Five College Football Games to Watch: Week Eleven

This piece is a continuation of our weekly series, Five Games You Should Watch. The premise is simple: if you’re an Oregon State Beavers fan, it’s a safe bet that you’ll watch Oregon State versus Sam Houston Saturday night. Here are five more games to consider watching.

#8 BYU at #9 Texas Tech - 9 AM (PST) on ABC 

This is arguably the biggest game of the whole weekend: two top-ten teams, the top two teams in the Big 12, nationally-televised on Saturday morning.

If BYU wins their next three games - against Texas Tech this week, then TCU (3-2 Big 12, 6-2 overall), and Cincinnati (5-1 Big 12, 7-2 overall) - they’ll clinch a spot in the conference championship game. Ditto for the Red Raiders, who can clinch a title berth if they win out.  

#3 Texas A&M at #19 Missouri - 12:30 PM (PST) on ABC

It just matters more. All season long, the SEC has lived up to its’ moniker. First, there was mid-September’s Georgia/Tennessee overtime thriller. Two weeks later, Texas A&M/Auburn and Alabama/Georgia were instant classics. In October, Vanderbilt squeaked past LSU, and then Georgia shot past Ole Miss. In the first week of November, five of six conference games finished within a single touchdown margin. What will happen this week?

#6 Oregon at Iowa - 12:30 PM (PST) on CBS

In my previous life covering Oregon athletics with a regional talk radio show and a podcast, I made a lot of friends on the Oregon beat: On3’s Justin Hopkins and I text each other when we find a good microbeer, 247Sports’ Matt Prehm is my go-to source for barbecue tips, and Addicted to Quack’s pseudonymous editor hythloday1 is one of only two true geniuses I’ve ever met in my life. 

My friends in green & yellow - those writers, and the fans/readers/listeners we’ve all connected with over the years - are all worried about Iowa. The nerds are worried too: advanced metrics like SP+ think it’ll be a one possession game. I look forward to watching Iowa attempt to reach its upset potential on Saturday.

Wake Forest at #12 Virginia - 4 PM (PST) on ESPN

Virginia hasn’t reached the ACC championship game since 2019. They haven’t won the conference title since 1995. Right now, they’re the top team in the ACC standings. The Hoos have a seven game win streak, thanks to the nation’s 11th best turnover margin (1.0), and running back J’Mari Taylor’s ACC-leading 11 rushing touchdowns. If Virginia beats their final three opponents - first a feisty Wake Forest team, then Duke (4-1 ACC, 5-3 overall), and rivals Virginia Tech (a slumping 2-3 ACC, 3-6 overall) - then history will be achieved in Charlottesville.

Navy at #10 Notre Dame - 4:30 PM (PST) on NBC

After season-opening losses to Miami and Texas A&M, by a combined margin of four points, the Fighting Irish needed a miracle run to return to the College Football Playoff. Now in November, a six game win streak has fans believing again in Marcus Freeman's national title runner-ups.

To compete for a national championship this December, they’ll need to outscore Navy’s always-threatening triple option. The Midshipmen have plenty of incentive to win, too: even after the loss to North Texas last weekend, Navy can reach the AAC championship game if they win out, and potentially steal the highest ranked G5 playoff spot if they upset Notre Dame on Saturday.