Upon the release of the initial College Football Playoff Rankings this past week, the race toward the national championship officially hit the home stretch. The picture becoming crystal clear with the rankings release, the time arrived to truly separate the contenders from pretenders as we navigate through the month of November. The much-anticipated action we witnessed in Week 11 certainly played a huge part in creating that separation. 

The first big game of Week 11 was an upset with No. 17 Minnesota knocking off No. 4 Penn State at home. That was followed by the monumental LSU-Alabama matchup in the 3:30 ET slot. But other teams in playoff contention were in action, too. No. 1 Ohio State had no problem dismantling Maryland 73-14 without defensive end Chase Young while Clemson took care of NC State 55-10 as it readies to likely enter the top four come Tuesday. Oklahoma had a bit more trouble putting away Iowa State, however. The Sooners allowed the Cyclones to score 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points, but Iowa State was unable to clinch a win on a two-point conversion. 

There was a lot to cover with those games and everything in between. CBS Sports was here every step of the way to update you with the latest scores, highlights and storylines throughout the day. All times Eastern

College football schedule, scores -- key Week 11 games
No. 17 Minnesota 31, No. 4 Penn State 26 -- Recap, takeaways, highlights
No. 10 Florida 56, Vanderbilt 0 -- Box score
No. 1 Ohio State 73, Maryland 14 -- Recap
No. 2 LSU 46, No. 3 Alabama 41 -- Recap, takeaways, highlights
No. 6 Georgia 27, Missouri 0 -- Box score
No. 5 Clemson 55, NC State 10 -- Box score
No. 9 Oklahoma 42, Iowa State 41 -- Box score
Check out the complete Week 11 top 25 scoreboard

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Iowa State gets the touchdown, but can't get the two-point conversion. Parnell Motley intercepts Purdy in the end zone (Iowa State fans will say he got there early) and Oklahoma will hold on to win 42-41.

Well, now we have a game in Norman. Iowa State tacks on a quick score and it's 42-35. Cyclones pick off a Jalen Hurts pass and now have it in the red zone with under a minute remaining.

Iowa State gets a turnover from Oklahoma, but is unable to convert it into a touchdown. It's 42-28 Oklahoma with 7:37 remaining in the game. The Cyclones have had their chances, but haven't been able to get closer than two touchdowns to the Sooners.

LOOK AT HOW OPEN HE IS

What a brutal ending for South Carolina against Appalachian State. On their final drive of the game, the Gamecocks converted not one, not two, but three (3) fourth-and-15+ downs to keep the chains moving. But quarterback Ryan Hilinski missed a wide open receiver in the end zone as time expired. Appy State wins 20-15 and has now beaten both North and South Carolina.

Oklahoma continues to roll against Iowa State as they hold a 35-14 advantage heading into the locker room. CeeDee Lamb is absolutely torching the Cyclones to the tune of six catches for 142 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jalen Hurts has thrown three touchdowns and rushed for two on the ground.

Clemson is rolling NC State right now. Tigers lead 42-0 at the half behind 403 yards of total offense in the first half. Trevor Lawrence has three touchdown passes and also rushed for a score. Statement game.

No. 15 Notre Dame leads Duke 21-7 at halftime. Ian Book has a pair of touchdown passes to pace the Irish.

No. 6 Georgia leads Missouri 16-0 at the half. Quarterback Jake Fromm threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens in the opening quarter to give the Bulldogs their lone score.

Maybe Clemson took being ranked No. 5 in the first College Football Playoff rankings personally. The Tigers are pummeling NC State 28-0 after one quarter of play. Trevor Lawrence has thrown a pair of touchdown passes while Travis Etienne also has one on the ground.

Trevor Lawrence has Clemson clicking on all cylinders in the early going against NC State. Lawrence throws a 33-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead. The Clemson signal caller also has a rushing touchdown to his credit.

Jalen Hurts throws it into triple coverage, but it doesn't matter when CeeDee Lamb is in the vicinity. Lamb hauls in the 48-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for Oklahoma.

Ed Orgeron is fired up after LSU's win over Alabama

Here's Illinois capping off its 25-point comeback. Largest in school history.

Wow, Illinois caps off largest comeback in school history with a 37-34 win at Michigan State. The Illini scored a go-ahead touchdown with five seconds left and are now bowl eligible for the first time under Lovie Smith.

Wisconsin survives a stellar fourth quarter effort from Iowa to come away with a 24-22 win. Badgers star running back Jonathan Taylor ran for a mind-numbing 250 yards on the ground. Jack Coan also threw a pair of touchdown passes for Wisconsin.

LSU survives second half rally from Alabama to come away with a 46-41 win. It was the most points that Alabama has given up since Oct. 25, 2003 against Tennessee in a five-overtime game. Clyde Edwards-Helaire scored four touchdowns for the Tigers, including three on the ground. Joe Burrow also threw for 393 yards and three touchdowns to give No. 2 LSU the victory.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire makes it three rushing touchdowns for the game. He keeps his legs churning and runs through Trevon Diggs. LSU leads Alabama 46-34 with just 1:37 left.

Tua finds Jerry Jeudy in the end zone on 4th-and-2 to keep Alabama's hopes alive. The Tide trail LSU 39-34 with 5:32 to go in Tuscaloosa.

Game on in Madison. I counted out Iowa a bit too soon it seems. The Hawkeyes made a fourth quarter rally and came to within 24-22, but were unable to convert the two-point conversion. About three minutes remaining.

Miami quarterback Jarren Williams throws an ACC single-game record six touchdown passes in a 52-27 win over Louisville. Somehow, Louisville outgained Miami 496-449 in total offense.

Another touchdown for LSU's Clyde Edwards-Helaire as he punches in another one on the ground. That's three total touchdowns on the day for Edward-Helaire. LSU leads Alabama 39-27 in the fourth quarter.

A walk-off filed goal gives Texas a 27-24 win over Kansas State. However, Texas had a go-ahead touchdown that was called back by an illegal shift penalty. If you had Texas and the points, that penalty was ... significant.

Virginia Tech beats Wake Forest 36-17. Hokies defensive coordinator Bud Foster gets lifted up by his players on the field.

Bama creeping back in this. One-score game in T-Town.

Wisconsin has extended its lead over Iowa 21-6. The Hawkeyes have yet to convert a third down. May need a non-offensive touchdown to get back into this one. Otherwise, might be curtains as we wind down the third quarter.

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