The college football schedule keeps getting better and better as we near the end of the 2017 regular season.
This week alone, we have seven games between top-25 opponents, including three in the top 10. No. 3 Notre Dame travels to No. 7 Miami, No. 2 Georgia takes on No. 10 Auburn in The Plains and No. 5 Oklahoma takes on No. 8 TCU in a game that likely decides half the Big 12 championship game.
WEEK 11 PICKS: Against the spread
Sporting News offers picks for those games and more this week, including several key matchups in the Big Ten and SEC.
Sporting News is 56-24 in its picks this season after going 5-3 in Week 10. Here's what we've got for Week 11 (point spreads provided courtesy of Vegasinsider.com as of Nov. 6; lines reflect consensus picks unless noted):
Florida State at No. 4 Clemson (-16)
What was once an ACC Game of the Year candidate now seems like a foregone conclusion. The Seminoles’ season was derailed from the start, and Clemson looks as dominant as ever in the Atlantic Division. It’ll take a Herculean effort from FSU to upend the Tigers on the road, and we don’t think that’ll happen, especially with the latter one loss away from being knocked out of the playoff picture. Clemson takes care of business.
Pick: Clemson 35, Florida State 10
No. 25 Iowa at No. 6 Wisconsin (-12.5)
Saturday’s matchup between Wisconsin and Iowa didn’t look good on paper until the Hawkeyes throttled Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium, 55-24. That makes Wisconsin the last hope for the Big Ten to make the College Football Playoff. The Badgers’ last five opponents have sub-.500 records entering Week 11, so it looks as if Iowa will be their toughest opponent of the season before a potential berth in the Big Ten championship game. Iowa is red-hot right now, but don’t expect Wisconsin to get off guard.
Pick: Wisconsin 30, Iowa 21
MORE: Week 11 College Football Playoff picture
No. 12 Oklahoma State (-6.5) at No. 24 Iowa State
Iowa State may have lost to West Virginia, but the Cyclones limited one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country to a season-low 20 points. That’s the challenge Oklahoma State and Mason Rudolph face on Saturday. It won’t be anything like what we saw in Bedlam, when defense was an afterthought in a 62-52 shootout. Matt Campbell makes sure the Cyclones hang tough for a while before Rudolph makes the killer plays in the fourth quarter.
Pick: Oklahoma State 30, Iowa State 20
No. 1 Alabama (-14.5) at No. 18 Mississippi State
Alabama should be wary walking into this one. The game is in Starkville, which means the cowbells will be ringing loud and clear. Moreover, quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is the type of dual-threat quarterback who typically gives the Tide fits. Bama saw glimpses of that earlier this season when Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond extended drives with his feet in an eight-point loss to the Tide. The loss of Shaun Dion Hamilton and Mack Wilson certainly doesn't help the Tide, either — but we expect Nick Saban to drill his team in practice this week after what looked like a subpar performance against LSU.
Pick: Alabama 34, Mississippi State 13
MORE: Alabama without LBs Shion Dion Hamilton, Mack Wilson
No. 13 Michigan State at No. 11 Ohio State (-15)
The spread on this game is way too high. Nothing Michigan State or Ohio State have shown this season suggests the Buckeyes will win by a double-digit score. Ohio State just suffered its worst defeat of the Urban Meyer era, and Michigan State frustrated Penn State’s duo of Trace McSorley and Heisman candidate Saquon Barkley all night in a 27-24 upset. Meyer, meanwhile, is 3-2 against the Spartans, and has alternated wins with Mark Dantonio every season since arriving in Columbus. It’s tempting to pick the Spartans, but the fact this game is in Ohio Stadium gives the edge to OSU.
Pick: Ohio State 27, Michigan State 21
No. 8 TCU at No. 5 Oklahoma (-7)
TCU is the last thing standing between Oklahoma and a potential Big 12 title game berth. The Horned Frogs have the toughest defense the Sooners have faced all season, ranking sixth nationally in yards allowed (284 yards per game). Good thing for TCU, considering Oklahoma boasts the top-rated offense in the country (608 yards per game) behind Heisman hopeful Baker Mayfield. It’s going to be a close game, but Mayfield is playing too well right now to pick against the Sooners.
Pick: Oklahoma 31, TCU 24
MORE: Mayfield makes his mark on Oklahoma, Bedlam
No. 2 Georgia (-2.5) at No. 10 Auburn
The Bulldogs’ place in the SEC championship game is secure, so Georgia will be playing for a spot in the College Football Playoff from here until the conference title game against, presumably, Alabama. Georgia has won of the last six against Auburn, and 9 of the last 11; the Tigers’ only wins were in 2010, behind the play of Cam Newton, and in 2013, with the “Prayer at Jordan-Hare.” Still, all isn’t lost for the Tigers: They have seen some of their best quarterback play in Jarrett Stidham since that 2013 team, and the last two games in this series have been decided by one score. Does Auburn make a late bid for the playoff?
Pick: Georgia 27, Auburn 21
No. 3 Notre Dame (-3) at No. 7 Miami
This is essentially a College Football Playoff play-in game. If the Irish lose this, they’re out — if Miami loses, they’ll have a tough time persuading the committee they deserve a spot, even if they manage to win the ACC. The matchup that jumps to mind in this game is the Irish’s rush offense (which ranks fifth nationally with 325.8 yards per game) against Miami’s rush defense, which is tied for 67th in the same category by giving up 170 yards per game. Quarterbacks Brandon Wimbush and Malik Rosier will be tasked with carrying their teams — but Wimbush has the better running back in Josh Adams to rely on. Irish win a close one.
Pick: Notre Dame 31, Miami 28
