Preview of Week 11 in College Football: Five Games to Know About (UPDATED WITH RESULTS)
- No. 1 Oregon at California
- Georgia at No. 2 Auburn
- San Diego State at No. 3 TCU
- Kansas at no. 8 Nebraska
- No. 20 Virginia Tech at North Carolina
No. 1 Oregon (9-0) at California (5-4):
@7:30pm on Versus: Cal has won three of the last four meetings and the last four in Berkeley, however, those were much better California teams than the one taking the field for Jeff Tedford this year. And Oregon broke their losing streak last year with a convincing 42-3 victory. The Bears are have never beaten the No. 1 team in the AP Poll [1](0-10). To further complicate matters, Cal is playing back-up Quarterback Brock Mansion (in for injured Kevin Riley who is out for the season) in just the second start of his career. Watch the running backs on both teams. Oregon’s LaMichael James is currently leading the nation in scoring while Cal’s Shane Vereen is tied for 7th. James also has the highest average rushing yards per game in the country. UPDATE: Oregon BARELY wins 15-13
Georgia (5-5) at No. 2 Auburn (10-0):
@3:30pm on CBS: If Auburn wins they will clinch the SEC West and play in the SEC Championship game on December 4. But the talk this week has been all about Cam Newton and the investigation surrounding his recruitment by Auburn. The allegation is that Newton’s his dad asked for money from Mississippi State, but that’s all we know for now. Rogers said he didn’t know if Cam Newton knew about the request for money. There have been no allegations suggesting Cam knew of any of this. However, Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said, “We’re not commenting” when asked Friday afternoon about quarterback Cam Newton’s status for Saturday’s game against Georgia. UPDATE: Auburn comes back from a 14-point deficit to win 49-31.
San Diego State (7-4) at No. 3 TCU (10-0):
@4:00pm on Versus: TCU is two games away from perfection and if they win this game they will clinch at least a share of the Mountain West Conference title. San Diego State has only lost two games this year by 3 points each at Missouri (who is 7-2, understandable) and at BYU (who is 4-5, disappointing). UPDATE: TCU wins 40-35.
Kansas (3-6) at No. 8 Nebraska (8-1):
@7:00pm on FSN: Nebraska will clinch the Big 12 North and a spot in the Big 12 Championship game IF they win AND Missouri loses to Kansas State (12:30pm on FSH). Kansas is coming off of a comeback against Colorado last week in which they scored 35 unanswered points in the 4th quarter (thanks in large part to defense and special teams) and nailed the coffin on Dan Hawkins career as head coach at Colorado (LINK to article). For Nebraska, their Quarterback Taylor Martinez is probable to play. He left Week 9 at Missouri and missed Week 10 at Iowa State with ankle sprain and the Cornhuskers relied even more so on their rushing game, attempting to pass just 15 times in 6 quarters without Martinez. UPDATE: Nebraska wins 20-3.
No. 20 Virginia Tech (7-2) at North Carolina (6-3):
@ 3:30pm on ABC: Virginia Tech clinches the ACC Coastal division with a win AND a Miami loss to Georgia Tech (12pm on ACC Network). The Hokies are perfect in the ACC and haven’t lost a game since starting the season 0-2. UPDATE: Virginia Tech wins 26-10
[1] While the rankings I use generally refer to the BCS Poll, Oregon is currently ranked 1st in the BCS and AP Polls
