B/R's 2025 College Football Winners and Losers from Week 11
When you peek at the college football schedule and struggle to find a lengthy list of potential upsets, an uncomfortable feeling emerges.
It can't be this simple, right? Usually, it isn't, either.
Scanning the results in Week 11, however, you'll notice the actual winners and losers—entering the prime-time window, at least—are largely the expected group. But there's no question a few favorites were holding their breath at the end.
Indiana held off a second-half surge from Penn State, for example, and Oregon needed a last-second field goal to defeat Iowa.
Memphis, though, was not so lucky, and neither were a pair of ACC teams.
This piece was updated Saturday night.
Loser: Memphis' CFP Path
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When the College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled its first ranking on Tuesday night, Memphis landed the highest spot within the Group of Five.
Sure, it wasn't officially a Top 25 placement. But the committee ranked Memphis atop the G5, and the Tigers entered the weekend at 8-1 with a head-to-head victory over South Florida.
Well, so much for that.
Tulane went to Memphis and pulled off a 38-32 upset, largely behind quarterback Jake Retzlaff. He threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns, adding 43 yards and a fourth score on the ground. The defense made a key stand late in the fourth quarter to seal the road victory, too.
The good news for Memphis is that East Carolina and Navy remain on the schedule. Those are two valuable wins for tiebreaker purposes.
Because of this setback, though, Memphis no longer has a win-and-in scenario. It might happen anyway, but the Tigers now need external help.
Winner: Texas Tech's Big 12 Hopes
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Three weekends ago, Arizona State recovered from a late collapse to clip Texas Tech and ruin the Red Raiders' unbeaten year.
Saturday afternoon, Tech flipped the script.
BYU continued its troubling trend of falling behind a Big 12 opponent by double digits and could not recover. Texas Tech built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and steadily shut down BYU, which squandered a couple of chances but generally struggled in the road matchup. Tech led 26-0 before BYU scored its lone touchdown, ultimately finishing off a 29-7 victory.
As a result, the Red Raiders are firmly in control of their Big 12 aspirations. It's technically a three-team tie along with BYU and Cincinnati, but a clash between those programs in two weeks guarantees some separation.
Texas Tech, a big-money spender in the NIL market this offseason, is tantalizingly close to seeing that investment pay off.
Loser: Penn State's Resilient Upset Attempt
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Talent has never been a question for Penn State. All of those many millions allowed the Nittany Lions to return an experienced roster this season, but subpar execution led to their unexpected demise.
That's the long version of saying, on paper, Penn State toppling Indiana would not be surprising. And when Nick Singleton weaved his way to a 19-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, the Nittany Lions formally had their chance. That score pushed them to a 24-20 advantage with 6:27 to play.
This was the opportunity to salvage a frustrating year. It did not happen.
Fernando Mendoza connected with Omar Cooper Jr., who toe-tapped a highlight-reel moment into IU history, for the winning seven-yard touchdown. Indiana jumped to 10-0 and essentially sealed its place in the CFP.
And the Nittany Lions, meanwhile, could not even celebrate the spoiler role. Unless they sweep Michigan State, Nebraska and Rutgers down the stretch, they won't be headed to a bowl, either.
Winner: Texas A&M's Postseason Odds
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No, the outcome was not unexpected.
We can start with that, considering Missouri had to send third-choice quarterback Matt Zollers out against Texas A&M. Mizzou lost Beau Pribula to a recent ankle injury after a leg injury sidelined Sam Horn earlier this season.
Nevertheless, you can never take a road game for granted. We've seen strange things happen. That's part of what makes college football so great.
Texas A&M, boasting an 8-0 record, avoided any of that drama.
Behind a terrific effort from their steady defense, the Aggies put up the first 21 points in a 38-17 triumph at Mizzou. Marcel Reed threw for a pair of touchdowns, and Reuben Owens II rushed for two scores, as well.
As long as A&M topples South Carolina next weekend—since FCS foe Samford awaits after that—you can Sharpie the Aggies into the Playoff.
Winner: Oregon's Playoff Dream
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Survive.
Here in November, that's the job.
To the shock of approximately zero longtime CFB fans, Oregon had a rough time in Kinnick Stadium. Iowa, despite its clear offensive flaws, almost did it again. Mark Gronowski's late touchdown run gave the Hawkeyes a 16-15 lead, putting the ninth-ranked Ducks on the brink of a massive upset.
Oregon, however, watched QB Dante Moore save the day. He threaded a perfect pass to Malik Benson for a critical 24-yard gain, setting the stage for Atticus Sappington's last-second 39-yard field goal in the Ducks' 18-16 escape.
Unlike Texas A&M, maybe don't bust out a permanent marker just yet. Washington and USC—the latter on the road—are still on Oregon's slate.
Even if the Ducks fall against one of those former Pac-12 opponents, a path to the Playoff exists. Had they lost at Iowa, though, that would not be the case.
Loser: Jedd Fisch on the Road, Again
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I like Jedd Fisch. I think he's a good offensive mind, a sharp evaluator of QB talent and overall a deserving head coach.
But when you're allergic to winning on the road, I mean, yeesh.
Since arriving at Washington last season, Fisch is now 2-9 at road or neutral sites. Saturday's result, a 13-10 loss at Wisconsin, is among the worst in that unsightly trend. Wisconsin had not stayed within 14 points of a power-conference opponent in six tries this season until upsetting the Huskies.
Look, if I knew how to solve UW's road woes, you wouldn't be reading words from me. Fisch, perhaps, would have even hired me by now.
Still, the trend is undeniable—and a very serious issue for Fisch.
Loser: Luke Fickell Haters
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Given how poorly Wisconsin has played this season, I would not have argued with the program moving on from Luke Fickell. He seemed like the perfect hire at the moment in 2022, but it just hasn't worked out.
Earlier this week, though, U-W athletic director Chris McIntosh said the beleaguered coach would return a fourth year in 2026.
That announcement was predictable. Wisconsin, as an institution, tends to be atypically patient when it feels the person in charge is the correct fit. Fickell, a longtime Midwest guy, certainly fits the billing.
Vibes are not enough for fans, however, and a 2-6 record—after a 12-13 slog in his first two seasons—had stirred up the Badgers' loyal supporters.
So, naturally, U-W beat No. 23 Washington for its first ranked win since 2021.
I'm not saying that Fickell is suddenly going to thrive in Madison. But at least for a week, his critics can't be as loud.
Winner: ACC Chaos
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Heading into the weekend, Virginia stood as the final unbeaten team in ACC action. Tight victories were the norm, but 5-0 was 5-0.
You can imagine where this is headed.
The team's penchant for playing with fire caused the Cavaliers to get burned, falling at home to Wake Forest 16-9. They'd committed only six turnovers all season but lost three fumbles on Saturday night.
Virginia's loss caused a fair bit of commotion. But mere moments later, Cal's shocking win at Louisville invited full-on ridiculousness in the ACC. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele zipped a fourth-down strike to Kendrick Raphael for the decisive touchdown in a 29-26 overtime win.
Subsequently, the five programs locked atop the league are—as everyone guessed—UVA, Georgia Tech, Pitt, SMU and Duke.
And, uh, maybe the at-large dream for 18th-ranked Miami isn't quite dead?
Buckle up, my friends, because the ACC is going from straight-up weird to downright bizarre and probably isn't finished yet.
Winner: Alabama's Streak
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Since that bewildering Week 1 loss to Florida State—a result that perpetually gets stranger—Alabama has been on a roll.
Kalen DeBoer's squad hit nine straight wins on Saturday night, taking down rival LSU in a steady 20-9 victory. Ty Simpson threw for 277 yards and a touchdown, and the defense ceded only 232 yards.
And this victory has Bama on the doorstep of the Playoff.
The remaining slate, unlike A&M, is not a cakewalk with Oklahoma up next and the annual final-weekend trip to Auburn. As long as the Tide avoid losing to both, it's hard to imagine—given their wins against four Top 25 teams—that the CFP selection committee would drop Bama out of the Top 10.
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