Don’t ask why, because nothing subjective in my head thinks that the Longhorns will win. Every objective ranking has the Horns all the way, though.
  • North Carolina @ Wake Forest (ESPN2): I HOPE YOU LIKE POINTS, because boy howdy this game is gonna deliver! That said, I’m worried about Wake, as they just haven’t been the same since that Louisville game. This means I’m picking UNC, but I’m not happy about it. And, again, this is going to be very points-y.
  • Southern Mississippi @ Coastal Carolina (ESPNU): Beach Chickens all the way here.
  • Texas A&M @ Auburn (SEC): So Auburn nearly did the thing last week after firing Harsin, but they lost in overtime to Miss State. They’ll get another chance over perhaps the worst team in the SEC. TAMU isn’t bad on paper, of course, but they look so inept in games, especially on offense, every game turns in a “will they really pay Jimbo Fisher $95 million to not coach” a serious question worth considering. I’ll pick Auburn.

8:00: Florida State @ Syracuse (ACCN): FSU seems to have figured some things out.

9:00: California @ Oregon State (Pac12): Beavers, because they’re more fun and it feels weird picking Cal under almost any circumstance.

10:00: Stanford @ Utah (ESPN): Stanford is trying, but I just don’t see them scoring against the Utes. Like, this could seriously be a shutout.

10:30:

  • Arizona @ California-Los Angeles (FOX): Zona is a speedbump on the way to what figures to be an epic UCLA-USC clash next week.
  • San Jose State @ San Diego State (FS1): San Jose State is good, which I still find surprising, and the Aztecs, well, I still don’t really want to think about this. Either way, I don’t think they’re as good on defense as they’ve been and the offense is still anemic. so the West Coast Sparty all the way here.
  • Boise State @ Nevada (CBSS): Nevada is just… bad. Boise isn’t good this year, but the rest of the Mountain West is down bad enough that it kinda doesn’t matter.

11:00: Utah State @ Hawaii (Team1Sports)