It’s been a wild ten weeks of the college football season. With crowds once again packing stadiums following the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, we’ve been treated to more ranked teams losing than ever before, and constant movement in the top-25.
And the real fun starts on Saturday.
The next four weeks will determine which teams will be playing in the College Football Playoff, and the massively important week eleven slate of games kicks off the fun.
There are four ranked games on the schedule, and upset potential can be seen throughout the day.
Let’s take a look at which games to watch in week eleven of the college football season.
Penn State vs No. 6 Michigan – 12:00 p.m. ET, ABC
The Big 10 is still up for grabs, with both Michigan and Michigan State sitting one game back of Ohio State in the Big 10 standings, and both teams will play the Buckeyes by the end of the year. For Michigan, they’ll wrap up the season at home against the Buckeyes, but getting by Penn State first will be no easy task.
James Franklin’s Nittany Lions have lost three of their last four and have dropped out of the CFP rankings, but don’t let their record fool you. Penn State is a dangerous team.
They hung with Ohio State for three quarters before Ryan Day’s squad was able to put the game on ice late in the fourth. Michigan is dealing with a slew of injuries, including to quarterback Cade McNamara, though head coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t willing to give an update on Monday.
“I don’t have any updates on injuries at this time,” Harbaugh said. “It’s a matter of a team working every day, trying every day. You’re refreshing, trying to have good days. Good meetings, good practice, and go play the game.”
No. 13 Baylor vs No. 8 Oklahoma – 12:00 p.m. ET, FOX
More than likely the biggest matchup of the day, Oklahoma is in search of a marquee win, and beating Baylor in Waco would count as one.
Coming off their bye week, Oklahoma is 9-0 and sits at No. 8 in the CFP rankings, but have struggled with the lesser teams on their schedule. The Sooners offense has improved since freshman quarterback Caleb Williams took over for Spencer Rattler during the Texas game, throwing for 14 touchdowns and just one interception since getting the nod at QB.
“The quarterback has injected their offense with some firepower,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “Caleb’s ability to hit receivers in stride, with tight coverage, I think stands out. I think the skill on the perimeter stands out.”
Baylor is coming off a disappointing loss to TCU, but will lean heavily on their rushing attack against Oklahoma, ranked seventh in the country in rushing yards per game (230.9).
“Downhill runners, guys that have top-end speed. You see them run away from people, run through tackles,” Oklahoma defensive coordinator Alex Grinch said.
Tennessee vs No. 1 Georgia – 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Georgia is clearly the best team in the country, but they haven’t faced an offense quite like Tennessee’s.
The Vols rank 20th in yards per game (457.6) while scoring 38.2 points per game, behind a lightning quick attack. In last week’s 45-42 win over Kentucky, Tennessee had the ball for just 13.52, and they lead the nation in plays per minute (2.92).
“The speed. It’s obvious right. … The hardest thing to prepare for with that is duplicating it,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “… Simulating that tempo and chaos is the hardest thing.”
Georgia counters with the stingiest defense in the country, allowing just 230.9 yards and 6.6 points per game.
“Statistically, maybe as good as anybody who’s ever played the game as a unit,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said about Georgia’s defense. “They always have good scheme. They’re well-coached, extremely talented, and extremely deep. … For us, we’ve got to play really efficient. You have to have balance in this football game. … You can’t hurt yourself. You have to take care of the football.”
No. 4 Ohio State vs No. 19 Purdue – 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
The Boilermakers have knocked off two top-five teams this season, and they have an eye on their third.
Purdue is coming off a 40-29 upset of then-No. 3 Michigan State, just three weeks after upsetting then-No. 2 Iowa. Purdue’s offense is averaging 332.6 yards per game through the air — eighth in the country — and wide receiver David Bell leads the Big 10 in receiving yards.
“They’re playing for a chance to go to Indy,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, referring to the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis, “so they certainly have our attention. Very, very good players. Very good scheme.”
Ohio State has won seven straight since losing to Oregon in week two, but have had close calls against Penn State and Nebraska. The Buckeyes offense managed just 25 points in Lincoln, and Purdue’s defense is giving up only 18.4 points per game.
No. 15 Ole Miss vs No. 11 Texas A&M – 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
College Gameday at The Grove? Sign me up.
Texas A&M is still in the hunt for the SEC West crown, but will need another loss from Alabama to have a shot. The Aggies dominated Auburn in week ten — allowing just 226 total yards in the game — and are allowing the second fewest points per game in the nation (14.7) for the season.
They’ll be facing one of the top offenses in the nation, led by quarterback Matt Corral, and averaging 524.2 yards per game. Corral is banged up — dealing with an ankle injury — and it’s unclear if he’s been unable to practice during the week.
“He didn’t practice last week, so we’ve kind of gotten [used] to this,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said on Wednesday. “It limits what we can do, obviously, and how we call a game. Practice is important, no matter who you are, especially the quarterback for a lot of reasons, so that is not ideal at all, obviously.”
Other games to watch:
No. 12 Wake Forest vs No. 16 NC State – 7:30 p.m ET, ACC Network
No. 3 Oregon vs Washington State – 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.