College football takeaways: CFP positioning, Ole Miss’ portal power and
Nov 11, 2024, 07:30 AM ET With Week 11 coming to an end, we look back at key takeaways from interesting triumphes, unexpected losses and groups making a late rise towards the College Football Playoff.No.
16 Ole Miss pulled off an exhilarating win in the house over No. 3 Georgia. With Georgia now suffering two conference losses on the season, how might today’s loss affect its potential CFP ranking?With a bit
more than a month left of the routine season, Army and Colorado are making late pushes toward title games and a possible area in the 12-team CFP field. What does each team requirement to do to gain among those spots?Our college football experts break down essential stories and takeaways from Week 11. Head-to-head results matter to the CFP choice committee … often Ole Miss just beat Georgia in an important
game that enhanced the two-loss Rebels’playoff hopes, but it’s not a warranty that Ole Miss will be ranked ahead of Georgia in their 2nd ranking on Tuesday. The committee will compare Georgia’s finest wins– against Texas and Clemson– with Ole Miss ‘wins versus South Carolina and Georgia. They will also take a look at the Rebels’ home loss to Kentucky, and the overtime loss to LSU– which just got smacked by Bama.The FCS win against Furman will also stand out in the space. In what is still a really subjective system, the head-to-head win against Georgia might imply more to one committee member than it does another. Will they drop their No. 3 group behind two two-loss groups? It depends on whom you ask.– Heather Dinich Is it much better to be the deep SEC or the top-heavy Huge Ten with CFP choices? How will Georgia’s loss toOle Miss in Week 11 affect the Bulldogs in the CFP rankings? Andy Altenburger/Icon Sportswire After Week 11, the SEC marketing brain trust is undoubtedly working on a customized message: It just indicates more to go 10-2. The league amazingly has 7 groups with one or two losses, including Missouri, which pulled off another bewildering win that left coach Eliah Drinkwitz stumping for CFP consideration. Two blowout losses for the Tigers are most likely disqualifying, but the SEC unquestionably will push them and its other two-loss competitors. Ole Miss and Alabama are in that group after extremely impressive wins over now-eliminated LSU and still-very-much-alive Georgia, which can bring Tennessee into the two-loss friend this coming week.If Georgia beats Tennessee in Athens, Texas A&M beats Texas in College Station and every other team wins its other games, the SEC still could have 7 two-loss groups at the end of the routine season. All the best sorting all of them out for CFP selection.Things are much cleaner in the Big Ten, which is perhaps more top-heavy than ever. 2 undefeated groups remain, including Indiana, which won its 10th game for the first time in group history however faced real misfortune for the very first time this fall. Indiana faces Ohio State on Nov. 23, however the other Huge Ten CFP contenders, Oregon and Penn State, do not have a ranked challenger left. After the top 4, the Big Ten drops off considerably, as every other team has at least 3 conference losses. If Indiana falls at Ohio State and everybody else triumphes, the Big Ten will be entrusted to 3 11-1 groups and Oregon at 12-0. How will the committee assess Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia versus Indiana and Penn State? If Ohio State loses to, state, Indiana, how will the Buckeyes compare to the SEC’s 10-2 group? I make certain everyone will be pleased with what
the choice committee chooses.– Adam Rittenberg Bruins continue surprise rise At Big 10 media days, first-year UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster triggered a stir when he stumbled and froze through his opening remarks to begin his press conference. Then, after failing to evoke much self-confidence in Indianapolis, Foster
and the Bruins began 1-5, their
only success can be found in a narrow win over Hawai’i. Editor’s Picks 2 Associated But given that, UCLA under Foster has silently surged.Friday night, the Bruins knocked off Iowa 20-17 for their third win in a row. Quarterback Ethan Garbers is up to sixth in the Big 10 in QBR(71.5), with eight touchdowns and just 2 choices over the previous three games.Suddenly, the Bruins(4-5)are knocking on the door of bowl eligibility in Foster
‘s launching season. With a win over competing USC in
2 weeks, they might even finish ahead of the once-ballyhooed Trojans in the Big 10 standings.– Jake Trotter Ole Miss ‘portal overhaul settles One year ago, in the minutes after a 52-17 beatdown loss to Georgia that knocked Ole Lose out of playoff contention, Lane Kiffin understood what needed to alter.” We have actually got ta recruit at a greater level,” Kiffin told reporters.He required to construct a team with size and length on par to the SEC’s best, particularly on defense. Closing the gap on Georgia and Alabama needed bigger and better.
The Rebels were already ahead of the game on transfer recruiting. However entering into 2024, they could not manage to miss.They didn’t. Ole Miss proved a dreadful lot in its 28-10 rout of Georgia on Saturday, controling a top-3 opponent with a lineup that consisted of eight beginners on offense and nine on defense who pertained to Oxford by means of the portal. The toughness of Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss offense deserves plenty of praise, but coordinator Pete Golding’s turnaround on defense actually sustained this win.Pass rushers Princely Umanmielen, Jared Ivey and Walter Nolen overwhelmed Georgia and deserved every cent. Linebackers TJ Dottery and
Chris Paul Jr. integrated for 19 tackles and efficiently contained the Bulldogs’ rushing attack. John Saunders Jr. grabbed a clutch fourth-quarter interception. All of them transferred to Ole Miss to assist this program lastly break through and win these season-defining games.Two early SEC losses cranked up the pressure on this group and has actually brought out its best. Against Georgia, Kiffin proved he accomplished his objective: Ole Miss finally has the skill, experience and depth it requires to chase a championship game.– Max Olson Virginia fights on two years after catastrophe There are some days where it hits Virginia coach Tony Elliott more than others, nearly 2 years after Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry were shot and killed.Time has actually passed, however the pain has not. On Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of their deaths, the university will hold a moment of
silence. Anybody with the football program is invited to place flowers at the memorial trees planted in their honor last year. The lineup has actually turned over given that the tragedy happened, however there remains a core group of players who lived through the devastation. Elliott has actually
tried to find a way to lead them forward.
Since the operate in constructing a football team continues on.That is why what Virginia has done this season needs to not go unnoticed. Following a 24-19 upset win over No. 19 Pittsburgh on Saturday night, Virginia (5-4, 3-3 )is one win far from bowl eligibility. After winning 3 games in each of his very first 2 seasons, the Cavaliers have more overall wins and more ACC wins in Year 3. The schedule has actually been intimidating, with games currently versus ranked Louisville, Clemson and Pitt and 2 more to come– at Notre Dame on Saturday, then home to SMU before completing at rival Virginia Tech.During an open date before playing Pitt, Elliott declined to speak about the degree of trouble with the schedule, informing ESPN,”Fact be informed, I want to discover a method to go win a minimum of two of these games and get these senior citizens to a bowl game. I’m not going to offer this group short. “Offered what the program has actually overcome, Elliott said,”Everybody who is a part of the program has accepted what our brand-new normal is. So it’s been a little bit simpler just to remain in our rhythm due to the fact that we do not constantly have something going on associated with it. We have particular moments in time where we take a time out, and I have actually been intentional by acknowledging it but not being overbearing with it.”I am everyday. There are minutes in time where simply unprovoked I’ll have my moments where I think about it and it hurts me to my core that something like that happens. “Virginia has daily suggestions when it strolls into the center, as three mannequins worn the jersey numbers of Chandler, Davis and Perry welcome them, as an enduring tribute in
their honor. Elliott and his team have consistently said they wish to play every game to make them happy. Getting to a bowl this season would be a testimony to the work they have jointly done to get the program back in the face of unthinkable situations.– Andrea Adelson Daily returns, powers Army to essential November win Army QB Bryson Daily returned in Week 11, helping the Black Knights maintain their undefeated season. AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez Army’s Week 11 trip to
North Texas marked the most significant remaining obstacle left on the Black Knights ‘AAC schedule with a seismic meeting versus Notre Dame waiting in Week 13. So it was an excellent day for Army to get quarterback Bryson Daily back under center.Sidelined by a concealed injury versus Air Force in Week 10, Daily returned Saturday and turned a career-high 36 carries into 153 backyards and a pair of touchdowns in a 14-3 roadway success, extending the nation’s longest active win streak to 13 games. Daily’s 10-yard, first-quarter touchdown run eliminated the Black Knights ‘very first deficit of the season. Andthe senior quarterback was the catalyst for Army’s 21-play, 94-yard scoring drive after halftime, accounting for 12 carries and 51 backyards on a game-sealing series that ate up 13:54 of game clock and sucked the life out of a sticking around North Texas comeback bid.For Daily, who trails only Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty for the nation’s goal lead after Week 11, it was another spectacular efficiency in what has actually been a dominant season powering an explosive Black Knights offense. With 2 more goals on Saturday, Daily ended up being the first FBS quarterback to reach 20 rushing scores in a season considering that Louisville’s Malik Cunningham in 2021. Per ESPN Research Study, Daily is likewise the first passer to log 20-plus rushing goals in his team’s very first 9 games considering that at least 2000, while his run of six successive games with 100-plus hurrying yards and multiple rushing ratings is tied for the longest streak by an FBS quarterback over the past 20 seasons.Daily’s return on Saturday and the win that followed not just pencils Army into the AAC title game ahead of the program’s Nov. 30 conference
finale with UTSA, however establishes what is most likely to total up to a playoff elimination game when the Black Knights satisfy Notre Dame at Yankee Arena on Nov. 23. Beat the Irish and close out the AAC Champion, and Army could very well vault previous Boise State and into the CFP. And with Daily back in the fold, there’s a lot of reason to believe at West Point.– Eli Lederman Colorado is all set for its close-up now The novelty of Deion Sanders, head coach of a Power 5 program struck college football like a tsunami wave last season. The Buffs ‘low and high were chronicled in detailed fashion resulting in among the most polarized teams in recent history.A 2nd year into the Deion era, the eyes of the sport had begun to drift away, the wave of attention had decreased and yet Colorado and Sanders have now turned novelty into substance.The Buffs have won four games in a row– consisting of an impressive 41-27 win over Texas Tech Saturday– turning what seemed like a middling season into a prospective playoff run. Their defense has enhanced (they are allowing around 100 less backyards per game than last season) while the offense has been more efficient and effective in Shedeur Sanders’2nd season under center. Travis Hunter remains otherworldly and the likely best player in the sport.With 3 games remaining, Colorado now manages its own destiny. The Buffs play three groups that presently have losing records and they will be preferred in every one of those matchups. Make it through those untouched and a most likely conference with presently unbeaten BYU waits for in the Big 12 title game. Win them all and they’re in.The addition of Sanders to the sport’s tapestry created much hoopla last season. But as the results intensified, it ended up being simple to question the experiment completely. Now, the attention is totally back and it should be: There’s more here than meets the eye.– Paolo Uggetti