Week 11 Preview

Already week 11… This season has gone by so fast! Last week featured some big upsets: Mississippi State over 4Texas A&M, Arkansas over 11Florida, and TCU went to 17Baylor and beat the Bears by 40. Bama vs LSU impressed again, this time ending in a 10-0 win for the Tide, but the score was 0-0 after 3 quarters. Chad Kelley and Trevor Knight both sustained season ending injuries as well. What is in store for us this week?

How I fared: 6-0 last week, 45-17 overall

Notable Games
20USC at 4Washington This will probably be the best defense that Washington has faced this season. USC is on a hot streak right now and is looking to take down one of the five remaining undefeateds. I think the Trojans will give the Huskies a scare, but I think Browning and the Washington offense will wear out USC by the fourth quarter and pull away. I am picking Washington.

Ole Miss at 8Texas A&M Both of these teams will have to finish their season without their star QBs. Chad Kelley tore his ACL and meniscus and will undergo surgery and Trevor Knight injured his shoulder. I think A&M is in the better position without their QB. Kelley accounted for most of the Ole Miss offense, while A&M has many key players. Ole Miss’s defense has not been great this season, and I just don’t think they have enough to stop the Aggies. I am picking Texas A&M.

Baylor at 11Oklahoma Baylor started the season 6-0 and is 0-2 since. The Bears have had back-to-back losses to Texas and TCU. They seem to have imploded. Oklahoma has looked well and is unbeaten in Big 12 play so far. I think Baker Mayfield will light up Baylor, but you never know in the Big 12 because defense is frequently optional. Iowa State was closer to the Sooners than they should’ve been, so OU needs to be mentally up for this game. I am picking Oklahoma.

Kentucky at Tennessee Weirdly enough, this game is very important in the SEC East race. Tennessee is coming off a feel-good win over FCS Tennessee Tech and Kentucky is coming off a close loss to Georgia. This game is going to come down to who wants it more. Both of these teams still have a legitimate shot of making it to Atlanta. Both have also had trouble holding on to leads. I think Josh Dobbs will help his team get back to where they are supposed to be with a win this weekend. I am picking Tennessee.

Appalachian State at Troy These teams have a combined record of 14-3. All three of those losses came to teams that were ranked at the time. Both are undefeated in conference play, meaning this is a very important game in the Sun Belt. This should be a great game. I am giving App State the edge because of QB Taylor Lamb, but both teams have proven themselves. Really, you could flip a coin and get a good prediction for this one. I am picking Appalachian State.

Stanford at Oregon For the first time in recent years, this game doesn’t really mean much in the national picture. Both teams have underachieved. Oregon has not done well when facing good defenses. Stanford has a good defense. Their offense isn’t great, but McCaffrey seems to be healthy again. Oregon’s defense has been lit up this season, so I expect McCaffrey to do some damage. I don’t think this will be a very high scoring affair. I am picking Stanford.

24LSU at 25Arkansas What a win for the Hogs last week! They looked like a completely different team. They clearly won the bye week. LSU is coming off a hard fought loss to Alabama. They have to be worn out. But I bet they are also a little angry. The Hogs have beat LSU each of the last two seasons, meaning The Boot has been here in Fayetteville (its rightful home) for some time now. If Arkansas can play defense like they did against Florida, they have a chance in this one. If LSU plays defense like they did against Alabama, the Hogs might have a tough time. Arkansas’s o-line will need to protect Austin and also get that run game going again. I think for Arkansas to win, Austin will probably need to toss at least two TDs. It’s always fun when LSU comes to town.

Top 25
Mississippi State at 1Alabama
Pittsburgh at 2Clemson
3Michigan at Iowa
5Ohio State at Maryland
Wake Forest at 6Louisville
Illinois at 7Wisconsin
9Auburn at Georgia
10Penn State at Indiana
12Colorado at Arizona
Texas Tech at 13Oklahoma State
Georgia Tech at 14Virginia Tech
15Utah at Arizona State (Thursday)
16West Virginia at Texas
17North Carolina at Duke (Thursday)
Boston College at 18Florida State (Friday)
Minnesota at 19Nebraska
21Western Michigan 37 Kent State 21 (Tuesday)
22Boise State at Hawaii
California at 23Washington State

Other Games
South Carolina at Florida
Tulsa at Navy
Vanderbilt at Missouri
South Florida at Memphis