NCAA Football: Michigan at Penn State
Matthew O'Haren / USA TODAY Sports

Two of the Big Ten's premier programs played a slobberknocker as the Week 11 college football slate brought the true national contenders to the forefront. No. 3 Michigan passed its first test with flying colors, while No. 9 Ole Miss flailed under expectations. No. 7 Texas leaned on its playmakers to survive a late challenge, and Washington picked up a much-needed quality win. 

Now, the race for the top four is coming down the wire as nine Power Five teams remain with one loss or fewer heading into the final weeks of November. All still have a realistic path to the College Football Playoff if things go right. 

A couple of conference championship races were set on Saturday. No. 2 Georgia will face No. 8 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 2 (4 p.m. ET on CBS). New Mexico State will play Liberty for the Conference USA title. Meanwhile, remaining races are still wide open and filled with chaos. 

Let's have a look at the biggest winners and losers in Week 11, including a handful of performances that bring the national championship race into clearer picture. 

Winner: Michigan

Few in college football can understand the chaos that Michigan has experienced over the past 24 hours. The question of Jim Harbaugh's status hung over the program until, quite literally, moments before the game started. The coach's suspension was handed down on Friday while the team was on its flight to face No. 10 Penn State. 

Yet amid all the drama, Michigan came out and stood tall. The Wolverines took a 14-3 lead in the second quarter against Penn State and would never surrender. Michigan rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns behind a breakout performance from senior Blake Corum, and needed just eight passes from quarterback J.J. McCarthy to pull off a win. 

After the game, Wolverines players and coaches were emotional. The performance was focused and impressive. Michigan remains a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten, and a marquee matchup with No. 1 Ohio State remains circled to end the year. 

Loser: Oklahoma State

One week ago, Oklahoma State beat rival Oklahoma to send the Bedlam series off with a final victory and take control of the Big 12 title race. The Cowboys followed it up with a bizarre 45-3 loss to UCF as the Knights earned their only win over a legacy Big 12 opponent. 

Star running back Ollie Gordon II missed much of the game after suffering early injuries, and the Cowboys crumbled. Quarterback Alan Bowman threw three interceptions and the defense allowed nearly 600 yards, just shy of both 300 yards through the air and on the ground. 

Trying to make any sense of this Cowboys team is a fool's errand. In Week 3, Oklahoma State lost 33-7 to South Alabama. Two weeks later, it beat Kansas State. The Cowboys need some things to fall right to reach the Big 12 Championship Game, but games against Houston and BYU are manageable. Regardless, Oklahoma State is making their own lives far more difficult.

Winner: Missouri

The Tigers have been one of the most pleasant surprises in college football during a breakout 8-2 campaign. Missouri crushed No. 13 Tennessee 36-7 as former Truman State running back Cody Schrader exploded for 200 yards on the ground and 100 through the air, the first SEC player in history to reach both of those marks in a game. 

The win was only the latest impressive performance from Missouri during a breakout season. The Tigers gave Georgia its toughest game of the year on the road, while wins over Kansas State and Kentucky continue to age well. Remaining games against Florida and Arkansas give Mizzou a chance to earn its first 10-win season since 2014. 

Missouri was picked sixth in its own division and was one of four teams to not earn a single preseason vote for SEC champion. After the Tennessee win, the Tigers have proven themselves as the third-best team in the SEC. If Missouri can avoid slip-ups, the Tigers just might earn a New Year's Six berth. 

Winner: Alabama QB Jalen Milroe

The reports of Alabama's death are greatly exaggerated. Once a liability, Jalen Milroe has emerged as the best offensive player on the roster. Milroe followed up his four-touchdown performance against LSU with six on the road against Kentucky -- three on the ground, three through the air. 

The six touchdowns against a solid UK defense helped key a dynamic 49-21 victory as Alabama moved to 9-1. The Tide controlled their own destiny in the SEC West race, and the victory clinched the division title. But more importantly, Milroe's performances in his last two games show untapped upside heading into a critical part of the season. 

Early in the year, Alabama would have been a major underdog in the SEC Championship Game. After Milroe's improvements, Dec. 2 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will have major national championship implications. 

Loser: Penn State's wide receivers

Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has received the lion's share of the blame after losses to Ohio State and Michigan, and for good reason. The sophomore threw for 261 yards on an embarrassing 4.1 yards per attempt in the two losses. But against Michigan one thing became exceptionally clear: his wide receivers are doing him no favors. 

Tight end Tyler Warren was the only player on the team with more than 13 yards receiving as the receivers posted just 7 yards per reception. The issues reached a head against Michigan, but Penn State's pass-catchers have been an issue all year. Keandre Lambert-Smith is the only wide receiver on the team that came into Saturday with more than 200 yards receiving. 

Allar is a talented quarterback, but he desperately needs help. The Nittany Lions don't have any outside playmakers. Heading into a pivotal 2024, James Franklin's only priority should be upgrading Allar's receiving corps. 

Winner: Northwestern

Northwestern interim coach David Braun was handed one of the biggest messes in college football after former coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired. The Wildcats already had their work cut out coming off a 1-11 season before Fitzgerald's dismissal, and were considered the worst team in the Big Ten West. After a 24-10 win over Wisconsin, Northwestern has pulled off the turnaround of the season while moving to 5-5. 

Wisconsin struck first, but Northwestern responded with 24 unanswered points in the first two quarters to shock the Badgers. Quarterback Ben Bryant -- ironically, Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell's former QB at Cincinnati -- threw for two touchdowns in his return from injury. 

The Wildcats have winnable games against Purdue and Illinois remaining to close the year. If Northwestern can nab one, the program can reach its first bowl game in a full season since 2018. Reaching bowl eligibility in this tumultuous year would be one of the best coaching jobs of the season. 

Loser: Ole Miss

There's no shame in losing to Georgia. Every opponent has done it since the conclusion of the 2021 season. There's some shame, however, in being a top-10 team and getting wiped off the field the way the Rebels continue to against quality opponents. 

Ole Miss lost 52-17 and allowed more than 600 yards to the Bulldogs. After scoring first, Georgia went on a 45-7 run over the next 40 minutes of game time, one of the most dominant runs of the season. The Rebels kicked a sad field goal from the red zone with only 9 minutes remaining to make it look a little better. 

Lane Kiffin's teams at Ole Miss have put together nice records, but have been wholly embarrassed by elite teams. In fact, Kiffin only has one win in his college coaching career over a Power Five team that went on to win at least nine games in a season, though an upset over LSU this year may provide a second. At some point, Kiffin has to find a way to be more competitive or he runs the risk of falling behind in an SEC that will only get tougher when Texas and Oklahoma join. 

Winner: Texas WR Adonai Mitchell

Mitchell gambled by transferring from national champion Georgia to Texas, but the pairing has been a marriage made in heaven. The numbers in a 29-26 win over TCU won't jump off the page -- three catches for 61 yards and a touchdown -- but Mitchell made huge plays in the victory. Facing third-and-12 with the game on the line, Mitchell adjusted to a high-floating Quinn Ewers pass and managed to make a tough catch through multiple defenders. He also added a key touchdown to spark a Texas run. 

Mitchell does not get the volume of WR1 Xavier Worthy, but his impact has been massive during Texas' run to 9-1. The junior leads the team with nine touchdown receptions, including a pair in the win over Alabama. If Texas wins its first Big 12 title since 2009, Mitchell has a strong case as the X-factor. 

Loser: Duke

The Blue Devils didn't just have one miracle comeback against No. 24 North Carolina, they had two. After going down by 12 points in the fourth quarter, running back Jordan Waters went on a 15-0 run by himself to take a three-point lead. After a controversial overturned interception led to a UNC touchdown, Duke fought back again as Jordan Moore caught a 30-yard go-ahead pass with 41 seconds left. Again, North Carolina nailed a field goal as time expired to force overtime. 

Ultimately, the game ended with a 47-45 loss to the hated Tar Heels on a failed 2-point conversion as Duke was all but eliminated from the ACC Championship Game race. More frustrating, the loss leaves North Carolina as the top competition to Louisville as a potential party crasher in the title game. 

Winner: New Mexico State

Don't look now, but Jerry Kill is quietly putting together one of the greatest runs in New Mexico State history. After going down 14-0 in the first quarter, the Aggies stormed back to beat Western Kentucky 38-29 and clinch a trip to the Conference USA Championship Game in their first year as a member. The Aggies have not won a conference title since they were members of the Missouri Valley in 1978. The program has also not reached consecutive bowl games since 1960. Kill has a record of 15-9 in two seasons at New Mexico State, which ranks as the best winning percentage by any New Mexico State coach in the past 50 years.