Alabama heads a crowded field of two-loss teams entering Week 11, with 20 programs from the SEC to the Sun Belt still chasing College Football Playoff berths or conference titles despite a pair of defeats.
Four of the 20 come from the SEC, where Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky all sit at 7-2. The Crimson Tide earn the only A, while Texas and Tennessee follow at A- and Memphis and James Madison close the list at C+.
20. Toledo Rockets (Grade D+)
Toledo scores 32.0 points per game, 28th nationally, and carries a plus-0.3 turnover margin per game. The Rockets’ schedule ranks 137th in ESPN’s strength measure, the weakest of any team in this group, which leaves the 7-2 record with little to support it.
19. Jacksonville State Gamecocks (Grade C-)
Jacksonville State allows 20.8 points per game, 29th nationally, and holds a top-three spot in Conference USA. Its schedule ranks 135th in ESPN’s strength measure, and an offense averaging 26.6 points per game hasn’t produced enough to lift the Gamecocks higher.
18. Air Force Falcons (Grade C-)
Air Force leads the nation at 319.6 rushing yards per game in Troy Calhoun’s 20th season and commits only 4.0 penalties per game, tied for second nationally. The losses came by scores of 38-32 to North Dakota State and 28-14 to Wyoming, a game in which the Falcons lost three fumbles.
17. UTSA Roadrunners (Grade C)
UTSA scores 31.5 points per game but allows the same amount, which ranks 107th nationally. Florida Atlantic exposed that defense in a 60-29 loss, the Roadrunners’ first in conference play, before they host North Texas.
16. North Dakota State Bison (Grade C)
North Dakota State became bowl-eligible in its first FBS season and beat Air Force 38-32 in its first Mountain West game. The Bison allow 13.4 points per game, third nationally, but a 21-16 loss to New Mexico and an offense scoring 26.9 points per game keep them outside the top 15.
15. Memphis Tigers (Grade C+)
Memphis piles up 506.8 yards per game, third in the country, and its 36.6 points per game rank 12th. The Tigers sit 4-1 in the American, one game behind North Texas, in Charles Huff’s first season.
Huff added to the noise around his name this week. He said rival coaches who tell recruits he’ll leave are helping him “because if I’m leaving Memphis, I ain’t going to high school. I’m going to something bigger.”
The defense limits how high Memphis can climb. The Tigers allow 197.1 rushing yards per game, 122nd nationally, against a schedule ESPN ranks 109th in difficulty. South Florida allows only 14.9 points per game, ninth nationally, so the Tigers’ trip to Tampa pits their offense against one of the stingiest defenses they’ll see.
14. James Madison Dukes (Grade C+)
James Madison owns the most wins of any team here, but an 8-2 record built against the 131st-ranked schedule in ESPN’s metrics carries less weight than it appears. Billy Napier’s first JMU team opened 7-0, including a 20-13 win over Liberty, before back-to-back overtime losses to Appalachian State and Troy by a combined six points.
The Dukes responded with a 54-23 rout of Southern Miss as quarterback JC Evans accounted for four touchdowns in his return. JMU scores 35.4 points per game, 16th nationally, and runs for 189.2 yards per game.
Still, the Dukes give up 251.9 passing yards per game, 114th in the country. Napier’s team visits UConn next before closing the regular season against Coastal Carolina.
13. North Texas Mean Green (Grade B-)
North Texas leads FBS in total offense at 521.4 yards per game and in scoring at 42.4 points per game. That production comes from a program that was gutted by offseason departures to Oklahoma State before first-year coach Neal Brown took over.
The Mean Green have won six straight and are 5-0 in conference play for the first time since 2004. Jahiem White ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 52-23 win over Rice.
The defense keeps the Denton program this low. North Texas allows 33.0 points per game, 116th nationally, and its losses came by scores of 52-16 to Indiana and 49-35 to Texas State. The Mean Green also commit 8.6 penalties per game, which ranks 133rd.
12. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Grade B-)
Louisiana Tech can clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Championship Game with a win over Southern Miss this week in its first season as a conference member. The Bulldogs have won six straight, their longest streak since 2019.
Defense drives the run. Louisiana Tech forced five turnovers in a 41-17 win vs. Troy, and its plus-1.3 turnover margin per game ranks sixth nationally. “We’ve got to finish out these three games and really put Louisiana Tech on the map,” coach Sonny Cumbie said.
The offense averages 27.8 points per game, 57th nationally, and injuries are piling up. Quarterback Blake Baker left the Troy game hurt, and Cumbie said running back Dylone Brooks’ status for the rest of the season is in question because of turf toe.
11. SMU Mustangs (Grade B-)
SMU jumped into the AP Top 25 at No. 25 after a 51-28 win vs. Virginia Tech in which Kevin Jennings threw for 350 yards. The Mustangs average 466.9 yards per game, 11th nationally, and throw for 305.0 yards per game.
Ball security is the problem. SMU’s turnover margin of minus-0.8 per game ranks 121st, and the defense allows 24.5 points per game.
Rhett Lashlee has a strong November track record, going 15-2 in the month since 2022, but 8-1 Wake Forest arrives in Dallas next after beating SMU 13-12 last season. “They’re complete in all three phases, more than anybody we’ve played all year,” Lashlee said.
10. Duke Blue Devils (Grade B-)
Duke has outscored Boston College and NC State by a combined 88-5 over the past two weeks, capped by a 41-3 win vs. NC State. The Blue Devils allow 13.8 points per game, tied for fourth nationally, and 296.1 yards per game.
Manny Diaz rebuilt the offense after quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Cooper Barkate left for Miami, leaning on running back Nate Sheppard, who has been handed the ball about 25 times a week. Duke’s two losses, including one to Georgia Tech, came by one possession each.
The concern is the schedule, which ranks 88th in ESPN’s strength measure. That changes this week when Diaz takes his team to Miami to face Mensah and his former program.
9. Arizona Wildcats (Grade B)
Arizona needed a recovered onside pooch kick and a late Michael Salgado-Medina field goal to survive in a 29-28 win vs. TCU, its seventh straight home win and longest such streak since 1993-94. That came one week after a loss to Texas Tech.
Noah Fifita has thrown for 2,794 yards and 21 touchdowns, and he’s the FBS active career leader in both categories. “Anytime you have Noah Fifita pulling the trigger, you have a chance,” coach Brent Brennan said.
Arizona throws for 321.9 yards per game, fourth nationally, but runs for only 123.9, which ranks 101st. Unbeaten Utah visits Tucson next with the Big 12 race at stake.
8. USC Trojans (Grade B)
USC owns one of the best wins on this list after a 30-18 upset win vs. Ohio State on Halloween night, the Trojans’ first victory over an AP top-10 opponent since 2019. Lincoln Riley answered critics afterward, saying, “This program is built on internal joy, not external applause.”
The Trojans also won in Happy Valley, as Jayden Maiava threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-23 win vs. Penn State. USC throws for 294.4 yards per game, 10th nationally.
The defense keeps the Trojans in the middle of the pack. USC allows 24.2 points and 346.0 yards per game, and its turnover margin sits below zero. The Trojans visit reigning national champion Indiana this week.
7. Houston Cougars (Grade B)
Houston beat Cincinnati when Re’shaun Sanford II broke a 24-24 tie with a 51-yard touchdown run with 5:10 left. Willie Fritz said Sanford “did a good job of hitting it clean and sprinting between the two guys.”
Conner Weigman and the offense average 455.1 yards per game, 14th nationally. However, unbeaten Utah held the Cougars to 13 points in Salt Lake City, 26 below their season average at the time.
The pass defense remains the weak point, allowing 268.6 yards per game to rank 124th. Houston edges USC on the strength of better overall efficiency in ESPN’s ratings and travels to Colorado next.
6. Kentucky Wildcats (Grade B+)
Kentucky has played the fourth-toughest schedule in the country and still ranks sixth in ESPN’s strength of record. Will Stein’s first team beat LSU during a six-game win streak and commits only 4.6 penalties per game, the fewest of any team on this list.
The losses are lopsided, though. Alabama won 45-17 in Lexington, and a 34-6 loss to Tennessee snapped the winning streak as the Volunteers forced three turnovers against a team that entered with one of the nation’s best turnover margins.
Paul Finebaum argued after Week 10 that Kentucky was overrated at No. 6 in the playoff rankings. The Wildcats allow 27.4 points per game, 77th nationally, and face Florida next.
5. Iowa Hawkeyes (Grade B+)
Iowa became the first team to win at Northwestern’s rebuilt Ryan Field with a 24-10 win vs. the Wildcats. The Hawkeyes were also the first team this season to hold Northwestern below 23 points, and Braeden Jackson added a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown.
“They’re just playing well,” Kirk Ferentz said of his defense. Iowa allows 13.8 points per game, tied for fourth nationally, and 85.5 rushing yards per game, seventh in the country.
The offense ranks 100th at 340.6 yards per game. That showed in a 13-10 loss at Minnesota, where starter Jeremy Hecklinski was replaced by Hank Brown before halftime. Iowa has climbed past Ohio State in our Big Ten power rankings and hosts Purdue next.
4. BYU Cougars (Grade B+)
BYU owns a signature win from a 28-24 thriller vs. Notre Dame, when Bear Bachmeier threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:47 left. “Out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly and I wasn’t going to lose to those guys,” Bachmeier said.
The losses came to UCF in double overtime and in a 28-20 loss to Utah in which Bachmeier threw four interceptions. “There’s a factor for everybody to take the blame, but the bulk of it is on the quarterback,” Kalani Sitake said.
BYU’s minus-0.6 turnover margin per game ranks 116th. The defense allows 317.0 yards per game, 22nd nationally, and the Cougars face Baylor next as unbeaten Utah sits atop Danny Kanell’s top 12.
3. Tennessee Volunteers (Grade A-)
Tennessee has beaten Alabama and Kentucky by a combined 60-16, including a 34-6 rout of Kentucky in which DeSean Bishop ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns. The Vols posted eight tackles for loss and forced three turnovers against the Wildcats.
Josh Heupel’s defense allows 15.9 points per game, 11th nationally, and ranks third in ESPN’s defensive efficiency. The run game produces 201.9 yards per game.
The passing game is the limitation at 161.5 yards per game, 127th nationally. Texas sacked Tennessee quarterbacks 10 times in a 20-17 loss to the Longhorns, and South Carolina won on a 48-yard field goal as time expired in a 27-24 loss to the Gamecocks. The Vols visit Texas A&M next.
2. Texas Longhorns (Grade A-)
Texas fell from No. 1 after consecutive losses to Oklahoma and Florida, and Steve Sarkisian said “everything is going to be evaluated” after the 27-24 home loss to the Gators. The Longhorns have won three straight since.
Arch Manning threw three touchdown passes without a turnover in a 34-20 comeback win vs. Missouri, his first turnover-free game since Week 3. The defense carries the team, allowing 280.1 yards per game, seventh nationally, and ranking first in ESPN’s defensive efficiency. Colin Simmons tied the program record with five sacks in the win at Tennessee.
The offense runs for only 131.9 yards per game, 88th nationally, which keeps Texas behind Alabama. Manning returns to his home state this week when the Longhorns visit LSU.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (Grade A)
Alabama has played the toughest schedule in the country by ESPN’s measure, ranks third in its Football Power Index and fifth in strength of record. Keelon Russell completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-13 win vs. LSU that dropped Lane Kiffin to 0-6 against the Crimson Tide.
That performance led Booger McFarland to declare Alabama a College Football Playoff lock. Kalen DeBoer’s team scores 37.4 points per game, 10th nationally, and its plus-1.0 turnover margin per game ranks ninth.
Alabama’s losses came by scores of 20-17 to Georgia and 26-10 to Tennessee. The Crimson Tide also haven’t rushed for 100 yards since the Georgia game in Week 6. Alabama plays its final road game at Vanderbilt, where it lost two years ago.
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