The Mustangs clinched a spot in the ACC title game and remained undefeated in the conference with a 33-7 win at Virginia.
2 9-2 10 Boise State Boise State probably doesn’t beat Wyoming without Ashton Jeanty.
It holds low-stakes playoff hopes for Clemson, though the Tigers need to reach the ACC title game and win to reach the playoff because the ACC appears to be a one-bid league.
The Cougars seemed destined to reach the conference title game after starting 9-0, but the close calls prompted questions about their viability down the stretch.
The Cyclones and Arizona State are in the best position to advance to the Big 12 title game, but the tiebreakers are confusing.
1 If you’re a Duck, life is good in Oregon. After eight consecutive weeks, Oregon took a much-needed break at home while watching a matchup between two of the top five Big Ten teams. At this point, it seems inevitable that they will play Ohio State again, this time in the Big Ten Championship Game, though they are still unsure. It took the conference’s mathematicians an extra 72 hours last week to figure out that the Ducks had secured a spot in the Big Ten title game nine days prior, thanks to intricate (and perplexing) tiebreaker scenarios. — 111-0 2 Ohio State In a 38-15 thumping of Indiana’s explosive offense, Ohio State demonstrated why it might have the nation’s best defense. After starting the season 2-6 against teams in the top five, Ryan Day is now 2-1 against them this autumn; his only loss was a one-point setback at Oregon. A victory over Michigan this week would guarantee the Buckeyes a rematch with Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game. After losing three straight games to the Wolverines, you can bet that the Bucks will be in a desperate situation. — 10-1 3 Notre Dame To extend their winning streak to nine games, the Irish thrashed Army 49-14. Could Notre Dame be playing the best football in the nation? Since that early-season loss to Northern Illinois, they have been outscoring opponents by an average of 33 points. Against ranked opponents, Notre Dame has won six straight games for the first time in thirty-one years. On Saturday, running back Jeremiyah Love ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns, maintaining his incredible pace. Listen, Army is doing well. The Black Knights had beaten every opponent by double digits and were unbeaten. Notre Dame will have home-field advantage in the playoffs if they defeat USC this week. 2 10-1 4 Texas Texas defeated Kentucky 31-14 to potentially set up the most important matchup in Texas-Texas A&M history this week. A rematch with Georgia and a berth in the SEC Championship Game are at stake for the Longhorns. Finding the positive and negative aspects of the victory over Kentucky is pointless. For the eighth time this season, the Longhorns scored 21 points in the first half, tying Oregon for the most such plays. What Texas does at quarterback is the most significant story to watch. Quinn Ewers seemed to be limited in the second half of the game against the Wildcats due to an ankle injury. How healthy is he going to be against the Aggies? — 10-1 5 Penn State The Nittany Lions once again delivered with a 26-25 squeaker victory over Minnesota, providing Penn State with a much-needed road test. On the final possession, Penn State secured the victory by converting a fake punt and another fourth down. James Franklin deserves a great deal of praise for taking a chance in a one-point game from Minnesota’s side of the field through the daring fake punt call. When a playoff berth was at stake, Franklin, who is typically conservative, took the risk. Despite their clutch late-game performances at USC and Wisconsin, Penn State’s performance was arguably the best. 1 10-1 6 Georgia On Saturday, Georgia missed tackles, played around, and let UMass, who had just fired coach Don Brown, hang around for too long. The Bulldogs pulled away for the 59-21 win, but the listless performance on defense was an eye-opener. The most rushing yards they have given up in a game since losing to LSU in 2018 was 226. Although the committee loves the Bulldogs and their schedule is excellent, this team is annoying to watch every week. How in the world does UMass amass that many yards on the ground against one of the country’s top teams? Any given week, Georgia can appear to be the top team in the nation, but their defense is deficient in some way. 3 9-2 7 Indiana Although Indiana is still a primetime player, it simply isn’t prepared for the big time. After gaining a 7-0 lead on the road, the Hoosiers gave up 14 points to Ohio State with two special teams errors, and their offense only managed 81 yards on their final 10 possessions. Indiana’s defense held the Buckeyes to 326 yards and produced an impressive fourth-down stop and another red zone turnover. Due to the fact that three SEC teams in the rankings suffered road losses, the Hoosiers should still have a chance to make it to the CFP, but the unpredictable playoff committee will decide that. 4 10-1 8 SMU This season, SMU is doing something that has never been seen before. With a 33-7 victory at Virginia, the Mustangs secured a berth in the ACC championship game and maintained their conference unbeaten record. Despite the fact that no team has ever started a power conference better than 1-0 after leaving the Group of Five, SMU is currently 7-0 in the ACC and has a 16-game conference winning streak dating back to its AAC days. Despite the chaos on Saturday, SMU received more positive news, and it looks like the ACC could send two teams to the playoffs. With Cal approaching and an ACC championship game against Miami or Clemson imminent, quarterback Kevin Jennings (career-high 323 passing yards against Virginia) and coach Rhett Lashlee have no time to celebrate. 2 10-1 9 Tennessee It was a great Saturday to be a Vol. Given Georgia’s continued success, Ole Miss’ defeat at Florida offered some hope and might pave the Vols’ way to the CFP. Although Tennessee defeated UTEP 56-0, the Vols may still require assistance to qualify for the postseason. It won’t be easy to travel to Vanderbilt this week either, but if the committee views Texas’ victory in Nashville earlier in the season as a resume booster, then Tennessee should have the same advantage, right? 2 9-2 10 Boise State Boise State probably doesn’t defeat Wyoming without Ashton Jeanty. After suffering a leg injury in the third quarter, the standout running back came back to help the Broncos defeat the two-win Cowboys 17–13. During the last scoring drive, he gained more than 15 yards on three runs. Jeanty, who finished with 169 yards on 19 carries, has scored on seven runs of 60-plus yards this season, the most by a player since 2017, and has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in 11 straight Mountain West games, a conference record. This season, the Broncos’ only defeat came at No. 3 by three points. Oregon No. 1. 2 10-1 11 Miami (FL) To win a game against a mediocre ACC team, Miami once more required a fourth-quarter offense. After scoring 22 points, the Hurricanes defeated Wake Forest 42–14. Additionally, Cam Ward broke the school records set by Bernie Kosar for both passing yards and completions in a single season. The Hurricanes, who have teetered on the edge of defeat in one-possession games throughout the season, can secure a berth in the ACC championship game by defeating Syracuse this week. 4 10-1 12 In the red zone, Arizona State Cam Skattebo is a one-man wrecking crew. The Sun Devils needed to hang on and get the crowd off the field after the running back scored three touchdowns in the first half to take a 21-0 lead. BYU’s Hail Mary attempt was two yards short, and the Sun Devils lost 28–21 to the struggling Cougars. With two losses, the Sun Devils are tied for first place in the Big 12 with four teams. Although there are countless ways to break the tie, a victory over Arizona this week would put the Sun Devils in a strong position to advance to the conference title game. 7 9-2 13 Clemson Clemson still has a chance to win the ACC championship, but they need Miami to lose at Syracuse the following week. The Tigers defeated The Citadel 51–14 on Saturday, and they play South Carolina this week in a much-underappreciated rivalry game. Although the Tigers must advance to the ACC title game and win to qualify for the playoffs because the ACC seems to be a one-bid league, it offers Clemson low-stakes playoff hopes. With nationally ranked South Carolina dominating into the last week of the season, the Palmetto Bowl will be exciting in any case. 5 9-2 14 South Carolina Surprisingly, South Carolina is still in the running for the CFP title. With three consecutive victories over ranked teams, the Gamecocks would move up to the fourth spot in the SEC standings with a three-loss record if they defeat rival Clemson this week. Although the SEC appears to have three teams in the field, that could change. Given that three of the top-15 SEC teams dropped in Week 13, it’s still unlikely, but it’s possible that South Carolina makes it to the CFP. 6 8-3 15 Alabama With a 24-3 loss at Oklahoma, Alabama all but eliminated itself from consideration for the CFP. Since 1998, the program has suffered its biggest defeat against an unranked opponent. We could enumerate the amazing adjectives that will raise Nick Saban and Kalen DeBoer comparisons, but we’ll put that conversation on hold and concentrate on what went wrong for the Tide instead. The blueprint to defeat the Tide was simply to force Jalen Milroe to beat the Sooners through the air because they were unable to run the ball against their renowned defense (70 yards). This strategy has always involved Milroe at quarterback, regardless of the head coach. The Iron Bowl comes next. Losing is not an option for a first-year coach in that rivalry. 8 8-3 16 Ole Miss Despite spending all that money, Ole Miss was unable to achieve their ultimate goal of earning a CFP berth once more. Late in the game, Florida held on for a 24–17 victory, and Jaxson Dart was awful. He threw two interceptions in the most crucial moments. The Rebels didn’t score on three possessions inside the red zone, including two stops on fourth-and-1. Even though the Rebels’ NIL collective had the best roster available, Lane Kiffin is solely responsible for his failure to succeed once more. Maybe the following year. 8 8-3 17 Tulane Tulane has quickly emerged as Boise State’s greatest challenger to snag the fifth automatic berth among conference champions. The Green Wave face a lot of obstacles (Boise State must lose), but first-year coach Jon Sumrall has them dominating Army in the AAC championship game. It’s still possible to enter the field, but they really needed Army to be unbeaten going into the conference final. The first game is a fantastic Thanksgiving Day matchup with Memphis. 4 9-2 18 BYU BYU is still alive in the Big 12 title race after suffering back-to-back losses. After starting 9-0, the Cougars appeared destined to advance to the conference title game, but the near misses raised doubts about their long-term viability. Then came the defeats to Arizona State and Kansas. The Cougars were 2 yards away on a crazy Hail Mary after Arizona State cleared the field of fans who prematurely rushed the field to celebrate. Jake Retzlaff threw two interceptions, and BYU was unable to manage the ball (season-low 94 yards). Despite this, BYU remains in the four-way tie for the Big 12 title. Iowa State tied for the most victories in program history with its ninth victory, defeating Utah 2 9-2 19. With ninety-one seconds left, the Cyclones scored the game-winning touchdown, and the Utes missed a field goal that would have tied the game. To stay within striking distance, Utah scored 15 points on defense and special teams (a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a six-pointer). The tiebreakers are unclear, but Arizona State and the Cyclones are in the best position to go to the Big 12 championship game. 3 9-2 20 Illinois Takeaway: Never attempt to freeze a kicker on a field goal that is 58 yards away. Even though Illinois missed the field goal, Rutgers attempted to accomplish that, and the timeout gave the Illini a chance to regroup and reconsider their approach. Bret Bielema opted to put his offense back on the field on fourth-and-13, and Luke Altmyer connected with Pat Bryant for a 40-yard touchdown catch with 4 seconds remaining to pull of a 38-31 win. Illinois has its best record since 2007 with an 8-3 record. The Illini will have the advantage over Northwestern. 3 8-3 21 Texas A&M After losing 43-41 in four overtimes at Auburn, Texas A&M eliminated itself from consideration for an at-large postseason berth, but the Aggies are still in the running for the SEC championship. That’s the good news. The Aggies began the game sluggishly before overcoming a 21-0 deficit against Auburn, and they have recently suffered on the road with a crushing defeat at South Carolina. More good news, though, is that the Aggies are hosting Texas with a trip to the SEC Championship Game on the line. All objectives are still reachable. We thought in Colorado 8 8-3 22. After losing to Nebraska in Week 2, Colorado’s defense had dramatically improved, but on Saturday, Kansas turned on the buzzsaw and was unstoppable on the ground. As the Buffaloes hogged the ball and controlled time of possession (40 minutes, 11 seconds) while consuming 520 yards, Devin Neal was outstanding, running for a career-high 207 yards and the defense never forced a punt. The Buffs remain in the running for the Big 12 championship. However, they require assistance. 5 8-3 23 Duke The ACC gained much-needed respect this week as a result of the SEC’s difficulties and the victories of the ACC favorites. For the majority of the season, Duke has been our favorite. The Blue Devils held off a Virginia Tech comeback to win 31-28 after Eli Pancol, a receiver, scored two touchdowns of 75 yards or more on the first two possessions. With 25, Maalik Murphy also set a new school record for touchdown passes in a season. 1 8-3 24 UNLV UNLV overcame an odd downpour to win 27-16 at San Jose State in the closing minutes. It was, in fact, UNLV’s first victory at SJSU since 1993. Nick Nash, who leads the country in receiving, was only able to catch for nine yards once thanks to UNLV’s defense. Barry Odom improved to 18-7 at UNLV, tying the school record for fastest to 18 wins since joining Division I in 1978. More significantly, going into the last week of the season, the Rebels are still in the running for the Mountain West championship. 1 nine two.
