College football Week 11: 15 players to watch

Brown is coming off his worst game of the season -- just 47 yards rushing in a loss to Texas. He did score a touchdown, which is pretty much a given each week as he's scored at least one TD in six of the Mountaineers' seven games. He's second in the Big 12 in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and has put up four 100-yard games. West Virginia hosts TCU on Saturday.

Broussard had a big day in his long-awaited debut for the Buffaloes last week. He rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns in a win over UCLA as he started in place of the injured Alex Fontenot. Broussard redshirted his first year at Colorado after tearing his ACL during his senior year of high school, then re-injured the same knee last year. His dedication to getting back on the field was rewarded with his big performance against the Bruins. Broussard and the Buffs travel to Stanford on Saturday.

Not including the Mustangs' loss to Cincinnati, Buechele has been prolific this season. Buechele, who threw for 655 total yards and seven TDs in wins over Navy and Temple, leads the nation in passing yards. SMU has been lighting up the scoreboard and would love nothing more than to win its final three games to set up a rematch with the Bearcats in the AAC title game. First object of business: beating Tulsa, which is currently in second place in the conference. Look for another big showing from Buechele. 

Wisconsin has zero room for error. After a beautiful dismantling of Illinois in their opener, the Badgers have had their last two games postponed due to a COVID outbreak within their program. With starting quarterback Graham Mertz questionable to play at Michigan on Saturday (he won't be cleared from the coronavirus protocol until Friday) it is up to the rest of the offense to step up. No matter who is throwing the ball, Ferguson is ready to catch it. In the win over the Illini, he caught seven passes for 72 yards and three touchdowns. It is clear that Mertz has a connection with his tight end, so look for more fireworks if the star quarterback is cleared.

The Gophers' season got off to a bad start, and many of their goals have already been dashed, but they are still appointment viewing. Ibrahim has been brilliant this season, rushing for 571 yards and 10 TDs in Minnesota's first three games. He rushed for more than 200 yards and four touchdowns in each of the last two games. He takes on spiraling Iowa on Friday night, a team against whom he gained just nine yards last year.

Back in 1993, Notre Dame toppled the No. 1 team in the nation and then followed it up with a stunning loss to Boston College. Last week, the Irish beat top-ranked Clemson and ... well ... guess who they play this week? BC quarterback Jurkovec has had a fantastic season and certainly has the talent to pull off an unlikely upset. Two weeks ago, he and the Eagles nearly handed Clemson its first loss of the season. His stats haven't wowed anyone of late, but he's been much better at home, where he's tossed eight TD passes and just one pick.

Miami is a tough team to figure out. The Hurricanes are ranked in the top 10, and their only loss was to Clemson. But they struggled against a banged-up N.C. State team last week before coming back to win. Don't pin those struggles on King, who was amazing against the Wolfpack. He threw for 430 yards and five touchdowns and rushed for 105 yards in the win. King now goes up against a Virginia Tech team that just lost at home to Liberty.

Penix has turned into a force. Against Michigan last week, he threw 50 times for 342 yards and three touchdowns in the Hoosiers' first win over the Wolverines in more than 30 years. Add in his stretch for the game-winning two-point conversion in the season opener against Penn State and Penix is putting together a legendary season for Indiana. This team could actually win the Big Ten title this year. First thing's first -- winning at Michigan State on Saturday and beating a team they Hoosiers gone 3-19 against over their last 22 meetings.

I keep putting Ridder in this space because, well, he might be the least known force in the playoff race. He has been destroying opponents of late with his arm and his legs. Last week against Houston, he threw for 162 yards and a touchdown and ran for 103 yards and three scores. The Bearcats have been blowing teams out of late and should continue that trend with lowly East Carolina on tap this Friday night. This is Cincy's final home game before three straight road trips to end the season.

Slovis was clutch in USC's 28-27 win over Arizona State last week. Down 27-14 with less than three minutes remaining, Slovis threw a pair of touchdown passes to squeak out the win. He ended up completing 40 of 55 passes for 381 yards and those two touchdowns -- not bad for a season opener that kicked off at 9 a.m. local time. The Trojans head to Arizona this Saturday.

Trask made Georgia's defense look laughable last week. The senior completed 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns in the Gators' win against the Dawgs. Now Florida controls its own destiny for a division title and a likely showdown with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Trask should be focused and not let up against Arkansas this week as he has feasted on the lower tier of the SEC thus far.

Verdell got 2020 off to a nice start with 105 rushing yards and a touchdown against Stanford last week. The Ducks face Washington State this week, which is great news for Verdell. Last week, the Cougars gave up 120 yards and three touchdowns to Oregon State's Jermar Jefferson. The last time Verdell faced Washington State, he blew up for 257 rushing yards (plus 56 receiving yards) and three touchdowns. Expect a big day for Verdell.

When Williams gets rolling, it is hard to stop him. He is tied with Alabama's Najee Harris with 14 rushing touchdowns and is among the nation's leaders in broken tackles. Against Tobacco Road rivals N.C. State and Duke, Williams has carried the ball 31 times for 311 yards and six touchdowns (he also caught a TD pass against the Blue Devils). Uh oh, Wake Forest.

Liberty just keeps rolling along and just earned head coach Hugh Freeze a contract extension. Former Auburn transfer Willis has been amazing, throwing for 1,339 yards and running for another 603 and totaling 19 touchdowns. Last week against Virginia Tech, he rushed for 108 yards, ran for a TD and threw three touchdown passes in one of the biggest wins in program history. The Flames host Western Carolina, which is making its season debut.

Williams was sensational against Clemson last week. The sophomore rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns in the thrilling win over the Tigers -- including the score to tie the game in the first overtime and the score to win the game in double-OT. He's rushed for 100 yards four times and has 10 touchdowns (five in the last two weeks) this season. Notre Dame goes to Boston College on Saturday.