Instant reaction to Week 11 developments on the field … and in the air
1. Navigating the travel chaos
The Federal Aviation Administration’s four-hour ground stoppage Friday afternoon created havoc for dozens of teams with chartered flights scheduled.
Some were stuck on tarmacs. Others returned to campus and waited. A few rented buses. Meanwhile, the teams, conferences and TV networks all worked to adjust Saturday kickoff times when necessary.
Only one team, Mississippi, was unable to reach its destination in time to play. Instead, the Rebels will face Oklahoma on Sunday morning and compete for eyeballs directly with the NFL. (The viewership data for that unique situation will be fascinating.)
Once the situation settled, our attention turned to two West Coast teams, Washington and Arizona State, that faced significant delays making cross-country trips.
Washington was delayed six-and-a-half hours and didn’t reach its hotel in East Lansing, Michigan until 3:30 a.m. (Eastern), then played Michigan State 14 hours later.
The Huskies responded with a 21-14 victory that marked their third road win in the past month in the Eastern and Central Time Zones — a stark contrast to the manner in which UW handled Big Ten travel in 2024-25.
“There was a lot of adversity over the course of the last 24 hours,” coach Jedd Fisch told reporters following the game, “and I think our team handled it exceptionally well.”
As a reward, the Huskies (6-4) are bowl-eligible for the fifth consecutive season.
Arizona State had it worse. In fact, the Sun Devils experienced the most challenging situation of the 138 teams in the FBS. They could not depart Phoenix on Friday evening and spent the night in their own beds.
They left town Saturday at 6 a.m. (Pacific), landed in Orlando at 10, played UCF at 2:30 p.m. and won convincingly.
Kenny Dillingham would make our short list of coaches who adapt best to chaos. After all, his first year in charge of his alma mater was immersed in it: The university self-imposed a bowl ban a few days before the first game of the 2023 season.
And sure enough, the Sun Devils appeared to thrive in the tumult of the FAA mess. They outplayed the Knights throughout and rolled to a 26-13 victory.
After the game, Dillingham told reporters that the logistics were “utter chaos,” but his players remained locked in.
“Excuses are like buttholes,” he added. “Everybody’s got ’em, and they all stink.
“That’s what tonight would have been, just an excuse. You take the field for 60 minutes, and either you get it done or you don’t. Nobody cares what the circumstance was because nobody cares about circumstances. Our guys were fired up.”
As a reward, the Sun Devils (6-4) are bowl-eligible for the third consecutive season.
2. USC wilts, redux
One team had no trouble with travel but once again found the road problematic: USC lost in the Midwest after a bye for the second time.
Last month, the Trojans had two weeks to prepare for a date at Wisconsin, then played abysmally in a 24-7 loss.
They were not much better at Indiana on Saturday afternoon, losing 27-13 under the same circumstances.
The result has several layers of implications.
It knocked the Trojans (7-3) out of the College Football Playoff race. There’s a decent chance a three-loss team will make the at-large field — perhaps even a three-loss team from the Big Ten — but it won’t be USC.
The Trojans are done, which means Lincoln Riley could very well have two games left in his USC coaching career.
If that’s the case, the Trojans would be one of two and perhaps three blue-blood programs looking for a head coach in the upcoming hiring cycle. Florida State has a vacancy, and Michigan might, as well. (The Kyle Whittingham experiment is a giant flop.)
USC’s loss also undercut Oregon mad dash for the playoffs in a fashion that will take a moment to explain.
The Ducks (7-3) have a fairly narrow path into the CFP through the at-large pool but could earn the Big Ten’s automatic bid by winning the conference.
But to do that, they must first qualify for the championship — a process that would have been vastly more likely if the Trojans had beaten Indiana, which is currently blocking Oregon’s path.
Now, the Ducks need to win out and hope for massive carnage elsewhere in order to sneak into the CFP.
3. #Pac12AfterDark: The Big 12 version
The FAA issues Friday forced Utah to remain in Salt Lake City overnight and prompted Fox to change the time of the Utes’ showdown at Arizona.
Instead of starting at 4:30 p.m. Pacific (primetime on the East Coast), kickoff was moved to 7:30 p.m. (primetime on the West Coast). Fans will recognize that broadcast window as home of #Pac12AfterDark games.
The No. 2 Utes and No. 23 Wildcats proceeded to deliver one of the most riveting #AfterDark matchups in years even though they are now members of the Big 12.
Utah’s 40-39 victory belongs on the short list of the best games of the season in any conference.
It featured seven lead changes, 915 total yards and stellar performances by both quarterbacks, Utah’s Devon Dampier and Arizona’s Noah Fifita.
The victory kept Utah (10-0) on course for the school’s first playoff berth and a spot in the Big 12 championship.
In fact, the Utes probably could lose twice — to TCU or West Virginia and in the conference championship — and make the cut for the CFP.
4. Back to The Blue
Week 11 brought clarity to at least one corner of the postseason canvas: Boise State will host the Pac-12 championship game (against an undetermined opponent) on Dec. 4 after outlasting Oregon State on Saturday evening 46-41.
The Broncos (9-1) are vulnerable defensively — they have given up 124 points in the past three weeks to Texas State, Colorado State and OSU — but unstoppable offensively.
No team in the Pac-12 comes close to matching their combination of playmakers, quarterback (Maddux Madsen) and offensive line dominance.
A day that began with ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ broadcasting from campus finished on a high note, as well:
New Mexico was upset at home by UNLV, eliminating one of Boise State’s top competitors for the CFP.
Based on the best available metrics and the most recent selection committee rankings, it appears the Broncos will earn the Group of Six berth to the CFP as long as they win out.
If they lose, the situation could turn tricky, depending on the results in the American race.
5. CFP projections
With two weekends remaining in the regular season, a handful of teams have effectively clinched bids to the CFP so long as they don’t crater in the final fortnight.
Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami, Georgia, UCLA, Utah and Boise State are in stellar position.
Here are the Hotline’s current CFP bid projections:
ACC: Miami and Wake Forest
Big 12: Utah and Texas Tech
Big Ten: Indiana and UCLA
SEC: Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee
Independent: Notre Dame
Group of Six: Boise State
Could a third team from the Big Ten take the place of the fourth from the SEC? Sure. And there’s no guarantee both the Big 12 and ACC will send two.
Then again, it’s possible (although not likely) that the Big 12 will send three.
Generally, the field is trending in the direction sketched above, in part because quarterback issues have left the Big Ten light at the top.
The post Saturday Night Five: ASU and Washington manage FAA mayhem, USC wilts, Utah survives, Boise State clinches and our CFP projections first appeared on Sports360AZ.