Weekend Watch Guide: An Oklahoma State Fan’s Guide to Week 11 of the College Football Season

With the College Football Playoff field working itself down, there aren’t as many big games each weekend. But, that makes those games feel even bigger.

With Oklahoma State on a bye (thank goodness), here’s a look around the country at some of the games of the weekend.

Big 12 Schedule

Houston (7-2) at UCF (4-4) — 7 p.m. Friday on FS1
No. 7 BYU (8-0) at No. 8 Texas Tech (8-1) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ABC
Colorado (3-6) at West Virginia (3-6) — 11 a.m. Saturday on TNT
Kansas (5-4) at Arizona (5-3) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2
Iowa State (5-4) at TCU (6-2) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on FOX

BYU-Texas Tech: It might be better for the Big 12 should Texas Tech win this game before both of these teams win out and play a rematch in Arlington. That might set up the Big 12 with three bids into the CFP with BYU, Tech and Utah. But I doubt either of these teams will care what’s best for the Big 12 when they’re doing battle Saturday in Lubbock.

The Red Raiders have dealt with quarterback injuries to get to this point, but starter Behren Morton returned last week against Kansas State to throw for 249 yards and two touchdowns.

Other Games to Watch

No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0) at No. 22 Missouri (6-2) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC
No. 9 Oregon (7-1) at No. 20 Iowa (6-2) — 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS
LSU (5-3) at No. 4 Alabama (7-1) — 6:30 p.m. Saturday on ABC

A&M-Mizzou: It feels like things never go this well this long for the Aggies, but here they are as the final unbeaten SEC team.

Missouri needs some stuff to happen to get back in the CFP hunt — like a win against the No. 3 team in the country. It feels like do or die for the Tigers’ Playoff hopes, so they ought to be scrappy against the Aggies in Columbia.

Oregon-Iowa: This is a similar game to the one above in that the home team needs a win to keep its Playoff hopes alive. The difference is Oregon might also need a win here to stay afloat in the Playoff rankings.

Despite all having one loss, Oregon was ranked behind Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Texas Tech in the initial CFP ranking, likely because the Ducks don’t have a highly regarded win they can hang their little duck sailor hats on (I guess the OSU win didn’t do a lot for the committee). This might be Oregon’s last chance for a big win depending on how USC and Washington look at the end of the year.

LSU-Alabama: Will the Tigers get some sort of interim coach boost heading to Tuscaloosa? Probably not, but the Tide can’t afford to overlook a still-talented LSU squad.

Potential Coaching Candidates

UTSA (4-4) at South Florida (6-2) — 6:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN
Tulane (6-2) at Memphis (8-1) — 8 p.m. Friday on ESPN
James Madison (7-1) at Marshall (4-4) — 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2

UTSA-USF: While UTSA coach Jeff Traylor appeared on some early hot boards once the OSU job opened, USF coach Alex Golesh has been the hotter name in OSU circles since. Golesh’s Bulls are coming off a 3-point loss to Memphis, which meant the Tigers jumped the Bulls for the Group of Five spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

Tulane-Memphis: Tulane coach Jon Sumrall and Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield have been hot names in the coaching carousel, though neither has been as heavily linked to OSU as, say, Golesh or North Texas coach Eric Morris. Both of these teams (and USF) have one loss in the American. In fact, there are six American schools with one conference loss, meaning the end of this season should be a lot of fun.

JMU-Marshall: JMU coach Bob Chesney has also been a hot name in the coaching carousel, but again, he hasn’t been as talked about a name in the OSU realm as Golesh and Morris (who is on a bye). JMU has the best chance of a non-American (the conference, not the country) Group of Five school to make the CFP, as the Dukes are 7-1 with their only loss being to No. 15 Louisville.