College Football Odds Week 11: Picks, Spread Predictions for Top 25 Games
Week 11 could make the College Football Playoff picture clearer, or it could make it a muddled mess to set up all sorts of chaos in the coming weeks.
Six of the Top 10 teams in the playoff rankings will face off on Saturday. Georgia, the top program in the first two rankings, is looking for a quality win over Auburn. Oklahoma and TCU will battle it out for Big 12 supremacy, while Notre Dame and Miami (FL) are both looking to make a statement in the latest chapter of their rivalry.
Here's a further look at the odds for the three big games of the weekend, and the rest of the contests involving Top 25 teams.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 1 Georgia (-1) at No. 10 Auburn (3:30 p.m. ET)
After thriving in the role of SEC East bully for their last five games, the Georgia Bulldogs take on some actual competition in the form of the No. 10 Auburn Tigers in Week 11.
Not only is Saturday's trip to Jordan-Hare Stadium a test for the Bulldogs, it's probably their final tune-up against a quality football team ahead of the SEC Championship. No offence to Kentucky and Georgia Tech, but they don't exactly strike fear in anyone.
In its last game against an SEC West foe, Georgia shut down the Mississippi State offense in a 17-3 victory at Sanford Stadium. However, in their last showdown on the road with a ranked foe, the Bulldogs eked out a victory over Notre Dame.
Auburn has the best opportunity of any of the teams outside the Top Four in the playoff rankings to qualify for a national semifinal game. The Tigers have Georgia at home on Saturday and No. 2 Alabama visits in two weeks. In addition to those two games, the Tigers could make the SEC Championship Game and earn a second win over Georgia.
If you compare common opponents to try to get a feel for the game, both Georgia and Auburn delivered shellackings to Missouri and handled Mississippi State with relative ease.
Georgia has been dominant in the series of late, winning 11 of the last 15 contests, but the games have been close in recent memory with three of the last four meetings being decided by one possession.
Based on all those factors, the odds should be in Georgia's favor more, but it's only a one-point favorite.
Prediction: Georgia 16, Auburn 13
No. 3 Notre Dame (-3) at No. 7 Miami (FL) (8 p.m. ET)
Notre Dame doesn't need to prove to anyone it's for real after wins over USC and NC State. After Week 10's victory over Virginia Tech, Miami (FL) enters Saturday night not having to silence any critics either.
Saturday's clash of rivals in south Florida will be a good ol' fashioned Top 10 showdown between two of the best teams in the nation.
The Fighting Irish have benefited from the comforts of home in four of their last five games. Their three road trips in 2017 haven't been threatening by any stretch of the imagination. Brian Kelly's team knocked off Boston College and North Carolina as well as a Michigan State team that was still weeks away from challenging in the Big Ten.
Running back Josh Adams will try to break into the Heisman Trophy conversation for good on Saturday night. The junior only picked up 56 yards against Michigan State and 53 in the loss to Georgia, but he improved with 393 combined yards in the victories over USC and NC State.
While Notre Dame boasts a star in Adams, Miami has its own big-name weapon on offense in Malik Rosier, who threw for 202 yards and ran for 84 more against Virginia Tech.
Miami is the underdog given Notre Dame's resume and the one quality win that belongs to the Hurricanes from a week ago.
If you think the Irish are going to march into Miami and blow out the Hurricanes, you're wrong. The Hurricanes have been involved in four one-possession games, all of which they won.
Prediction: Miami 24, Notre Dame 19
No. 6 TCU at No. 5 Oklahoma (-7) (8 p.m. ET)
The league that usually hates defense in big games hands us a de-facto elimination game when it comes to the College Football Playoff in Norman, Oklahoma, on Saturday night.
One week after thrashing Oklahoma State for 598 passing yards in a 62-52 victory, Baker Mayfield will get another chance to cement his Heisman status as well as keep Oklahoma within reach of the Top Four.
The Sooners have failed to score at least 30 points just once this season, while TCU's defense has given up 20 points in the last four games.
On the other side of the coin, the Horned Frogs have put up no fewer than 24 points in each of their eight victories. Oklahoma's defense has been more susceptible to conceding points, as it hasn't held an opposing offense to single digits since Week 1 against UTEP.
If Mayfield has his way with the TCU defense, we'll see yet another Big 12 shootout. The only hesitations with picking Oklahoma are the way TCU's defense has played and the fact that the Sooners have already lost at home to Iowa State back on October 7.
Prediction: Oklahoma 45, TCU 34
Remaining Top 25 Predictions
Friday, November 10
No. 9 Washington (-8) 37, Stanford 27
Saturday, November 11
No. 2 Alabama (-14.5) 35, No. 16 Mississippi State 17
No. 4 Clemson (-18) 48, Florida State 10
No. 8 Wisconsin 21, No. 20 Iowa (+13.5) 17
No. 11 USC (-10.5) 45, Colorado 13
No. 13 Ohio State 34, No. 12 Michigan State (+15.5) 20
No. 14 Penn State (-28) 56, Rutgers 10
No. 15 Oklahoma State 24, No. 21 Iowa State (+6) 21
No. 17 Virginia Tech (-1.5) 21, Georgia Tech 16
No. 18 UCF (-37) 45, UConn (+37) 10
No. 19 Washington State (-1.5) 42, Utah 35
No. 23 NC State (-3) 26, Boston College 10
No. 24 LSU (-16.5) 37, Arkansas 10
No. 25 Northwestern (-5) 21, Purdue 9
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All odds via Oddsshark.com
All statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
