Week 11 Viewers Guide: Where Has the Season Gone?

Wednesday Night

November means more weeknight MACtion, and this Wednesday is no different. Of the two games, BGSU v. Western Michigan is probably the more interesting game. The Broncos and Falcons are both undefeated in MAC play, and they lead their respective divisions. This could end up being a preview of the conference championship game. Both coaches have been linked with Big Ten openings, and since the game is at WMU, there's a chance viewers will get to hear Bronco's coach PJ Fleck talk about his ideas regarding rowing. Northern Illinois' win over Toledo last week kept them in their division race, and a Husky win coupled with a Western loss would create a three way tie at the top of the MAC-West.

Thursday Night

The only P5 game this Thursday features two teams having majorly disappointing seasons. While this game used to play a major role in deciding the ACC Coastal, this year, it's relegated to determining bowl eligibility. The Jackets have to win out to make a bowl game, and the Hokies need to win two of their last three. The GT triple option has been shut down by much of the ACC, and the end of the Frank Beamer era has seen some serious struggles on the offensive side of the ball. This game should be pretty low scoring, and with both teams looking to run the ball, you shouldn't have to stay up too late in order to catch the ending.

Friday Night

Southern Cal travels to Boulder to kick off the weekend this Friday. The Trojans still have a decent chance to win the PAC 12 South, but they'll need to win out to have a chance. Colorado has been a pushover since joining the PAC 12, but coach Mike MacIntyre has made them much more competitive this season. While the Buffs probably don't have the athletes to cover Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster and the rest of the Trojan skill players, the altitude could give SC some issues.

Noon Shift

A few of these games looked way more interesting a month ago than they do now, but such is the state of the noon slate. First, Florida visits South Carolina in the Spurrier Bowl. The Gators struggled with Vanderbilt at home last week, and South Carolina is coming off a tough loss at Tennessee. Neither offense has looked great lately either. USC has cracked thirty points just once this season (against winless UCF), while Florida has struggled a bit since QB Treon Harris replaced suspended Will Grier. Florida has already clinched the division, but they'll need to win, and probably do so with style, to keep their playoff hopes alive. Before the season, Georgia-Auburn was expected to be a game with huge playoff implications. Now, both teams are out of the race for a conference title. Mark Richt has been feeling his seat warm all season long after embarrassing losses to Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee. While this game no longer is relevant to the playoff race, these two teams still have a nasty history which could make for exciting viewing for neutrals. Lastly, Ohio State faces another overmatched B1G opponent. The Buckeyes are expected to give the starting spot back to JT Barrett after his one game suspension for DUI, but they've yet to make the announcement official. The Illini need one more win to reach a bowl game, but will probably be underdogs in all their remaining games.

Afternoon Shift

If you plan on watching the entirety of the ND-Wake Forest game, there not much you'll be missing elsewhere. Alabama travels to Mississippi State is what has all the makings of a trap game. Bama is coming off a big win over LSU, and the Bulldogs have been solid in recent years. Dak Prescott could be the best player on the field in this game, but he struggled against the Tide defense last season throwing three INTs. Mississippi State also has a bit of extra rest going into this game since they played on Thursday last week. They'll have to get some breaks, but it's not impossible to picture MSU pulling the upset. Rounding out the afternoon, undefeated Oklahoma State visits Ames for a game against Iowa State. While normally this wouldn't be all that interesting, the last time an undefeated Cowboys team traveled to Jack Trice, they were upset in a crazy game on a Friday night. It's probably not happening again this year, but if it does, you can be sure Paul Rhoads will be SO PROUD of his team.

Primetime

It feels like every interesting game this week was crammed into the night slate. In addition to the games above, Minnesota-Iowa, Washington State-UCLA, Utah-Arizona, and BYU-Missouri could also be worth time. In Group of Five action, undefeated Houston will face a Memphis team coming off its first loss. While Memphis's loss probably eliminates the AAC from playoff consideration, both of these squads could still make a big New Year's Day bowl game. Tigers coach Justin Fuente and Houston's Tom Herman could be in line for promotions after the season. This will probably be the last time for a long time that these two squads face off with this much at stake. LSU will hope to bounce back at home against Arkansas. The Razorbacks won a crazy overtime game at Ole Miss last week after converting a 4th & 25 in overtime on an insane blind lateral followed by a two point conversion. The Hogs need one more win to reach bowl eligibility, but none of their last three games are layups. While LSU is still alive in the playoff race, their hopes are probably on life support. Leonard Fournette was stuffed repeatedly by Alabama's defense, and it may have stalled his Heisman campaign. He'll need a big game for both his team's sake. Stanford hosting Oregon probably has the biggest playoff impact from an Irish perspective. Oregon has had multiple seasons spoiled by the Cardinal, but this year, the Ducks have a chance to flip to script. After some early struggles, the Ducks seem to have righted the ship and sit at 6-3. Vernon Adams has been solid at QB, and Royce Freeman remains one of the best RBs in the country. The Cardinal has two games remaining before facing the Irish, and ND fans will be pulling hard for them to win both.