WEEK 11 // 2024
QUOTE OF THE WEEK QUOTE THE WEEK
“He is the calmest dude you’ve ever been around.”
- Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning on quarterback Dillion Gabriel’s demeanor in Oregon’s 38-17 win over Michigan. Gabriel finished 22-of-34 for 294 yards and two touchdowns
TEAM TO WATCH
TEAM of the week
SMU TEXAS Tech
SMU slotted in at No. 13 in the CFP’s first rankings and is tied with No. 4 Miami atop the standings in its debut season in the ACC. The Mustangs rolled over previously undefeated and 18th-ranked Pittsburgh, 48-25.
With both Pitt and No. 11 Clemson losing last Saturday, the Mustangs, last year’s American Athletic Conference champions, and Miami are 5-0 in league play. SMU’s win over Pitt also makes the Mustangs the first team to start 5-0 in its first season in a power conference after moving up from the Group of Five.
Notable performances included Brashard Smith, who ran for 161 yards including a 71-yard sprint for the first of his two rushing touchdowns and made a tiptoe catch for another score. Quarterback Kevin Jennings went 17-for-25 and totaled 306 passing yards.
SMU has a bye this week and will host Boston College next Saturday, November 16.
Texas Tech became bowl eligible in Week 10 after stunning previously undefeated No. 11 Iowa State, 23-22, on the road in Ames.
After Iowa State inched ahead, 22-17, with 2:11 left on the clock, Texas Tech QB Behren Morton drove the Red Raiders 71 yards on the game-winning drive. Texas Tech overcame three false starts on its final drive, and Morton converted a fourth-and-7 with an 8-yard pass to Josh Kelly. Tahj Brooks scored the decisive touchdown by taking a direct snap from five yards out.
Texas Tech defense’s played a big part in preventing Iowa State’s first 8-0 start in program history. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez came up with a big sack in the third quarter that knocked Iowa State out of field goal range, one defensive possession after forcing a fumble on a third down completion.
Texas Tech (6-3, 4-2 Big 12) hosts a big conference game against No. 20 Colorado (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) on Saturday, November 9, on FOX at 2:00 p.m. PHX.
GAMES Watch to
NOV 9
NOV 9
NOV 9
For a full schedule of Week 11 games, click here. (All times in PHX)
GAME OF THE WEEK
#11 ALABAMA AT #15 LSU
A historic SEC rivalry with College Football Playoff implications is set for Saturday when No. 11 Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to take on No. 15 LSU. Both teams look to push for a spot in the expanded playoff and avoid a third loss.
LSU is coming off a 38-23 loss to Texas A&M. Garrett Nussmeier and the Tigers have the sixth-best passing offense in college football, averaging 332.8 yards per game. LSU’s defense has only allowed four sacks all season, but the offensive line will miss veteran starter Garrett Dellinger due to an injury.
Alabama is 6-2 on the season, but only 2-2 in the past four games. Alabama shut out Missouri, 34-0, last weekend. The defense shined, allowing just 72 passing yards, and the Alabama offense overcame a slow start to score three second-half touchdowns.
Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. PHX on ABC.
RATE BOWL
ESPN (Bonagura) – No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 4 BYU
ESPN (Schlabach) – No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 BYU
247 Sports – No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 BYU
USA Today – Ohio State vs. BYU
Athlon Sports – No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 BYU
College Football News – No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Boise State
ESPN (Bonagura) – Nebraska vs. Baylor
ESPN (Schlabach) – Nebraska vs. TCU
247 Sports – Wisconsin vs. TCU
CBS – Michigan vs. West Virginia
USA Today – Wisconsin vs. Texas Tech College Football News – Wisconsin vs. West Virginia
Mike Gesicki caught two touchdown passes in Cincinnati’s 41-24 victory over the Raiders, providing a big lift for the Bengals. The veteran tight end finished with five receptions for a season-high 100 yards. It was the third 100-yard receiving game of his career.
In 2017, No. 9 Penn State defeated No. 11 Washington, 35-28, in the 47th annual Fiesta Bowl. Gesicki gained 62 yards on six catches helping the Nittany Lions win their seventh all-time Fiesta Bowl. Gesicki was a two-time All-Big Ten selection at Penn State. He finished his career with school records in most receptions (129), receiving yards (1,481) and receiving touchdowns (15) by a tight end.
Gesicki and the 4-5 Bengals travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens on Thursday, November 7, at 6:15 p.m. PHX on Amazon Prime.
highlight alumni notable performances MIKE GESICKI
Jaxson Dart – Mississippi
Jaxson Dart, the AP National Player of the Week, threw for a Mississippi-record 515 yards and rushed for 47 more in the Rebels’ 63-31 win at Arkansas. Dart also threw six of the Rebels’ record-tying seven touchdown passes. His 562 total yards broke Archie Manning’s school-record of 540, set in 1969 against Alabama.
Dart joined Missouri’s Drew Lock (2017) as the only Southeastern Conference quarterbacks to throw for at least 500 yards and six touchdowns in a game. Dart paired with Jordan Watkins, who also set school records with 254 receiving yards and five touchdowns on eight receptions.
Louisville earned its first-ever program win over Clemson, defeating the then 11th-ranked Tigers, 33-21. Cardinals linebacker Stanquan Clark contributed nine solo tackles among his 13 total, leading a defensive unit that recorded five tacklesfor-loss while handing Clemson its first loss since Week 1.
Clark’s 13 tackles were a career high. Facing a Clemson team that was averaging 48.5 points per game during its six-game winning streak, Louisville held Clemson to only 21 points. In particular, Clark and the Louisville defense limited Clemson’s passing attack with Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik only averaging 4.1 yards per attempt.
Stanquan Clark – Louisville
big news
The Rate Bowl will once again feature Bowl Season’s only Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup at a new afternoon time of 3:30 pm on Thursday, December 26. As we eagerly await kickoff in downtown Phoenix, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news for Week 11:
BIG TEN BIG 12
• The Big Ten leads the first CFP rankings of the season with No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State pacing four Big Ten teams in the top 10. Behind Oregon and Ohio State are No. 6 Penn State and No. 8 Indiana
• Oregon and Indiana make up two of the last five undefeated teams in FBS
• Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson received Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week Honors after his seventh 100-yard game, rushing for 135 yards. Johnson recorded three touchdowns in Iowa’s 42-10 victory over Wisconsin. He has three games with three rushing touchdowns and 20 total, tying Shonn Greene’s school record
• Carson Bruener led Washington to a 26-21 win over USC with two pass breakups, 12 total tackles and two interceptions and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
• Indiana is 9-0 for the first time ever and already has matched the school record for wins in a single season
• Minnesota’s 25-17 win over Illinois marked the first time the Gophers had beaten a Bret Bielema-coached team in 11 tries
• Oregon quarterback Dillion Gabriel has completed 74.8% of his passes to lead all FBS players, following previous Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, who set a NCAA record last season at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl completing 77.45% of passes for the season
• BYU leads the Big 12 in the first CFP rankings at No. 9. Iowa State comes in at No. 17 after its loss to Texas Tech with No. 19 Kansas State and No. 20 Colorado following
• Six Big 12 programs are bowl eligible (four for the Rate Bowl) through Week 10 with another three just one win away
• BYU is one of only five undefeated FBS teams through Week 10
• Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo earned his fourth weekly award of the season after accounting for 274 all-purpose yards in ASU’s win at Oklahoma State. The senior ran for 153 yards on 23 carries and a score while catching four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns
• Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is one of two FBS quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 nationally in completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns
• Colorado’s Travis Hunter has played nearly every snap on offense and defense and is the only FBS player with more than 50 snaps on both sides of the ball. The twoway starter has tallied over 350 snaps on each side of the ball this season
• Texas Tech won at Iowa State last week and hosts No. 20 Colorado this week. A win over the Buffs will be wins over ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time since 2008
• Kansas has lost five of its six games by one possession, tied with USC for the most in FBS
news in the foundation news in the foundation
CFP Selection Committee Releases First Rankings of 2024
The College Football Playoff selection committee announced the initial 2024 rankings ahead of the first-ever 12 team playoff. Oregon was the No. 1 team ahead of No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Miami. However, the Buckeyes slot in as the No. 5 seed in the projected playoff bracket.
Unlike in the 10 previous years of the four-team playoff, the rankings and the projected field are not the same. From 2014-23, the top four teams in the rankings were the four playoff teams. This year, the top five conference champions in the rankings are guaranteed a spot in the playoff with the four highest ranked conference champions receiving a top four seed, regardless of their rankings. The remaining seven spots will be filled by the seven highest-ranked teams and seeded accordingly outside of the top four.
To view the rankings, click here. To learn more about the expanded playoff format, click here.
SALT RIVER PIMA MARICOPA
INDIAN COMMUNITY LEGACY
YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC
The Fiesta Bowl Organization hosted 100 youth for its Legacy Football Clinic specific for Native American youth from the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community.
The free, non-contact clinic aimed to introduce and enhance the game of football to the community. Special guest Xavier Guillory, a wide receiver on the Arizona State University football team and member of the Nez Perce Tribal Nation, spoke to the participants and emphasized the message that anything is possible. Guest coaches from Mesa’s Westwood High School’s football team also joined for the first Legacy Clinic of the 2024-25 season.
CFP QUARTERFINAL AT THE Vrbo FIESTA BOWL
DECEMBER 31, 2024 | 5:30 PM
RATE BOWL
DECEMBER 26, 2024 | 3:30 PM