NCAA Football 2019 Week 11 results

We had two battles of unbeatens, and the results of them may have surprised some people.  Ironically, although the positions of the Top 5 teams have altered, the same teams remain in the Top 5, showing how much stronger those teams are than the rest of the subdivision.

Top 25 [Last week's position]
1.  Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0) [1]
2.  LSU Tigers (9-0) [4]
3.  Clemson Tigers (10-0) [5]
4.  Alabama Crimson Tide (8-1) [2]
5.  Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1) [3]
6.  Georgia Bulldogs (8-1) [10]
7.  Oregon Ducks (8-1) [7]
8.  Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-0) [12]
9.  Utah Utes (8-1) [8]
10. Oklahoma Sooners (8-1) [6]
11. Baylor Bears (9-0) [9]
12. Wisconsin Badgers (7-2) [11]
13. Michigan Wolverines (7-2) [13]
14. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) [17]
15. Auburn Tigers (7-2) [14]
16. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3) [15]
17. Navy Midshipmen (7-1) [18]
18. Cincinnati Bearcats (8-1) [26]
19. SMU Mustangs (7-2) [19]
20. Memphis Tigers (8-1) [20]
21. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-1) [23]
22. Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-1) [22]
23. Florida Gators (8-2) [25]
24. Boise State Broncos (8-1) [24]
25. UCF Golden Knights (7-3) [16]

Dropped off: Wake Forest Demon Deacons [#21]
On the Edge: Louisiana Ragin Cajuns (7-2), Air Force Falcons (7-2), Indiana Hoosiers (7-2), Wyoming Cowboys (6-3), Texas Longhorns (6-3), Kansas State Wildcats (6-3), San Diego State Aztecs (7-2), Miami Hurricanes (6-4)

Big Ten Report
Ohio State proved they didn't need Chase Young to clobber Maryland.  Minnesota proved tougher than I realized, as their offense figured out a way to get past the Nittany Lions defense.  Illinois staged a comeback for the history books and scored their fourth straight conference win.  Both the Wisconsin-Iowa and Purdue-Northwestern games were close.  I expected the bout between the Badgers and Hawkeyes to be a close defensive battle, but the fact that the Wildcats led most of the game, and gave a real scare to the Boilermakers, was a bit of a shock, especially considering that the Wildcats haven't won a conference game.

Upset Watch
While many games did not finish as I expected, there were really few upsets.  Certainly Tulsa handing UCF their third loss (which nearly cost them their Top 25 ranking) was an upset, and most people would concede that Minnesota's victory was one, too.  Virginia Tech knocking off Wake Forest has to qualify, and while UAB losing wasn't a major surprise, the margin of victory certainly was.

Title Races
No locks.  Some races have gotten clearer while some got murkier, especially in the MAC.

American Athletic East:  If Cincy beats Temple in two weeks, they lock it up.  The Bearcats could capture the title this week, if they beat South Florida and Temple loses to Tulane.
American Athletic West:  The winner of this week's battle between SMU and Navy holds the lead, but that team has to hope Memphis loses, as the Tigers hold the tiebreaker against both of them.  Memphis closes the season against Cincinnati, so we may not know until then. 

ACC Atlantic:  Thanks to Virginia Tech beating Wake Forest, CLEMSON has clinched
ACC Coastal:  If the Hokies win their next two games, this one will be decided by the Virginia-Virginia Tech bout on Thanksgiving weekend.  If the Hokies lose before then, Virginia gets the division title.

Big XII:  Baylor was hoping Iowa State could beat Oklahoma, as that would have given them a two-game lead.  Baylor can still capture that lead if they beat Oklahoma this week.  In fact, beating Oklahoma and then beating Texas gives them the title.  If Baylor loses both, Oklahoma is in the driver's seat.

Big Ten East:  Ohio State wins if they win out.  Penn State can capture the title by winning out, as one of those wins would be against Ohio State.  Both Indiana and Michigan to win all of their remaining (one of which is against each other) and get some assistance.
Big Ten West:  Minnesota has a two-game lead over Wisconsin.  If they beat both Iowa and Northwestern, they capture the title even before they close the season against Wisconsin.  Wisconsin would need Iowa to beat Minnesota and the Badgers win out.  Iowa is, pretty much, out of the race.

Conference USA East:  Marshall wins the title by winning out.  Florida Atlantic gains the title by winning out AND a Marshall loss.  Western Kentucky needs both of the aforementioned teams to lose twice, which isn't likely to happen.
Conference USA West:  Louisiana Tech wins the division with two more victories OR one win and a Southern Miss loss.

MAC East:  Miami Ohio holds the lead and the tiebreaker against both Ohio and Buffalo, the two teams trailing them.  The Redhawks just need two wins out of their next three games.  Since they play Bowling Green and Akron, those two wins seem highly likely.
MAC West:  Ugh!  Aside from Eastern Michigan, everyone still has a chance for this one.  I'll pass for a week.

Mountain West Mountain:  Boise wins by winning their next two games.  Utah State needs to win out, one of those wins would be against Boise.  Air Force can capture the title by winning out and hoping someone other than Utah State beats Boise, as Air Force beat Utah State but lost to Boise, so a three-way tie would not be good.
Mountain West West:  San Diego State simply needs to win their next two games.  If they lose to both Fresno State and Hawaii, and Hawaii wins out, then the Rainbow Warriors capture their first divisional title.

Pac-12 North:  OREGON has won it
Pac-12 South:  Utah captures the title by winning out OR winning two games and USC losing one (since USC beat Utah). USC wins by winning out and someone beating Utah.

SEC East:  Beating EITHER Auburn or Texas A&M gives the title to Georgia.  Florida needs to beat all of their remaining conference opponents AND hope Georgia loses to BOTH Auburn and Texas A&M.  That scenario is not likely.
SEC West:  Two more wins awards the division to LSU.  Alabama needs to win out and have LSU lose twice. Auburn would have to beat both Georgia and Alabama and hope LSU loses ALL of their remaining games.  No chance of that.

Sun Belt East:  Appalachian State wins the title by winning out OR beating Georgia State and one other opponent while Georgia Southern loses twice.  Georgia Southern wins by winning out and someone beating Appalachian State.  Georgia State needs to win out, since two of those games are against Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.
Sun Belt West:  Louisiana wins by beating either Southern Alabama or Troy AND beating UL Monroe to close the season.  UL Monroe needs to win out. Arkansas State would need to win out AND hope Appalachian State loses twice.