It was a weekend of near misses in college football.
Week 11 nearly presented us with a few upsets that would have shaken up the conference title and College Football Playoff races considerably, but in most of them, the favorite ultimately prevailed.
Whether it was Omar Cooper’s miraculous toe-tap touchdown on Indiana’s game-winner against Penn State, a last-second field goal from Oregon to beat Iowa or Vanderbilt’s overtime win over Auburn, it was not a good day to be an underdog in a tight game.
Of course, that wasn’t the case across college football — especially in the ACC (more on that later). As we prepare to turn to book to Week 12, here are the winners and losers from Week 11.
Winner: Texas A&M is the SEC’s best hope at a title
I recognize that it came against a third-string, true freshman quarterback in Matt Zollers, but Texas A&M absolutely rolled to a road win over a ranked Missouri squad on Saturday.
It was never particularly close, and the Aggies ran the ball at will, racking up 234 total yards on the ground. Defensively, they had some of their own issues against the run as they allowed 100-yard days Jamal Roberts and Ahmad Hardy, but it wasn’t enough as Zollers was held to just 77 yards.
Quarterback Marcel Reed also continues to mount his Heisman case as he threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns while adding 36 yards on the ground.
The Aggies and Alabama are on track to play for an SEC title if both win out, but the Tide have some concerns that were on display in a 17-9 win over Alabama, namely its lack of a run game and a run defense that has also struggled. Other SEC playoff contenders like Georgia, Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Texas also have clear flaws that could materialize in January.
Texas A&M isn’t perfect, but if you’re asking me which team out of this bunch I think is best built to beat a team like Ohio State or Indiana, it’s the Aggies and their dominant lines of scrimmage.
Loser: Iowa’s playoff hopes end in heartbreaking fashion
Everything was coming up Iowa in Saturday’s home game against a top-10 Oregon squad. The matchup was in Iowa City, it was played in a torrential downpour and with a surprisingly high mark at No. 20 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, the Hawkeyes had a real chance to put themselves in playoff position with a win.
They were a trendy upset pick for a reason, and they very nearly pulled it off. In the conditions, Dante Moore was held to just 112 yards passing with an interception. Though Iowa allowed 261 yards on the ground to the Ducks, it ultimately managed to take a one-point lead with 1:51 remaining in the game.
However, after slowing down Oregon’s passing attack all day, the Hawkeyes couldn’t get one last stop as the Ducks drove into field goal range and kicked a game-winner with just three seconds to play. The difference-maker ultimately proved to be a first-quarter safety when a snap went over Iowa’s punter’s head into the end zone.
It was a tough way to be functionally eliminated from playoff contention, but that’s how it often goes.
Winner: Texas Tech is, once again, the clear Big 12 favorite
It was a foregone conclusion for many of us when the Red Raiders plastered Utah on their home field, and it was confirmed once again on Saturday in Lubbock: Texas Tech is the team to beat in the Big 12 and is this league’s best hope at a deep College Football Playoff run.
Joey McGuire’s squad ran into a previously unbeaten BYU team in Week 11, but the magic that had led the Cougars to an 8-0 start was absolutely sapped in this game. You can thank the Red Raiders’ ferocious defense for that.
BYU was held to just 255 yards and only managed to run for 67 yards as a team. Texas Tech, meanwhile, had a big day on the ground between Cameron Dickey, who had 121 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, and J’Koby Williams (13 carries, 77 yards).
There simply doesn’t seem to be a team in the Big 12 that’s in the same weight class as the Red Raiders, particularly in the trenches. That should be more than enough to carry this team to a 12-1 record and Big 12 title entering the College Football Playoff.
That might not be all Texas Tech is able to accomplish, either. I’m not sure there’s more than a few teams in the projected CFP field that can go toe-to-toe with the Red Raiders along the lines of scrimmage.
Loser: A nightmare situation for the ACC
While we didn’t get many upsets from the rest of college football in Week 11, the ACC more than made up for it. Two of the conference’s top contenders went down in conference games to unranked opponents, with Virginia falling 16-9 to Wake Forest after losing quarterback Chandler Morris to injury, while Louisville lost in overtime to Cal.
Those results have thrown quite a wrench in the race for an ACC title, and they weren’t the only teams vying for a spot in Charlotte that went down. Duke was upset on the road against UConn, though it won’t ultimately impact the conference title race since it came against a non-conference foe.
Still, it does open at least the slim possibility that the ACC misses out on the CFP entirely. With the automatic bids notably going to the five highest-ranked champions, it’s at least possible that both the American champion and Sun Belt champion (if it is ultimately an unbeaten James Madison) could finish ranked higher than the ACC champion, which would box the league out of the playoffs.
Georgia Tech’s loss last week didn’t help those odds, especially with the Yellow Jackets still drawing Georgia. Pitt also remains alive in the ACC race, and it would have a fairly weak resume as far as two-loss conference champions go.
The results also slightly reopened the door for Miami, although the Hurricanes have a bit of a tough path with losses to fellow contenders Louisville and SMU.
Will the ACC ultimately miss the CFP? Probably not, but if you’re conference commissioner Jim Phillips, Saturday’s results were the absolute last thing you wanted to see.
Quick Hitters
Winner: South Florida
Not only did the Bulls avoid an upset with a dominant win over UTSA, but their path to the American title game became even clearer with Memphis’ loss to Tulane. A playoff bid is the Bulls’ for the taking.
Loser: Memphis
Speaking of the Tigers, their playoff hopes essentially died with their third conference loss, this time to Tulane. They gave up a big day to Jake Retzlaff, and their comeback bid ultimately failed despite outscoring the Green Wave 15-0 in the fourth quarter of a 36-32 loss.
Winner: Indiana
It sure wasn’t pretty, but the Hoosiers remained undefeated with a hard-fought road win against Penn State and remain on a collision course with Ohio State for a Big Ten championship game that will likely determine the top seed in the playoff.
Winner: Alabama
Another win that wasn’t pretty, the Crimson Tide overcame a lackluster offensive performance by shutting down LSU’s offense and avoiding a letdown against a team led by an interim coach.
Winner: Oregon
Given the Ducks slotted in at No. 9 in the initial CFP rankings, it’s very much a question whether they’d make the playoff with two losses. At least for now, they don’t have to worry about that possibility after surviving in Kinnick.
Winner: Vanderbilt
The Commodores had to deal with a team fueled by an interim coach bump as well, and while Auburn had its best offensive performance of the season, Diego Pavia and Co. were even better as the ‘Dores held on to win in overtime.
Loser: Washington
It was already unlikely, but you can now cross the Huskies off the list of fringe CFP contenders after a loss to a Wisconsin team whose leading passer was its punter.
Winner: Wisconsin
It seems a vote of confidence from your athletics director can work wonders! The Badgers will take their first Big Ten win, no matter how ugly it was.
Loser: Colorado
The bottom has completely collapsed for the Buffaloes with a loss to fellow Big 12 bottom-feeder West Virginia. It’s beginning to feel fair to question if Deion Sanders is going to run it back with Colorado in 2026.
Winner: Southern Miss
After winning just one game a year ago, Charles Huff has already won seven games in his debut campaign in Hattiesburg. With a win over Arkansas State, the Golden Eagles are still unbeaten in Sun Belt play and remain the West Division favorite. They’ll likely draw James Madison in the championship game if they can keep winning.
Winner: Army
It hasn’t been a great season for Army, but any time you win a game by holding onto the ball for the final 9:53 (!) to ice the game, you’re getting some recognition in this column.
Winner: Missouri State
The Bears have had a surprisingly successful first go of it in the FBS, and they knocked off Conference USA’s most resource-flushed team, Liberty, on Saturday. Missouri State isn’t eligible to win its conference as it transitions up from the FCS, but if it were, it would be squarely in the mix.
Loser: Maryland
The Terrapins lost some heartbreakers earlier in the year, but after a two-touchdown loss to Rutgers, I’m beginning to wonder if promising recruiting additions will be enough to keep Mike Locksley in this job in 2026.
Loser: Duke
I’m not sure what’s funnier: an ACC contender losing to UConn, or the fact that the UConn loss will have no bearing on Duke’s chances to win the league.
Winner: UConn
Meanwhile, it’s hard not to be impressed with what Jim Mora has done at UConn. The Huskies now have seven wins after notching their third ACC victory in the last two seasons, and quarterback Joe Fagnano is still yet to throw a pick this year.
Winner: Arizona
There was speculation Brent Brennan would be one-and-done in Tucson after a rough first campaign last year, but the Wildcats are bowl eligible in Year 2 after taking down Kansas at home.
Loser: TCU
The Horned Frogs are still 6-3, but they’re now out of the Big 12 race with a loss to Iowa State at home as the returns continue to diminish under Sonny Dykes since he reached the national title game in Year 1.
Winner: North Carolina
For all the jokes that were told earlier this season, the Tar Heels continue to improve and notched their second ACC win in a row, this time against Stanford. UNC still isn’t very good, but it’s not one of the very worst teams in the Power Four, which seemed possible earlier this year.
Loser: Florida State
If there was hope last week’s blowout win over Wake Forest would lead to a turnaround for embattled coach Mike Norvell, it has probably now faded after a 24-10 loss to a Clemson team that is also struggling mightily.
Winner: Sam Houston
The Bearkats finally got in the win column by taking down an Oregon State team that hasn’t been much better. Now, UMass is alone as the only winless team in the FBS.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: College football winners and losers from Week 11: Chaos in the ACC
