The No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide blew out the No. 14 LSU Tigers in Death Valley, 42-13, to boost their College Football Playoff hopes and likely end LSU’s chances of getting on the field to play for a shot at a national title.

But there were plenty of other big games in college football in Week 11. Here are five takeaways from an absolutely fraught day in the sport.

Saturday marked the fourth time this season that the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes fell behind an opponent by at least two scores. In its previous three outings – at home against Virginia Tech, on the road against Cal and at home last Saturday against Duke – the Hurricanes offense led by star quarterback Cam Ward has been able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

But things were different this Saturday on the road in Atlanta against a feisty Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets team that often punches above its weight. The Yellow Jackets welcomed star quarterback Haynes King back to the lineup, and while he was still banged up and couldn’t present much in the passing game, his efficiency in the running game made a significant difference for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets ran for 271 yards as a team; threw two touchdowns in a limited passing game led by King and freshman quarterback Aaron Philo, who came in quite a bit; and forced Ward to take a sack defensively to seal the 28-23 victory.

It was Georgia Tech’s first victory over an AP top five opponent since 2009.

As for Miami, the defense remains a mixed bag, but the offense is elite. If the Hurricanes keep it together for 60 minutes, they’ll be a tough team to beat. But on Saturday, the inconsistency finally caught up with them, and they’ll have to clean things up to win a conference title and get into the College Football Playoff.

After their 7-0 start, the Iowa State Cyclones appeared to be the class of the Big 12. However, this conference entered the season as the single most wide-open power conference, and it has become that way as the Clones have dropped consecutive games.

First, it was a 23-22 loss at home to Texas Tech a week ago. Saturday was an unconscionable 45-36 loss to the previously 2-6 Kansas Jayhawks that wasn’t as competitive as the final score suggests. The Cyclones trailed 31-13 at halftime and fell behind 38-13 in the third quarter before scoring a pair of bad touchdowns in the fourth quarter to narrow the margin. Iowa State allowed 532 yards of offense — an unacceptable performance considering the type of team Kansas has been this season.

With Iowa State taking a bit of a backseat in the hunt for the Big 12 title, the intrigue surrounding No. 20 Colorado’s second-year turnaround under Deion Sanders continues to grow. The Buffaloes moved to 7-2 on the season with a 41-27 comeback win over Texas Tech on Saturday. Shedeur Sanders threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, while Heisman Trophy hopeful Travis Hunter caught nine passes for 99 yards and a score.

At 5-1 in the Big 12, Colorado owns sole second place in the league behind BYU and now controls its own destiny to reach the conference title game and earn a shot at a CFP berth. It’s quite a turnaround for a program that went 4-8 in Year 1 under Sanders, with six straight losses to end the 2023 campaign.

The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs traveled to Oxford, Miss., to take on the No. 16 Ole Miss Rebels and will return home with more questions than answers after a 28-10 drubbing.

Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck continued his uneven play, completing 20 of 31 passes for 186 yards and a bad interception in the fourth quarter as Georgia attempted a comeback. Beck’s play has left a lot to be desired of late for the now 7-2 Bulldogs as the passing attack has certainly taken a step back over the past two weeks. Beck threw three interceptions a week ago in the victory over Florida that was much closer than the final margin (14 points) indicated.

If Georgia wants to reach its potential as a true national title contender, Beck needs to play better to help the Bulldogs build their offense. Right now, teams are busy trying to stop the offense and put Georgia in passing situations that Beck hasn’t consistently delivered on.

Georgia concludes the season next week with a home game against another top-10 team in Tennessee before hosting UMass and Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs’ CFP resume is kept afloat by the win against then-No. 1 Texas on the road, so Georgia likely needs to win to reach the CFP as an overall contender, especially with its SEC title chances in life support.

Ole Miss was left for dead when it lost 29-26 to then-No. 13 LSU in overtime on Oct. 12. After all, it was the Rebels’ second loss of the season, with the first coming at the hands of a disappointing Kentucky Wildcats team. With Georgia still on the schedule, not many expected the Rebels to end the season with two losses and a real shot at the playoffs.

Now? Ole Miss is back in the conversation with one of the best wins in the country. If you win, you’ll probably make the bracket, even if you don’t make it to the SEC title game. The Rebels travel to Florida in two weeks before closing out the season at home against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl.

Entering Saturday’s game, the No. 8 Indiana Hoosiers had defeated all nine opponents by 14 points or more, despite not having a win over a top 25 opponent. The Hoosiers can only play whoever is in front of them, and they have proven time and time again that they are one of the twelve best teams in the country.

But while Saturday’s 20-15 win over the Michigan Wolverines at home looked different than the nine others on the schedule so far, it provided even more evidence and cemented Indiana’s status as a CFP team. Michigan’s elite defense caused problems for Indiana. The Hoosiers took an early lead and then had to get their possessions from offense and defense to keep the Wolverines at bay. Indiana held Michigan to 206 yards and 5-of-15 on third down.

“What are we, 10–0? Not bad,” first-year Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti joked on the field after the game.

Not bad at all.

The Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time in school history, and even if they fall short on the road against Ohio State in two weeks, there could be a win-and-in scenario for the CFP in the final week of play have to play. regular season against Purdu.