We’re in the stretch run now, and Week 11 has a few matchups that could shake up the playoff race in a hurry.
The schedule may not look wild at first glance, but November has a way of turning contenders sideways. With conference races tightening and Selection Sunday getting closer, a few of the weekend’s biggest games carry real upset potential.
Indiana’s latest test comes against No. 14 Southern California in Bloomington.
Texas heads to LSU. Tennessee travels to Texas A&M.
Wake Forest goes to SMU. Utah, coming off its win against Brigham Young, gets a road trip to No.
21 Arizona. And in the Big 12, No.
10 Texas Tech has to deal with Oklahoma State on the road.
That’s where the bold predictions come in.
Oklahoma State is the team that could blow up Texas Tech’s playoff path. The Red Raiders sit at No. 12 and still have a route to the Big 12 title game, which would hand them an automatic bid.
But that road gets rough fast against an Oklahoma State passing attack that ranks No. 3 nationally and first in the conference. Texas Tech’s pass defense has been shaky all year, sitting 136th and allowing 287 yards per game.
On the road, that’s a dangerous setup for the Red Raiders, and John Brice sees their CFP hopes taking a hit.
The Indiana-USC game drew a split of opinion, but the common thread was doubt about the Hoosiers’ offense. Matt Hayes isn’t sold on Indiana at quarterback and says he hasn’t been all season, adding, “I have lost so much faith in what IU can do offensively - despite its terrific defense -- I’m going with USC and Lincoln Riley in a big game.”
Jordan Mendoza went the other way, backing USC to land a major road upset. He pointed to the Trojans having their offensive weapons available and Indiana’s trouble moving the ball, saying the matchup could “throw a wrench in the Big Ten playoff picture.”
Eddie Timanus also picked Indiana, expecting the offense to finally wake up after a rough stretch. The Hoosiers have scored no more than 23 points in their last four games, and one of those required overtime, but Timanus thinks they’ll clear 31 against a USC defense he believes won’t travel well.
Oklahoma is another team that could do damage to a playoff hopeful. Paul Myerberg has the Sooners beating Ole Miss and knocking the Rebels out of contention.
He pointed to Oklahoma’s improved balance last week, when the Sooners ran for at least 140 yards and threw for at least 200 against Florida, something they had done against an SEC opponent only once before since joining the conference in 2024. If the ground game shows up again, Myerberg believes it can create problems for a Mississippi defense that has allowed 5.7 yards per play in conference games.
Texas is also in danger in Baton Rouge. Erick Smith expects LSU to take down the Longhorns and keep its own CFP hopes alive, even after LSU’s home loss to Alabama left the Tigers without much margin for error.
Texas, meanwhile, comes in off a strong road showing at Missouri. Still, Smith likes LSU’s response at home and expects the crowd to help push the Tigers to a big win.
He also noted that Texas and Arch Manning may struggle to duplicate that road performance in a hostile setting.
And then there’s Texas A&M, which could be the spoiler in the SEC picture. Tennessee heads to College Station, and the Aggies got the upset call from one expert who called their season a mess but still sees enough talent to cause trouble.
The Vols have an elite defense, but their offense has been inconsistent, and Josh Heupel’s teams have a tendency to drop a road game that catches people off guard. With Tennessee sitting five spots behind Alabama in the CFP rankings, the pressure is only growing.
Texas A&M has been hard to figure out all year, but the pick here is that the Aggies are more dangerous than a typical 4-5 team and can stun Tennessee.
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