Josh’s College Football Rankings 2024–Week 11

Two of the top four teams lost. College football is heating up with excitement. When teams are winning, it is easier to do these rankings. When a bunch of teams lose to each other, then it starts to get difficult. I was at the Penn State game last night, so I did not get to see too much college football, minus the Nittany Lions crushing the Huskies in the White Out! I had to watch lots of highlights and read a bunch of game articles to narrow down the rankings.

1. Oregon (10-0)–#1–W 39-18 Maryland. The Ducks continue to roll through the Big Ten.
2. Ohio State (8-1)–#3–W 45-0 Purdue. The Buckeyes took zero chances with the Boilermakers.
3. Texas (8-1)–#5–W 49-17 Florida. Ewers with a monster game against the Gators.
4. Indiana (10-0)–#7–W 20-15 Michigan. Beating Michigan, even though they are down this year, is still a big hurdle that Indiana needed to get over, and they did it to get to ten wins.
5. BYU (9-0)–#6–W 22-21 Utah. Not the Utah team people expected this year, but a win on the road is huge for the Cougars.
6. Penn State (8-1)–#8–W 35-6 Washington. The Nittany Lions have Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland left. Do not stumble at the end, and a top four ranking is quite possible (I guess that would be a 5th seed in the playoffs, right?).
7. Tennessee (8-1)–#10–W 33-14 Mississippi State. I keep forgetting that the Vols beat ‘Bama. They lost to Arkansas, which is bad since Ole Miss had zero trouble with them last week.
8. Notre Dame (8-1)–#9–W 52-3 Florida State. Losing to NIU is killing the Irish right now. But, if they beat Army, I think they get back to the top five.
9. Ole Miss (8-2)–#12–W 28-10 #2 Georgia. I guess Lane Kiffin read my bit about him not being able to win against good teams. Not only did the Rebels win, but they did it convincingly.
10. Alabama (7-2)–#11–W 42-13 #15 LSU. Alabama crushes LSU (this was the result I kind of expected in the Georgia/Ole Miss game).
11. Georgia (7-2)–#2–L 28-10 #12 Ole Miss. The first Bulldog loss to a team not named Alabama since November 7, 2020. Crazy.
12. Miami (9-1)–#4–L 28-23 Georgia Tech. I knew the Hurricanes would lose eventually. Cannot have that many close games without it biting you in the butt.
13. SMU (8-1)–#13–BYE
14. Texas A&M (7-2)–#14–BYE
15. Boise State (8-1)–#16–W 28-21 Nevada. If they end up in the playoffs, there are teams that I think will not face to this rushing game. Lookin’ at you Penn State.
16. Army (9-0)–#18–W 14-3 North Texas. The defense is legit, but how will they do against a team like Notre Dame?
17. Clemson (7-2)–#17–W 24-14 Virginia Tech
18. Colorado (7-2)–#20–W 41-27 Texas Tech. The Buffaloes are quietly racking up wins.
19. Missouri (7-2)–#21–W 30-23 Oklahoma
20. Washington State (8-1)–#22–W 49-28 Utah State. People are sleeping on the Cougs. They are a pretty good team.
21. Kansas State (7-2)–#24–BYE
22. Tulane (8-2)–HM–W 52-6 Temple. Tulane has a solid non-conference resume, they lost to Kansas State and Oklahoma, and beat Louisiana. They are not afraid to play the P4 schools, and I think it has helped them become a stronger program.
23. LSU (6-3)–#15–L 42-13 #11 Alabama
24. South Carolina (6-3)–HM–W 28-7 #23 Vanderbilt
25. Louisiana (8-1)–HM–W 55-19 Arkansas State. Time to give a little love to the best team in the Sun Belt.

 Honorable Mentions

• Iowa State (7-2)–#19–L 45-36 Kansas
• Illinois (6-3)–HM–BYE
• Pitt (7-2)–#25–L 24-19 Virginia
• Duke (7-3)–HM–W 29-19 NC State
• Louisville (6-3)–HM–BYE
• Arizona State (7-2)–NR–W 35-31 UCF
• UNLV (7-2)–HM–W 29-27 Hawaii
• Georgia Tech (6-4)–NR–W 28-23 #4 Miami
• Navy (7-2)–NR–W 28-7 South Florida
• UConn (7-3)–NR–W 31-23 UAB. Jim Mora has the Huskies at seven wins. That seems crazy to me. They have not had a winning season since 2010

Watch List
I hate that SEC teams schedule a bunch of their non-conference games at the end of the season. We have some high quality matchups like Mercer and Alabama or Murray State and Kentucky. At least Texas A&M and Auburn have FBS opponents. If I were the NCAA Football Commissioner, that would be something I would address. If you want to play an FCS opponent, it has to be in the first three weeks. 

Not too many great games next week, but some interesting one. #22 Tulane heads to Navy for a tough battle. I have two upset games: #19 Missouri will try to win on the road against a pretty good South Carolina team. And Arizona State travels to #21 Kansas State, the Sun Devils need a win against a ranked opponent to really validate this season. A game that I do not expect to be an upset is #1 Oregon at Wisconsin. BUT, I think this ends up being a close game. Like, 24-13. The Badgers are not good enough to win, but they give the Ducks a tough time. I think plenty of people will be taking Pitt at home against #17 Clemson, but I have a feeling the Tigers end up blowing them out. 

The huge game this week is #7 Tennessee at #11 Georgia. The Volunteers would basically seal up a spot in the SEC Championship game (they will play Vandy) with a win, and they would totally end Georgia’s season. I am sure that prospect will have them amped up. However, the Bulldogs have not lost at home since 2019 when South Carolina came to Sanford Stadium and pulled off the upset. 

Coaching Hot Seat
I am going to make a prediction that Tyson Helton, the head coach at Western Kentucky, will be hired by a P4 school at some point. He has WKU competitive every year. He is sitting at 7-2 this season, and if they win ten games this year, some school will be giving him a call. 

Awful Losses
Oklahoma has been bad this year. The Sooners had a chance to drive down and win the game with less than a minute ago. Jackson Arnold drops back for a pass, gets hit, fumbles the ball backwards, the Tigers defense scoops it up and jogs in for an easy TD. Just a rough way to lose a game.