College football’s Week 11 slate brings another round of swings, and after a rough 1-3 showing last week, the season record still sits at 22-17. That leaves the overall mark above 56 percent, which is better than last week’s card but still not exactly the kind of run you brag about at the sportsbook. With chaos already baked into this season, it feels like the right time to get back in the game with four more locks.
Florida State heads to Pitt as a 3.5-point underdog, and the setup points toward the Panthers. The Seminoles did stop the skid with a road win over Boston College last week, but asking them to go two straight weeks away from sunny Florida against a Pitt defense that has been pretty salty feels like too much. The pick here is Pitt by a touchdown or more on Friday night.
Tulane is catching 2.5 points at Rice in what is basically a pick ’em. Rice is at home, but the Owls haven’t won since their season opener and haven’t shown much life since then.
Tulane, meanwhile, needs this one to stay alive for bowl eligibility. The Green Wave are the call on the road, and the line looks like an overreaction to the ugly game Tulane played against Tulsa.
Southern Miss travels to Louisiana Tech as a 17.5-point underdog, and that number makes sense given where both teams are right now. Southern Miss is rebuilding after the quick exit of Charles Huff to Memphis, and last week’s loss to a physical James Madison team was a rough one. Now the Golden Eagles have to go on the road against a Bulldogs team that is riding a six-game winning streak and remains undefeated in conference play.
The biggest spotlight falls on No. 19 Ole Miss, which is getting 1.5 points at Oklahoma.
The Rebels have already shown a habit of bouncing back hard after losses, with a 35-point road win at Vandy and a 30-point home win over Auburn after their previous defeats. A similar blowout isn’t expected here, but Ole Miss has to find a way to win if it wants to avoid being labeled one of the more overhyped Rebel teams in the modern era.
Both teams are dealing with injuries, though Oklahoma is getting healthier and playing better. If Pete can’t pull this one off, the noise around the program is going to get very loud quickly.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Suddenly Faces A Travel Mess Before Oklahoma
Ole Miss found itself dealing with an unexpected wrinkle before its trip to Norman on Friday night, when the team was unable to fly out because of an FAA airspace grounding tied to a telecommunication outage. What should have been a routine pregame travel day instead turned into a logistics headache, with the Rebels forced to reset their plans while trying to keep the focus on an important Week 11 matchup.
The team was scheduled to travel Saturday morning, but the disruption left the timing of the trip and the game itself in flux, with a possible move to Sunday still being considered. Ole Miss was hardly alone in the mess, as other college football programs around the country also had to navigate travel delays and scheduling uncertainty heading into the weekend. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Just Lost A Huge Piece Of Its Playoff Push
Ole Miss has been forced to move deeper into its backfield rotation after losing Kewan Lacy for the rest of the season because of a left shoulder injury. Lacy first hurt the shoulder against LSU, then aggravated it again later against Texas, and the setback has kept him out of the Rebels recent games as they try to stay on track in the playoff race.
His absence matters because Lacy had become a meaningful part of the offense during his college career, giving Ole Miss another runner it could lean on in key spots. Now the Rebels are turning to junior Makhi Frazier to help fill the gap, and how well that adjustment holds up could shape the rest of the push. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces A Major O-Line Test At Oklahoma
Ole Miss is heading into a familiar road environment with a new wrinkle up front, as Troy Everett is expected to step in at guard against Oklahoma after Patrick Kutas was injured. It will be Everetts first start of the season, and it comes at a time when the Rebels are already dealing with the kind of line shuffle that can change the feel of an offense before the opening snap.
The matchup also sends Ole Miss back to Oklahomas stadium for a second straight season, adding another layer of difficulty to a game that already figures to test communication and physicality in the trenches. For a Rebels team trying to keep its protection intact on the road, how Everett handles the assignment could become one of the quieter but more important storylines of the night. [Read more 🡒]