2 weeks Ago By Joe Tansey
The SEC will once again be the focus of the college football universe in Week 11. Three teams will be fighting for their College Football Playoff lives in the conference's two marquee games on Saturday afternoon. The Alabama Crimson Tide and LSU Tigers face off in primetime in Baton Rouge.
The loser is more than likely eliminated from playoff contention. Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels need a home victory over the Georgia Bulldogs to keep their playoff hopes alive as a two-loss team. All three programs are in a better position to land in the top 12 after the carnage that occurred in the ACC and Big 12 in Week 10.
The BYU Cougars will try not to add to the list of upsets in the Big 12 in their rivalry clash with the struggling Utah Utes. Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook. Saturday, November 9 Purdue at No.
2 Ohio State (-38) (Noon ET, Fox) No. 4 Miami (-11) at Georgia Tech (Noon ET, ESPN) Florida at No. 5 Texas (-22.
5) (Noon ET, ABC) No. 3 Georgia (-2.5) at No.
16 Ole Miss (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Michigan at No.
8 Indiana (-14.5) (3:30 p.m.
ET, CBS) No. 17 Iowa State (-3) at Kansas (3:30 p.m.
ET, FS1) No. 25 Army (-4) at North Texas (3:30 p.m.
ET, ESPN2) No. 23 Clemson (-6.5) at Virginia Tech (3:30 p.
m. ET, ESPN) No. 20 Colorado (-4) at Texas Tech (4 p.
m. ET, Fox) Maryland at No. 1 Oregon (-24.
5) (7 p.m. ET, BTN) Mississippi State at No.
7 Tennessee (-24.5) (7 p.m.
ET, ESPN) Florida State at No. 10 Notre Dame (-26) (7:30 p.m.
ET, NBC) No. 11 Alabama (-2.5) at No.
15 LSU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) Oklahoma (-3) at No.
24 Missouri (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network) Washington at No.
6 Penn State (-13.5) (8 p.m.
ET, Peacock) Nevada at No. 12 Boise State (-24) (8 p.m.
ET, Fox) Virginia at No. 18 Pittsburgh (-7.5) (8 p.
m. ET, ACC Network) No. 9 BYU (-3) at Utah (10;15 p.
m. ET, ESPN) Utah State at No. 21 Washington State (-20.
5) (10:30 p.m. ET, CW) There's something special about Tiger Stadium in primetime.
LSU has one of the best home-field environments in all of college football and it will rely on the crowd to be its X-factor against Alabama. Brian Kelly's team already knocked off a ranked opponent at home in primetime this season when it beat Ole Miss in overtime. LSU had the week off to stew after a brutal second half against the Texas A&M Aggies where anything that could go wrong went against it.
Garrett Nussmeier looked like a star in the first half against A&M and two of his four highest passing-yard totals of the season have come against ranked opponents. Alabama has Jalen Milroe's wealth of experience on its side, but Milroe struggled with multiple interceptions against both the Tennessee Volunteers and South Carolina Gamecocks in October. Milroe killed LSU last year with his legs, but he was sacked twice and held to 219 passing yards.
If LSU can shut down Milroe's running threat, a much different outcome should be in the cards on Saturday night. A close game is almost a guarantee, though, if LSU wins. The Tigers earned their last five wins over Bama by a combined 19 points.
Ole Miss' soft nonconference schedule has come back to bite it. The Rebels lost their only game against Top 25 opposition and have one more defeat to the Kentucky Wildcats on their resume. Meanwhile, Georgia is as battle-tested of a program as it gets in college football.
UGA has a pair of Top 25 wins over the Clemson Tigers and Texas Longhorns and it battled back in a loss to Alabama after a brutal start. Kirby Smart's team knows how to win Top 25 contests, while Ole Miss is still trying to move up into the highest tier of SEC programs. A year ago, UGA ran rampant on the Ole Miss defense for 52 points and 611 total yards.
Since 2021, the Rebels are only 6-7 against ranked opposition, and although they scored 63 points last week, their offense seems like it might get slowed down significantly by the UGA defense. Georgia comes into Oxford with four straight double-digit victories since the loss to Alabama. A similar result could be in the cards on Saturday if its defense shuts down Jaxson Dart and its offense puts up a fifth consecutive 30-point performance.
The BYU-Utah rivalry clash does not have the same pop to it in 2024 because of Utah's unlikely struggles. BYU is the far better squad and Utah comes into Saturday night on a four-game losing streak. Despite the losing run, the Utes could be a dangerous underdog because a rivalry win could save their season.
BYU holds the clear edge in quarterback play with Jake Retzlaff, who has at least 200 passing yards and multiple touchdown passes in seven of BYU's eight games. Isaac Wilson struggled in place of the injured Cam Rising. He has thrown multiple interceptions on three occasions and failed to complete over 60 percent of his passes in each of the last two weeks.
The spread is small because of Utah's home-field advantage, which is usually one of the best in the FBS, but the Utes won't be able to overcome their poor quarterback play to pull off the latest upset in the Big 12. Gambling problem? Call (877-8-HOPENY) or text HOPENY (467369). If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visiting ccpg.
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