2026 College Football Watch Guide – Week 11

Don’t have much of an intro this week. We’re in the last quarter of the season, believe it or not. Let’s get right to the football.

Illinois @ #4 UCLA is a great Friday night opener to the weekend. The Illini got a big win over Nebraska and will now face the top team in the Big Ten in Pasadena. The Bruins haven’t been ranked this high since 2001 and their toughest game left is the final week against USC. The win over the Huskers should give Illinois some confidence and they’ll need every last bit to down a resurgent UCLA.

Northwestern QB Aiden Chiles is once again out for Northwestern @ #20 Ohio State, and the Buckeyes will start Luke Fahey. The freshman has had a rough debut season, throwing five touchdowns to three interceptions. The Buckeye offense has shriveled since Sayin went out. Replacement Wildcat quarterback, Nicco Marchiol, looked pretty good against Iowa but can he be even better in Columbus?

Keep #13 Wake Forest @ SMU on your radar Saturday morning. SMU was just out of Tuesday’s CFP rankings – the committee needed room for those three-loss SEC teams – but this is a good Mustangs team and one that can knock off Wake Forest, and hopefully give Iowa some runway to move up if they handle their own business. SMU can pass the Demon Deacons in the ACC standings as well as the conference championship looms closer.

Speaking of three-loss SEC teams, Missouri is one of them. They travel to Athens to face the newly minted #1 team in the land in #22 Missouri @ #1 Georgia. Georgia obliterated Ole Miss last week 42-7 while Missouri did have it’s chance to topple Texas but fell on its face late in the game. This looks like another opportunity for Missouri to get a quality loss and fall to #24 next week. Staying in the SEC we also have #8 Tennessee @ Texas A&M. The Volunteers remain looking up at Alabama, the team they beat by 16 just a few weeks ago. If you’re Iowa you’re rooting hard for the Aggies, and I just feel like sooner or later we’re going to get that patented Tennessee loss to someone they shouldn’t have. Why not this weekend?

If I’m Indiana, I would be furious looking at the committee’s rankings this week. After being idle last Saturday, the Hoosiers dropped five spots(!). Committee chair Hunter Yuracheck blamed the rest of the conference:

That sound you just heard was the biggest weary sigh I could muster. This is precisely the reason I hate the week-to-week rankings releases. Yeah, I know it’s good television and that’s all ESPN cares about anyway, but it also makes it so the committee has to twist themselves into knots to explain themselves every week. Just release your final rankings after the regular season and call it good. Anyway… #18 USC @ #9 Indiana…should be good. You should watch it. Go Hoosiers.

What a bounce back by Oregon last week, beating Ohio State by double digits and at the Shoe no less. Ohio State looks like a shell of itself without Julian Sayin, but still that is a damn impressive win, especially considering Oregon was thought of as a lame duck (Ha!) in the playoff hunt. Michigan @ #16 Oregon could be a snoozer as the Ducks are really hitting their stride, but it could be a letdown spot for them and a chance for the Wolverines to get a signature win of their own (and help the Hawks in the process).

Saturday night highlights a couple of big time Big XII games with conference title implications. Utah remains one of only two unbeaten teams in the country alongside UCLA. They’re a virtual lock for both playoff and conference championship. #2 Utah @ #23 Arizona is the Wildcats’ opportunity to separate themselves from the logjam at #3 in the Big XII. Also stuck in that jam is Texas Tech, who travel to Stillwater to face the Cowboys. #12 Texas Tech @ #25 Oklahoma State is one Hawkeye fans will want to keep an eye on, as an Oklahoma State victory would certainly help Iowa’s own CFP ambitions.

In the SEC, Texas certainly looks to be bouncing back from from their two unranked losses earlier in the season. They’ve ripped off three straight wins, two against ranked opponents. They’re back to basically being a playoff lock. LSU, on the other hand, got smacked around by Bama last weekend but they’re a playoff cockroach. No matter how many times they lose, someone’s talking about them getting in because “SEC”. #6 Texas @ #21 LSU will hopefully see the Longhorns continue their hot streak and put the Tigers down for good.