Biggest Question Facing Each Top 25 Team Heading into Week 11
Other than a few surprises in the SEC East, the annual craziness of college football has yet to arrive, although that most certainly will change starting in Week 11.
The main course is being served up on Thursday night, as Oregon does battle with Stanford and Baylor hosts Oklahoma in a pair of games that feature Top 10 teams in the current BCS standings.
Headlining Saturday is a monster tilt in the SEC as Alabama takes on LSU. A number of other ranked squads also face difficult tests, and the ever-changing landscape may look as if a tornado has blown through come Sunday morning.
Let's take a look at the biggest question facing each Top 25 team as we reach Week 11.
All stats via ESPN
The order of teams correlates to the current BCS rankings.
25) Texas Tech Red Raiders
1 of 25
Biggest Question: Can the Red Raiders rebound before the season is lost?
Just two weeks ago, Texas Tech was 7-0 and staring at a potentially special season in the Big 12.
Consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State haven't destroyed conference championship dreams altogether, but the road is much rockier now.
Still, for a young team that looks to be on the rise in the years to come, the next few weeks are critical, regardless of whether they'll result in a BCS game.
Kliff Kingsbury's squad hosts Kansas State on Saturday before games against Baylor and Texas. The team must respond quickly if it hopes to compete in big games down the stretch; otherwise, a third straight loss may just doom the season entirely.
24) Wisconsin Badgers
2 of 25
Biggest Question: Can the Wisconsin ground game pummel an athletic BYU front seven?
Since a 31-24 loss at Ohio State on Sept. 28, the Wisconsin Badgers have won three straight Big Ten games, each in dominant fashion.
The key to success has been an effective ground attack led by Melvin Gordon and James White, each of whom has produced spectacular moments. But while the shaky Big Ten conference may not be able to provide the stiffest test for the Badgers offense, BYU certainly can.
With a relatively easy slate to finish out the season that features Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State, the Cougars could be the biggest obstacle to an unblemished November record. Their front seven is led by stud LB/DE Kyle Van Noy, who will challenge Gordon and White throughout the game.
If the Badgers hope to finish 2013 strong, they must be able to do what they do best against BYU.
23) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3 of 25
Biggest Question: Can the Irish stay focused with BCS prize looming?
Believe it or not, Notre Dame can still crawl its way back into the BCS bowl picture if it wins the rest of its games.
However unlikely that may be, the Fighting Irish must approach each week as if the ultimate prize is still on the table and perform better than they did in a 38-34 victory over Navy.
Most people have already shrugged off quarterback Tommy Rees and company, which should be of little consequence to anyone in South Bend. But, if the Irish hope to make noise down the stretch, they can't bring lackluster efforts to games against Pittsburgh and BYU.
The season-finale is against Stanford, which shouldn't be difficult to get up for. But Brian Kelly's guys must stay focused and take care of business against the Panthers and Cougars before anything else.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22) Arizona State Sun Devils
4 of 25
Biggest Question: Can quarterback Taylor Kelly stay hot?
The Arizona State defense is starting to round into form just in time for the stretch run, but it's the play of quarterback Taylor Kelly that will ultimately determine if the Sun Devils emerge from the muddied Pac-12 South.
In his two most recent outings against Washington and Washington State, Kelly has accounted for 11 total touchdowns. For the season, he's completing almost 63 percent of his passes.
However, he'll face a pair of tricky opponents in Utah and Oregon State before a trip to UCLA, which may decide the winner of the division. If Kelly can stay hot, the Sun Devils look like a team that may even challenge Stanford or Oregon in the north.
21) UCF Knights
5 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Knights Ignore BCS Slight?
Make no mistake, UCF has been slighted in the latest edition of the BCS rankings, as George O'Leary's team is apparently perceived as inferior to other one-loss teams, multiple two-loss teams and even a team it beat in Louisville.
The Knights own wins against Penn State and the Cardinals, both of which came on the road, and their only loss was by three points to South Carolina.
So while the No. 21 team in the country deserves better than the number beside its name, it can still reach a BCS bowl by winning out and capturing the AAC crown. That should be motivation in itself, but the Knights could get caught napping if they're too busy lamenting a lack of national attention.
20) Louisville Cardinals
6 of 25
Biggest Question: How does quarterback Teddy Bridgewater want to be remembered?
Teddy Bridgewater is going to be drafted to the NFL in April, likely as one of the first few picks. He's taken Louisville from a solid program with a great year once in a while to one that hopes to regularly compete for conference and national titles. He owns a victory over Florida in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, too.
So, with just a month left of football and any dreams of a national title completely out the window, how does he want to be remembered? Will he lead the Cardinals to a string of dominant victories and excel in their bowl game? Or, with nothing of national significance left to play for, will he phone it in?
Because how the Cardinals finish the season will depend entirely on Bridgewater's performance as a quarterback and as a leader. Despite the home loss to UCF, the star signal-caller can still make the 2013 season a memorable one.
With such a promising future, what will the nation see out of Bridgewater in his final month of college football?
19) UCLA Bruins
7 of 25
Biggest Question: Is the offense prepared for a brutal closing stretch?
The UCLA Bruins had scored at least 34 points in each of their first five games until back-to-back games at Stanford and Oregon yielded just 24 points total.
Last Saturday against Colorado, quarterback Brett Hundley and the offense sputtered out of the gate before finding a rhythm and coasting to a 45-23 win.
With a final stretch that will decide who represents the Pac-12 South in the conference championship game, the biggest question for UCLA surrounds the offense and its ability to put enough points on the board to win games.
Jim Mora's team faces Arizona, Washington, Arizona State and USC to end the season, and the offense must be in high gear if it hopes to make it through the final stretch unscathed.
18) Northern Illinois Huskies
8 of 25
Biggest Question: Will Huskies impress enough to slip past Fresno State in the rankings?
If the Northern Illinois Huskies want to make it back to a BCS game, they'll have to worm their way past Fresno State in the rankings.
So either the Bulldogs have to drop a game, or quarterback Jordan Lynch and company have to look impressive enough to impact the minds of voters.
It seems silly to look at the end goal in the middle of November, and doing so might cause the Huskies to lose focus, which wouldn't be wise with Ball State up next. But while the team is surely concentrated on how it can beat the Cardinals, the bigger question is how can it look good enough to those watching?
17) Michigan State Spartans
9 of 25
Biggest Question: Will the offense continue to improve?
The hot pile of garbage that was the Michigan State offense back in September is suddenly a wrecking ball, albeit a slow-moving one incapable of damaging large objects. But it's a wrecking ball nonetheless, which shows marked improvement for a unit that eclipsed 26 points just once before Oct. 12 against Indiana.
The running game is led by Jeremy Langford, a physical back with 775 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season. Quarterback play has also seen tremendous growth behind the arm of Connor Cook, who has just one interception in his last three games.
Still, the defense will continue to dominate headlines, as it should after allowing just six points to Michigan last Saturday. The question is, can the offense improve enough before a potential Big Ten Championship game against Ohio State?
16) Fresno State Bulldogs
10 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Bulldogs prove to be worthy of a BCS bid?
In most years, BCS bids are determined simply by a team's record, if it won its conference and where it sits in the final rankings.
This year, however, one of the BCS bids may be decided by a beauty pageant between Fresno State and Northern Illinois. The Bulldogs currently have the upper hand, and winning out may do the trick by itself. But should the Huskies continue to dominate the MAC, quarterback Derek Carr and the Bulldogs will have to keep up in games against Wyoming, New Mexico and San Jose State.
By keep up, we mean look like a BCS team should look and win in convincing fashion. If Fresno State continues to win but plays sloppy, mistake-filled football, it might fall to an uncomfortable spot in the rankings. So, will the Bulldogs play like they are a team worthy of a BCS bowl berth?
15) Texas A&M Aggies
11 of 25
Biggest Question: Can quarterback Johnny continue to make Heisman noise?
Normally the biggest question facing a team at this point in the season should be bigger than one guy, but with a conference title out of the picture, the best thing that can happen for the Aggies is to have quarterback Johnny Manziel win another Heisman Trophy.
Of course, that would involve beating both LSU and Missouri in the final two games, and that kind of effort might bump Kevin Sumlin's squad into position to receive an at-large bid. But in order for the Aggies to win games, Manziel has to play extremely well.
So, after a string of impressive outings, will Manziel continue to climb back into the Heisman race, or will he, and his team, falter down the stretch?
14) Oklahoma State Cowboys
12 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Cowboys stay sharp against two-win Jayhawks?
With games against Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma left on the schedule, you could forgive Oklahoma State if it looked past the woeful Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday.
While doing so probably wouldn't result in a loss, it could bring out a sluggish performance from the Cowboys, which isn't something you want to see at a time when playing good football becomes critical.
Inconsistent play on both sides of the ball led to a surprising defeat at West Virginia earlier in the season, but Mike Gundy's guys have responded with a string of solid outings. Against the Jayhawks, they'll have to play well if they hope to be ready for the final three tests.
13) LSU Tigers
13 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Tigers bring A-game on both sides of the ball to Tuscaloosa?
At times this season the LSU defense has looked like the Tigers of the past few seasons, a unit that dominates the line of scrimmage and blankets the secondary.
The offense has also shown major improvement, spreading the ball around through the air and controlling the clock behind the ever-churning legs of running back Jeremy Hill.
Both units need to play their best games of the season against Alabama if LSU hopes to exit Saturday with the most impressive win of the season in tow. The talent is there, and the results have been there as well—at times.
If you were told today that the Tigers would get top-notch efforts from both sides of the ball, the game is a toss-up. Because that hasn't happened on a consistent basis, the Tide are the clear favorites. What kind of effort will we see on Saturday night?
12) South Carolina Gamecocks
14 of 25
Biggest Question: Will Gamecocks get offense going against Florida?
Florida isn't the team you want to see up next on the schedule when you're in need of a boost on offense. That's exactly what South Carolina should be focusing on during its bye week in preparation for a visit from the Gators.
On the season, the Gamecocks have scored more than 35 points on just one occasion, which isn't great by today's standards. A game against a great defense like the one Florida boasts could result in one of two things.
It could bring out the very best in quarterback Connor Shaw, who has his best game of the year and develops confidence for the remaining games. It could also have the opposite effect, where a Gators defense keeps things close and frustrates the Gamecocks offense.
If Steve Spurrier's offense can produce against Florida, it will be in great shape to close out the season playing its best football.
11) Miami Hurricanes
15 of 25
Biggest Question: How will Hurricanes avoid Seminole hangover?
The Miami Hurricanes don't have a terribly difficult schedule the rest of the way, but they'll need much better performances than we've seen the past three weeks if they want to win out.
That task was made harder with the loss of running back Duke Johnson, but this is still a team with enough talent to make some November noise.
Without a marquee victory, it's fair to question how good the 'Canes really are, and without Johnson, those questions become amplified. What will Al Golden and the coaching staff do to prepare this team for Virginia Tech on Saturday, where a win might propel it to a solid finish in 2013?
10) Oklahoma Sooners
16 of 25
Biggest Question: Will the defense get off the field on third down against Baylor?
You've surely read all about the incredible Baylor offense, which is averaging nearly 65 points a game a week into the month of November. If you're a Bears fan, you've also heard that your team hasn't played anybody.
Well, something's got to give in Friday night's matchup with Oklahoma, where the Sooners must be able to get their defense off the field in third-down situations. The Bears are converting more than half of their third-down attempts, which allows the offense to stay in rhythm and continue to put up points.
Bryce Petty is the type of quarterback who can sling around the entire field, and more plays simply mean more opportunities for a knockout punch. In the biggest test of the season, Oklahoma must bring its A-game on defense and stop the Bears when it gets a chance.
9) Auburn Tigers
17 of 25
Biggest Question: Will a trip to Neyland Stadium expose the Tigers, or is this team for real?
Laugh all you want about a trip to Tennessee being considered a tough test, but the Volunteers have only lost once at home this season, and that came in an overtime game against Georgia.
Butch Jones' team beat South Carolina two weeks later, and if Auburn isn't careful, it could slip up on Saturday. The Tigers are clearly an improved team from last season, and we suspect they might be on the verge of elite status.
Games like this one separate good squads from great ones, and Auburn can continue to prove it is back with a solid performance against a Volunteers team hungry for another upset.
8) Missouri Tigers
18 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Tigers stay out of bye-week mode vs. Wildcats?
If Missouri can win its final three games, it will earn a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. The first test comes Saturday at Kentucky against a Wildcats team that, well, isn't very good.
After that is a bye week before a two-game stretch against Ole Miss and Texas A&M. The off-date comes at a wonderful time, because it allows the Tigers to gear up for the final two contests, but Gary Pinkel's team can't get caught napping during an SEC road game.
If the Tigers have already leaped into bye-week mode, they could see their dreams of a special season vanish immediately. They'll have to continue to play the kind of football that got them this far in order to enter the bye week with big goals still on the table.
7) Clemson Tigers
19 of 25
Biggest Question: Has the defense improved enough to handle Georgia Tech's offense?
The Clemson defense has done a fair job in 2013, allowing opponents to score just over 20 points per game.
However, against the two best offenses on the schedule (Georgia and Florida State), the Tigers allowed a combined 86 points. While Georgia Tech doesn't have nearly the amount of firepower of the Bulldogs or Seminoles, it still presents some interesting challenges.
The Yellow Jackets feature a triple-option attack that forces defenses to play smart and make sure it tackles throughout the game. If Clemson wants to continue to prove that its effort against Florida State was a fluke, its defense must have a complete game against Georgia Tech.
6) Baylor Bears
20 of 25
Biggest Question: How good can the Bears really be?
It's the million-dollar question in college football right now: Is Baylor really that good?
All signs point toward "yes," but we'll finally get our answer Thursday when the Bears take on Oklahoma.
The offense has been dazzling and destroying week in and week out, and the defense has held opponents to just 16 points per game. Throughout the year, everyone has been pointing to November as the time when we'll find out what Baylor is really made of.
After Oklahoma, the Bears play Texas Tech, TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas. So, Baylor, time to show us what you got.
5) Stanford Cardinal
21 of 25
Biggest Question: Will the Cardinal score enough to get past the Ducks?
Much of the focus on Stanford's 17-14 victory over Oregon last season surrounded the defense, which held the Ducks well below their season average.
It's true that the defense was the catalyst for the upset, but the offense also had weapons like Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo who played major roles in the fourth quarter. The 2013 Cardinal haven't played very well on that side of the ball, and it's unlikely the Ducks will be held to less than 20 points for the second straight year.
So, can the Cardinal find some consistency and move the ball? Or will the offense sputter, failing to even give the Cardinal a chance at a win?
4) Ohio State Buckeyes
22 of 25
Biggest Question: Can Buckeyes continue to dominate inferior opponents?
On Oct. 19, Ohio State polished off the Iowa Hawkeyes 34-24, causing many to wonder if the Buckeyes were capable of actually playing like a Top Five team. While the other elite programs were dominating opponents by 30 or 40 points, Urban Meyer's team was skating by with less-than-impressive efforts.
Then, in games against Penn State and Purdue, the Buckeyes won by a combined score of 119-14, and the nation said, "well now, it looks like they can dominate in grand fashion!"
Winning convincingly the rest of the way may not be enough to put Ohio State into the championship game, but they'll at least be able to throw a hat in the ring with confidence. With Illinois and Indiana up next, the Buckeyes must continue to play at a high level.
3) Oregon Ducks
23 of 25
Biggest Question: Have the Ducks figured out the Cardinal defense?
When talking about the Ducks mustering just 14 points in a loss to the Cardinal in 2012, few forget that Oregon scored a combined 105 points in the teams' previous two meetings.
Still, Stanford's defense is in top form and has a cast of linebackers that will all start in the NFL someday soon. They are lengthy, strong, and put themselves in great position to slow down the Ducks attack.
Last season, Marcus Mariota had a less-than-stellar performance, and the running game hardly got going at all. In the biggest game of the season, can the Ducks figure out the Stanford riddle and put up the kind of points we're used to seeing?
2) Florida State Seminoles
24 of 25
Biggest Question: What will Seminoles do without the eyes of the nation?
The national spotlight has been squarely on the Florida State program in two of the past three weeks as the Seminoles took care of business against Clemson and Miami.
Jameis Winston and the offense have made impressive statements, and the defense is one of the best in the land.
Now, without all of the attention, how will Jimbo Fisher's team perform? Will it continue to dominate on the scoreboard and play like it's the national title, or will the 'Noles relax and end up with a string of sluggish performances?
The latter option isn't likely given the leadership on both sides of the ball, but it will be interesting to see what kind of effort the 'Noles bring to a cupcake schedule the rest of the way.
1) Alabama Crimson Tide
25 of 25
Biggest Question: Can the running game be effective against stiff Tigers defense?
We discussed earlier the LSU defense, which has been up and down in 2013. However, it still has the most talent Alabama will face this season, especially in the front seven. So the biggest question for the Tide is can they establish an effective running game against the Tigers?
AJ McCarron has been as consistent as ever, and the passing attack should get its share of big plays, but if LSU is able to bottle up T.J. Yeldon and the rest of the 5-star running back stable, the rest of the Tide's offense will struggle.
After multiple blowouts in which Alabama dominated on both sides of the football, how will the Tide perform against an LSU team that has had its number recently in Tuscaloosa?
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
