Winners and losers from Week 11 of the college football season

WINNER

Ohio State, Georgia in blowout wins: The top two teams in the CFP had dominant performances to solidify themselves as the best in the country. No. 1 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 in Big Ten) outgained Michigan State (3-7, 1-6 in Big Ten) 530-182, quarterback Kyle McCord threw for a career-high 335 yards and connected with wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. seven times for 149 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-3 win. 

In Athens, Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck continued his impressive stretch with his fifth 300-yard game in seven games as No. 2 Georgia laughed No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2, 5-2) out of the building, 52-17. 

Ohio State and Georgia met in a CFP semifinal thriller last year. We wouldn't mind a rematch in this year's championship.

LOSER

Washington passing the eye test: Congratulations to the Huskies on improving to 10-0 for the first time since 1991, their only national championship season in program history. Now that the niceties are out of the way, can we talk about how Washington is headed straight for a loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 title game? If it doesn't lose sooner, that is. The Huskies outlasted Utah, 35-28, their fourth consecutive unimpressive performance. 

The defense has allowed 103 points over the last three games. Before that stretch, the offense sputtered in a 15-7 win over lowly Arizona State. It also doesn't help that the Ducks throttled the Utes, 35-6, in their meeting. 

Washington closes out the regular season on the road against No. 12 Oregon State and the Apple Cup rivalry against Washington State, two teams left out of the conference realignment shuffle and that would love nothing more than to burn the Huskies after they played with fire for the past month.

WINNER

Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe: Not even former Bama quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa or Bryce Young did what Milroe did against Kentucky in a 49-21 win. He became the first quarterback in program history to have three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns in a game, a remarkable achievement for a player who was benched earlier this season. With Milroe hitting his stride, Bama is peaking at the right time.

LOSER

Nebraska quarterbacks: While the Tide have another winner at quarterback, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule was left with more questions than answers after his team's ugly 13-10 home loss to Maryland. 

Quarterback Heinrich Haarberg started and was 1-of-5 for no yards and an interception. Backup Jeff Sims followed and was 8-of-13 for 62 yards and two interceptions while Chubba Purdy ended the game going 1-of-3 for 24 yards and an interception. 

Nebraska (5-5, 3-4 in Big Ten) has lost two in a row, each by a field goal, and needs a win on the road against Wisconsin or at home against No. 22 Iowa in the final two weeks to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2016. 

WINNER

Illinois quarterback John Paddock: Paddock's last two weeks are almost too surreal to believe. Thrust into action on a fourth-and-11 against Minnesota last Saturday, Paddock engineered a winning touchdown drive by going 3-of-3 for 85 yards in a 27-26 win. 

Starter Luke Altmyer was ruled out against Indiana in Week 11, and Paddock again made the most of his opportunity in a 48-45 overtime win. 

The sixth-year senior transfer quarterback was 24-of-36 for 507 yards (14.1 yards per attempt), four touchdowns and an interception as the Fighting Illini scored their most points since Nov. 3, 2018.

LOSER

TCU: The Horned Frogs were expected to take a step back following its run to the CFP title game last season, but few probably thought they wouldn't qualify for a bowl game this year. 

However, that's where the program is in Sonny Dykes' second season after a 29-26 loss to No. 7 Texas (9-1, 6-1 in Big 12) dropped TCU to 4-6. The team has a winnable game against Baylor in Week 12 before ending the season at No. 17 Oklahoma.

WINNER

Clemson wide receiver Tyler Brown: When Dabo Swinney said to buy stock in Clemson after beating Notre Dame, he was talking about freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown.

The Tigers might not be all the way back, but Brown's outstanding catch is a start. Their 42-21 drubbing of Georgia Tech made them bowl-eligible and should quiet Swinney's detractors in Spartanburg and elsewhere.

LOSER

Colorado: A 34-31 loss to No. 21 Arizona (7-3, 5-2 in Pac-12) pushed the Buffaloes to the brink. They'll need wins in their final two games (against Washington State and No. 18 Utah) to become bowl-eligible. 

After a promising 3-0 start, Colorado (4-6, 1-6 in Pac-12) has crashed back to Earth by struggling against Pac-12 opponents. With two more losses, head coach Deion Sanders will be even happier to leave the conference.

WINNER

Missouri running back Cody Schrader: Columbia might build Schrader a statue after his performance in No. 14 Missouri's 36-7 blowout win over No. 13 Tennessee. The senior from St. Louis had an incredible journey to get to this point. 

As CBS Sports noted, he was playing D-II football at Truman State in 2021 and was a walk-on at Missouri in 2022. This year, he leads the SEC in rushing with 1,124 yards after his epic performance against the Vols.

Schrader had 35 carries for 205 yards and a touchdown and added five receptions for 116 yards. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, he's the 10th player in FBS history to have at least 200 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in a game and the third to do so against a team ranked in the AP poll. 

LOSER 

Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II: Plenty of people expected a running back to rush for over 200 yards when Oklahoma State played UCF, but few expected Knights back RJ Harvey to be the one to dominate. 

He finished with 24 carries, 206 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Gordon, a trendy late-season pick for Heisman, saw his campaign go up in smokes after rushing 12 times for 25 yards in a 45-3 loss.

WINNER

James Madison quarterback Jordan McCloud: The Dukes are riding high after improving to 10-0 thanks to an excellent performance from their senior quarterback. McCloud was 33-of-37 for a career-high 457 yards and four touchdowns against UConn in a 44-6 rout. 

James Madison requested the NCAA lift the traditional two-year bowl ban for former FCS programs making the transition to FBS earlier this week. We wouldn't trust the NCAA to tie its shoes if it had feet, so we're not expecting a logical resolution to JMU's case. That won't stop us from pounding the drum for James Madison's bowl eligibility. The Dukes belong.

LOSER

Arkansas and Baylor reach new lows: The Razorbacks and Bears have been on similar trajectories since 2020. Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman and Baylor head coach Dave Aranda took over in 2020, authored quick turnarounds in their second seasons and took a step back in 2022. The bottom fell out for both in Week 11 as both teams dropped to 3-7 and out of bowl contention.

Arkansas was blown out 48-10 at home against Auburn, its worst loss to the Tigers under Pittman. Meanwhile, Baylor lost 59-25 to No. 25 Kansas State, allowing the most points of the Aranda era. Two years ago, both looked like home-run hires. Instead, the two programs might already be in need of a change.

WINNER

LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, Heisman finalist: The fifth-year senior should have secured a ticket to New York for the Heisman ceremony with his historic game in a 52-35 win against Florida. He was 17-of-26 for 372 yards and three touchdowns and added 234 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, becoming the first player in FBS history to throw for at least 350 yards and rush for at least 200 yards in a game. 

LSU hasn't had the team success that other potential Heisman finalists have, but team success is what the CFP is for. If the Heisman is truly an individual honor, Daniels should be a lock.