Eight worst performances of Week 11 in college football

Some Saturdays just go sideways. Week 11 gave us bad QB play from the veteran starters, poor special teams execution, and even worse tempers. We kept this list to losing efforts whenever possible, with rare exceptions when the showing was too rough to ignore. Here are eight performances that flunked the eye test in Week 11.

1. Wisconsin's passing game, somehow in a win

Wisconsin beat No. 23 Washington 13-10 with a passing line that looks like it was straight out of the 1940's. The Badgers completed six of 18 passes for 48 yards, and their leading passer on the day was the punter, Sean West, at 1 of 1 for 24 yards on a fake. That is not a typo. It worked because the defense blocked a 50-yard field goal late and the run game bled the clock, but the air attack was the worst part of any winning effort this weekend.

2. BYU's offense in Lubbock

Top-10 label or not, BYU's offense looked overwhelmed in a 29-7 loss at Texas Tech. True freshman QB Bear Bachmeier took hits, lost a fumble in the fourth quarter, and could not find any chunk plays against a Texas Tech front that lived in the backfield. Tech turned takeaways into points, and the Cougars never answered. For a group that arrived 8-0, that loss will sit in the CFP committee's minds.

Iowa State Cyclones' linebacker Caleb Bacon and linebacker Kooper Ebel takes down BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

3. Oregon State special teams

Oregon State outgained Sam Houston 474-157 and still lost 21-17 because special teams imploded. The Beavers allowed a kickoff return touchdown and a blocked punt return touchdown, gifting 14 points on a day when their offense moved the ball but did not finish drives. You cannot spot two return scores and expect to escape.

4. DJ Lagway and Garrett Nussmeier, benched on bad days

Florida turned to Max Brown after true freshman DJ Lagway struggled in a 38-7 loss at Kentucky. It was the Gators' worst margin in the series since the 1970s and the switch was a mercy in a game where nothing worked. LSU made a similar in-game move at Alabama, sitting Garrett Nussmeier during a 20-9 loss after a rough start in Tuscaloosa. Both staffs were searching for a spark that never came.

5. Texas State and Louisiana — the worst kind of postgame

An entertaining 42-39 finish turned ugly when players from both teams were involved in an on-field skirmish after the final whistle. Video show punches thrown and coaches pulling players away as tempers boiled over. Rivalries can run hot but sportsmanship lost the night.

Texas State players started a HUGE brawl as they lost to Louisiana 42-39.

UL’s Coach Des in the post-game media said this was “completely classless and embarrassing on [Texas State’s} part.”

He did say a UL player was injured in the tunnel as TXST continued the fight up there. pic.twitter.com/kWkKoK1Ft6
— Cajun Sports Talk™ (@CajunSportsTalk) November 9, 2025

6. Louisville and Virginia, a rough ACC double feature

Louisville took a damaging overtime home loss to Cal, 24-21, after leading late in the fourth quarter. Virginia's offense never scored a touchdown in a 16-9 loss to Wake Forest that swung on a 52-yard punt return to the house with five minutes left. Two results that clipped momentum and have turned the ACC into the conference of chaos.

7. TCU's late-game collapse on special teams

Leading 17-6 in the fourth at home, TCU allowed a one-yard plunge to trim the margin, then gave up a 79-yard punt return touchdown to lose the lead with 6:32 left. The Horned Frogs turned it over three times and watched Iowa State snap a skid, 20-17.

8. Colorado's bowl hopes fade in Morgantown

West Virginia used a linebacker-turned-running back for two short touchdown runs and leaned on freshman QB Scotty Fox Jr. to close out a 29-22 win. The result eliminated Colorado from bowl contention and summed up a season of near-misses.

Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images