The 25 College Football Teams That Perform the Best in November and December

With a blink of an eye, the college football season is already into its third and most important month. This is the month where teams begin to make their move towards a conference title and a BCS bowl appearance. 

While September and October will help put you in a good position, teams know that without a 4-0 or 3-1 November and early December, the season may not end on the note they wanted.

Here is a look at 25 teams that are poised for a strong finish to their season. 

UL Lafayette

Louisiana-Lafayette has quietly had a great season in the Sun Belt conference and looks to bring it to a great end.

With a win over UL Monroe to start the month, the Ragin' Cajuns only have two games remaining, on the road against Arkansas State and Arizona.

While they may not seem like great matchups to finish strong, the UL Lafayette offense has found ways to keep the team in the game and will continue to do so.

Photo from Louisiana-Lafayette athletics website.

Fresno State

Despite how poorly this season has gone for Pat Hill and despite the early November loss, Fresno State certainly has the talent to turn this season around and end on a positive note.

The Bulldogs finish the season against New Mexico State, Hawaii, San Jose State and San Diego State. While the game against San Diego State will be tough, there is no reason that Pat Hill cannot get his team to rebound and finish the season out with three or four more wins. 

NC State

NC State started the month of November off with a bang as they shut out rival North Carolina 13-0. 

While their game in two weeks against Clemson will be difficult, games against Boston College and Maryland should allow them to wrap up November with a 3-1 record. 

Northern Illinois

With the tough tests of November already behind the Huskies, November is shaping up to be a great month for their program. 

They have already notched road victories over Toledo and Bowling Green and only have home games remaining against Ball State and Eastern Michigan. 

4-0 is a likely outcome for the Huskies. 

Michigan State

Already off to a 1-0 start to November, Michigan State faces their only real test this week as they travel to Iowa. 

After their road test, the Spartans have Indiana and Northwestern, with the possibility of going to the Big 10 title game. 

BYU

Already at 6-3 and coming off of a loss to TCU, BYU may have one of the easiest roads to finishing November and December with a loss or less.

The Cougars have three games remaining and go up against Idaho, New Mexico State and end the year at Hawaii. A 3-0 November is something that is extremely likely. 

Wisconsin

Now that Wisconsin has taken their midseason lumps, the schedule gets easier, and the Badgers are still focused on appearing in the Big 10 title game.

After beating Purdue at home last week, the Badgers head on the road for game against Minnesota and Illinois and then return home to wrap up the season against Penn State.

Based on what lies ahead of them, there is no reason the Badgers cannot end the year with four straight victories. 

Ohio

Ohio is looking like they may be on their way to the MAC Conference Championship game. They currently are 6-3 and started November off with a win over Temple.

With Central Michigan, Bowling Green and Miami of Ohio left on the schedule, the Bobcats should have a perfect month and punch their tickets to the conference title game. 

Cincinnati

Last week, Cincinnati got November off to a great start with a win over Pittsburgh. With four games separating the Bearcats from the end of the season, the Bearcats certainly have some tests in front of them.

Remaining on the schedule are West Virginia, Rutgers, Syracuse and Connecticut. While the West Virginia game will be tough, it is at home, and they should win their remaining games after it. 

TCU

To start off November, TCU took out Wyoming and face their only challenge for the rest of the year as they head to Boise State this week.

Regardless of what happens on the blue turf, the Horned Frogs should at the very least go 3-1 as they finish up against Colorado State and UNLV. 

Arizona State

Despite their loss to UCLA, the Sun Devils should still finish up strong assuming they play up to their capabilities.

The Sun Devils close the year against Washington State, Arizona and Cal and must continue to win because their loss to UCLA has put the control of the Pac-12 South into the Bruins hands. 

Houston

November is already off to a 1-0 start for Houston, and the schedule ahead of them is nothing to fear.

With three games remaining and also a chance at a conference title game, Houston plays at Tulane, home versus SMU and then on the road against Tulsa.

As the season winds down, the challenge will be remaining focused and keeping the offense sharp.  

Southern Miss

Currently sitting at 8-1 and already 1-0 in November, Southern Miss is the other half of the Conference USA equation. 

The Golden Eagles have a very easy schedule remaining. Their opponents combine for seven total wins and should allow them to breeze on into a showdown with Houston for the conference title. 

Air Force

While Air Force may have been sitting at 4-4 entering the stretch run, they have already kicked off November with a win over Army and still are home to one of the best rushing attacks in the nation.

With Wyoming, UNLV and Colorado State left of the schedule, the Falcons have a real solid chance of finishing the season 8-4. 

Temple

Despite their loss to open the month against Ohio, the Temple Owls have rebounded nicely with a win over Miami of Ohio on Wednesday night and finish the season at home.

Earlier this year, Temple was extremely impressive in their play against Penn State and Maryland and should wrap up the month of November 3-1. 

Florida

A team that could have a surprisingly strong end to their year is the Florida Gators. 

The Gators kicked off this month by beating Vanderbilt and have very winnable games against South Carolina, Furman and Florida State.

With the Gamecocks struggling, Florida has a great chance to win that game and be 3-0 in November heading into their game against Florida State.

USC

When you take a look at the schedule, there is no reason that the Trojans cannot march on and finish the season with a 3-1 end to the season.

With a win under their belt against Colorado, USC has games against Washington, Oregon and UCLA remaining. While the game at Eugene will be rough, the Trojans should roll in the other two and finish strong. 

Stanford

Despite the huge showdown that is about to go on this Saturday, Stanford is in store for a great end to a great season. 

In the first week of the month, Stanford took down Oregon State, and regardless of the matchup against Oregon, Stanford finishes the season against Cal and Notre Dame, and at worst, will finish the season on a 3-1 note. 

Nevada

With the game against Boise State behind them, the Nevada Wolf Pack have ripped off four straight wins and have the ability to make it eight over their final four games.

To finish out the season, the Wolf Pack play Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, at Utah State and home again for Idaho. Over these final four games, the only team the Wolf Pack should have any trouble with is their last road game against the Bulldogs. 

Louisville

At 5-4 and 3-1 in the conference, Louisville is still very much in the Big East title race. 

To finish off the season, the Cardinals go up against Pitt, Connecticut and South Florida and will likely be favored in all of their games. 

As unpredictable as the Big East can be, the Cardinals should build on the start they had to November, beating West Virginia, and finish strong.  

Boise State

People have become accustomed to the idea of Boise State finishing the season strong. In fact, the only time you generally here about Boise in November is if they lost or the argument to put them in the BCS title game.

To end the year, Boise State plays TCU, on the road against San Diego State and then Wyoming and New Mexico at home.

Once the Broncos get past TCU, it should be smooth sailing through the end of their year. 

LSU

LSU is already off to a great start here in November, as they won the SEC game of the century, 9-6, over Alabama. 

The Tigers will continue to find success in November, as they play Western Kentucky and Ole Miss in the next two weeks. After likely going 3-0, LSU will play Arkansas but has them at home.

After wrapping up the regular season, the Tigers will get one more showcase game, as they will likely end up in the SEC title game with a chance to end the regular season undefeated. 

Oklahoma State

At the start of November, Oklahoma State survived a scare from Kansas State and now must remain focused in their next two games to ensure a 3-0 November with Oklahoma at the start of December.

Their next two games should not be an issue, as the Cowboys face Texas Tech and Iowa State and then get two weeks to prepare for the Sooners. 

Oklahoma

After a midseason home loss to Texas Tech, Oklahoma has won two straight, including their first game in November. To finish out the month, the Sooners play at Baylor and then home against Iowa State. 

Unlike their in-state rival Oklahoma State, the Sooners do not receive an extra week off before their Dec. 3 tilt. 

Notre Dame

With their win at Wake Forest, the Fighting Irish find themselves on the list because they will be largely unchallenged until their final game against Stanford.

In between now and then, the Irish will take on Maryland and Boston College, and at worst, will finish the year 3-1.