Week 11 Preview: TCU's Big Stage

Only three weeks remain in the college football regular season as the postseason picture is starting to become clear. Georgia is the favorite at this point, and the winner of Ohio State/Michigan figures to be No. 2. A one-loss Pac-12 champ will also likely be invited to the dance. That gets us to the final spot. Tennessee should be in good shape if the Vols get to 11-1.

However, undefeated TCU could have something to say about that. The Frogs have the current inside track to their first appearance in the College Football Playoff but must find a way to get a huge win in Austin on Saturday night with “College GameDay” in town.

We’re back again to set the table for what should be a very exciting college football Saturday.

The Slate

— East Carolina at Cincinnati (8:00 ET Friday, ESPN2)

— Colorado at No. 8 USC (9:30 ET Friday, FS1)

— Fresno State at UNLV (10:30 ET Friday, CBS Sports Network)

— Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State (Noon, FOX)

— Oklahoma at West Virginia (Noon, FS1)

— Rutgers at Michigan State (Noon, Big Ten Network)

— SMU at USF (Noon, ESPNU)

— Pittsburgh at Virginia (Noon, ACC Network)

— Purdue at No. 21 Illinois (Noon, ESPN2)

— No. 20 Notre Dame vs. Navy (Noon, ABC)

— No. 7 LSU at Arkansas (Noon, ESPN)

— Missouri at No. 5 Tennessee (Noon, CBS)

— Vanderbilt at No. 24 Kentucky (Noon, SEC Network)

— Maryland at No. 14 Penn State (3:30, FOX)

— Northwestern at Minnesota (3:30, Big Ten Network)

— No. 22 UCF at No. 17 Tulane (3:30, ESPN2)

— Louisville at No. 10 Clemson (3:30, ESPN)

— Wisconsin at Iowa (3:30, FS1)

— Boston College at No. 16 NC State (3:30, ACC Network)

— Iowa State at Oklahoma State (3:30, ESPNU)

— No. 9 Alabama at No. 11 Ole Miss (3:30, CBS)

— Army at Troy (3:30, NFL Network)

— Nebraska at No. 3 Michigan (3:30, ABC)

— South Carolina at Florida (4:00, SEC Network)

— No. 25 Washington at No. 6 Oregon (7:00, FOX)

— No. 1 Georgia at Mississippi State (7:00, ESPN)

— Kansas at Texas Tech (7:00, ESPN+)

— No. 19 Kansas State at Baylor (7:00, FS1)

— Texas A&M at Auburn (7:30, SEC Network)

— No. 15 North Carolina at Wake Forest (7:30, ESPN2)

— No. 4 TCU at No. 18 Texas (7:30, ABC)

— No. 23 Florida State at Syracuse (8:00, ACC Network)

— Stanford at No. 13 Utah (10:00, ESPN)

— San Jose State at San Diego State (10:30, CBS Sports Network)

— Boise State at Nevada (10:30, CBS Sports Network)

— Arizona at No. 12 UCLA (10:30, FOX)

TCU’s biggest test yet

Things are going excellent in Ft. Worth in year one under Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs are 9-0 (6-0) with a top-10 offense powered by Heisman Trophy contender Max Duggan (28 total touchdowns) and a defense that seems to be improving weekly. Dykes very much has a top-10 team.

But are the Frogs top-four good? We could find out on Saturday night.

No. 18 Texas (6-3, 4-2) is set to host TCU in what will be one of the biggest games of Steve Sarkisian’s early tenure in Austin. The Longhorns have had some consistency issues again, but this team is efficient on both sides of the football and has some clear talent advantages.

Add in the fact that Texas needs a win to keep their Big 12 title hopes alive along with the fact that former TCU head coach Gary Patterson is an analyst for Sark, and things are pretty juicy in this spot. All signs point to Texas putting together a good performance after a solid road win over Kansas State in Week 10.

We will learn a lot about TCU on Saturday in primetime. If the Frogs find a way to win, they might just end up in the playoff but there is a lot of football left to be played.

Knockout opportunity in Oxford

Alabama is officially out of the national title hunt after last week’s overtime loss to LSU. But there are still three games left in the regular season. This is not a place Nick Saban’s teams are used to being in. What is the buy-in level in Tuscaloosa?

Ole Miss still has a shot at the division title and will host a reeling Alabama squad at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Will the Rebels be able to land a knockout punch?

Lane Kiffin’s spread offense has a filthy rushing attack on top of an extra week to prepare for Alabama. Meanwhile, the Tide has some real holes and may need to win a shootout on Saturday by putting up points against a questionable Ole Miss defense.

We all know Kiffin is salivating at the opportunity to hand Saban his first three-loss season since 2010. Ole Miss could really throw some gas on those “the dynasty is over” takes with a win on Saturday. We should be in for a fun one on CBS as points will likely be scored in bunches in this matchup.

Rivalry shootout in Eugene

Speaking of one-loss teams in the Pac-12, we’ve got three of them entering this weekend. Huge games loom next weekend (Utah at Oregon and USC at UCLA), but only one figures to get a real challenge this weekend.

Oregon is set to host heated rival Washington for a 7:00 ET/4:00 PT kickoff on Big FOX. Expect a lot of eyes on this Pac-12 showdown between two offenses that can get up and down the field. With the total in the 70s, we’re going to get a shootout at Autzen Stadium. Buckle up because this will likely be the most exciting game of the day.

Dan Lanning’s team was destroyed in Week 1 by Georgia, but the Ducks have been dominant since that point with five consecutive double-digit wins against power conference competition. Auburn transfer Bo Nix is in the Heisman Trophy conversation, and offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham should be the favorite for the Broyles Trophy. Now this team has a chance to deliver a statement in a big window.

Expect to see some fireworks as Washington can also score points in bunches.

Luckett’s Notebook

— Quietly, the race in the American Athletic Conference is pretty tight, and the ultimate winner should get the New Year’s Six bid. Tulane hosts UCF on Saturday in a monster matchup, and Cincinnati has an important home game with East Carolina on Friday night. Expect a tight race between UCF, Cincinnati, and Tulane down the stretch.

— Speaking of fun Big 12 games, Kansas State at Baylor should be entertaining. Both teams can score points as the Bears are quietly becoming an offensive juggernaut with play-caller Jeff Grimes. Don’t be surprised if the best shootout in this conference this weekend is at McLane Stadium.

— LSU is riding high and is two wins away from heading back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. It’s a rat poison week for the Tigers as Brian Kelly’s team now has to hit the road and face Arkansas in a rivalry matchup with an early kick. The Hogs have their backs against the wall after a tough home loss to Liberty. Expect Sam Pittman’s team to put up a good fight as this could be another shootout on Saturday.

— Quietly, Georgia still has two road games remaining against top-30 competition before the Bulldogs get out of November. Does Kirby Smart’s team have another hangover performance left in them? UGA travels to Starkville on Saturday to face Mike Leach’s Air Raid scheme. Odds are that Georgia will find itself in a game late against either Mississippi State or Kentucky over the next two weeks. Will that letdown performance come on Saturday night?

— Don’t look now, but Louisville just went on a really strong run in October beating solid Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, and James Madison teams at home all by double digits. The Cards already own an impressive road win over ranked UCF. Scott Satterfield is officially off of the hot season. What do the Cards look like against top-20 competition? We’ll learn over the next three weeks with consecutive games against Clemson, NC State, and Kentucky. UofL is doing it with defense, but so are these upcoming opponents. Can Malik Cunningham finally break through and record a signature win or two as a super senior? A big stretch awaits as anything from 8-4 to 6-6 is on the table.