College football Week 11 preview: Five best games to watch this weekend

The first official College Football Playoff rankings were released this week, and while there weren’t many surprises, it makes the rest of the season a bit more intense with teams understanding exactly what they need to do in order to clinch a spot in the highly-coveted 12-team field.

Week 11 features a few high-stakes matchups — specifically in the SEC — as No. 3 Georgia heads to No. 16 Ole Miss, and No. 11 Alabama plays No. 15 LSU in Death Valley. Both have CFP implications and will be must-see TV.

Elsewhere, No. 9 BYU and No. 20 Colorado have their own important Big 12 showdowns, while No. 2 Ohio State and No. 8 Indiana just need to keep winning in order to set up a massive conference battle in a few weeks.

That said, here are the top five games to watch this weekend:

Purdue at No. 2 Ohio State ( noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app )

It has been a challenging past three games for Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost to new Big Ten foe Oregon by one point at Autzen Stadium on Oct. 12, then they eked out narrow wins over Nebraska and Penn State the past two weekends. Those kinds of results can take an emotional toll on a team, but head coach Ryan Day is telling his players they can’t take their foot off the gas now. Even with unranked Purdue coming to Columbus on Saturday, they can’t let up. 

That doesn’t just go for this weekend but for the rest of the season. Ohio State has to stay sharp these next few weeks against inferior opponents such as Purdue (1-7) and Northwestern (4-5). OSU has to be on its A-game for the final two games against No. 8 Indiana and bitter rival Michigan. Every game is a must-win, especially with one loss already on its résumé.

No. 3 Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss ( 3:30 p.m. ET ) 

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