2024 college football rankings: Joel Klatt’s top 10 teams after Week 11

Week 11 brought us some huge shakeups in the College Football Playoff race.

Miami (Fla.)‘s undefeated season came to an end with its loss to unranked Georgia Tech. BYU nearly joined the Hurricanes but kicked a game-winning field goal at the buzzer to defeat Utah. Georgia was upended by Ole Miss in rainy Oxford, while Alabama likely put a dagger in LSU‘s playoff hopes. 

The last two of those results have created an interesting situation in the SEC. Eight teams have two or fewer losses in conference play entering the final three weeks of the regular season. It’s possible that there could be an eight-way tie for first place or a six-way tie for second place when the season ends.

It’s looking less likely that we’ll have two teams with just one regular-season loss going head-to-head in the SEC Championship Game. It’s also looking more likely that we’ll have a handful of 10–2 teams in the SEC when the regular season ends. If that’s the case, there’s probably going to be a 10-2 team in the SEC that won’t make the CFP.

Here are my top 10 teams for this week.

1. Oregon (Last week: 1)
Record: 10-0
Week 11 result: Defeated Maryland, 39-18

Oregon has a great balance on its roster. It’s such a good team and it’s getting better each week. QB Dillon Gabriel looks like he’s getting more comfortable, too. He set the record for the most passing touchdowns by a player in FBS history.

The Ducks are fast, long and good at the line of scrimmage. When you pair that with a talented veteran quarterback with Gabriel, it’s no wonder why Oregon is the No. 1 team.

2. Ohio State (Last week: 2)
Record: 8-1
Week 11 result: Defeated Purdue, 45-0

Ohio State continues to show me it’s as good as anybody in the nation. In fact, I think I would have Ohio State favored to beat Oregon if the two teams meet in Indianapolis for the Big Ten title.

The Buckeyes have looked to be more well-rounded each week. QB Will Howard was efficient against Purdue and so was running back TreVeyon Henderson. Of course, freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith had another outstanding performance on Saturday, as he made history by breaking Cris Carter’s record for the most touchdown catches by an OSU freshman.

3. Texas (Last week: 4)
Record: 8-1
Week 11 result: Defeated Florida, 49-17

I still think Texas is the best team in the SEC. It’s the most balanced on offense, it has an answer at quarterback if something happens to Quinn Ewers, and I think it has the best defense in the conference. It has yet to give up 300 yards in a game this season. That’s a very good defense in Austin. 

Does that mean Texas is totally safe and beats Texas A&M in a few weeks? I’m not totally sure. But Ewers’ performance on Saturday must be encouraging, throwing for 333 yards and five touchdowns against Florida.

4. Indiana (Last week: 6)
Record: 10-0
Week 11 result: Defeated Michigan, 20-15

Indiana kind of survived the win against Michigan, but it’s still a big win for the program. It generally doesn’t beat Michigan, so beating that brand was still a hump Indiana needed to get over for the psyche of the locker room moving forward. That was also a better version of Michigan than what we’d seen for much of the season. If you’re Indiana, you can take that as a silver lining. Maybe Michigan didn’t handle the end of the game smoothly, but Indiana made the plays necessary to win.

Indiana’s résumé isn’t great. However, IU handled a defense that still had great talent. The Hoosiers’ offense was in rhythm and the defense played big in huge moments of that game. I don’t sense a letdown game coming for Indiana, unlike BYU and previously Miami (Fla.), but the big test awaits Indiana coming off the bye when it faces Ohio State on Nov. 23.

5. Tennessee (Last week: 7)
Record: 8-1
Week 11 result: Defeated Mississippi State, 33-14

Tennessee has a fascinating situation this week. The Vols travel to Athens, Georgia to face the Bulldogs, who opened as a 9.5-point favorite for that game. You could argue that Georgia shouldn’t be that big of a favorite against Tennessee, especially with how good the Volunteers’ defense has been this season, but injuries to QB Nico Iamaleava and other skill position players make that game a little more uncertain for Tennessee.

6. Penn State (Last week: 8)
Record: 8-1
Week 11 result: Defeated Washington, 35-6

Penn State lived up to the moment in its annual White Out Game. It appears the Nittany Lions will finish the regular season at 11-1 and will likely miss the Big Ten Championship Game. Still, Penn State has taken care of business against the teams it should all season long, and it’ll probably host a first-round game in the CFP as a result. 

If so, no one will want to be that team that has to go to Happy Valley.

7. Alabama (Last week: 9)
Record: 7-2
Week 11 result: Defeated LSU, 42-13

That was an impressive performance from Alabama on Saturday, going into Death Valley and beating LSU, 42-13.

We knew entering the game that LSU couldn’t stop mobile quarterbacks, and that’s exactly what happened on Saturday. Jalen Milroe rushed for 185 yards and four touchdowns, kick-starting his Heisman campaign again. Prior to Saturday, I was pretty confident about leaving him off a five-man list. After that game, he’s definitely involved in the conversation.

Oh, and Alabama is right back in the hunt. It has looked bumpy at points for Alabama in Kalen DeBoer’s first season, but Alabama did what it needed to do against LSU on Saturday. That was not a close game at all. Alabama has outscored its opponents, 76-13, since its loss to Tennessee. Obviously, the Crimson Tide are doing something right. DeBoer is a very good football coach, and he’s answering those questions as that team is becoming resilient.

8. Ole Miss (Last week: Unranked)
Record: 7-2
Week 11 result: Defeated Georgia 28-10

I’ll admit, I had questions about Ole Miss. When I previewed its game against Georgia, I said, “When was that the last time Ole Miss won a big game?” Well, I’m not waiting anymore. That was a terrific win, and Ole Miss really dominated the whole game. Its defensive line play was really good, and it did what it needed to do offensively against Georgia’s stout defense while playing in lousy weather.

Ole Miss finally leveled up as it handled Georgia, particularly at the line of scrimmage. This team is a legitimate playoff contender. That LSU loss is going to haunt them because the Rebels led the entire game before losing in overtime. This team should be 9-1, but I think this team is probably in the CFP if it wins out.

9. Georgia (Last week: 3)
Record: 7-2
Week 11 result: Lost to Ole Miss, 28-10

Georgia is not right. As much as Ole Miss was terrific in Saturday’s game, there’s something clearly wrong with Georgia — at least offensively. The Bulldogs rank 50th in the nation in total offense. The drop is staggering from where they’ve been over the last couple of years, and they still have their quarterback. This was a top-five offense in each of the past two years. It’s not even close to what the expectation is for Georgia.

It was quite shocking to see Georgia play at that level. What jumped off the film right when I watched it was the only way Georgia scored a touchdown was with a short field. It was very similar to the Texas game where it couldn’t drive the length of the field. So, when Georgia faces any team that has something on the defensive side, it really struggles to sustain drives. Part of that is because it can stay on the field on third downs.

Everyone’s going to look at QB Carson Beck and say he’s not playing very well, but that’s not what the film suggests. He’s not playing great and can improve, but Beck is not at fault for this. The issue with Georgia’s offense mainly lies along the offensive line. The line is playing really poorly and that’s a problem because that unit has been able to maul people and control the line of scrimmage over the past couple of years. It didn’t do that against Ole Miss. 

There’s also a disconnect in the timing of Georgia’s offense. The wide receivers aren’t breaking to where their route structures should be. That’s not being created at the time when Beck is ready to throw.

Beck has 14 turnovers over his past six games, but are the tipped ball picks, like one of the ones he threw Saturday, his issue? No, which is why Kirby Smart didn’t blame him. Ole Miss had 5.0 sacks, and Georgia couldn’t sustain a ground game. Georgia is in trouble. Nothing on that film suggests that it’s ready for Tennessee, because that defense is even better than Ole Miss’ defense. Thank goodness for Georgia that game is at home while Tennessee is also dealing with some injuries.

10. Notre Dame (Last week: Unranked)
Record: 8-1
Week 11 result: Defeated Florida State, 52-3

Notre Dame is back in the top 10 for the first time since early in the season. The Fighting Irish have been rolling as of late, winning six of their past seven games by at least three scores. Notre Dame’s defense and run game are very strong.

BYU got booted out of my top 10. It’s playing with fire, and I can just sense a loss happening soon. Some might argue that loss should’ve happened against Utah on Saturday.

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.

[Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.]

---

---