Week 10 represented a strong week for the Big Ten on paper with Michigan, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State each picking up wins to ensure the conference would still have four teams in the Top-10 heading in to Week 11. Meanwhile, the SEC took a hit with Texas A&M losing to unranked Mississippi State while Florida lost to unranked Arkansas. Those outcomes will add to the intrigue of a pair of Week 11 matchups with a lot to look forward to this coming weekend. Here is a look at the best televised games for Week 11 of the college football season.
#17 Baylor Bears @ #14 Oklahoma Sooners
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET – ABC
The Sooners are back on the rise following six straight wins but they will certainly be in tough to keep it up with a tough slate that features Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State to close out the season. However, the Bears have dropped back-to-back games to Texas and TCU and suddenly the Big 12 is wide open once again. Baylor can get back on track with a big road win this week but it won’t be easy with all of the noise surrounding the program getting a lot louder now that they have slipped up in the standings. The problems with Baylor are what we thought they would be when they lost head coach Art Briles in the offseason: they could be good but they wouldn’t be great. Losing their last two games has shown that and another loss at Oklahoma – at least according to the odds – is to be expected. This is a program that has now hit their high watermark and are now rolling back.
Dede Westbrook and Dimitri Flowers are both coming off impressive performances last week and they will make it worth tuning in to catch this matchup of top-25 teams.
Pick: Oklahoma
South Carolina Gamecocks @ #11 Florida Gators
Saturday, 12:00 PM ET – CBS
The Gators seemed primed to win the SEC East before hitting a roadblock in last week’s 31-10 loss to Arkansas. Florida entered last week with the fewest points and fewest yards allowed per game in the SEC but gave up 466 yards and 24 points in a lopsided defeat at the hands of the Razorbacks. Meanwhile, the Gators’ offense had just 12 rushing yards on 14 carries and did not score a touchdown in the loss. Florida is still in the driver seat in the SEC East but will need to bounce back with a much better performance on both sides of the football at home to the Gamecocks this weekend.
Pick: Florida
USC Trojans @ #5 Washington Huskies
Saturday, 7:30 PM ET – FOX
The Trojans have won five in a row to improve to 6-3 and create a level of intrigue heading into their college football showdown with Washington this week. The Huskies are undefeated at 9-0 and the Pac-12’s only shot at being represented in the College Football Playoff right now so USC will be looking to play spoiler. Washington quarterback Jake Browning is coming off a six-touchdown performance in last week’s 66-27 win over Cal and he will look to add to his impressive resume after setting a school record for the most touchdowns in a single-season with 34. The Huskies’ offense is firing on all cylinders now and it will be interesting to see how they match up against a Trojans’ side that appears to have turned a corner following a slow start.
Pick: Washington
#3 Michigan Wolverines @ Iowa Hawkeyes
Saturday, 8:00 PM ET – ABC
Michigan secured its third win of the season by 50 points or more with a 59-3 blowout victory over Maryland last week and is two wins away from entering its regular season finale at Ohio State with a perfect record intact. The Wolverines have outscored their Big Ten opponents 171-10 in the first half of games and they are the only FBS team to score a touchdown on every first-half drive of their conference games this season. Michigan will look to produce another lopsided win against an Iowa side that is staring down a .500 record heading in to this week and there is a good chance we see the full Wolverines’ arsenal in another lopsided road win in the primetime college football slot.
Pick: Michigan
