On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
College football's most important people in Week 11
The College Football Playoff rankings have finally arrived, and the regular season is nearing the finish line. These are tense times for programs across the country as they jockey for CFP position.
Week 11 is highlighted by a pair of ranked SEC matchups and a few rivalries renewed. Here are Yardbarker's 10 most important people of the week.
Jake Retzlaff | BYU quarterback
Retzlaff and the Cougars (8-0) are currently holding a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. An undefeated season is in sight, but a trip to rival Utah (4-4) is the latest barrier. The Utes have struggled at the quarterback position due to injuries. If Retzlaff can keep the BYU offense moving Saturday it should hold off any thoughts of an upset for Utah.
College Football Playoff committee
The 13-member committee is the most powerful voice in college football. The first rankings of the season came out Tuesday, and the committee's opinion of teams is all that matters from here on out. Teams like Indiana (8-0) must convince the committee weekly it deserves a higher ranking. Others outside of the top 12 have work to do.
Billy Napier | Florida head coach
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin released a letter Thursday saying Napier would continue to coach the Gators (4-4). Stricklin has been unwavering in his support of Napier and said that he is "confident that Billy will meet the challenges and opportunities ahead." Napier's team has showed progress, losing a close game to No. 7 Tennessee. An opportunity at No. 5 Texas (7-1) awaits.
Ole Miss defensive line
The 16th-ranked Rebels (7-2) desperately need a win at home against No. 3 Georgia (7-1) Saturday to keep their CFP hopes alive. Putting pressure on UGA quarterback Carson Beck is key. He's thrown six interceptions in the last two games. Get after him and force him to make quick decisions.
Jalen Milroe | Alabama quarterback
The Tide (6-2) are 2-2 since winning a thriller over Georgia Sept. 28. It's been a tale of two seasons for Milroe. He accounted for 18 touchdowns with his arm and legs in the first four games of the season. In the last four, he's accounted for just seven. If Alabama is to beat No. 15 LSU on the road it will need one of Milroe's best efforts.
Colorado offensive line
There's more that goes into a game than just sack numbers, but it does seem awfully simple for Colorado (6-2). Keep quarterback Shedeur Sanders on his feet and the Buffaloes will win the game. In Colorado's two losses, Sanders was sacked a combined 11 times. In its six wins, he's been sacked 14 times and that includes one game with eight. The Buffs have a tough one at Texas Tech (6-3) Saturday.
Eli Drinkwitz | Missouri head coach
Drinkwitz and the Tigers (6-2) were a dark-horse CFP candidate, but they've been anything but this season. Yes, the 6-2 record isn't bad, but Mizzou has looked poor offensively. Was Drinkwitz able to fix anything during the bye week? Missouri has thrown only seven touchdown passes this season. Only seven teams in the country have fewer. Former Big 12 rival Oklahoma (5-4) comes to town Saturday. Drinkwitz needs his offense to be better.
Carson Beck | Georgia quarterback
As mentioned above, Beck has struggled the last two weeks. He's thrown three interceptions in each of the past two games. It hasn't led to a loss, but how soon before it does? Georgia travels to No. 16 Ole Miss Saturday and Beck must protect the ball better. All 11 of his interceptions have come in the last five games.
Mike Gundy | Oklahoma State head coach
Gundy is in hot water for comments he made earlier this week. The Cowboys (3-6) are 0-6 in Big 12 play with three games remaining. The biggest cure to controversy is winning. Gundy could sure use a W Saturday at TCU (5-4). It may cool the sentiment surrounding him.
ESPN and Fox
ESPN and Fox could be a weekly nominee for this article. As CFP talk heats up, it's important to watch how ESPN and Fox talk about programs. After Florida State's snub from the CFP last season, the school seemed to point the finger at least partially at ESPN. As discussion ramps up, make no mistake that Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" and ESPN's "College GameDay" will both hold powerful influence over people's opinion of the bracket.
More must-reads:
- What to expect as No. 11 Alabama faces No. 15 LSU in crucial CFP matchup
- No. 3 Georgia faces road test at No. 16 Ole Miss
- The 'NFL mascot names' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
Prized transfer portal pickup for Oklahoma Sooners a major standout in fall camp and might have already locked up a starting job
The Big 12 is a Power 4 conference in name only
When it comes to the Power 4 conferences in major college football, there is one conference that isn't like the others. No, it's not the SEC or the Big Ten. It's the Big 12, and the difference between that league and the rest is the ability to win at the highest level of college football. The Big Ten has won the last two college football national championships. Before that, the SEC won four in a row. Since the inception of the College Football Playoff, the SEC has won six national championships, followed by the Big Ten with three and the ACC with two. The Big 12 has zero. The league hasn't had a team reach the national championship game, and based on current trends, it's not likely to anytime soon. To put it bluntly, there isn't a single national title contender in the entire conference, unless something crazy happens. Bud Elliott of CBS Sports released the "Blue-Chip Ratio," a list of teams that Elliott says "can actually win the national championship." In what Elliott calls the "modern" era of college football, no team has ever won a national championship with a blue-chip ratio (percentage of four and five-star recruits on a roster) below 50 percent. Michigan won with a 54 percent blue-chip ratio in 2023. Clemson was at 52 percent in 2016. Last season, Ohio State's number was 90 percent. The number can vary. Having an elite quarterback is essential. So are culture and development. But no program has won a national championship in this era without more than 50 percent of the roster being made up of blue-chip recruits. According to Elliott, transfers don't move the needle. High school recruiting is the name of the game, and on that front, the Big 12 just can't compete. 18 teams were rated by Elliott, citing the 247 Sports composite ranking, as having the minimum talent required to win the national championship this season. Not a single one resides in the Big 12. Here's a quote from Elliott that explains perfectly how college football's Power 4 is actually a Power 3. "The Big 12 is nowhere close. I thought this was interesting, considering the recent playoff model floated where the Big 12 and ACC are given two auto-bids each. Texas Tech could get there in three or four cycles if it continues to spend like crazy. The Big 12 likes to argue that it is the deepest league, but it has zero national title contenders." That's what happens when you put together a league without a single elite program. Kansas State, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona State are nice programs, but they aren't blue-bloods. This is the collection of teams left at the altar that weren't big enough brands for the other three, and it's painfully obvious. There is a lot of talk about how the Big Ten and SEC are head-and-shoulders above the rest of college football. But there should be more conversation about how the Big 12 is a Power 4 conference in college football in name only.
Illegal tackle causes Colts RB to suffer 'severe leg injury'
The Indianapolis Colts had a scary moment on Sunday when a running back went down during an 11-on-11 team period. Per James Boyd of The Athletic, practice had to be stopped for 10 minutes while trainers attended to running back Salvon Ahmed, who suffered a "severe leg injury" after he was brought down via an illegal tackle by safety Trey Washington. "The injury occurred when Ahmed broke a long run during an 11-on-11 period," Boyd wrote. "He was tackled from behind by undrafted rookie safety Trey Washington, but when Washington grabbed Ahmed, who kept his legs churning, Washington used a hip-drop tackle to bring Ahmed down and landed on his lower right leg. Ahmed immediately grabbed his lower right leg and screamed in agony. "Steichen said the players in the developmental periods (essentially third-stringers and players lower than them on the depth chart) were instructed to tackle during 11-on-11. However, Steichen emphasized, Washington’s hip-drop tackle was obviously the wrong way to bring Ahmed down." Steichen said the coaching staff doesn't encourage hip-drop tackles, and claimed Washington is "down in the dumps" after his tackle led to Ahmed's injury. The unfortunate incident highlights how difficult it can be for NFL defenders to make a tackle. The league made the hip-drop tackle illegal to try and curb injuries, as offensive players thought it was a dirty hit. In Washington's case, the undrafted rookie free agent from Ole Miss wasn't trying to make a dirty hit but trying to make a football move in a competitive environment to keep his job. Before the injury, Ahmed was trying to make a case for the practice squad, where he spent time on during 2024.
Justin Fields Called 'Biggest Loser' In Jets Training Camp
The New York Jets opted to cut Aaron Rodgers and sign Justin Fields to replace him during the offseason. This kind of commitment to Fields should bolster his confidence, but it could also place a lot of pressure on his shoulders. To this point, Fields has looked solid in training camp, aside from a scary toe injury that was quickly resolved in July. Justin Fried of the Jet Press recently reported that Fields' training camp may have reached a new low over the weekend as the young signal caller struggled. "Justin Fields put together his best practice of the summer to this point on Friday, completing his first 12 passes en route to an excellent all-around performance. The same can't be said about his showing on Saturday, however," Fried wrote. "Fields finished the day an abysmal 2-of-10 in the air, including a drop from rookie tight end Mason Taylor. "Some of his incompletions were catchable balls, but the Jets' passing game struggles on Saturday can largely be blamed on No. 7. Fields did flash his running ability with a 25-yard rushing score on the first play of red-zone drills, but the Jets would like to see more consistency in the air from the starting quarterback. Saturday's scrimmage was far from his best showing of the summer." Fields is a runner first at the NFL level, but his arm is nothing to scoff at. For most of training camp, his arm talent has been better than advertised, but during Saturday's scrimmage, it just wasn't there. A 2 for 10 performance is unacceptable for a $40 million quarterback who was signed to take over the team. The running game should open up the passing game for the Jets, which is going to need to be the case if Fields is going to struggle like this. However, it's just one day of camp. It's nothing to be too concerned about. Just because Fields lost this specific practice doesn't mean he's heading in the wrong direction as a whole.
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love’s ‘Fiery’ Response to Wife’s Take on Franchise’s Timeless Tradition
Dolphins lock in defensive standout to long-term extension
It's been a lucrative weekend for some of the NFL's defensive tackles. Just one day after the Denver Broncos locked in Zach Allen on a long-term deal, the Miami Dolphins did the same with another Zach — Zach Sieler — and signed him to a three-year, $67 million extension that will now make him the highest-paid defensive player on the Dolphins roster. The Dolphins defense took a big step forward in 2024 and climbed to the top 10 in points allowed and the top four in yards allowed. They still struggled against some of the NFL's better teams, but it was a better unit overall and Sieler was a big part of that. He's been a full-time starter the past three seasons and is coming off back-to-back 10-sack campaigns for the Dolphins. He is going to turn 30 just after Week 1 of the season, but his game should age well throughout the contract extension. It was a quiet free agent signing period for the Dolphins defense, mainly focusing on depth additions, but they did make one blockbuster trade by sending Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Minkah Fitzpatrick. They also addressed the defensive line in the 2025 NFL Draft in a big way by selecting defensive lineman with two of their first three picks. That included first-round pick Kenneth Grant out of Michigan and fifth-round pick Jordan Phillips out of Maryland.
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
