Penn State football is desperate for a win against Michigan, and a great Week 11 game.

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Will this week live up to the hype?

Let’s take a look at the best games to watch until Saturday…

Week 11 schedule

Modest to terrifying

College Football Playoff Implications

Afternoon: No. 3 Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) No. 10 Penn State (8-1, 5-1), noon, Fox: It’s time for Wolverine season to begin! Hopefully Penn State will be different than it was against Ohio State because it desperately needs this win. The Wolverines have passed the eye test, but can they finally win an application? Of course, the gesture-stealing saga hangs over every Michigan game.

Afternoon: No. 18 Utah (7-2, 4-2 Pac-12) No. 5 Washington (9-0, 6-0), 3:30 p.m., Fox: The Huskies were criticized after some lackluster wins against Arizona State and Stanford. But after dropping 52 points on USC — followed by the Trojans firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch — Washington has a chance to break into the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings. On top.

Prime Time: No. 9 Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC) No. 2 at Georgia (9-0, 6-0), 7 p.m., ESPN: I feel like it flew under the radar for no reason. The Dawgs will face the best offense they’ve seen this season, led by QB Jaxson Dart and RB Quinshon Judkins.

5 Spotlight Panel

Early morning: Old Dominion (4-5) at Liberty (9-0), 1 p.m., ESPN+: Old Dominion lost last week after Coastal Carolina scored the go-ahead touchdown with 23 seconds left. It was the Monarchs’ eighth straight game decided by one score. ODU lost to G5-darling James Madison by just a field goal, but can it put a scare into a Liberty offense that ranks in the top five nationally in yards per game?

Noon: Texas State (6-3, 3-2 Sun Belt) at Coastal Carolina (6-3, 4-2), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+: Coastal Carolina will likely be without starting QB Grayson McCall, and backup Jarrett Guest is questionable. But Ethan Vasco did well to lead the Chanticleers to victory last week.

Night (Friday): Wyoming (6-3, 4-2 MWC) at UNLV (7-2, 4-1), 10:45 p.m., FS1: The Rebels are coming off a 56-14 win over New Mexico last week and lead the Mountain West in scoring with 36.7 points per game. The Cowboys snapped a two-game losing skid last week to become bowl eligible. (More on UNLV soon.)*

Sneaky good games (plus: an action meter from damn 🤯 to awesome 🤯🤯🤯🤯)

Afternoon: No. 8 Alabama (8-1, 6-0 SEC) at Kentucky (6-3, 3-3), ESPN: The hype is back for the Crimson Tide, and Jalen Milro stepped up big in last week’s 42-28 win over LSU. Can the wave jump into the CFP controversy? First, they must defeat a Kentucky team that has been battle-tested against Georgia, Missouri and Tennessee. Action Meter: 🤯

Afternoon: No. 13 Tennessee (7-2, 3-2 SEC) No. 14 at Missouri (7-2, 3-2), 3:30 p.m., CBS: The Vols have won their last four against the Tigers, taking last year’s game 66-24. It won’t have much of an impact on the SEC title race, but it looks to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend. Imagine if it was 2024. Action Meter: 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Primetime: USC (7-3, 5-2 Pac-12) No. 6 at Oregon (8-1, 5-1), 10:30 p.m., Fox: Perhaps the Trojans would still be settled after the Grinch was fired. They should be ready against an Oregon offense that leads the nation in scoring. But again, USC is behind the Ducks, scoring 45.5 points per game. I expect both QBs to light it up. Action Meter: 🤯🤯🤯

* And about that Wyoming-UNLV matchup … the Rebels traveled under Barry Odom. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman spoke to UNLV’s coach about going from a Mountain West afterthought to one of the season’s most intriguing teams.

Feldman’s Files

A next-player-up mentality fuels UNLV

Since 2000, UNLV has only had one winning season, and that came a decade ago. The Rebels haven’t won more than eight games in a season since Harvey Hyde led them to an 11-2 season in 1984 while playing in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

• In the first season of Odom, UNLV has emerged as one of the best stories of the season. Despite all kinds of injuries, including to their starting QB earlier in the year and their top two defensive players three weeks ago, the Rebels kept rolling.
• Odom has evolved quite a bit since his first stint as head coach at Mizzou. He said Athletic He learned from his days working for Sam Pittman at Arkansas, learning some of the lessons he learned from Kirby Smart at Georgia about how to practice and truly foster a next-player-up culture.

“Everybody in our program got equal representation,” Odom said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-teamer or a fourth-teamer.”

Another layer of that next-man-up mentality hit Odom’s staff when Bobby Petrino bolted just weeks after Odom was hired as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.

• Odom pivoted and Brennan hired Marion, the architect of what he calls the go-go crime. Rebels backup QB, Freshman Jayden Maiwa has shinedHe’s completed 65 percent of his passes with a 10-4 TD-INT ratio, and a program that hasn’t scored 40-plus points in three straight games has done it four straight in New Mexico, scoring 56 points. .
• It is significant Marion’s offense is more than Petrino’s at A&M. Although Petrino’s QB, Max Johnson, was a starter in the SEC at LSU, both OCs had to rely on backup QBs.
• The The Rebels are 16th nationally in scoring After ranking 76th in 2022. They are 16th in rushing70 places up from last year. UNLV ranks fifth in the nation in third-down offense, from 116th place last year, and No. in red zone offense. 17, From number 59.

The next two weeks will be a test to see how far the Rebels have progressed. They face Wyoming on Friday and then visit 8-1 Air Force next weekend.

Texas quarterback Quinn Evers Will start Saturday against TCU after missing the last two games while recovering from a right shoulder injury.