College football Week 11: Power conferences feature pivotal games topped by USC-Indiana

Not all college football weekends can be like the one we just enjoyed, but Week 11 does feature one Top 25 matchup in each of the four power conferences and a host of other important games.

Second-ranked and unbeaten Utah can continue its run toward the Big 12 championship game with a win at No. 22 Arizona, which puts Noah Fifita up against Devon Dampier in a duel of star quarterbacks.

No. 8 Texas will try to extend its win streak to four games and go 5-0 against Top 25 opponents when it travels to No. 24 LSU, which is now a three-loss team with faint playoff hopes after the sound beating it took from Alabama.

No. 11 Wake Forest visits No. 25 SMU for a meeting of Atlantic Coast Conference teams trying to reach the league championship game.

No. 15 Southern California will try to build some late-season momentum when it visits No. 6 Indiana.

Best game

No. 15 Southern California (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten, No. 18 CFP) at No. 6 Indiana (8-1, 5-1, No. 9 CFP), 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Both teams are coming off open dates. USC is looking to pick up where it left off from its win over Ohio State, which catapulted the Trojans back into the playoff hunt. Indiana is looking to bump up the offensive production after scoring 20, 15, 13 and 23 points since hanging 47 on Rutgers.

Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti has not announced whether Josh Hoover or Grant Wilson will start at quarterback, but he is not lacking confidence in a defense that's recorded a Big Ten-best 32 sacks and is allowing 259 yards and 12 points per game.

With Ohio State's Julian Sayin injured, the Trojans have the best quarterback in the Big Ten in Jayden Maiava. They also have a steadily improving defense. What they don't have is a good road record against Top 25 opponents under Lincoln Riley: 1-7.

Heisman Trophy watch

The Heisman Trophy race looked to be a runaway with Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith the prohibitive favorite three weeks ago. The twists and turns of the season have brought us back to the preseason favorite, Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr.

Smith's numbers aren't quite the same now that he's lost his quarterback to injury. Next in line were Miami's Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney. Mensah just got outplayed by Carr and Toney injured his ankle in practice and is out for weeks.

Carr is a bit under a 2-to-1 favorite at online sportsbooks and Mensah and Smith are both listed at 3-to-1. No one else is close.

Carr was splendid in last week's 31-24 win over Miami, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Fighting Irish host Boston College on Saturday and are favored by 29 1/2 points. Pass defense is one of the few strengths for BC, which has picked off 12 passes.

Numbers to know

3 — Consecutive seasons Illinois is bowl-eligible, the program's longest streak since 1992.

5 — Time zones in which UNLV has played this season, most in the nation.

6 — Louisiana Tech's winning streak, its longest since 2019.

7 — Starting offensive line combinations for Arizona State and Hawaii due to injuries, most in the nation.

550 — North Texas is the only FBS team this season to amass at least this many yards in five games.

Under the radar

Louisville (6-3, 5-2 ACC) at North Carolina (5-4, 2-3), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

The Cardinals have won four straight and are right in the thick of the race for a spot in the ACC championship game. They need some help, though, because second-place Wake Forest is ahead of them by a game in the standings and own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

There are some strong ties between the teams. Bobby Petrino, the Tar Heels' offensive coordinator, had two stints as Louisville coach. Current Cardinals coach Jeff Brohm was on Petrino's Louisville staff from 2003-06 and later an assistant to Petrino at Western Kentucky.

Brian Brohm, Jeff's little brother, was Petrino's starting quarterback in 2005-06 and another Brohm brother, Paul, was his offensive coordinator at Louisville and now coaches Louisville's tight ends.

Hot seat

Virginia has taken a big step back after an 11-win season and ACC championship game appearance earned Tony Elliott a contract extension through 2030 that includes an expensive buyout meant to dissuade other schools from poaching him.

Elliott's seat isn't simmering but it's warming. The Cavaliers are 4-5 with one of the wins against a Championship Subdivision opponent and they've scored a combined 36 points during their current three-game losing streak, which includes a 51-7 Halloween loss to Wake Forest. Virginia is coming off a bye week and hosts California, another struggling team, on Saturday.

The total value of Elliott's five-year contract is $28 million, according to media reports, meaning Virginia would have to cut him a big check if he were let go after this season. That's not likely, but the situation bears watching as Virginia heads toward a fifth losing season in Elliott's six years.

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