(Nathan Giese | Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

“Remember November” is a common adage in college football emphasizing that the games played in the final month of the season that determine how a team is judged. Now is time for the final push.

There are only four weeks remaining in the regular season. Conference title races are still wide open, but they will not be wide open for long. Many are in the hunt but teams will start getting eliminated weekly moving forward.

Things start to get more serious when the temperature drops. Top teams in the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 could all make statements this week as the final push in 2025 begins.

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A big game in CoMo highlights a thin SEC slate

There are five teams in the SEC on bye this week. That creates a lighter slate than normal in the most popular conference in college football. There is a monstrous game in Columbia, but another SEC staple doesn’t have the same shine as usual.

Texas A&M (5-0), Alabama (5-0), Georgia (5-1), Ole Miss (5-1), and Texas (4-1) sit at the top of the SEC standings with four weeks left to play.

— Georgia (7-1, 5-1) at Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4): UGA has just two SEC games remaining with a huge rivalry game against Georgia Tech looming at the end of the year. A big home game with Texas looms next week. Mississippi State finally ended their long SEC losing streak and has given Tennessee and Texas scares in Starkville. Kirby Smart‘s team has messed around in a lot of games. This is a sneaky one to watch in the noon window. State’s spread tempo scheme is similar to the ones at Ole Miss and Tennessee that gave UGA so much trouble this season.

— Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0) at Missouri (6-2, 2-2): A&M’s dream season will move to Faurot Field this weekend. Missouri true freshman quarterback Matt Zollers will be making his first career start. This is one of the toughest tests of the season for Aggies but they have cleared almost every test with ease. Another home loss would officially take the Tigers out of playoff consideration.

— Auburn (4-5, 1-5) at Vanderbilt (7-2, 3-2): Does D.J. Durkin have a real chance to land the permanent gig at Auburn? We could find out on Saturday afternoon in Nashville. Auburn’s elite run defense should give Vandy’s option offense some real challenges.

— LSU (5-3, 2-3) at Alabama (7-1, 5-0): This game is expected to be one of the best in the SEC every season. That is not the case in 2025. LSU will have an interim head coach and interim offensive coordinator. Alabama has rolled over Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Can the Tigers be the first team to keep a game within double-digits in Tuscaloosa?

A large one at Kinnick Stadium

Indiana (6-0), Ohio State (5-0), Michigan (5-1), USC (5-1), Oregon (4-1), and Iowa (4-1) are all very much in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff fight. All signs point to a Hoosiers-Buckeyes matchup in Indianapolis for the conference title in December. But a huge game in Iowa City could determine the third Big Ten team to receive a playoff bid.

— Oregon (7-1, 4-1) at Iowa (6-2, 4-1): The Ducks are right where many expected but they swapped an expected road loss to Penn State for a home loss to Indiana. Oregon has dominated its schedule but its been a soft schedule to this point. Dan Lanning‘s team will get a statement opportunity on Saturday. Iowa is great on defense and is running the hell out of the football. This one could be a highly entertaining slugfest on CBS.

— Indiana (9-0, 6-0) at Penn State (3-5, 0-5): All signs point to Indiana finishing the season undefeated, but if they were going to drop a game, this one would be it. The Hoosiers have never won in Happy Valley and Penn State still has dudes on this roster.

— Maryland (4-4, 1-4) at Rutgers (4-5, 1-5): There is a potential hot seat situation brewing in College Park. Mike Locksley really cannot afford to lose this game after the Terps droped four consecutive one-score games.

— Washington (6-2, 3-2) at Wisconsin (2-6, 0-5): The Huskies have quite the opportunity with games against Purdue (home) and UCLA (road) upcoming before a huge rivalry game against Oregon in Seattle on Thanksgiving weekend. They just need to win one more multi-time zone road game. Will Wisconsin show some inspired fight after the university announced that Luke Fickell will return in 2026?

All eyes on Lubbock

Texas Tech will play the biggest football game in program history in 17 years on Saturday afternoon. Graham Harrell finding Michael Crabtree was the last time ESPN brought “College GameDay” to West Texas. Could we be in for some more fireworks?

First-place in the Big 12 is on the line. The Red Raiders have played like a top-five team all season. BYU just keeps finding ways to win football games. One team will leave Week 11 with a great chance to make the playoff. This could be an early preview of the Big 12 Championship Game.

This Saturday could be boring or chaotic for the ACC

Virginia (5-0), Georgia Tech (5-1), Pittsburgh (5-1), Louisville (4-1), SMU (4-1), and Duke (4-1) are all fighting for the ACC’s automatic bid. Only two teams will make it to Charlotte. Three of these teams are big favorites on Saturday but they all need to be careful.

— SMU (6-3, 4-1) at Boston College (1-8, 0-5): The Mustangs are fresh off the biggest home win in ages and now must travel all the way to the Northeast to play Boston College in the “Red Bandana Game” in the noon window. Rhett Lashlee‘s team better be ready to go or they could be in trouble.

— California (5-4, 2-3) at Louisville (7-1, 4-1): The Cards will be without star tailback Isaac Brown this week after messing around with Boston College and Virginia Tech since the big road win against Miami. Cal has been a live road underdog under Justin Wilcox and could be explosive enough on offense to give UofL a scare.

— Wake Forest (5-3, 2-3) at Virginia (8-1, 5-0): The Hoos have been playing with fire for about a month now. Wake Forest might have the best defense in this conference. With huge games against Duke and Virginia Tech on deck, Virginia could find itself in a look ahead situation.