Saturday rundown: Takeaways from Week 11's biggest games

With just three weeks left in the regular season, the race for the College Football Playoff is heating up across the nation.

A number of big matchups went down Saturday, with teams like Ohio State and Oklahoma looking to make a statement early in the day.

Here are our takeaways from the most important contests in Week 11.

Good luck stopping Ohio State's offense

Every neutral fan should be rooting for a playoff matchup between Georgia's incredible defense and Ohio State's explosive offense. The Buckeyes wasted no time in ensuring they wouldn't be the latest giant slain by Purdue, putting up 45 points in the opening half en route to a blowout win.

Ryan Day flexed his muscles as one of the best play-callers in the sport as the Buckeyes piled up an absurd 624 total yards. Ohio State's balance is as good as any team in the country, with two players rushing for more than 98 yards and three receivers accruing 85-plus yards.

Ohio State entered proceedings second in the country in both points per game and total yards per contest. The Buckeyes will likely be No. 1 in both categories after Saturday's result.

Two massive contests against Michigan State and Michigan await before a potential trip to the Big Ten title game. Ohio State will be favored in all three, with a potential meeting with Georgia in the CFP to follow. That matchup would be an incredible way for all college football fans to ring in the New Year.

Georgia's not just a defense

Georgia's defense dominated yet again Saturday, this time holding Tennessee's potent attack to just 387 total yards and 17 points. Somehow, that performance represents the Bulldogs' least impressive showing this season; that's how utterly outrageous Kirby Smart's defense has been this year.

Perhaps the scariest thing about the Bulldogs this season is the development of the offense, which now better complements the most dominant unit in college football. James Cook was the star against Tennessee, exploding for three touchdowns and joining a ridiculously talented list in the process.

The questions around Stetson Bennett don't seem to be subsiding, but the veteran once again turned in a solid performance with 253 total yards of offense, including a passing and rushing touchdown. The Bulldogs have now put up over 350 yards of total offense in five straight games ahead of matchups with Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech to end the regular season.

At this point, Georgia would probably be able to lose the SEC title game and still make the CFP, but the way things are looking, it's becoming more and more unlikely the Bulldogs see defeat anytime soon.

The committee was right about Oklahoma

It's very easy to harp on the College Football Playoff committee when the rankings come out each Tuesday, but it deserves plenty of credit for being skeptical of Oklahoma so far this season.

Despite the Sooners sitting with a perfect 9-0 record, the committee was steadfast in questioning them, deciding to rank them behind five one-loss teams at No. 8. Saturday's performance against Baylor more than justified those questions.

The Bears absolutely shut down Lincoln Riley's offense, eventually sending Caleb Williams to the bench in favor of former starter Spencer Rattler. The change would do nothing to alter the game, as Baylor held Oklahoma's offense to just 260 yards total and picked off Williams twice.

Make no mistake, Oklahoma's CFP hopes took a hit, but the door is still open a crack should the Sooners run the table. That's hard to imagine after this performance, with games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State left on the schedule.

Baylor finishes with a very favorable schedule, and it wouldn't be much of a shock to see the Bears in the Big 12 title game in three weeks.

Time to start noticing Oklahoma State

After Baylor's emphatic win over Oklahoma earlier in the day proved the Sooners are not currently top of the Big 12, Oklahoma State made its claim for that crown with a 63-17 blowout of TCU at night.

The Cowboys' offense exploded for 686 total yards in the contest behind the dynamic rushing duo of Dominic Richardson and Jaylen Warren, who combined for 247 yards and five touchdowns. For an Oklahoma State team that has largely been winning due to a dominant defense, the 60-burger was a welcome sight for the Cowboys faithful.

Expect Mike Gundy's program to jump in-state rival Oklahoma in Tuesday's CFP rankings and move further into the top-10 slots. Oklahoma State travels to Texas Tech next weekend before hosting the Sooners in the Bedlam game to finish the regular season.

Putting the Cowboys in the playoff conversation seemed foolish after three one-possession wins in non-conference games to start the campaign. But Oklahoma State is as hot as any team in the country right now, winning three straight by a combined 142-23 scoreline.

Lane Train does it with defense

Lane Kiffin's explosive offense has put Ole Miss on the map the past couple years, but it was his defense that propelled the Rebels to a huge home win over Texas A&M in Oxford.

While the offense moved the ball with ease for most of the contest, its inability to finish drives with points had Ole Miss clinging to a 15-13 lead in the fourth quarter. The opportunistic defense took over at that point, intercepting Zach Calzada twice, including a backbreaking pick-6 to secure the win. Quite the performance from a unit ranked 73rd nationally in scoring defense and 53rd in interceptions per game.

Kiffin's outfit improved to 8-2 and will likely leapfrog the 11th-ranked Aggies into the top 10 of the CFP rankings Tuesday night. If it beats Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to close the season, Ole Miss would turn in just its third 10-plus win season since 1972.