Week 11 is in the books and it was the most chaotic of the 2019 season thus far. From major upsets to top five clashes, this week brought fans the type of anarchy that makes college football great. Here are the top five studs and duds from a wild Week 11.
Stud: Jonathon Taylor
In case you haven’t heard, Jonathon Taylor is really good at football. Wisconsin’s star running back had another incredible performance in a big-time matchup, this time against the Iowa Hawkeyes. He never found the end zone, but he piled up 250 rushing yards and was borderline unstoppable.
Dud: Wake Forest
The ACC doesn’t have many ranked teams right now, but Wake Forest was still in the midst of a very promising season heading into Week 11. Unfortunately for the Demon Deacons, they laid an egg this week and lost to a very suspect Virginia Tech team.
Stud: Kedon Slovis
USC locked up a major win in the Pac 12 South with their victory over Arizona State, and it was all thanks to an incredible performance by their starting quarterback. Kedon Slovis threw for 432 yards and tossed four touchdown passes.
Dud: Kansas State
Kansas State made national headlines with their upset win over Oklahoma. This win notched them the No. 16 spot in the playoff committee’s first ranking. That status is now in jeopardy following their Week 11 loss to a now unranked Texas team. Quarterback Skylar Thompson played well enough, but the Wildcats couldn’t run the ball and their defense couldn’t make a key stop in the fourth quarter.
Stud: Brock Purdy
It was a losing effort, but Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy was sensational against Oklahoma. It was tough sledding through three quarters, but the Cyclones’ offense came alive in the fourth quarter, nearly eliminating the Sooners from the playoff conversation. Purdy only threw for 282 yards with an additional 55 on the ground, but he was responsible for all six of the team’s touchdowns.
Dud: The Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State blew a 28-3 lead at home to Illinois. No further analysis is needed.
Stud: Ed Orgeron
LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and head coach Ed Orgeron have been the talk of the college football world since the season started, but everyone still had to ask the question: can they beat Alabama? We now have our answer; yes. In the biggest game of the season, the Tigers went into Tuscaloosa and beat the Crimson Tide. Ohio State has looked dominant, but LSU has the strongest resume in the country by light-years.
Dud: TCU in the second half
TCU had Baylor on the ropes for the better part of three quarters, but they weren’t able to seal the deal and close out their upset bid. The Horned Frogs were shut out in the second half (until overtime) and fell just short of another marquee win.
Stud: Tanner Morgan
The single greatest performance of Week 11 and arguably the entire 2019 season was by Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan against No. 4 Penn State. Morgan completed 18 of his 20 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns against one of the greatest defenses in the country. There is a ton of praise to go around for the now 9-0 Minnesota Golden Gophers, but their quarterback was sensational on Saturday.
Dud: Anyone not watching college football
I was out of significant failures to highlight so I decided to praise college football instead. This week was absolutely bananas and a perfect example of what makes college football great: major upsets, close games, tons of drama, and bitter rivalries.
