College football week 11 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 11.
After losing early in the season to Georgia, Oregon had rebounded well to put themselves in a position to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff. All their hopes were dashed on Saturday when they lost to Washington 37-34. The good news is that Oregon is still very much alive in the Pac-12 Championship picture.
Oregon did not play their best, but they also lost Bo Nix to an injury for a short time in this game. He missed a key fourth down from the Ducks’ own 40-yard line, which had they converted, could’ve won the game. Washington, with the win, has kept themselves in the conversation for the Pac-12 Championship.
This week was the first TCU was ranked in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings this season. After getting some of the respect they deserved, TCU backed up that ranking with a 17-10 win over Texas. They likely would’ve won by two scores, but a costly fumble allowed Texas to stay in the game.
With the win, TCU’s toughest regular season games are over. They have clinched a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game and control their own destiny as it pertains to making the College Football Playoff. The way they look and the way they can win games in a number of different ways makes it look like they should win all of their remaining games, but it is college football so anything can happen.
Brian Kelly has done a fantastic job in year one at LSU. The Tigers had 39 scholarship players not too many months ago and they had just six wins a season ago. This season LSU started off slowly, but improved and are now SEC West champions.
The Tigers clinched the SEC West with a win over Arkansas. LSU won 13-10 in a game where offenses weren’t moving the ball. It wasn’t how they drew up the gameplan, but the Tigers walked away as SEC West Champions and have put themselves back in the College Football Playoff race, even if no team with two losses has ever made the playoff.
Ole Miss had just one loss on the season heading into week 11. They had a big matchup against Alabama and lost a close one to the Crimson Tide 30-24. The Rebels ran the ball decently well, but failed to score in the fourth quarter. With the loss, Ole Miss was bounced from CFP consideration.
While they are out of the CFP, the Rebels have had a great season. Lane Kiffin isn’t too far off from having this team from winning the SEC West. The team fell apart against LSU, but also played Alabama tough. Kiffin will keep hitting the transfer portal hard and finding gems from high school like running back Quinshon Judkins.
One of the best projected games heading into the weekend was UCF at Tulane. The winner would be in the driver’s seat for the New Year’s Six spot that goes to group of five teams. UCF went on the road and got the job done. They won 38-31.
John Rhys Plumlee returned after missing time with an injury and showed that UCF is deserving of consideration for a higher ranking. The win is good, but the Knights haven’t locked up the spot yet. They still will have to play in the AAC Championship Game, which could be against Tulane again or Cincinnati.
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