Just three weeks are left in the 2026 college football regular season, and the playoff race is still wide open as Week 11 arrives.
There are four games this week featuring AP top 25 teams on the same field, and the ACC is getting extra attention with the committee watching closely.
Wake Forest sits in a strong position to reach the ACC title game and stay in the College Football Playoff conversation. The Deacons are second in the league, and Miami’s loss at Notre Dame tightened that race.
Wake Forest is riding a six-game winning streak and has been putting up 49 points per game during that run. SMU, though, has a chance to blow the ACC picture apart with a home win, and the Mustangs are close underdogs.
Indiana’s route to the Big Ten title game looks cleaner, but the Hoosiers need a little more from their offense. USC comes in after beating Ohio State, yet the Trojans still have not shown they can win major road games against Big Ten opponents. Indiana slipped in this week’s CFP poll, so a statement win matters here.
LSU’s season under Lane Kiffin is teetering after an ugly loss to Alabama. Another defeat would push the Tigers to the brink of falling below .500 in SEC play, which would be a rough turn in Kiffin’s hyped debut.
Texas is trending the right way. The Longhorns have won three straight, sit at 7-2 overall, and just knocked off ranked Missouri.
Arch Manning has been playing better than usual, but this trip brings a tough LSU defense and a loud road setting. Texas still has a path to hosting a first-round playoff game.
The Big 12 race also gets a major test. Texas Tech got a bit more breathing room after BYU lost at Utah last weekend, but the Red Raiders still have little margin for error after their loss at Cincinnati and their 51-48 escape against West Virginia at home. Drew Mestemaker leads a Cowboys offense that tops college football in passing touchdowns and ranks third nationally in passing and scoring, and he has a chance to create more chaos for the Tech defense in Stillwater.
Utah is one of just two undefeated FBS teams and is coming off a huge win over BYU. The Utes sit in first place in the Big 12 and are on track for a first-round bye if they keep winning. Arizona brings a dangerous passing attack of its own, led by Noah Fifita.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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For Utah fans, the matchup matters because it sits in the same weekend conversation as the Utes trip to Arizona, where Devon Dampier and Noah Fifita headline another game with plenty on the line. Between rankings, recent form, and the kind of weather and injury factors that can tilt a close college football game, the margin for error is slim across the board. BYUs test is the one that may say the most about how serious its Big 12 hopes really are. [Read more 🡒]
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Indiana Must Answer One Big Doubt With USC Coming In
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For Utah fans watching the broader College Football Playoff race, this is the kind of matchup that can ripple beyond one league. The preview also touches several other ranked programs, including Arizona, Texas, LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and SMU, but Indianas meeting with USC stands out because it asks a simple question with a complicated answer: can the Hoosiers back up the buzz when the pressure rises and the opponent brings a different level of scrutiny? [Read more 🡒]