Takeaways from College Football Week 11: Wake Forest is for real, Georgia reigns supreme

College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 11 delivered, from a lopsided victory in Dallas to a last-second comeback in Baton Rouge and everything in between.

Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders, and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.

1. Wake Forest demands our attention.

The Demon Deacons continue their assault on the ACC. They’ve beaten their last five ACC opponents by an average of 39.6 points, and they certainly made a point with the way they jumped all over SMU on Saturday, just two days after Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert signed a long-term extension. With a 42-0 lead at halftime, Dickert told radio sideline reporter Dave Goren, “We’re not finished with them yet. We came for 60 minutes, and they’ve got nowhere to hide” — an all-time great coach quote from the midst of a beatdown. But this was clearly a message sent to the College Football Playoff selection committee, which hasn’t been ranking the Deacs high enough to make the 12-team bracket so far.

I feel like so much of the (mis)perception of Wake Forest is due to preconceived notions everyone had about the ACC coming into the season. Outside of Miami, people talked up Louisville and SMU, neither of which turned out to be anything close to the second-best team in the league. It’s taken everyone too long to give the Deacs their due. Not me, though! I’ve had them on my AP ballot since Week 4. Give Gio Lopez and Carlos Hernandez their rightful due!

2. Georgia is done playing with its food.

The Bulldogs have looked like the very best team in college football after the rather inexplicable loss to Auburn. In the three SEC games since that upset, Georgia has won its games by an average of 27 points. Georgia has been dominant on both sides of the ball, balanced on offense and its usual salty self on defense. Ole Miss got a taste of it a week ago, and Missouri became Georgia’s latest victim on Saturday.

3. Lane Kiffin might need to hire security at this point.

LSU did not spend all that money — and disrupt the entire sport’s ecosystem — to go 8-4. And 8-4 would be a best-case scenario at this point! Lane Kiffin’s squad is currently 6-4 after losing back-to-back games in fairly excruciating fashion, first to rival Alabama and then to Texas in the final seconds. Kiffin is now 5-19 (!) vs. top-ten teams as a head coach. He’s a pretty good head coach but not one of the game’s best, and he doesn’t get the most out of his teams in their biggest moments. I think the best word to use to describe Kiffin’s debut season in Baton Rouge is this: Disastrous.

4. Boy, Indiana needed that.

Curt Cignetti took some time this week to complain about the College Football Playoff selection committee after the Hoosiers dropped five spots after a bye. But this committee has been pretty consistent in its messaging. It loves big wins and will excuse (or discount) losses as long as there are signature wins to offset them (particularly in the SEC). Indiana has been shaky offensively for much of the year — but not against USC’s defense on Saturday. Grant Wilson threw for more than 300 yards and two touchdowns in his first Indiana start, and Indiana got its first win over a team the committee has in its Top 25.

5. Kentucky was a great story. But this is not a College Football Playoff team.

I said a few weeks ago that we were about to find out just how good these Wildcats are. They were 7-1 heading into their final stretch of SEC play — Tennessee, Florida and Missouri in three consecutive weeks. And, it turns out, the season-defining stretch did define the season for Kentucky. Saturday’s loss to unranked and reeling Florida followed a blowout loss to Tennessee. These back-to-back losses brought the Wildcats’ record to 7-3 and very likely knocked Kentucky out of the CFP.

Kentucky is still in great hands with Will Stein. It’s been a fantastic Year 1, and the program is trending in the right direction. But this season is not going to end with a historic CFP berth.

6. This is kind of a strange Heisman race!

You’ve got the best player in the sport (Jeremiah Smith) on a team that is wildly disappointing without its starting quarterback and likely won’t be playing on conference championship weekend. The potential top quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft (Drew Mestemaker) is on a team that’s not a CFP contender, which might mean voters aren’t watching him closely. CJ Carr is playing for a Notre Dame team that doesn’t have any ranked opponents left, so he also may not attract a ton of eyeballs down the stretch (and he, too, won’t be playing in a conference championship game).

Darian Mensah is hanging around — and Miami will almost certainly play in the ACC title game — but he lost to another Heisman Trophy contender in South Bend. Maybe Gunner Stockton gets some love as Georgia continues to bulldoze its way through the SEC? Or the electric Devon Dampier, whose Utes should play for a Big 12 title? Could either of those players make up some ground with some marquee opportunities ahead? It’s possible. It’s a weird (and weirdly quiet) Heisman race that seems to be missing buzz and big moments. But maybe I’ll be proven wrong in the weeks to come!

7. UCLA looks headed to the College Football Playoff.

The Bruins are 10-0. Yes, you read that right. Bob Chesney has totally flipped the script at UCLA in just one season. The Bruins went 3-9 a year ago and have already completed the greatest one-year turnaround in program history. But! They’re not done yet. They’ve got a trip to Michigan and a home game against crosstown rival USC before an expected trip to the Big Ten championship game. Still, it’s safe to pencil the Bruins into the CFP at this point — and rewrite ‘em in ink if they get one more win — especially when you look around and see the number of losses taken already by so many of the other CFP contenders. And what an achievement that is for Chesney and co.

8. Is it time to talk about the possibility of Kyle Whittingham as a one-and-done head coach at Michigan?

Another embarrassing on-field performance. Another week with foot-in-mouth comments to the media. It’s just not working out, and there’s nothing to really build on. What’s there to get fans or donors excited about Year 2?