Week 11 Viewing Guide: A Quartet of Top-25 Matchups, the Ongoing Struggle for the Big Ten West, and the Football Revivals of Rice and Tulane

Nooners

Purdue vs. #21 Illinois, 12 p.m. on ESPN2

The myriad of noon kickoffs lately for Ohio State thankfully continue to transpire alongside underwhelming early windows for college football. Only four other ranked teams will play at the same time today, which allows fans to tune into the Buckeyes guilt-free with respect to missing any other contests. However, if there is one game worth monitoring, it would have to be the conference clash happening on the other side of the Big Ten that could go a long way towards determining which team represents the West in Indianapolis next month.

Illinois began the month of November on a six-game winning streak, but faltered at home last weekend in a shocking loss to a Michigan State team plagued by controversy from the fallout of the Spartans' tunnel fight in Ann Arbor. That result has thrown the Big Ten West into further chaos down the stretch of the final month in the regular season. The Fighting Illini still own a lead of at least one game over the rest of their divisional counterparts, but entering this weekend, four schools below them all own a 3-3 conference record — though Illinois owns tiebreaker wins over three of them. Purdue remains the only team out of that group yet to meet the Illini on the field.

Despite the loss to Sparty, Chase Brown has still managed to rush for at least 100 yards in every game this season. However, Brown offers much more versatility than simply serving as a high-volume carry machine, as he has also caught three receiving touchdowns in 2022 and his best play last weekend arguably came from his downfield blocking.

Chase Brown blocks so Isaiah Williams can score. @i_williams11 x @IlliniFootball pic.twitter.com/lVip3LgYL6

— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) November 5, 2022

Prior to their meeting with Wisconsin last month, the Boilermakers had yet to allow any hundred-yard rushers this season, but have since allowed two in back-to-back losses. Aidan O'Connell had also thrown for at least 320 yards in three straight games prior to Purdue's 24-3 loss to Iowa last weekend, so if the Boilermakers want to have any hope of spoiling Illinois' conference title aspirations, they will need to bounce back in a big way today.

Afternooners

Two Top 25 Showdowns and the Wildcard of the Week

For the first time this season, a window has more interesting Group of 5 games than Power 5 ones. The Wildcard of the Week may supply some relief for Ohio State fans if the Indiana game wades into garbage time early in the second half, while the remaining contests later in the afternoon offer some ranked action that will certainly be worth a watch.

• Rice vs. Western Kentucky, 2 p.m. on ESPN+
  W I L D C A R D of the W E E K
  Rice has failed to field a good football team for quite some time. Even entering this season, the Owls had a projected win total in the range of three games. They managed to hit that number on the first day of October, and Rice has not looked back since on their way to fourth place in Conference USA heading into the final stretch of the season as one of the year's most pleasant surprises in the sport.

  WHAT A THROW. WHAT A CATCH.@RiceFootball TAKES THE LEAD WITH 25 SECONDS LEFT pic.twitter.com/FiZSoZ30ml

  — CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 4, 2022

  As for Western Kentucky, the Hilltoppers continue to perform as one of the most prolific passing offenses at the FBS level. The Owls will certainly have work cut out for them if they want to pull off an upset, but Rice has a habit of making games competitive with only one loss to a conference opponent this season by a margin of greater than one score.
   
• #9 Alabama vs. #11 Ole Miss, 3:30 p.m. on CBS
  Is it finally low tide in Tuscaloosa? Brian Kelly has at last earned his elusive win over Alabama last after failing to find victory over Nick Saban multiple times while at Notre Dame, and suddenly the preseason favorites in the SEC West have lost two of their last three games and appear out of the CFP race. Given LSU seems bound for the conference championship game, the Crimson Tide have little left to play for other than pride relative to their goals at the start of the 2022 campaign.
  
  Meanwhile, despite a lower ranking, Ole Miss has quietly had a more successful season than Alabama. The Rebels have only one loss on the season (also to the Tigers), and Lane Kiffin would almost certainly enjoy the opportunity to kick his former employer while they are down. Ole Miss has had one of the poorest-performing defenses at the FBS level this season, so the Rebels indubitably need to turn this game into a shootout if they want to secure their first win over the Crimson Tide since 2015.
   
• #22 UCF vs. #17 Tulane, 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2
  LSU is not the only football program on the rebound in Louisiana, as the Tulane Green Wave are having their most successful season since going undefeated under Tommy Bowden in 1998. This Saturday marks the first time in 73 years that the school has hosted a game with a ranked opponent while also boasting its own ranking. Running back Tyjae Spears will be looking to put up his fourth straight game with at least 125 rushing yards.

  Tyjae Spears with the speed and a 34-yard TD run for @greenwavefb#AmericanFB pic.twitter.com/S3ddfRnOFZ

  — American Football (@American_FB) November 5, 2022

  As for UCF, the Knights enter this contest with some strong momentum of their own after taking down Cincinnati and Memphis in their most recent games. As the two top teams in the American Athletic Conference at the moment, the winner of today's meeting figures to host the conference championship in what could be a rematch between these schools — assuming the Green Wave can handle the Bearcats in their final game of the regular season.

Primetime

Another Pair of Ranked Matchups and a Potential Mike Leach Meltdown

Similar to the afternoon, the evening slate offers two additional showdowns between top-25 opponents and a tertiary option in the southern region of the country. All three of these games have the potential to provide significant shake-ups in the College Football Playoff race.

• #25 Washington vs. #6 Oregon, 7 p.m. on FOX
  The quack attack just does not quit. Oregon has done all it can to redeem itself since taking a shellacking from Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, scoring at least 41 points in all of their games after the first week of September. Bo Nix has thrown at least 265 yards against four straight opponents for the Ducks, scoring 18 total touchdowns during that stretch as well. Nix has somewhat quietly rushed for over 450 yards this season while making 13 trips to the end zone on the ground, including five games with at least a pair of scores on runs.
  
  Fortunately, the Huskies have everything they need to put Oregon in a back-and-forth scoring bonanza. Washington currently averages the 10th-most passing yards per game in college football behind the arm of former Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr., while the Ducks' defense gives up the 11th-highest success rate to opponent passing plays at 47.8% of the time so far. Oregon's dynamic rushing attack could make all the difference if the team jumps out to an early lead, but this game figures to be a high-scoring affair either way with a projected over/under of 72.5 points.
   
• #1 Georgia vs. Mississippi State, 7 p.m. on ESPN
  ☣ H A Z A R D  ☣  W A R N I N G ☣
  The Bulldogs triumphantly reclaimed their top spot in the nation this week after briefly surrendering it to Tennessee in the first College Football Playoff rankings of 2022. One 27-13 humbling of the Volunteers later, Georgia has the pole position in the sport again as it prepares for the final three opponents on its regular season schedule. Unfortunately for Buckeye fans praying for an Ohio State/Michigan No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown, such a meeting seems unlikely to manifest this week with Kirby Smart seeking to make Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach go Bob Knight mode for the second straight Saturday.

  Coach Leach had a discussion with his receivers, and shortly after he took all of the chairs up. pic.twitter.com/8J6EVkDubz

  — Jonathan Flippo (@JonathanFlippo) November 6, 2022

  The (other) Bulldogs ultimately managed to fend off Auburn in overtime, but Leach still unleashed one of the quotes of the season in wake of the near defeat when he accused his players of wanting “to eat a fish sandwich and drink lemonade with your fat little girlfriend” instead of playing hard. Mississippi State's only win thus far over a ranked opponent came against Texas A&M back at the start of October, so precious viewing time would likely be better spent elsewhere.
   
• #4 TCU vs. #18 Texas, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
  The Mullet rises. Unfortunately for the Buckeye faithful sick of hearing about their former favorite messy blonde haircut in Columbus, Quinn Ewers does not appear to be going away any time soon in the conversation surrounding postseason play. After upsetting Kansas State on the road last weekend behind over 200 yards rushing from Bijan Robinson, the Longhorns sit at second place in the Big 12 standings and seem destined for a spot in the conference title game with Oklahoma State faltering down the stretch.

  Just Bijan doing Bijan things
  
  : @FS1 pic.twitter.com/kkg14fd6sL

  — Texas Football (@TexasFootball) November 5, 2022

  Texas does not even necessarily need to win today to remain in good shape for a Big 12 title game bid, as KSU will face Baylor tonight while all three teams own 4-2 conference records, and the Longhorns will still have a date with the Bears at the end of the month. However, a win tonight would make the closing stretch far less stressful while also jeopardizing the playoff hopes TCU has harbored for quite some time. Max Duggan continues to shred at quarterback for the Horned Frogs, and a win tonight would give TCU more 10-win seasons since 2000 than former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M has had in the entire history of its own football program.

On the Radar for Next Week

• Buckeyes: #2 Ohio State vs. Maryland, TBD on ABC
• TTUN Primer: #21 Illinois vs. #3 Michigan, TBD on ABC
• Victory Bell: #8 USC vs. #12 UCLA, TBD on TBD