College Football Rankings 2015: Week 11 Standings, Schedule and Predictions
The College Football Playoff race is heating up quickly, with multiple Week 11 games having a direct impact on significant conference races.
The most high-profile games of the week feature ranked teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Big 12 going head-to-head on Saturday night.
The updated polls and entire Week 11 schedule are below, followed by a breakdown of the most intriguing matchups of the weekend.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
| Sat. Nov. 14 | |||
| 12 p.m. | No. 11 Florida (-7.5) at South Carolina | ESPN | UF |
| 12 p.m. | No. 2 Ohio State (-17) at Illinois | ABC | OSU |
| 12 p.m. | Kansas at No. 13 TCU (-44) | FS1 | TCU |
| 12 p.m. | Maryland at No. 14 Michigan State (-18) | ESPN2 | MARY |
| 12 p.m. | Purdue at No. 24 Northwestern | BTN | |
| 12:30 p.m. | N.C. State at No. 19 Florida State (-9.5) | ESPN3 | FSU |
| 3:30 p.m. | SMU at No. 22 Navy (-21.5) | CBS Sports | SMU |
| 3:30 p.m. | Miami FL at No. 17 North Carolina (-11) | ESPNU | UNC |
| 3:30 p.m. | Wake Forest at No. 6 Notre Dame (-27.5) | NBC | WAKE |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 1 Clemson (-26.5) at Syracuse | ABC | CLEM |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 3 Alabama (-7) at No. 20 Mississippi State | CBS | BAMA |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 5 Oklahoma State (-14) at Iowa State | ESPN | OKST |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Michigan (-11.5) at Indiana | ESPN2 | MICH |
| 7 p.m. | No. 21 Temple (-4.5) at South Florida | CBS Sports | TEM |
| 7 p.m. | No. 25 Memphis at No. 16 Houston (-6) | ESPN2 | HOU |
| 7 p.m. | Arkansas at No. 9 LSU (-8.5) | ESPNU | LSU |
| 7:30 p.m. | Oregon at No. 7 Stanford (-9) | FOX | ORE |
| 8 p.m. | No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 4 Baylor (-3.5) | ABC | BAY |
| 8 p.m. | Minnesota at No. 8 Iowa (-11.5) | BTN | MINN |
| 10 p.m. | No. 10 Utah (-5) at Arizona | FOX | UTAH |
| 10:45 p.m. | Washington State at No. 18 UCLA (-8) | ESPN | WSU |
Due to an injury to Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson, no spread has been given for the Purdue/Northwestern game as of Monday morning, according to OddsShark.com. No against the spread pick has been made for this matchup.
Notable Games
No. 25 Memphis at No. 16 Houston (-6)
This would have been the game of the week and potentially a fun new environment for ESPN's College GameDay had Memphis taken care of Navy on Saturday. But after Memphis got thumped by the Midshipmen, this matchup lost much of its luster.
While the national attention may be shifted elsewhere, this game still has significant implications in the American Athletic Conference, and potentially on the New Year's Six bowl selections.
Despite Memphis' loss to Navy, the Tigers are still alive in the AAC race if they can knock off undefeated Houston.
Since Houston and Navy still meet up in late November, it's possible for the three teams to finish in a tie, with all three suffering a loss to one of the others.
If Houston wins, Memphis is effectively eliminated from the ACC race, narrowing the pool of potential teams to earn the automatic Group of Five bid to one of the New Year's Six bowl games.
The highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences earns an invitation to one of the New Year's Six bowls (likely the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl, due to their lack of conference affiliations). With AAC members Memphis, Houston, Temple and Navy all ranked in this week's AP poll, the AAC winner is likely to earn that spot.
Prediction: Houston 48, Memphis 41
No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 4 Baylor (-3.5)
Due to Memphis' slip-up, College GameDay will be headed to Baylor for what should be a raucous environment in Waco, Texas.
The Bears are 3-21 all-time against Oklahoma, but all three wins have come since 2011.
In fact, over the past two seasons, Baylor has owned the Sooners, outscoring Bob Stoops' squad by a combined score of 89-26.
Baylor enters this game with uncertainty at the quarterback position, however, as freshman Jarrett Stidham enters the biggest game of the Bears season with just one career start under his belt.
"I can't speak for anyone else, but I thought Jarrett Stidham played great last night...no run game, dropped balls...didn't bother him
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) November 6, 2015"
Stidham threw for over 400 yards in Baylor's victory over Kansas State on Thursday but led the Bears to a season-low 31 points.
Oklahoma's offense has been rolling, putting up 50 points in four straight games since its loss to Texas, creating the potential for a high-powered shootout in Waco on Saturday night.
Prediction: Baylor 52, Oklahoma 45
Oregon at No. 7 Stanford (-7)
In recent years, it's been Stanford playing the role of spoiler in this matchup, but Oregon has a chance to return the favor on Saturday night.
In 2012 and 2013, Stanford ended the Ducks' perfect season with a November upset. But now Stanford finds itself in the position of having to defend its home turf with a potential trip to the College Football Playoff on the line.
A loss to Oregon would be devastating to the playoff hopes of Stanford, and the entire Pac-12 conference.
With a two-game lead in the Pac-12 North division, Stanford would remain the heavy favorite to advance to the conference title game and likely the favorite to win the game over Utah, USC or UCLA representing the Pac-12 South.
Should Stanford, or any other Pac-12 team, win the conference with two losses, the Pac-12 would almost certainly be shut out of the playoffs.
"With Vernon Adams, Oregon is a fringe top 25 team. Without him, they are probably not in the top 50.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 8, 2015"
With a healthy Vernon Adams, Oregon appears to be back on track and capable of the upset.
The Ducks have racked up over 100 points in their past two games against Arizona State and California, and could pose a threat to a Stanford defense that hasn't been as dominant as in seasons past.
Prediction: Oregon 41, Stanford 38
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
