Our College Football Preview Week 11 edition will get you up to speed with what you need to know heading into some huge games for both FBS and FCS Schools.

College Football Preview Week 11 – ACC

Eight games make up the ACC schedule this week and there are some games with big time ramifications. Clemson gets a cake walk as UConn comes to Death Valley. Clemson will be 7-3 after this win and a sneaky game behind in the race for the ACC Championship game. North Carolina and Pitt square off in what should be a barn stormer. NC are coming in hot after the fourth quarter win last week. Pitt needs to win in order to keep their ACC Championship game dreams alive. 

Sean Tucker is chasing the rushing title as Syracuse travel to Louisville. tucker has had seven 100 yard games and is hot on the heels of Kenneth Walker. Cuse are three point underdogs against The Cardinals but the way things are going this ones a coin flip. Boston College travels to Georgia Tech where even with Quarterback Phil Jurkovec back, they are two point dawgs. This feels squiffy to me and I think they get the win against a GT teams that offers nothing really at this stage of the season. 

Virginia Tech hosts a Duke team whom appear to have quit on the season. However, this is one of those games that the -11.5 point favourites VT can easily lose and heap even more pressure on Justin Fuente. That being said i think the Hokies get the dub in their last home game of the season. The Miami Hurricanes travel in state to FSU in what on paper seems to be a close game. This game is always fun and Miami and freshman Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke are revitalised and should walk away winners in Tallahassee. 

Games of the Week

In one of the two block buster games from this weeks slate, NC State travels to Wake Forest. Wake are still undefeated in conference play after the loss last week. That is small conciliation however as they fell down the Playoff Rankings. This is their last home game of the year and they will want to beat NC State to keep a hold on going to The ACC Championship game and perhaps a new year 6 game too. NC States fate is solely in their hands here after a good win last week at FSU. Two games back on Wake they really need a win here to close that gap and push for the Championship game. Wake are slim -2 point favourites as of writing but this one really is a pick’em. If Wake can score like normal then they should get the win but we saw last week how they can cave near the end. 

Finally we have Notre Dame heading to Blacksburg to face Virginia. The Irish are still in with a shot at the Playoffs if chaos ensues so will want to get a good win here to keep that slim dream alive. Virginia are coming off a bye in which they hope to have fixed some defensive issues. They have given up 40 points in their last two weeks and are sieve-like against the run. Step up Kyren Williams. The Notre Dame Running Back is due a huge week and who better to do it against than The Cavaliers. Notre Dame win and cover the -6.5 spread in this one for me. 

Written by Stocks @5yardcollege

 

College Football Preview Week 11 – BIG XII 

The Slate

Week 11 begins in the BIG XII with West Virginia taking on Kansas State in Manhattan at noon, as well as my game of the week (see below). Iowa State face Texas Tech in Texas high school and Cedar Hill coaching legend Joey McGuire’s firs game. Kansas will likely fall victim to another team’s get-right game when they travel to Austin to face Texas. Finally, TCU travels to #10 Oklahoma State, still without a long-term head coach.

Game of the Week – #8 Oklahoma @ #13 Baylor

In the first ranked BIG XII matchup since Oklahoma State beat Texas in week seven, the Oklahoma Sooners travel to Waco in hopes of maintaining their unbeaten run again the Baylor Bears.

The College Football Playoff Committee, clearly don’t think much of the teams the Sooners have beaten so far, ranking them #8 behind several one-loss teams. That could change with an emphatic win this week. However, if you think the atmosphere in McLane stadium will be anything less than fever pitch then you’re crazy. Aranda knows this Oklahoma team has weaknesses and his team will go into that game knowing they are capable of winning.

Lincoln Riley will know a loss here almost extinguishes his Sooners’ playoff chances. With so much riding on the game for Oklahoma it’s hard to say what kind of game plan they will go with. However, whatever happens it will be spearheaded by the legs and arm of quarterback Caleb Williams. He has the talent to exploit the Bears’ defence who are capable of giving up points. However, Dave Aranda, widely considered a defensive genius with a resume to prove it, will no doubt have saved his best plays and most complicated looks for this game.

On the offensive side of the ball for the Bears, they will need to establish their ground game if they want to stand a chance of a dub. It’s likely we’ll see Jeff Grimes dial up some unique plays to get the ball to his bruiser backs, Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith. Gerry Bohanon has been fine for most of the season but hasn’t shown elite traits and has struggled against good defences. The Oklahoma defence, however, isn’t often elite and gave up 23 to Kansas.

It’s one where Baylor are going to need the luck, the fans and a great performance. We’ve seen it happen before though, haven’t we?

I predict a close one in Waco. Oklahoma 35-28 Baylor.

Written by Jake @dyanstybrit

 

College Football Preview Week 11 – B1G 10 

Michigan will be buoyed by their #6 CFP ranking and should give Penn State more than they can handle. That’s not saying the Nittany Lions can’t compete and cause the upset – their defense can cause anyone problems! It’ll be a great battle upfront as the Wolverine Oline look to open holes for Hassan Haskins who might have the lone back role with Corum banged up.

Wisconsin has a home matchup with Northwestern which should follow a simple game script. The Badgers will run the ball on offense and expect an easy day on defense. Indiana will hope to halt the losing streak when Rutgers comes to town. The Scarlet Knights are reeling from a beatdown and need a positive response.

In the late window Michigan State will also be looking for a bounce back win against Maryland as their playoff stock took a big hit from Purdue. Iowa welcomes Minnesota to Kinnock Stadium as they bid to win the Big Ten West.

Game Of The Week – Purdue @ Ohio State

The Boilermakers are going for a third huge divisional upset of the season! After breaking the hearts of then undefeated Iowa and Michigan State, Purdue is hoping to pour cold water on Ohio State’s playoff hopes in week 11.

For the first time ever, Purdue are in the College Football Playoff top 25. A fine reward for beating the Spartans last week. So this is the first ever CFP ranked matchup the Boilermakers have participated in. Does that take away their underdog edge? They certainly have the firepower to take advantage of a generous Ohio State passing defense. The Buckeyes are allowing nearly 250 pass yards a game, and David Bell could send that average soaring! Bell has over 1000 yards already in 2021 and racked up 217 just last week. He will need QB Aidan O’Connell to continue his fine recent form – Purdue are only as successful as he is. A major contributor to this is their inability to get anything going on the run game. Ohio State isn’t great against the rush but might get a more impressive day here.

A Step Too Far?

Ohio State’s offense is in a different league to anything this Purdue team has faced so far. The Boilermaker defense are having a respectable season statistically but CJ Stroud and co are ready to tear them apart. Through the air the Buckeyes have an embarrassment of riches. Olave, Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are the high flyers. Their starts of the future are also showing glimpses of what they can do. Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka are pushing for targets and TreVeyon Henderson is a beast on the ground and in the receiving game too. Ohio State is averaging a ridiculous 45 points a game and should be fully focussed with the playoff places up for grabs.

Expect lots of offense, plenty of points and the receivers to go off! The last time these two played in 2018 Purdue stunned the #2 Buckeyes, thrashing them 49-20. This time round I expect Ohio State to be too strong, and the fans will certainly want revenge for that season-ruining result. But then it wouldn’t be an upset if the Boilermakers were favourites would it?!

Written by Jack @JackCDCTT

 

College Football Preview Week 11 – PAC-12 

The California – USC game has been postponed due to COVID. The first game of the weekend is at 7pm GMT as top of the South Utah travels to Arizona. Can Arizona cause a shock after their first win in 20 games last weekend? Stanford and Oregon State play at the Beaver stadium, both looking to bounce back from disappointing losses. Arizona State needs to keep the pressure on Utah. They go to Washington to play a Huskie team without Jimmy Lake on the sideline, following his week suspension for striking one of his own players. UCLA still has a slim chance of the South title but must win out, starting at home against Colorado.

Game of the Week – Washington State @ Oregon

Oregon moved up to number #3 rank in the college rankings this week. They have 3 more games left to manoeuvre and potentially book a playoff place. The first hurdle in the sequence is the visit of Washington State. The Cougars sit just behind 8-1 Oregon at 5-4, with a 4-2 conference record. Before their bye week they had an Impressive win over Arizona State and pushed BYU close the week before, ending their 3 game win streak after an average start to the season. The Cougars are not to be underestimated and will be hoping quarterback Jayden de Laura will be at his best. When he is, they usually win.

Both teams have running backs looking to course havoc on offence. The Ducks Travis Dye and Cougars Max Borghi have been important players this season for their teams and will be hoping to improve on their season tallies. Washington State still has sights on a bowl game and a win here would put them in good stead. Not only that, denting Oregon’s playoff hopes would be an added bonus. The Ducks need to keep on winning, probably with style points to ensure playoff participation. It’s going to be an intriguing watch Saturday, where nerves will be on show if they don’t start quickly.

Written by Jordan Merritt @Jordm87

 

College Football Preview Week 11 – SEC 

All SEC teams have games this weekend, including 2 out of conference match ups. Both of those games are in the early kick off. Alabama hosts New Mexico State, while Florida welcomes Samford. The other game in the early Saturday window is Auburn at home to Mississippi State. South Carolina travel to Missouri. Number #1 ranked Georgia have their last SEC match up before the Championship game when they travel to Tennessee. Kentucky should break their 3 game losing streak at Vanderbilt. The final game on Saturday is Arkansas at LSU.

Game of the Week –Texas A&M @ Ole Miss

There are a group of three teams bunched behind Alabama. It’s unlikely Bama will cave and let the top spot slip over the next 3 games but these two teams have to keep the pressure on. Those two teams are #15 ranked Ole Miss and #11 ranked Texas A&M, with A&M having the head to head win over Alabama. The Aggies showed Last week against Auburn how good their defence is, especially the front 4.

Led by top draft prospect DeMarvin Leal, they have been formidable in the trenches. They only allow just over 14 points per game, 2nd to Georgia on the nation. This leads me to Rebels quarterback Matt Corrall. Corrall is vying to be the number 1 QB in the draft. A good performance against this Aggies defence would be a massive step for him. A loss for either team will likely blow any small chance they have of the SEC West title. Expect another tight and dramatic SEC game.

Written by Jordan Merritt @Jordm87