Dillon Gabriel bold predictions after Oregon earned No. 1 CFP ranking

Week 11 of the college football season is almost upon us, and the intensity continues to ramp every week as we get closer and closer to the end of the season. This was a big week as the first College Football Playoff rankings came out on Tuesday, and now every contender knows where they stand in terms of whether or not they are in the projected field. One team that appears to be a lock to make the College Football Playoff is the Oregon football team. Led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Dillon Gabriel , the Ducks are undefeated and ranked #1 in the country as they get ready to host Maryland.

It would take a monumental collapse for the Oregon football team to miss the College Football Playoff, and it would also take a lot for them to not make the Big Ten title game. The Ducks are in a great spot right now, and Maryland is coming into this game with nothing to lose, hoping that they can pull off a stunning upset.

Before we talk more about Dillon Gabriel and predictions for his performance, let's take a deeper look at both of these teams.

Maryland is fighting for a bowl game

This is a pretty common type of season for the Maryland football team as they are currently sitting at 4-4 on the season. The Terrapins would obviously like to get to a bowl game, so they need to finish 2-2 to make that happen. They have this contest against Oregon, and then they will be taking on Rutgers, Iowa and Penn State. The path to bowl season is a little bit tricky.

Maryland has nothing to lose this weekend. They are huge underdogs and no one is giving them any chance in this game. That can sometimes help give a team a fuel, but it's obviously very hard to imagine the Terrapins having any chance in this game.

Oregon has national championship aspirations

So far, the Oregon football team has been the best in college football this year. The first College Football Playoff rankings were released earlier this week, and the Ducks took the #1 spot. They are undefeated and they have a win against the #2 team in the country, Ohio State.

Oregon has just three games remaining, and they will be heavily favored in all of those games. After playing Maryland this weekend, they will be taking on Wisconsin and then finishing the season against rival Washington.

The Ducks have a Heisman hopeful on their team this year as quarterback Dillon Gabriel is in the running to win college football's most prestigious award. Here are three predictions for his performance this weekend as he looks to improve his stock:

Dillon Gabriel is going to throw three touchdown passes

Dillon Gabriel has a big game every week, and things will be no different this time around. Maryland isn't a good football team, and they aren't going to get enough pressure on Gabriel to slow him down. They also don't have the talent to keep up with the skill guys that the Ducks have. It's going to be a long day for this Terrapins defense.

Dillon Gabriel will throw for over 300 yards

There is nothing that we have seen from these two teams this season that suggests that Maryland has any chance of slowing down Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon football team. The Ducks are going to be able to move the ball in every which way, so if they choose to do it on the ground, maybe Gabriel will come up short of 300. Either way, it'll be an easy day for the Ducks.

Dillon Gabriel and Oregon win by 30+

This is going to be another easy win for the top team in the country, and it will get them one step closer to achieving their goals. The offense will cruise, and the defense will hold Maryland to less than 14 points. Oregon wins this one 45-10.

Oregon and Maryland will kick off at 4:00 PT on Saturday from Autzen Stadium in Eugene, and the game will be airing on the Big Ten Network. The Ducks are currently favored by 25 points.

Week 11 college football preview

Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon football team hosting Maryland will be a fun matchup to watch if you're a Ducks fan, but there are a lot of other good games this weekend. ESPN's College GameDay is heading Baton Rouge for a huge showdown between Alabama and LSU, and that is the biggest game of the week. Here are some other good ones:

There are a couple noteworthy matchups in the ACC this weekend. First, Clemson is hitting the road to take on Virginia Tech and the Tigers need to win if they want to keep ACC title hopes alive. Also, 1-8 Florida State is taking on #10 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish aren't in a conference, but this was expected to be one of the biggest games of the season for the ACC because of the Seminoles' preseason expectations. It is obviously a must-win for Notre Dame now.

Moving over to the Big 12, we have a couple a big ones as Colorado is taking on Texas Tech, and the other big game this weekend is a rivalry battle in the state of Utah. BYU is going up against Utah on the road and the Cougars are hoping to improve to 9-0 on the season with a win.

In the Big Ten, there aren't a ton big games this weekend. #8 Indiana is hosting Michigan as the Hoosiers look to stay undefeated, and #6 Penn State is hoping to bounce back from last week's Ohio State loss as they are hosting Washington under the lights.

Lastly, in the SEC, there are two huge games with conference title and College Football Playoff implications. We already touched on LSU-Alabama being the biggest game of the week, and then Georgia is going on the road to take on Ole Miss. The Rebels need a win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The games get more important every week, and there are a lot of games this week that will have a big impact on the rest of the year. Enjoy another fun week of college football!