The 10th week of college football brought us an impressive offensive performance in Tuscaloosa, the defending champions remaining undefeated and extends their winning streak to 26 games, plus Washington stays atop of the Pac-12 with a big win inside the Coliseum. In the ACC, Florida State has clinched its first league championship game appearance in 9 years.
Here’s the latest 18S Top 20 Poll.
18 Stripes Top 20 Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | NEXT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 9-0 | vs. Ole Miss |
| 2 | Washington | 9-0 | vs. Utah |
| 3 | Ohio State (-1) | 9-0 | vs. Michigan State |
| 4 | Florida State (-1) | 9-0 | vs. Miami |
| 5 | Michigan | 9-0 | at Penn State |
| 6 | Texas (+1) | 8-1 | at TCU |
| 7 | Alabama (+2) | 8-1 | at Kentucky |
| 8 | Oregon | 8-1 | vs. USC |
| 9 | Ole Miss (+1) | 8-1 | at Georgia |
| 10 | Penn State (+2) | 8-1 | vs. Michigan |
| 11 | Oklahoma (-5) | 7-2 | vs. West Virginia |
| 12 | Utah (+5) | 7-2 | at Washington |
| 13 | Louisville (+2) | 8-1 | vs. Virginia |
| 14 | Oregon State (+5) | 7-2 | vs. Stanford |
| 15 | Missouri (-2) | 7-2 | vs. Tennessee |
| 16 | Oklahoma State (NR) | 7-2 | at UCF |
| 17 | Kansas (NR) | 7-2 | vs. Texas Tech |
| 18 | James Madison | 9-0 | vs. UConn |
| 19 | Tulane (NR) | 8-1 | vs. Tulsa |
| 20 | Tennessee | 7-2 | at Missouri |
Out:
#11 Notre Dame
#14 Air Force
#16 LSU
National Storylines
Luke Fickell and Wisconsin lost to Indiana 20-14 in a game that flew under the radar this past weekend.
Georgia needed a late interception to hold off visiting Missouri 30-21.
Poor Clark Lea has suffered his 8th straight loss following a 31-15 defeat to Auburn.
Kansas State made a great comeback only to fall in overtime 33-30 to Texas.
Nebraska was hoping to clinch bowl eligibility but it’ll have to wait after a 20-17 loss at Michigan State.
Oregon completely wiped the floor with California winning 63-19.
Army took advantage of 6 Air Force turnovers to knock the Falcons from the undefeated ranks 23-3.
In a game that saw LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels knocked out with a concussion and a combined 985 total yards from both sides, Alabama took home the victory 42-28.
Iowa 10-7 over Northwestern was a college football game completed this weekend.
The final edition of Bedlam ended with Oklahoma State winning at home with a comeback 27-24 victory over Oklahoma.
The Arkansas offense found some life in a wild 39-36 overtime win at Florida. Is there concern that Billy Napier is 11-11 as Gators head coach?
In their first game back since the Connor Stalion allegations, Michigan beat Purdue 41-13.
It’s 3 straight losses for Coach Prime now as Oregon State holds on 26-19 in Boulder.
Ole Miss stayed in the 1-loss club thanks to a close 38-35 home win against Texas A&M.
In the battle of winless Big 12 teams, UCF finally got a league victory 28-26 over Cincinnati.
Opponent Watch
Navy (3-5): An ugly 32-18 loss at Temple moves Navy closer to missing a bowl game.
Tennessee State (6-3): The Tigers’ 4-game winning streak is over following a 35-21 loss at Charleston Southern.
NC State (6-3): Miami turned it over 4 times and 231 yards was enough for NC State to beat the Canes 20-6 in Raleigh.
Central Michigan (5-4): CMU held off a 2nd half comeback to beat Northern Illinois 37-31.
Ohio State (9-0): Rutgers led at halftime before Ohio State pulled away for a 35-16 win.
Duke (6-3): A walk-off field goal gave Duke a come-from-behind 24-21 win against Wake Forest.
Louisville (8-1): The Cards held Virginia Tech to just 140 yards in an easy 34-3 win
USC (7-3): Surprise, the Trojans defense allowed 52 points in a 10-point loss to visiting Washington. They’ve since fired defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.
Pitt (2-7): It was close in the 1st half before Pitt collapsed in a 24-7 win versus Florida State.
Clemson (5-4): We await Tyler from Spartanburg’s call in to the Dabo Swinney radio show this week.
Wake Forest (4-5): Only winless Syracuse are behind Wake Forest in the ACC right now. Next up, Notre Dame!
Stanford (3-6): A late night game out west saw Stanford beat Washington State 10-7.
Week 11 Games to Watch
All time are eastern.
Michigan [-3.5] at Penn State
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 12:00 PM, Fox
This line surprises me quite a bit. Actually it almost shocks me. Penn State’s offense has not shown it can move the ball very well against decent opponents and they could be in for a long day against Michigan. So, does Vegas think the Nittany Lions defense is going to keep this close?
Alabama [-10.5] at Kentucky
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 12:00 PM, ESPN
This game probably isn’t on many fans’ radars this weekend but for most programs this is a really big letdown spot coming off an emotional win over LSU and turning around and playing at Noon on the road against a decent Kentucky team. Throughout 99% of the Saban era these types of letdowns haven’t happened but I want to throw it out there that it’s possible in 2023.
Miami [+14.5] at Florida State
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 3:30 PM, ABC
Miami got its doors blown off in this game last year and coming in losing 3 out of their last 5 games. Based on last week, the Canes offense is going to find it really difficult to put points up against this FSU defense. This is a rivalry game though, and I think the Seminoles need to be really careful this weekend.
Utah [+9] at Washington
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 3:30 PM, Fox
It’s possible Michael Penix, Jr. puts a chokehold on the Heisman with a win this weekend and next when the Huskies travel to Corvallis. I’m interested to see them take on the inverse of USC as Utah comes to town. How will Washington fare against a much tougher defense and pretty poor offense?
Tennessee [-1.5] at Missouri
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 3:30 PM, CBS
This is one of those classic SEC games in November where most of the nation doesn’t really care but a win here could propel the Vols or Tigers to a really strong finish to 2023 and high ranking. It’s a tough turn around for Missouri who just battled the champions in Athens which partly explains their underdog status at home.
Ole Miss [+11.5] at Georgia
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 7:00 PM, ESPN
Can the Dawgs lose this game (or next week to Tennessee) and still make the playoffs? It would seem so as long as Georgia isn’t losing back-to-back SEC games–they just need to win the SEC Championship Game and they’ll be in the final four. A win for Lane Kiffin in this spot would be pretty cool, I have to admit.
USC [+15] at Oregon
Saturday, Nov. 11th, 10:30 PM, Fox
Okay, we might really see the wheels come off the USC bandwagon this weekend. They kicked Alex Grinch to the curb and still head to Eugene as heavy underdogs in a matchup that could see Oregon drop a 50-bomb or more on their head. Notre Dame is in no place to be talking right now but I do enjoy the disarray going on in Los Angeles these days.
The SEC shorts team is right again, Jayden Daniels can’t do nothin’ ’bout that LSU defense. Would be pretty wild if Ole Miss pulled off an upset and then Alabama beat UGA in the SEC final to knock them out of the playoff.
I’ve been on the “saban gonna stela a title this year” train for awhile. They were +3300 when I first got on it. All they have to do is beat georgia in the sec title game and they’re in the playoff (but as you said kentucky could be tricky). This one would be sabans crowning achievement in a career full of them. He would have a pretty big coaching advantage over just about anyone in the playoff too.
A lot of hand wringing this week on message boards and freeman (and deservedly so), but it’s pretty rough for the presumed experienced candidates who nd would’ve gone with. A hypothetical list of fickell, campbell, rhule looks pretty bad right now. Given those options I would still roll with freeman
The Iowa-NW over/under of 29.5 (a 10-7 win) was a historic record beating the Iowa/Minnesota O/U of 30.5 (a 10-12 loss). The record low prior to 2023 was 31.5 in two games last year. Both were Iowa games – against Kentucky and Minnesota. All four games hit the Under. The Iowa-Rutgers game O/U has set another new historic record low – 28.5.
Brian Ferentz, OC, has been fired. In an offseason contract clause, Iowa would have to average 25 ppg (not restricted to just offensive points) for Brian to be retained. They have averaged 18.4 ppg so far. With a recent extension, his Dad’s buyout is $42 million.
The last time Iowa scored more than one touchdown in a game was Oct 7th (v Purdue) yet they lead the Big W by two games with a 7-2 record with three games left to play (Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska). Their 0-31 loss to Penn State, when they still had Cade McNamara, does not bode well if they face off against Michigan or Ohio State. Deacon Hill has a 41% completion percentage as their starting QB with two TDs and three Ints in four games. Not a lot of silk purses on offense here.
I didn’t get a chance to add to the ginormous game thread, but I wanted to drop in to say that I really liked the white/white uniforms this past weekend. Most positive thing about the loss was that at least they were dressed well