TCU or Texas? Alabama or Ole Miss? College football expert picks for Week 11
Not even the biggest fan of No. 4 TCU would have expected this remarkable season in the first year with coach Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs are 9-0, lead the Big 12 by two games and are in the thick of the College Football Playoff race.
Their biggest test left on their schedule comes Saturday when they travel to No. 18 Texas. The Longhorns have shown significant improvement under Steve Sarkisian and are three close losses away from being unbeaten. This shapes up as a shootout that might be the first of two meetings between the schools if Texas pulls off the win.
In the SEC No. 9 Mississippi plays host to No. 11 Alabama. The Rebels are tied with LSU for first in the West, but lneed a loss by the Tigers to control their fate in their bid to reach their first conference championship game. The Crimson Tide are likely out of the playoff race with their loss to LSU last week. Will they bounce back on the road or will there be a hangover?
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The Pac-12's best hopes of reaching the semifinal rest with No. 6 Oregon. The Ducks get a visit from No. 23 Washington and need to avoid a stumble ahead of an even bigger showdown against Utah next week. The Huskies have been resurgent under Kalen DeBoer and would like nothing more than to disrupt the dreams of their neighbor to the south.
The final clash between ranked opponents in Week 11 comes in the American Athletic. No. 17 Tulane welcomes No. 21 Central Florida in a game that has conference championship ramifications and also will impact the Group of Five representative in the New Year's Six. The Green Wave haven't lost in league play and can all but lock up a spot in the conference championship game. The Knights have already beaten Cincinnati, so a road win would put them on the inside track to be the league's top seed.