Week 11 college football TV schedule and open thread

The Florida Gators have left the field after picking up another loss at another stop on the Jim McEl-Train of Season Ending Sadness - though this one was more competitive, and in my opinion, stung less than the two that preceded it.

Gator fans also missed the opportunity to scout potential Florida head coaching candidates Scott Frost of UCF and Matt Campbell of Iowa State - as those teams played alongside the Gators in the noon slot. But because I care about you dear readers, I’ll tell you that the Knights topped UConn (49-21), and that Campbell’s Cyclones, as of this writing, are currently down in an about-to-end shootout with Oklahoma State.

But cheer up college football aficionados, there are three games today that exclusively feature top-ten teams, and other worthy viewing options. So, settle in for an afternoon and evening of watching other games and letting top-ranked teams wash the taste of whatever transpired in Columbia today out of your mouth.

Feel free to hang out in this thread while watching any of today’s games.

Here are our picks for the remainder of today’s viewing windows:

Afternoon (3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern)

Georgia at Auburn (3:30 p.m., CBS): Stay on the Eye Network after the Gator game if you want to watch the first of the three top-ten tilts today, and the only one involving the SEC. The No. 1 Bulldogs travel to face the No. 10 Tigers in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. Georgia has taken five out of the last six meetings between these two teams, with the last Auburn win coming via a stunner in 2013.

Florida State at Clemson (3:30 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): You can check out the Seminoles when they visit the No. 4 Tigers, I guess. Perhaps some calamitous play will befall the strugglines Noles? Clemson should be fine, and take their third victory in a row over FSU, but there is reason to believe this could still be competitive - namely because the Seminoles still field a talented defense.

Iowa at Wisconsin (3:30 p.m., ABC/WatchESPN): The No. 20 Hawkeyes and No. 8 Badgers engage in a Big Ten brawl this afternoon. Last week Iowa pulled a momentous upset of then top-ten Ohio State, and hopes to do it again against undefeated Wisconsin. The Badgers are the only remaining undefeated team in the conference and seem to be holding the Big Ten’s playoff hopes in their claws.

In other games: Some weeks there are a lot of decent games on the schedule but few good ones. And then some weeks there is a helping of marquee match-ups in each time slot and a bunch of other... stuff. This is one of those weeks. Do you want to watch Kentucky at Vanderbilt (4:00 p.m.)? I didn’t think so.

Evening (7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Eastern)

Alabama at Mississippi State (7:00 p.m., ESPN/WatchESPN): The undefeated No. 2 Crimson Tide roll into Starkville to face potential Florida head coaching candidate Dan Mullen’s No. 16 Bulldogs. MSU has lost nine in a row to Alabama, and the Crimson Tide seem likely to claim a decade of dominance over the overmatched Bulldogs this evening.

Notre Dame at Miami (8:00 p.m., ABC/WatchESPN): The No. 3 Irish and No. 7 Hurricanes are the marquee game of the day. Quick: what year is it? (That joke isn’t overdone yet today, right?) Notre Dame is ranked higher than Miami by the CFB Playoff Committee, despite the Irish having a loss, and Notre Dame is slightly favored in this match-up. The Hurricanes are presently on a nation-best 13 game win streak, with their last loss coming last October - against Notre Dame.

TCU at Oklahoma (8:00 p.m., FOX): The No. 6 Horned Frogs and No. 5 Sooners boost offensive firepower, and sit atop the Big 12 standings. This is the third top-ten tilt of the day. TCU actually has a functioning defense - an exception in its conference - but Oklahoma has Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Baker Mayfield. There is a fair chance for fireworks in this one.

In other games: As I mentioned in the last time slot, there isn’t much else going on besides the marquee match-ups. Do you want to watch Tennessee at Missouri (7:30 p.m.)? I didn’t think so.

And here’s your schedule table.