College football's Week 11 didn't feature quite as many fireworks as previous weeks. Instead, it turned into a prove-it Saturday for the College Football Playoff contenders.

No. 1 Georgia cemented itself as the best team in the nation with an obliteration of Missouri, while No. 13 Wake Forest proved they belonged in the mix. No. 11 Kentucky lost a heartbreaker to Florida to likely end their chances, while No. 14 Houston pushed itself into purgatory.

The Big 12 owned the night slate, and it delivered a few legitimate contenders. No. 2 Utah survived a battle in the desert against No. 23 Arizona, while No. 12 Texas Tech cast aside worries in a 52-27 win against No. 25 Oklahoma State. Here are the biggest winners and losers of Week 11.

The Utes were thrust into one of the wilder situations of the FAA pause, losing out on a flight to Arizona over pilots timing out. Instead of crumbling, No. 2 Utah flew in the morning of the game and put together a sensational fourth-quarter comeback to outlast No. 23 Arizona 40-39 and move to 10-0.

Utah got 200 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and four touchdowns from quarterback Devon Dampier as he narrowly outdueled Arizona star Noah Fifita. Especially with the poor play and carnage around the top of the bracket, Utah looks closer to the No. 1 overall team than missing out on a bye.

The Tigers appeared poised to finally pick up a signature win under Lane Kiffin and maximize their extremely expensive roster. Instead, in a last-second 22-21 loss against No. 6 Texas, all of the frustrations of the Kiffin era to this point floated to the surface.

Kiffin's signature offense faltered down the stretch, finishing with four straight punts in the fourth quarter. They played miserable situational football, finishing with nearly 100 more yards than Texas but fewer points. Turnovers and mistakes proved costly, especially penalties that kept the Longhorns on the field.

Now, Kiffin joins Curley Hallman as the only first-year coaches to lose at least four games in their first season in the past 35 years.

The Red Raiders were targets of ridicule last week after narrowly surviving a shootout against West Virginia. A trip to No. 25 Oklahoma State felt like the end of the road. Instead, No. 12 Texas Tech rose to the occasion and should now see themselves projected into the postseason.

Transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos has been a revelation for the Red Raiders, bringing a level of dynamism at the position that was sorely needed. Castellanos threw for 263 yards and four touchdowns in the win. But most importantly, the defense stepped up, pitching a second-half shutout against the best offense in the Big 12 until the waning seconds. Finally, Texas Tech looks like a conference contender again.

The Lobos have been one of the best stories in college football, but their dark horse playoff dreams came to a close after a disappointing 21-17 loss against UNLV. Former five-star quarterback Jackson Arnold broke off a 44-yard run against one of the best defenses in America to ice the game and give Dan Mullen a signature win.

New Mexico was already behind Boise State in the CFP race, but now UTSA likely moves ahead of them as well.

The Dawgs are back in business after a sensational performance against No. 22 Missouri. The Bulldogs ground the Tigers into a fine powder, taking a 31-0 lead barely halfway through the second quarter. The 48-21 win -- led by three touchdowns from running back Nate Frazier -- only continued a stretch of impressive play from Georgia.

Over a period of just under 10 quarters, Georgia outscored opponents 100-15. All three of those games were against teams ranked at the time, headlined by a 42-7 win over No. 10 Ole Miss. Georgia looks like championship Georgia again.

Kentucky coach Will Stein launched himself to the top of national coach of the year boards midseason after leading the Wildcats to an incredible 7-1 start and a No. 6 CFP Ranking. Unfortunately, despite a worthy effort, the season is quickly crashing to the ground.

The Wildcats lost a heartbreaker, 21-14, to a struggling Florida team. Kentucky allowed a 14-play touchdown drive in the fourth quarter and threw four straight incompletions with a chance to go and win the game. Now, Kentucky's playoff hopes are virtually dead, opening the door for numerous other contenders to get in the mix.

The Demon Deacons haven't gotten much respect during their run to 9-1, and poor SMU was the target of their wrath. Wake Forest absolutely obliterated the Mustangs 49-7, taking a 42-0 lead in the first half.

Wake Forest has dominated teams in every phase of the game, both outpassing and outrushing opponents over the past six games. Quarterback Gio Lopez has been especially good, throwing for 19 touchdowns to only one interception. The Demon Deacons don't beat themselves, and those successes add up.

The Trojans' win over Ohio State sure looks like a major indictment of the Buckeyes because outside of that game, USC has been horrible. USC lost 27-13 against No. 9 Indiana as the Hoosiers made a quarterback change. In his first start as the guy, Grant Wilson threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns against a lackluster USC defense.

Outside of Ohio State, USC lost by a combined 28 points against their two ranked opponents. Their other Big Ten wins are by a combined 19 points. The Trojans are wildly underperforming, and Indiana helped show their cracks.

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