What to watch in college football this week: Alabama vs. LSU rivalry leads Week 11 matchups

The leaves are browning, the daylight is thinning, and the first 12-team College Football Playoff rankings are unveiled. It’s very much November.

Welcome to the most dramatic stretch of the college football season. Now is the time for renewed rivalries, must-win games across the board and gut-checks for our title contenders.

Here is your guide to watching all the action on Saturday – and Friday evening if you’re a dedicated football freak. We’re also rating each game in terms of how important it is to the CFP race (national intrigue) and how fun these games should be to watch (fun factor).

Friday night warmup

Rice at Memphis

• Time: Friday, 9 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

For those eager to get an early fix, this matchup teases minor bedlam. Rice fired head coach Mike Bloomgren, then promptly scored a major upset over Navy. The Owls are led by Pete Alamar in the interim and take the field with absolutely nothing to lose on Friday. Memphis quarterback Seth Henigen and running back Mario Anderson Jr. have been putting up video game numbers this season.

History: Rice 42, Memphis 35 (2008) – the Tigers were up 35-20 with 8:33 left to play. The Owls tied it up, then won on a 69-yard pick-six with 11 seconds remaining.

National intrigue: Non-existent
Fun factor: High

Iowa at UCLA

• Time: Friday, 9 p.m. ET
• TV: FOX
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

UCLA has been largely joyless this year, but the Bruins have won consecutive games for the first time with new head coach DeShaun Foster. Iowa’s brutish brand of football doesn’t exactly vibe with West Los Angeles, but the Hawkeyes are rightful favorites for Friday. They’re 10th in the nation in rushing yards and have reached 40 points in three of their last four games.

History: These teams last met in the 1986 Rose Bowl, a 45-28 win for the Bruins that featured three-time Super Bowl winner Ken Norton Jr.

National intrigue: Low
Fun factor: Medium — Iowa isn’t as awful to watch as recent years.

Main TV material

No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss

• Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

The 2020s have been a historically fruitful decade for Georgia and coach Kirby Smart – two national titles and a 57-5 record. The Bulldogs are again in the thick of championship contention and are cruising after September’s heartbreaking loss to Alabama. Jalon Walker looks like the defense’s next NFL first-rounder. Georgia’s favored by a field goal over Ole Miss, which earned a statement win last week by hanging 63 points on Arkansas. The Nick Saban coaching tree is at work here: Rebels coach Lane Kiffin overlapped with Smart for three years as Alabama coordinators.

History: Georgia leads the all-time series 33-12-1 and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings.

National intrigue: High
Fun factor: High

Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) celebrates after a tackle with linebacker Chaz Chambliss (32) against the Clemson Tigers (Photo by Brett Davis / Imagn Images)

No. 11 Alabama at No. 15 LSU

• Time: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Here we go, the “First Saturday in November.” Well, the second this year. This matchup gleams with game-of-the-week potential. Both teams are playing for their postseason lives with two losses. Both are well rested coming off bye weeks, with offenses that can rack up points through the air. These two starting quarterbacks are among the best in the country — Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are pro prospects. This rivalry has produced three “Games of the Century” since 2011. Saturday’s installment has the potential to be another good one.

History: Nick Saban and Bear Bryant each notched double-digit wins over the Tigers as Alabama coaches. The winningest LSU coach in this rivalry is Les Miles, who went 5-7 against Alabama.

National intrigue: High
Fun factor: High

Coaching wins in the Alabama-LSU series

No. 9 BYU at Utah

• Time: Saturday, 10:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

The oddsmakers see a close, low-scoring affair for this year’s “Holy War” faceoff. The total currently sits at a modest 40.5 at BetMGM, with the ninth-ranked Cougars only favored by four. BYU hasn’t won in Salt Lake City since 2006, but the Cougars are firmly entrenched in the playoff conversation as the lone undefeated team in the Big 12. Jake Retzlaff leads an offense that has put up 34 or more points in all but one game this year. Utah doesn’t have a reliable quarterback with Cam Rising injured, but the Utes absolutely have a defense. Utah’s defense is 11th in the country in points allowed (16.5 per game).

History: The state of Utah has produced one Heisman Trophy winner: BYU’s Ty Detmer in 1990. He has the most touchdown passes against the Utes in NCAA history.

National intrigue: Medium
Fun Factor: Low — unless you like low-scoring slugfests.

Second-screen worthy

Florida at No. 5 Texas

• Time: Saturday, noon ET
• TV: ABC
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Two iconic programs face off for the first time since World War II. Texas looks adjusted to the SEC thus far at 3-1 in conference action and 7-1 overall. The Longhorns have the second-ranked scoring defense in the country and are favored by almost three touchdowns. Florida is expected to be without first-year quarterback DJ Lagway after a hamstring injury he suffered last week against Georgia. With Graham Mertz already hurt, third-string QB Aidan Warner is expected to start.

History: When Texas beat Florida 26-0 in 1940, the price of admission was 25 cents, according to the Tampa Bay Tribune.

National intrigue: Medium — unless Florida makes this as close as last week’s game against Georgia.
Fun Factor: Low — unless you like watching third-string quarterbacks.

Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers (Photo by Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

No. 4 Miami at Georgia Tech

• Time: Saturday, noon ET
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

This game hit BetMGM with the highest total of the early slate at 63.5 points. Miami is the highest-scoring team in college football, and Cam Ward is one of the favorites for this year’s Heisman Trophy. The Hurricanes have played with their food at times this year and have three comeback wins from 10 or more points down this season.

History: Last year in this game, Miami could’ve taken a knee to kill the clock but instead ran a play, fumbled, and Georgia Tech scored in the final seconds for one of the more bizarre endings of the entire 2023 college football season.

National intrigue: Medium
Fun factor: High — because Ward and Miami’s offense are electric.

Michigan at No. 8 Indiana

• Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: CBS
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

The Hoosiers are 9-0 for the first time ever. Defending national champion Michigan is a two-touchdown underdog in Bloomington. Yup, these are strange times. The Hoosiers didn’t trail at all for the first eight games of the season. That streak ended last week at Michigan State, but the Hoosiers turned a 10-0 deficit into a 47-10 win. A tough schedule hasn’t tested IU, but the Hoosiers have racked up all kinds of style points.

History: Michigan has defeated Indiana in 27 of their last 28 matchups.

National intrigue: High — because Michigan is one of the best teams Indiana has faced so far.
Fun factor: Medium — IU is a blast to watch, but Michigan is the opposite of fun this year.

No. 17 Iowa State at Kansas

• Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
• TV: FS1
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

The 7-1 Cyclones are competing for the Big 12 title and are road favorites by just a field goal over the 2-6 Jayhawks. Stay with us here. Four of Kansas’ losses were by four points or fewer. And Iowa State’s last two games have been decided by thrilling final drives — a last-minute 38-35 win over Central Florida and a 23-22 loss to Texas Tech.

History: Only one Cyclone has been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 1973 — that would be Will McDonald IV, the second-year New York Jet with eight sacks in nine games this year.

National intrigue: Medium
Fun factor: Medium

Washington at No. 6 Penn State

• Time: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
• Streaming: Peacock

The Nittany Lions look to bounce back from their first loss of 2024, a gutting 20-13 defeat to Ohio State last weekend. Penn State jumped up 10-0 at home, only to muster three points in the final three quarters. Abdul Carter is a force on the edge for the Nittany Lions, with six sacks in Big Ten play. Washington is retooling after making the national title game last season. The Huskies have some notable bloodlines on Jedd Fisch’s coaching staff. New defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick is the son of Bill Belichick, the winningest coach in pro football history, and first-year offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll is the son of former USC and Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.

History: This is the fourth meeting between these two programs, with all four games played in different states. The Nittany Lions beat the Huskies in Washington in 1921, in Hawaii in 1983 and in Arizona last year. They’ll look to go 4-for-4 in Pennsylvania.

National intrigue: Medium
Fun factor: Low — Penn State is good but not the most fun to watch, with a strong defense and limited passing offense.

Only if things get weird

Maryland at No. 1 Oregon

• Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
• TV: Big Ten Network
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Purdue at No. 3 Ohio State

• Time: Saturday, noon ET
• TV: FOX
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

Mississippi State at No. 7 Tennessee

• Time: Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Fubo (try for free)

All three of these games affect the CFP picture, but only if there’s a shock upset. You can’t even bet Purdue’s moneyline on BetMGM with the Buckeyes favored by 37.5 points. Tennessee and Oregon are also favored by more than three touchdowns.

Week 11 college football national TV schedule

Games on Saturday unless otherwise indicated.

(Top photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)