Finally. Some clarity has been provided during a very exciting slate of Week 11 contests. The SEC West is far from decided, but Alabama helped itself greatly (barely), while Auburn took an unanticipated stumble, perhaps looking forward to a meeting at Georgia. Ohio State grabbed control of the B1G East race, Oregon clinched the PAC-12 North, and Duke continued its domination (!) within the ACC Coastal Division. In the Big 12, both TCU and Baylor got big wins (and won big). The conclusion of that conference race will be fascinating, with TCU sporting the superior resume, but with Baylor holding the head-to-head win, giving the Bears the inside track to the conference title.
Now, on to the rankings.
LWOS Week 11 College Football Rankings
| 1 |
Mississippi State (9) |
Mississippi State finished up its OOC schedule with a comfortable 45-16 win over UT Martin. The Bulldogs will now get ready to head to Tuscaloosa for their biggest game of the year against #5 Alabama. The winner of this game will likely represent the West in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. If MSSU falls, it may fall short of its ultimate goal and out of the CFP picture altogether. – Charlie Taylor | |
| 2 |
Florida State (4) |
They were pushed by Virginia on Saturday, but came through when it mattered, with Jameis Winston throwing one touchdown and running in another. A visit to the Miami Hurricanes next weekend could be the toughest game remaining in the regular season for the Noles. – Matthew Atkinson | |
| 3 | Oregon | There aren’t many bad things that you can say about the Ducks. They have a Heisman-caliber quarterback and a very strong chance to win all of their remaining games. If they win out, they should find themselves playing in the inaugural College Football Playoff. – Elijah Klein | |
| 4 | TCU | TCU survived their last real test of the regular season with flying colors, dominating a good Kansas State team. However, without a conference championship game, TCU will need Baylor to lose another game to win the Big 12 outright. – Al Preziosi | |
| 5 | Alabama | Alabama escaped in an overtime thriller this week against LSU. The OT touchdown from Blake Sims kept Alabama’s playoff hopes alive. Alabama faces off against undefeated Mississippi State next week in a monumental SEC West showdown. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 6 | Arizona State | The Sun Devils took a 34-3 lead with about one minute to play in the first half, but let Notre Dame claw back to make it interesting in the fourth quarter. With a quick 21-point flurry at the end of the game, the win looked convincing enough to put ASU in a good position to finish the rest of the season undefeated and potentially on the cusp of the College Football Playoff. – Michael Gray | |
| 7 | Baylor | The Bears took on Oklahoma in a hostile environment, but came out victorious. Bryce Petty definitely made his case for a Heisman run. – Connor Ferguson | |
| 8 | Ohio State | The Buckeyes rode a masterful performance from freshman phenom quarterback J.T. Barrett en route to a season-defining road win at Michigan State. Their slim CFP hopes can’t afford a slip up this coming weekend when they travel to upset-minded Minnesota, who just got done spanking Iowa. – John Bava | |
| 9 | Mississippi | Ole Miss got back on track in Week 11 against Presbyterian. Can the Rebels sneak their way into an SEC West title amidst the weekly chaos? – Mike Loveall | |
| 10 | Nebraska | Nebraska cracks the Top 10 for the first time this year and Wisconsin stands between what could be a blockbuster Big Ten Championship Game matchup against Ohio State. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 11 | Auburn | The Tigers may have ruined their shot at a playoff bid with their recent loss to Texas A&M. Just as bad is the fact that they still need to play Georgia and Alabama this year. – Elijah Klein | |
| 12 | Michigan State | Sparty’s CFP hopes seem to have died at home at the hands of a surprisingly potent Ohio State offense. Michigan State travels to Maryland in Week 12, and will try to get back on track. – Donald King | |
| 13 | UCLA | UCLA enters the bye week after an impressive win on the road against Washington. The Bruins (8-2) will rest before their rivalry showdown against USC. The win kept the Bruins in contention for the PAC-12 South. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 14 | Kansas State | In what was supposed to be a primetime, battle-to-the-end matchup, KSU was unable to stop the Horned Frogs. Another tough game on the road against West Virginia awaits. – Connor Ferguson | |
| 15 | Notre Dame | The turnover bug finally caught up to Everett Golson and the Irish offense. After a four-interception performance against Arizona State, Notre Dame’s name can officially be scratched off the College Football Playoff picture. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 16 | Clemson | The Tigers continue to fly under the radar with losses to two Top 15 teams. Can they secure a top bowl with a strong finish? – Mike Loveall | |
| 17 | Duke | The least heralded one-loss Power 5 conference team took care of business in the Carrier Dome in Week 11, and welcomes in 4-5 Va Tech in Week 12. Cutcliffe’s crew looks good to defend its ACC Coastal division title. – Donald King | |
| 18 | Arizona | Arizona took care of Colorado this weekend, and Washington will visit Tucson next week. They still need UCLA and USC to lose another game to win the Pac-12 South though. – Al Preziosi | |
| 19 | Georgia | After an embarrassing and inconceivable loss to Florida last week, Georgia bounced back strong with a rout of Kentucky on the road, putting up its highest point total in an SEC game since 1942. Next up: Todd Gurley returns to take on a wounded Auburn team “Between the Hedges.” – Michael Gray | |
| 20 | LSU | LSU may have “won” in the eyes of the committee, the Top 25 voters, and their fellow peers across the country as much as any team can in a loss. They dropped a heartbreaker in OT to Alabama 20-13 this past Saturday night in Baton Rouge. Les Miles will have earned every penny of his salary this season if he can get this offensively challenged team to 9-3. – Charlie Taylor | |
| 21 | Georgia Tech | After two straight losses, the Yellow Jackets have been racking up the wins as easily as they rack up the rushing yards. Georgia Tech may be the best team in the ACC that won’t play for the championship, as they would need Duke to drop their last two games to get that shot. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 22 | Colorado State | Colorado State continues to rack up wins in more or less impressive fashion, but they still need Boise State to lose to get that New Years’ Day Bowl bid. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 23 | Wisconsin | Melvin Gordon continued to make his case to be included in the Heisman conversation with 205 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the Badgers 34-16 win over Purdue. He faces a Nebraska team with their own Heisman hopeful running back Ameer Abdullah in a B1G West Division showdown on Saturday. – John Bava | |
| 24 | Marshall | Marshall thrashed another weak opponent this week, blowing out Southern Miss. They host a 6-3 Rice team next week, and they will need to win the rest of their games to earn the Group of Five bowl bid. – Al Preziosi | |
| 25 | Texas A&M | A huge upset road win at Auburn has reignited the Aggies season after three straight losses. They’re back to 3-3 in SEC play with the final two home games left against Missouri and LSU. – Matthew Atkinson | |
| Others receiving votes: Oklahoma (5), Utah (5), USC (4), Minnesota (3) | |||
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