ESPN staffNov 8, 2025, 06:12 PM ET
There are few sports that treasure the unlikely, the unconventional and the outright strange quite like college football.
Each new week often proves to be a new adventure, with fresh main characters popping up at seemingly every turn. Week 11 was no different. USC got sneaky with its roster numbers to pull off an interesting fake punt. “Star Wars” characters were in attendance in Orlando (sort of). And, in a sign that not every adventure has to break new ground to be fun, Army ended a game with nearly 10 minute…
ESPN staffNov 8, 2025, 06:12 PM ET
There are few sports that treasure the unlikely, the unconventional and the outright strange quite like college football.
Each new week often proves to be a new adventure, with fresh main characters popping up at seemingly every turn. Week 11 was no different. USC got sneaky with its roster numbers to pull off an interesting fake punt. “Star Wars” characters were in attendance in Orlando (sort of). And, in a sign that not every adventure has to break new ground to be fun, Army ended a game with nearly 10 minutes of runs.
Just like every week, we’ll be handing out a set of nontraditional superlatives to honor some of the more ... offbeat ... storylines from Week 11 of the college football season.
Craziest start(s): The weekday games
Week 11 saw six games kick off on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. And one of the two games on each of those days started off with a bang.
On the first play from scrimmage of Tuesday’s UMass-Akron contest, the Minutemen attempted and botched a flea flicker, leading to a fumble recovered by the Zips. Then, on Wednesday, Toledo raced the opening kickoff of its game against Northern Illinois 96 yards for a touchdown. On Thursday, UTSA started with the ball – and threw a 40-yard pick-six on its first play of scrimmage to South Florida.
Most subtle fashion change: Sam Huard
Tied with Northwestern in the second quarter of a Friday night contest at the Coliseum, USC opted for some trickery to generate a spark. Lining up for a punt on fourth-and-6, the Trojans lined up third-string quarterback Sam Huard in the punter’s usual position, where he completed a quick pass to move the chains.
One distinct detail was essential in selling the fake: Huard wasn’t wearing his usual number. A few weeks ago, the reserve signal-caller quietly changed his number from No. 7 to No. 80 on USC’s game-day roster in anticipation of the play. Not coincidentally, Trojans punter Sam Johnson also wears No. 80.
It’s not the first time a team has used some dual-number trickeration to pull off a fake – during bowl season last year Bowling Green’s third-string quarterback, Baron May, changed uniform numbers to be similar to Falcon punter John Henderson’s No. 19, helping him throw a fake punt touchdown pass in the first quarter of the 68 Ventures Bowl.
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) November 8, 2025
Big-picture win of the week: Indiana
With a last-second touchdown by Omar Cooper Jr. keeping an undefeated season alive, Indiana’s Week 11 win over Penn State was undoubtedly one that will be remembered by the Hoosier faithful for a long time.
It also, however, was an important victory for a reason that takes a much larger scope. With Northwestern having lost the night before, a victory meant Indiana is no longer the losingest program in the FBS.
Entering the week, the two teams were tied at 715 losses for the most all time in FBS history. Thanks to Cooper Jr.‘s catch, that shared title is no longer, another feather in the cap of the Hoosiers’ unlikely rise from Big Ten afterthoughts to prominent power.
Busiest weekend: Newlywed Texas Tech fans
Earlier in the week, a post by Red Raider fan Taylor Karrh went viral on X lamenting that his wedding had been scheduled on the same weekend at the first “College GameDay” trip to Lubbock since 2008.
One compromise was floated – if Karrh could get 1 million reposts, his fiancee would allow the wedding to be moved. But another – considerably more attainable, though less sleep-friendly – compromise was evidently found in time: flying into Lubbock early Saturday morning.
Married on Friday. A “GameDay” live segment on Saturday morning. A top-10 clash in the afternoon. What more could you want in a weekend?
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 8, 2025
[Best fan attire](http://Best fan attire: UCF UCF hosted its ninth Space Game on Friday night, an annual tradition that celebrates the school’s deep connections to the aerospace aviation industry. Needless to say, Golden Knight fans understood the assignment. While Halloween may have been the week prior, space-themed costumes still abounded at Acrisure Bounce House (though the direction some of the costumes took varied) as UCF took on Houston. Among those in attendance were astronauts – some in full garb and some bare-chested – Martians and ): UCF
UCF hosted its ninth Space Game on Friday night, an annual tradition that celebrates the school’s deep connections to the aerospace aviation industry.
Needless to say, Golden Knight fans understood the assignment. While Halloween may have been the week prior, space-themed costumes still abounded at Acrisure Bounce House (though the direction some of the costumes took varied) as UCF took on Houston. Among those in attendance were astronauts – some in full garb and some bare-chested – Martians and “Star Wars” characters.
Most on-brand ending to a game: Army
Army moved to 5-4 on the year on Saturday, securing a win over Temple in the most Army fashion imaginable: running its opponent into the ground.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the contest, the Black Knights got the ball at their own 42-yard line. They proceeded to spend the next nine minutes and 45 seconds of game time pounding the Owls into submission, bleeding the clock with an 18-play drive – every one of which was a run – that included a pair of fourth-down conversions and came to a close with a pair of kneel-downs to take the clock to quadruple zeros.
Lol Army beat Temple 14-13 by running the final 9:53 off the clock on an 18-play drive that included two fourth down conversions. pic.twitter.com/LDBwnw7JGx
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) November 8, 2025