It’s Week 11 in college football, and that can only mean one thing; the games are starting to become bigger and more important than ever.
Spots in the conference championship games are on the line, spots in the College Football Playoff are up for grabs and, for some teams who don’t have anything else to play for, bragging rights for the next year are on the line.
So without further ado, here are the five biggest games in college football this weekend:
(6) TCU at (5) OKLAHOMA
- Memorial Stadium | Norman, OK
- Saturday, November 11 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX
- Line: OU -6.5
- O/U: 61.5
WHAT’S AT STAKE? The winner of this game will be in the Big 12 Championship Game, you can book it. The loser will see their playoff hopes minimized greatly, and will have a tough rode ahead to make it to the conference title game.
PREDICTION? Both of these teams have looked good throughout the season, both losing to Iowa State, and both have offenses that can put up points in a hurry. I see the difference being that Oklahoma has the best player on the field in quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Sooners have the advantage of playing this game at home.
Oklahoma 41, TCU 34
(3) NOTRE DAME at (7) MIAMI(FL)
- Hard Rock Stadium | Miami, FL
- Saturday, November 11 at 8 p.m. on ABC
- Line: ND -3
- O/U: 57.5
WHAT’S AT STAKE? Notre Dame can’t afford another loss if they want to reach the College Football Playoff. Miami on the other hand could afford a loss, but they could use another resume-building win if they want to reach the playoff by the end of the year.
PREDICTION? I just think that Notre Dame is the better team here with more to play for. Miami will be helped out by their home crowd and their improving defense, but in the end Notre Dame just has too much offensive firepower in a game they have to have.
Notre Dame 31, Miami 24
(1) GEORGIA at (10) AUBURN
- Jordon-Hare Stadium | Auburn, AL
- Saturday, November 11 at 3:30 p.m. on CBS
- Line: UGA -2.5
- O/U: 47
WHAT’S AT STAKE? Any last playoff and division title hopes are on the line for Auburn here. They can’t afford to lose this game if they want to hang on to those dreams. As for Georgia, they don’t have to have this game but the chances of the SEC getting two teams into the playoff diminish greatly if Georgia can’t find a way to pull this one out.
PREDICTION? This is a game Auburn has to have, and they get to play it in the comfort of their own stadium. The Tigers are better than most people think, losing their two games to Clemson and blowing a 20-0 lead in a road loss at LSU. Georgia hasn’t been tested since they traveled to South Bend to take on a young Notre Dame squad and they might not know what hit them when they face these Tigers on Saturday.
Auburn 26, Georgia 21
(12) MICHIGAN STATE at (13) OHIO STATE
- Ohio Stadium | Columbus, OH
- Saturday, November 11 at noon ET on FOX
- Line: OSU -15.5
- O/U: 55
[Click here to view our “3 Keys to Victory” for MSU]
WHAT’S AT STAKE? The Big Ten East Division title, need I say more? The winner of this game put that’s their grasp firmly on the division lead with just two weeks remaining. There’s an extremely high chance the winner of this game will be playing for in the conference championship game in Indianapolis at the end of the year. Also, the winner keeps their slim playoff hopes alive while the loser can kiss those dreams goodbye.
PREDICTION? Don’t let the point spread or the ESPN FPI fool you. These two teams are evenly-matched, each with one loss in conference play and looking for a division title. The difference in my opinion is that edge that this Spartans team plays with in big games. It’s yet to be seen how the Buckeyes will respond after being blown out 55-24 at Iowa last week, but we all know the Spartans will be more than ready for this game. On a side note, the visiting team has won the last six in a row in this series.
Michigan State 28, Ohio State 24
(8) WASHINGTON at STANFORD
- Stanford Stadium | Stanford, CA
- Friday, November 10 at 10:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1
- Line: WASH -6
- O/U: 50
WHAT’S AT STAKE? Washington is the only Pac-12 team with any playoff hopes remaining. If they lose this game, not only will they be eliminated from playoff contention, but so will the entire conference. Meanwhile, Stanford is just trying to keep their Pac-12 North title hopes alive.
PREDICTION? Washington hasn’t played anybody tough all year, let alone on the road. When they did have a reasonably tough game, they laid an egg on the road in a 13-7 stunner at Arizona State. On top of that, Stanford should be extra motivated by two recent losses: a 24-21 defeat at Washington State last week, and last year’s 44-6 drubbing handed out by the Huskies in Seattle. Don’t think the Cardinal have forgotten about that game leading up to this rematch.
Stanford 27, Washington 24
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Oklahoma State (-6.5) at Iowa State
- Iowa at Wisconsin (-12.5)
- Alabama (-14) at Mississippi State
