Saturday in Review: Week 11

Texas Christian's 41-20 rout of Kansas State may have
been this weekend's most impressive team performance.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

What a great weekend of college football. Wish more games were closer, though the classic from Baton Rouge mostly made up for that. It seems we're getting a lot more clarity about who will end this season with the trophy in Dallas. Still, there are about eight or so teams that are all viable playoff contenders, so there's a lot of action still to work itself out.

The surprises began with Baylor's humiliation of Oklahoma in Norman. After winning their first game ever against the Sooners in 2011, the Bears have now won three of the past four. Later that night, the Horned Frogs of TCU decimated Kansas State in a similar, surprising fashion. The Frogs completely stifled K-State's run game while rushing for 334 yards of their own. As a result of these two games, TCU and Baylor have emerged as the clear favorites to win the Big 12 and represent their conference in the playoffs. TCU will be favored in all their remaining games (at Kansas, at Texas, and vs. Iowa State), though the game against the Longhorns, who occasionally play well, may be difficult to win. Baylor, meanwhile, must face Oklahoma State at home, Texas Tech in Arlington, and Kansas State at home. Kansas State must play better than they did last Saturday if they expect to knock off the Bears in Waco. Remember that earlier this season, Baylor defeated TCU in a shootout in Waco, 61-58, though the Bears fell to West Virginia the next week. If both teams win out, the committee will need to choose one team over the other unless both are somehow selected for the playoffs.

Georgia rolled Kentucky, keeping hopes of an SEC Championship appearance alive. The Dawgs probably still need to beat Auburn and hope Missouri and Florida lose. Ole Miss shut out Presbyterian by a score very close to what I predicted.

Texas A&M's stunning victory in Auburn was one of the
most unexpected upsets this season. The loss almost
eliminates Auburn from the conference title race.
Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Before the game was played, most expected Texas A&M to exit Jordan-Hare Stadium decisively defeated. After all, the Aggies had just stumbled past Louisiana-Monroe at home with new quarterback Kyle Allen while the Tigers had looked impressive throughout the season. But to everyone's surprise, A&M came away with what may be the upset of the season. Perhaps Auburn was overconfident. Perhaps it was time their luck ran out. What it came down to was two catastrophic fumbles in the games dwindling minutes. The Tigers had come back from a 35-17 halftime deficit and were lining up for the go-ahead touchdown with only 2:37 to go. Somehow, Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne botched the exchange, leading to a fumble that A&M recovered on the 2-yard-line. But Auburn got the ball and were driving with less than a minute to go. While Marshall was checking the play, center Reese Dismukes snapped the ball while his quarterback wasn't looking. The Aggies recovered it on their own 29 and ran the clock out for the win. The loss probably eliminates Auburn from championship contention (though they will still play a major role as potential spoilers).

Arizona State humbled Notre Dame in the desert, downing the Irish 55-31. Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson was largely responsible for the 24-point loss. Golson threw four picks and also fumbled a ball once to the other team. The Irish trailed by 24 points at the half, but actually came back to cut the Sun Devil's lead to just three with only 6:37 left. However, hope for the Irish was short lived, as ASU responded with three touchdowns in next six minutes. This loss adds to the recent deterioration of Florida State's strength-of-schedule. This may endanger the Seminoles only if FSU does not sweep their remaining opponents.

Ohio State is now in command of the Big Ten after a
dominant show against Michigan State.
Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

In East Lansing, Ohio State notched their biggest win of the season against the Spartans and took control of the Big Ten East. The game was close through the first half, but Michigan State couldn't play through four quarters and the Buckeyes pulled away in the second half. The Buckeyes are in the driver's seat to win their conference but must overcome an ugly early-season loss to Virginia Tech if they hope to be selected into the playoffs.

Army out-gunned Connecticut in Yankee Stadium while Texas defeated their first ranked opponent (West Virginia) since 2010. Both teams were held scoreless at halftime, but Michigan pulled out the 10-9 win against Northwestern. The Wolverines halted a go-ahead two-point conversion attempt by the Wildcats with only seconds left. After a heart-stopping 28-25 win against Texas State, the Georgia Southern Eagles are 8-2 and well on their way to one of the most impressive seasons by a first-year FBS team ever. Their only losses were by one point and four points to NC State and Georgia Tech, respectively.

Turnovers led to Virginia taking an early 13-7 lead over Florida State. However, the Seminole defense and Rashad Greene were too much for the Cavaliers to overcome, as Florida State won 34-20. The Seminoles may have been conserving their energy for their upcoming clash with the Hurricanes this Saturday. The other two unbeatens, Mississippi State and Marshall, overwhelmed UT Martin and Southern Miss, respectively.

Florida took on Vanderbilt in Nashville, hoping to avenge last season's loss to the Dores. Florida's defense made the 34-10 win relatively easy, as the Commodores struggled to consistently move the ball against the Gators. The Gators implemented a balanced-but-conservative gameplan, running and passing for equal yardage and taking advantage of Vandy's mistakes. The one point of concern for Florida was their redzone touchdown-efficiency. Florida still needs to defeat South Carolina at home this Saturday and hope Missouri and Georgia both lose particular games if they hope to make it to Atlanta this December.

Following a monumental blunder by Utah's Kaelin Clay, the
Ducks blew out their Pac-12 foes. Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Out west, Oregon conquered Utah by the Great Salt Lake. The Ducks were aided by an unbelievable, mortifying error by Utes receiver Kaelin Clay. Preparing to celebrate his 79-yard would-be touchdown reception, the oblivious receiver dropped the ball by the goal line. While his teammates crowded around him, the Ducks picked up the live ball and took it all the way back, 100 yards for a touchdown. What should have been a 14-0 Utes lead turned into 7-7 tie. Oregon went on to win 51-27. UCLA and Arizona also picked up wins; both remain with two losses.

It rarely disappoints, but this last battle between Alabama and LSU was as exciting and epic as ever. It played out much like the defensive clash of 2011. That "Game of the Century" ended with a 9-6 overtime win by LSU in Tuscaloosa. Both teams proved evenly matched throughout the contest. After each team scored a field goal in the final minute, regulation ended with a 13-13 tie in Baton Rouge. Alabama punched it in during their first overtime possession, but LSU failed to respond. Thus the final 20-13 score (just a point away from my prediction). The outcome of this Saturday's game between Alabama and undefeated Mississippi State in Tuscaloosa will decide the leader in the SEC West and the favorite to win the conference.

This weekend we learned a lot about a lot of teams and what the playoffs might look like. We learned the SEC representative in the playoffs will probably be Alabama or Mississippi State. It seems the Big 12 will probably send TCU or Baylor to the playoffs while the Pac-12 will deliver either Arizona State or Oregon (if anyone). Florida State will certainly get in if they win out. But if the Noles stumble along the way, who knows who the fourth team will be? Could Ohio State still make it in despite their embarrassing early-season loss? Would a two-loss SEC team get in over a one-loss team from another conference? Can any conference send two teams to the playoffs and who will be left out? We'll wait for the drama to play out during the final stretch of the regular season. Enjoy every minute of it.

State of Florida:

• FIU (3-7) over Old Dominion (4-6), 24-21 38-35
• #2 Florida State (9-0) over Virginia (4-6), 34-17 34-20
• Florida Atlantic (3-7) over North Texas (3-6), 31-27 31-10
• Florida (5-3) over Vanderbilt (3-7), 24-14 34-10
• Miami (6-3), BYE
• South Florida (3-6), BYE
• UCF (5-3), BYE

Southeastern Conference:

• #17 Georgia (7-2) over Kentucky (5-5), 45-35 63-31
• #12 Mississippi (8-2) over Presbyterian (5-5), 49-0 48-0
• #3 Auburn (7-2) over Texas A&M (7-3), 45-3 41-38
• #1 Mississippi State (9-0) over UT Martin (5-6), 49-10 45-16
• #4 Alabama (8-1) over #14 LSU (7-3), 20-14 20-13 (OT)
• Arkansas (4-5), BYE
• Missouri (7-2), BYE
• South Carolina (4-5), BYE
• Tennessee (4-5), BYE

Top 25:

• #5 Oregon (9-1) over #20 Utah (6-3), 31-28 51-27
• #9 Kansas State (7-2) over #6 TCU (8-1), 31-24 41-20
• #7 Michigan State (7-2) over #13 Ohio State (8-1), 34-24 49-37
• #11 Arizona State (8-1) over #8 Notre Dame (7-2), 27-24 55-31
• #16 Oklahoma (6-3) over #10 Baylor (8-1), 38-31 48-14
• #18 UCLA (8-2) over Washington (6-4), 24-17 44-30
• #19 Clemson (7-2) over Wake Forest (2-7), 34-9 34-20
• #21 Arizona (7-2) over Colorado (2-8), 38-21 38-20
• #22 Duke (8-1) over Syracuse (3-7), 31-24 27-10
• #23 Marshall (9-0) over Southern Miss (3-7), 35-13 63-17
• #24 West Virginia (6-4) over Texas (5-5), 34-31 33-16
• #25 Wisconsin (7-2) over Purdue (3-7), 38-24 34-16
• #15 Nebraska (8-1), BYE

Week 11 Record: 14-7 (67%)

Season Record: 145-58 (71%)