NCAA Football Takeaways Week 11

All five of the teams at the top of the College football Playoff rankings won in Week 11, each team remaining undefeated on the season.

The No. 3 Michigan Wolverines pulled off the most impressive win of the Top-5, taking down the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions on their home turf, 24-15.

Michigan quarterback, and potential Heisman winner, J.J. McCarthy only attempted eight passes in the contest, completing seven passes for 60 yards.

While McCarthy’s chances of winning the Heisman may have taken a hit, showing that the Wolverines can win their biggest games with him doing very little, Michigan’s chances of winning the National Championship have remained steady, currently sitting with the shortest odds on most sportsbooks.

At bet365, McCarthy’s odds of winning the Heisman Trophy fell drastically, dropping from +900 to +8000.

Also, if Michigan were to make the College Football Championship game, it would be interesting to see which head coach is patrolling the sidelines.

The No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes crushed the Michigan State Spartans, 38-3, the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs smashed the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels, 59-17, the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles survived against the Miami Hurricanes, winning 27-20, and the No. 5 Washington Huskies topped the No. 18 Utah Utes, 35-28.

Here’s the top five teams in the College Football Playoff rankings and who they face in Week 12, with best odds for the National Championship as well.

CFP Ranking	Week 12 Opponent	Best Odds – Week 12 Moneylines	National Championship Odds
No. 1 Ohio State	Minnesota	-4000 DraftKings	+1000 Caesars
No. 2 Georgia	No. 13 Tennessee	-375 BetMGM	+260 Caesars
No. 3 Michigan	Maryland	-1100 Caesars	+250 FanDuel
No. 4 Florida State	North Alabama	N/A	+950 DraftKings
No. Washington	No. 12 Oregon State	-104 FanDuel	+1700 FanDuel

The biggest threat to shake up the CFP rankings in Week 12 looks to be the Pac-12 matchup between Washington and Oregon State Beavers.

The Beavers continue to climb the rankings, and last week, Oregon State destroyed the Stanford Cardinal, 62-17.

A well-rounded Oregon State squad could upset Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies in Week 12.

The best odds on the Beavers’ moneyline is currently -112 at BetRivers.

James Madison In A Postseason Bowl Game?

The James Madison Dukes transitioned from the FCS to the FBS in 2022, and they have since gone 16-3 against FBS-level competition.

Last week, the Dukes picked up a huge 44-6 victory over the UConn Huskies and James Madison is now 10-0 on the season.

Due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules, no team is eligible to play in a postseason bowl game in the first two years. The only way for the Dukes to play in a bowl game is if not enough teams qualify with a 6-6 record to occupy 41 of the 82 spots at the end of the season.

James Madison is ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll right now, and has been ranked inside the Top-25 of the AP Poll in each of the last two years, the first transitioning team to do so.

This week, the Dukes will face Sun Belt Conference foe, the Appalachian State Mountaineers; with the best odds of -110 on BetMGM for James Madison to cover their spread of -10.5.

Based on transitioning rules, the Dukes are also ineligible to play in the Sun Belt Conference Championship game too.

Officials at James Madison have been pleading with the Division I Board of Directors for a chance at a bowl game, but it appears that predetermined rules will keep the Dukes out of the College Football postseason.

Alabama Being Overlooked

The Alabama Crimson Tide had an iffy start to the 2023 season, losing their Week 2 contest against the Texas Longhorns, 34-24.

That loss was followed by some interesting wins, such as their low-scoring 17-3 win over the South Florida Bulls, and their narrow 24-20 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The last three weeks have been a different story, as the Crimson Tide appear to have turned a corner, winning each of their last three games by at least 14 points.

Alabama defeated the then-No.17 Tennessee Volunteers on October 21st, 34-20, then bested the then-No. 14 LSU Tigers the following week, winning 42-28.

In their last matchup, Alabama topped the Kentucky Wildcats, 49-21.

Jalen Milroe vs LSU and Kentucky…🐘🅰️

● 653 Total Yards
● 10 Total TDS pic.twitter.com/HqMWdNrWp9

— Roll Tide #18™ 🐘 (@jerrysandersRTR) November 12, 2023

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milore has established himself as the true QB1 in Tuscaloosa.

In the win over LSU, Milroe proved to be one of the best mobile quarterbacks in the NCAA, rushing for 155 yards and four touchdowns.

Alabama has a wildly easy matchup this week against FCS-level Chattanooga, but their final two FBS level matches against Auburn and No. 2 Georgia will test the Crimson Tide, and potentially push them out of the playoff picture.

Any loss will push Alabama out of the Championship picture as well.

For any bettor that thinks the Crimson Tide can win the whole thing, they can find the best odds for Alabama to win the NCAA Football Championship at +700 on BetRivers.