Week 11 in college football enables us to gape forward to some exciting conference video games.

Saturday will feature a must-look SEC matchup between No. 11 Alabama and No. 15 LSU. With Faculty Football Playoff implications on the line within the closing elephantine month of the reasonable season, what does every group opt to capitalize on to take residence the secure?

No. 3 Georgia will consult with No. 16 Ole Fade away out in a matchup that’s expected to befriend college football followers locked in. Both teams hold dominant defenses, which may perchance perchance perchance live up being the celebs of the show Saturday. With the Rebels no longer having a victory over a ranked opponent this season, a secure over Georgia can hold to aloof befriend their CFP hopes alive.

Our college football experts preview tall video games and half quotes of the week forward of the Week 11 slate.

Soar to a piece:
Ole Fade away out’ second | Modifications Indiana made | Alabama-LSU
Quotes of the Week

Is that this Ole Fade away out’ second?

The jump from accurate to mountainous within the SEC may perchance perchance perchance even be as taxing as taking pictures par at your bustle-of-the-mill country membership route after which doing it at Augusta National.

It doesn’t occur overnight, and yet, when Lane Kiffin came to Ole Fade away out, he acknowledged he did not reach to be accurate. He came to be mountainous. Here is his most attention-grabbing chance yet to maintain accurate on that promise when Georgia rolls into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in a recreation Ole Fade away out desperately needs to secure to cease within the Faculty Football Playoff dialog.

“We screwed two video games up earlier within the year[a29-26previoustypicaltimelossatLSUand20-17residencelossto[a29-26overtimelossatLSUand20-17homelosstoKentucky], and while you manufacture that, you put your self in instances,” Kiffin acknowledged. “So I invent no longer discuss playoffs most incessantly and championships and all that because I judge it surely doesn’t topic. It be about how you put together and how you play.

“However I instructed our avid gamers, … because they hear it the total time, that you just proceed to hold that stuff [championships and the playoff] alive. And in my belief, somebody that’s going to secure it, or no longer it’ll opt to battle thru Georgia at some level. They’re the premier program in college football.”

The Rebels (7-2, 3-2) hold reached heights below Kiffin that haven’t been broached in Oxford in decades, but what they haven’t completed is constantly beat essentially the most attention-grabbing teams on their agenda. They invent no longer hold any wins over nationally ranked teams this season, which makes this Georgia recreation so vital within the eyes of the playoff committee, and Kiffin is 7-9 in opposition to nationally ranked foes since coming to Ole Fade away out in 2020. Two of those wins came closing season in opposition to LSU and Penn Express, as Ole Fade away out received 11 video games for the first time in college history.

“Now we hold form of put ourselves in a playoff tell for 2 video games in a row now,” acknowledged Kiffin, whose group rebounded from the LSU loss with double-digit wins over Oklahoma and Arkansas. “So this may perchance perchance perchance be the third one in a row that we now opt to secure to befriend slither.”

The third — and most worthy.

Georgia (7-1, 5-1) hasn’t lost to somebody no longer named Alabama since the 2020 COVID-19 season when the Bulldogs hold been beaten by Florida. Georgia is extra healthy on defense now with high scramble rushers Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams assist, and within the Rebels’ two losses this season, they gave up 10 sacks.

One in every of Kiffin’s priorities in mining the transfer portal this offseason was as soon as to salvage bigger and extra physical, specifically on defense. Ole Fade away out was as soon as punished physically a year within the past by Georgia in a 52-17 loss that saw the Bulldogs pile up 611 total yards.

The Rebels hold had their struggles on offense this season in opposition to SEC competition, which has been beautiful. They exploded a week within the past in a 63-31 secure over Arkansas, but had no longer scored extra than 27 aspects in an SEC recreation in their outdated four outings. They is perchance no longer 100% on offense in opposition to Georgia. Leading rusher Henry Parrish Jr. is out after getting injured closing week, and high receiver Tre Harris has been banged up for several weeks with a lower physique wound and missed the Arkansas recreation.

The backbone for Ole Fade away out has been its defense. The Rebels lead the country with 41 sacks and are one among two SEC teams (alongside with Tennessee) to deprave within the tip 10 nationally in scoring defense (13.2 aspects) and yards per play allowed (4.41).

A key storyline on this recreation will be what form of rigidity Ole Fade away out can placed on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who has been inclined to interceptions with an SEC-excessive 11, all within the previous five video games. In six SEC contests, Georgia is next to closing within the league in yards per bustle (3.31), and the Bulldogs hold thrown it an SEC-excessive 232 times in that span.

That’s potentially the formula for the Rebels if they’re going to spoil thru and take hold of their first high-five secure below Kiffin, smothering the Bulldogs’ ground recreation, pressuring Beck and forcing him to throw it 40-plus times. — Chris Low

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What adjustments hold been made ensuing in Indiana’s success this season?

Essentially the most attention-grabbing alternate obviously came at the tip with coach Curt Cignetti, but Indiana also made a in point of fact worthy investments that allowed Cignetti to bring together a roster constructed to secure straight.

Cignetti introduced over a valid assortment of James Madison transfers, including standouts esteem defensive linemen Mikail Kamara and James Chippie, huge receiver Elijah Sarratt and linebacker Aiden Fisher. He also added experienced avid gamers esteem quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a two-time All-MAC performer at Ohio with 33 profession begins. Assorted than the offensive line, the establish multiple sophomores initiate alongside veterans Mike Katic and Trey Wedig, Indiana’s offense is stuffed with senior starters. The defense has about a sophomores within the assist live but aspects a seasoned entrance seven with Chippie, Kamara, Fisher, linebacker Jailin Walker and others.

“All those guys hold been multiple-year starters at their prior colleges, and they are older guys,” Cignetti instructed me earlier this season. “In order that they’ve seen all of it at this level. They’re feeble to achieving.”

Indiana’s name, image and likeness operation was as soon as a source of angst for Tom Allen, Cignetti’s predecessor, who acknowledged rapidly sooner than his firing, “If you are no longer within the [NIL] recreation, and you are no longer on the practice, you’re going to salvage no longer illustrious and bustle over.” Love other Vitality 4 colleges making coaching adjustments, Indiana improved its skill to compete for impact transfers.

“You put your self in location for success,” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson instructed me. “From our live, that wasn’t lovely a one-time part. It be vital to proceed to make investments and put the sources in and be spacious natty about that, the establish we can fully affect the trajectory of the program.” — Adam Rittenberg

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What does every group opt to capitalize on to secure?

Alabama: With out query, Alabama must salvage off to a good sooner initiate at streetlevel in opposition to the Tigers than it did in its previous two journeys — each and every losses. In particular with a playoff berth placing within the steadiness. In a 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt in early October, Alabama trailed 23-7 sooner than clawing its plan assist into the sport. At Tennessee two weeks later, Alabama trailed 14-10 at halftime sooner than losing 24-17. Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer acknowledged this week they’re going to try to location up practices so his squad is in a enviornment to salvage off to a handy guide a rough initiate, and the performances within the previous two street video games are no longer from an absence of effort. “You lovely can no longer dig your self a gap, specifically giving the opponent momentum in an environment esteem we’re going to appear at LSU. So or no longer it is serious. We preach it on daily basis.” — Andrea Adelson

LSU: The Tigers opt to search out a style to manufacture video games. LSU had an total delivery date to take into account what came regarding the closing day out, a 38-23 loss to Texas A&M whereby it blew a 17-7 halftime lead after the Aggies switched to a operating quarterback and it can perchance not discontinue them. Even in its opening loss to USC, the Tigers had a 17-13 lead going into the fourth quarter sooner than losing. The accurate news for LSU is that this is also some distance extra exciting for Jalen Milroe than Aggies backup Marcel Reed. The sinful news for LSU is Milroe is completely in a position to taking off and operating — show his 374-yard passing, 117-yard speeding and four-touchdown day in a secure over Georgia earlier this year. — Adelson

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Quotes of the week

“I judge Jaxson Plug‘s playing as potentially one among essentially the most attention-grabbing quarterbacks within the country in explosive performs,” Georgia coach Kirby Shapely acknowledged of Plug, who broke Archie Manning’s college narrative for total offense with 562 yards within the 63-31 secure over Arkansas and likewise threw six touchdown passes. “A quantity of appreciate for how he competes. The fellow runs extraordinarily physical, esteem an SEC operating assist. … You perchance can allege he’s bought a fiery, competitive perspective, lovely esteem his coach does, lovely esteem Lane does.”

“I esteem the establish we’re at. Sadly, we now hold much less wiggle room and our backs are to the wall. We’re going to fight every and on daily basis, chew, scratch and claw esteem you’ve got below no instances seen and that continues this week.” — Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer

“Each week presents its absorb contemporary location of instances and so there may perchance be moderately about a that occurring this week. I’m responsive to it. However to salvage form of caught up on that and lose your focal level may perchance perchance perchance be the kiss of death.” — Indiana coach Curt Cignetti

“It be moderately about a enjoyable. I’ve obviously had moderately about a recollections there as a participant and as a coach and now as the head coach at BYU. In my belief, I potentially hold a assorted standpoint than moderately about a folks.” — BYU coach Kalani Sitake on going to play at Utah.