Down goes Michigan? Bold predictions for Week 11 in college football

There's just three Saturdays left in November, and the college football season is getting down to the nitty gritty with playoff berths, conference titles, bowl bids or even just bragging rights there for the taking.

The pressure of the situation can lead to unpredictable results. This Saturday provides plenty of opportunity for upsets and unlikely outcomes. The hard part is determining when and where those moments are going to occur.

That's why we're here to make sense of things. The USA TODAY Sports college football staff – Scooby Axson, Jace Evans, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken – weigh in with bold predictions for Week 11 of the college football season.

LSU's Jayden Daniels to make Heisman statement

The Heisman race gets even tighter and presumed front-runner Michael Penix, Jr. gets some company in LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. Daniels and the Tigers take on Florida this weekend and need some help to get back in the SEC West title hunt. But Daniels will show out against the Gators, throwing for at least 300 yards and running for another 50 against a Florida defense allowing six yards per play.  -- Scooby Axson

WHAT TO WATCH: The seven biggest games of Week 11

WEEKEND FORECAST: Predictions for every Top 25 game in Week 11

Much-needed win for Penn State against Michigan

Michigan has a lot going on right now, as you all may have noticed. It seems a poor time, then, for the Wolverines to face by far their hardest challenge of the year to date. No team in college football has looked better this year … and no good team has played so few good opponents. I think the Wolverines stumble in Happy Valley as controversy swirls around them, giving Penn State and coach James Franklin a needed big-game win. -- Jace Evans

Liberty out of New Year's Six with loss to Old Dominion

Liberty loses to Old Dominion as almost a two-touchdown favorite and is basically eliminated from the Group of Five race for the New Year’s Six. In the end, the Flames’ only real shot at finishing as the highest-ranked team from the non-major leagues demands an unbeaten season due to an unimpressive list of wins and the weakness of Conference USA. ODU is more tested after playing two Power Five teams in non-conference play and multiple teams with winning records in the Sun Belt. -- Paul Myerberg

Oklahoma State gets stunned by Central Florida

Coming back to Earth emotionally after one of the biggest wins in program history is never an easy task. That is the challenge that faces the Cowboys following their defeat of Oklahoma in the final Bedlam game for the foreseeable future. Now comes a dangerous trip to Orlando against the Knights, who need this game in their quest to become bowl-eligible. The UCF run defense will do enough to contain Ollie Gordon II and lead an upset that shakes up the Big 12 title race. -- Erick Smith

North Carolina takes down by Duke

I made the mistake last week of trying to correctly project a result from the muddled mess that is the ACC. Never one to learn from the error of my ways, I step into the breech one more time.

Here goes – Duke is going to upset North Carolina.

There is no earthly reason why this should come to pass. Blue Devils’ quarterback Riley Leonard is still sidelined, and the Tar Heels and Drake Maye, despite some inconsistencies this year, are still capable of putting up a big score. But it’s the Duke defense that will answer the bell this week. After a terrific first half of the season, that unit has not been its sharpest in its last few outings. But with a couple extra days of preparation, they’ll come out a lot stronger on Saturday, occasionally bending but not breaking. They’ll also get rest periods thanks to UNC’s leaky front that will allow Duke to move the chains via the ground game. -- Eddie Timanus

Penn State pulls off upset of Michigan

Even though I'm not completely sure how Penn State plans to score against one of the best defenses in the country, all the tumult going on at Michigan has to catch up with this team sooner or later. So why not on the road against an opponent that has a lot of talent? History suggests this is a bad pick because Penn State under James Franklin does not beat Michigan (or Ohio State) when Michigan is good. We've seen it again and again with this team. But Michigan has been allowed to cruise through the first nine games of the year against very bad competition, and though the Wolverines are excellent on both sides of the ball, there is probably some competitive atrophy from never playing a good team. It's absolutely bizarre that it's this late in the season and Michigan finally gets a test. Presumably without the benefit of Connor Stalions' inside information on Penn State's signs, this is going to be an upset for the Nittany Lions.  -- Dan Wolken

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football Week 11 bold predictions: Michigan on upset alert?