College football Week 11 overreactions: Indiana needs Grant Wilson at QB to repeat as national champion

Indiana needs to bench Josh Hoover permanently, while Lane Kiffin's high-priced debut at LSU has already turned into an undeniable flop

Nov 15, 2026 at 8:15 am ET • 8 min read

Grant Wilson is 25 years old, a seventh-year senior and Indiana's best option at quarterback. 

It's not a development anyone could have expected at the beginning of the season. Indiana added TCU quarterback transfer Josh Hoover, one of the most expensive portal QBs available. Hoover was a prolific quarterback under Sonny Dykes at TCU, though he struggled with turnovers and looked like a good bet to be the next QB to flourish in Curt Cignetti's system. 

It hasn't gone according to plan this season. Hoover has struggled with injuries and has never fully clicked in Bloomington. Cignetti pulled him in favor of Wilson in a comeback win over Minnesota. The Indiana coach decided after that game he was going with Wilson against USC regardless of Hoover's health.

And while Cignetti was non-committal after Saturday's win over the Trojans that Wilson was the guy moving forward, he should be. Led by defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, the Hoosiers again have one of the nation's best defenses. That was evident against USC.

What it needs is a competent quarterback who doesn't crumble under pressure and can make big plays. That's Wilson, who finished with 305 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He certainly wasn't perfect – he should have thrown a second interception in the second half – but Indiana needs more big-play ability from the quarterback position given injuries and its run game struggles. And when Wilson hit Nick Marsh for a 65-yard gain, it made all the sense in the world why Cignetti gave him the start.

It's not easy to bench a veteran player like Hoover, especially knowing the money invested in him to be the starter. But it had been obvious for weeks there was something off about this Indiana team. All those concerns weren't magically washed away with a single win, but what we saw against the Trojans more closely matched what we expected out of a Cignetti-led team. 

In what feels like the most wide-open college football season in recent memory, Indiana's best chance to repeat as champion is sticking with the guy who signed with Fordham out of high school and before Saturday had last started a game for Old Dominion back in 2024. 

Lane Kiffin fails in first season at helm

The hopes Lane Kiffin had for his debut LSU season have officially gone up in smoke on a brilliant call from his old colleague Steve Sarkisian. As Raleek Brown raced to the end zone on a game-winning touchdown pass from Arch Manning, Kiffin watched in agony as another golden opportunity for a top-10 win slipped through his fingers. 

The man who infamously left a College Football Playoff-bound Ole Miss team because he didn't believe the program could win a national championship will not make the playoff this season. The 6-4 Tigers are officially out after a 22-21 loss to the Longhorns.

Was it worth it?

There's no debate that Kiffin and LSU failed to meet expectations this season. LSU made Lane one of the nation's highest-paid coaches in America, a seven-year, $91 million contract that pays him $13 million annually, to at least make the playoff. Losing four SEC games in Year 1 – the first LSU coach to do so since Curley Hallman – is not acceptable in Baton Rouge. Especially when you have what could be the nation's most expensive roster in the $50-million range, according to sources. 

Kiffin couldn't get his preferred transfer quarterback, Trinidad Chambliss, and chose poorly on the very expensive one, Sam Leavitt, whom he did get. Leavitt is entertaining to watch if you enjoy chaotic backyard-style football, but his three interceptions and poor decision-making against Texas highlighted his liabilities. Paying Leavitt more than what multiple Power Four head coaches make hasn't been a great investment for the Tigers.

It's not hard to wonder what could have been had Lane stayed in Oxford. He would still have Chambliss as his quarterback, Pete Golding as his defensive coordinator and a roster built to win in 2026. Kiffin says he hasn't thought twice about his decision to leave – and there are plenty of folks in Oxford who are happy that he left – but Ole Miss and Lane may both be worse off without each other in 2026. The Rebels are also currently projected to miss the College Football Playoff. 

The timing was awful, but one could understand why Lane wanted to be at LSU. Two men Lane knew well, Nick Saban and Ed Orgeron, had both won national championships there. LSU had a fertile recruiting base, a large and rabid group of fans and significant institutional support from the Governor of Louisiana on down. It was the biggest attraction in the Bayou State. 

The question, though, was how Lane Kiffin would handle the pressure that came with being LSU's head coach. He badly wanted another shot at a blueblood program, questioning whether he'd ever get another shot after his USC firing in 2013. But the seasons in which Lane has faced the most pressure and expectations, he's faltered.

In 2012, when USC was the preseason No. 1 team, the Trojans finished 7-5 and unranked. Players and coaches on that team told me for my book, "Lane Being Lane: The Story of Lane Kiffin, College Football's Agent of Chaos," that the expectations impacted how Kiffin coached.

Unfortunately for Lane, the pressure in Baton Rouge will only ratchet up from here. A disappointing debut puts more pressure to at least make the expanded 24-team playoff in 2027. But even that ultimately won't be enough to be a genuine success at LSU. Brian Kelly made the SEC Championship Game his first season, went 34-14 and was still run out in less than four seasons. Kiffin was brought in to win national championships. 

Can he deliver? The narrative around his big-game struggles has only been bolstered by his early results at LSU. For all the hype Kiffin generates and all the big celebrities like Kevin Costner he can convince to come to big games, he still can't win them. With the loss to the Longhorns, Kiffin is now 6-19 against top-10 teams and 15-28 all-time against top-25 opponents. 

Lane Kiffin was willing to walk away from his first playoff team for the hope of something more at LSU. Whether that was the right decision can't be judged off a single season.  But whether he can make enough progress this offseason to meet even higher expectations next season is the question that could define his LSU tenure. 

Welcome back to the hot seat, Luke Fickell

Luke Fickell looked like the lone survivor. 

Of the four coaches CBS Sports identified on the hottest seats entering the season, Fickell was the only one making positive progress. The other three – Baylor's Dave Aranda, Florida State's Mike Norvell and Maryland's Mike Locksley – were all fired. With a 24-7 win over USC in late October, Fickell appeared to be off the hot seat and in good shape to return as Wisconsin's coach in 2027.

That may have all changed with a devastating road loss to Maryland on Saturday. Led by interim coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and backup quarterback Cardell Williams, the Terrapins stunned the Badgers and put Fickell right back on the hot seat. Industry sources have told CBS Sports throughout the season that Wisconsin wasn't eager to fire Fickell and pay a $20 million buyout to jump into the coaching carousel. Fickell won enough in the first two-thirds of the season to justify that stance. 

But the calls for change, especially from fans and boosters, are going to get louder in the aftermath of the Maryland loss. The Badgers now sit at 6-4 with two winnable games against Purdue and Minnesota remaining. Does Fickell now need to win out to feel secure? 

Jake Dickert, Wake Forest handled it perfectly

Give credit to Wake Forest athletic director John Currie and football coach Jake Dickert for taking a major distraction off the table in agreeing to a contract extension ahead of this weekend.

Even in a quieter coaching carousel, Dickert was the hottest candidate in the country. His success at Wake Forest (and previous success at Oregon State) ensured his name would be mentioned for every job that opens this cycle. Understandably, that can be a big distraction for the coach, the team and everyone else associated with the program. 

Which is why I loved Dickert and Wake Forest striking a deal during the season. It's similar to a move Indiana and Curt Cignetti made a year ago when his name started coming up for openings like Penn State. We all know how that worked out for Indiana.

So far, so good for Wake Forest, too. The Demon Deacons crushed SMU, 49-7, in a win that should put Wake Forest into the playoff. Wake Forest is now 9-1 and in good position to make the field if it can win out against Georgia Tech and Duke. It's an incredible success story for the North Carolina program that hasn't gotten as much national attention as its rivals in the Research Triangle. 

Dickert and Wake Forest are on the precipice of accomplishing something never before done at Wake Forest. Good on all parties for recognizing that's more important than letting the possibility of Dickert leaving for another job hang over the remainder of the season. 

It was fun while it lasted, Kentucky

Don't cry because it's over, Kentucky fans; smile because it happened at all. 

Kentucky's 21-14 home loss to Florida ends what was one of my favorite storylines of the season. Under first-year coach Will Stein, Kentucky rose all the way up to No. 6 in the country after wins over LSU, South Carolina and Oklahoma. The back-to-back walk-off wins off two-point conversions were electrifying. The path to the College Football Playoff was tangible. 

Unfortunately, those hopes have been dashed. Consecutive losses to Tennessee and Florida have badly damaged the Wildcats' playoff hopes. With its loss to Florida, Kentucky's playoff odds dropped to 2.5%, according to CBS Sports' forecasting model. Even if Kentucky wins out against Missouri and Louisville, it may finish with only one top-25 win after South Carolina lost to Arkansas and Missouri's blowout loss to Georgia. That won't be enough to get it ahead of other potential three-loss SEC teams.