Congratulations to No. 7 Alabama on making the College Football Playoff.
OK, so it’s not official. And there’s always a chance (a slim one) that things go south these next few weeks.
But the Crimson Tide are basically a lock for at least an at-large playoff berth after beating Vanderbilt 21-6 to move to 9-2. After being No. 5 in the debut playoff committee rankings, Alabama moved to No. 3 last Tuesday and has enough room to lose once more and still finish in the top 11 of the final rankings.
Its final two games come against Chattanooga and Auburn. Based on the idea that Alabama would have to lose twice to miss the playoff, do you think the Crimson Tide are losing to a Championship Subdivision team? If it would take an embarrassing loss to Auburn at home,
do you think that’s realistic?
They’re probably not losing once anyway. The win against Vanderbilt was definitely sloppy and might’ve been even worse if Keelon Russell had been unable to play. But he tossed three touchdowns, two in the second half, and Alabama was able to force two turnovers on downs inside its 15-yard line.
But the Tide have rebounded well from back-to-back losses to No. 1 Georgia and No. 9 Tennessee, including a very impressive road win last Saturday against No. 22 LSU that saw them easily pull away in the fourth quarter.
All it will take is a split. That puts Alabama at the top of the biggest winners and losers from Week 12:
Winners
Texas
Arch Manning tossed a 4-yard touchdown with two seconds left and No. 8 Texas came back to beat LSU 22-21 and bolster its already impressive playoff résumé. Down 21-10 with two minutes left in the third quarter, the Longhorns knocked through a pair of field goals and went back and forth with the Tigers before taking possession at their own 42 with 2:16 left. Manning went 6 of 8 on the scoring drive for 52 yards capped by his quick pass to Raleek Brown in the flat for the game-winner. This win joins Ohio State, Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri to give Texas a terrific case for the playoff. That’s not the case for LSU, which is 6-4 and will drop out of the US LBM Coaches Poll. That’s not what everyone expected out of Lane Kiffin’s first year when he had the Tigers rolling in early September.
Indiana
No. 5 Indiana responded to its increasingly large crowd of critics with a 27-13 win against No. 14 Southern California, leaving the Hoosiers on the doorstep of another trip to the Big Ten title game. Curt Cignetti took the keys away from Josh Hoover and handed them to former backup Grant Wilson, who probably earned himself another week or two as the starter after delivering 305 yards and two scores on 11.5 yards per attempt. But more credit for the win should go to the Hoosiers’ defense, which forced three turnovers, allowed under 100 yards on the ground and held USC to 2 of 11 on third down. While you shouldn’t expect a corresponding climb in the playoff rankings after this week’s tumble to No. 9, this win will give IU more credibility with the selection committee.
Georgia
The Bulldogs are an unstoppable machine. Since losing to Auburn last month, Georgia has outscored three SEC opponents (Florida, Ole Miss and Missouri) 73-7 in the first half and 117-36 overall, showing no mercy in making sure it’s recognized as the current favorite for the national championship. In a 48-21 win against the Tigers, the Bulldogs ran for 182 yards, threw for 286 yards, averaged 7.8 yards per play and held the SEC’s leading rusher, Jamal Roberts, to 62 yards on 19 carries. Is Georgia also a playoff lock at this point? Similar to Alabama, going 1-1 against No. 24 South Carolina and Georgia Tech will get it done.
Wake Forest
No one on its schedule can stop No. 11 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, four more in the second and just obliterated No. 23 SMU in a 49-7 win that will absolutely make the playoff selection committee stand up and take notice. But this isn’t new: Wake has outscored its past six opponents 313-38. By doing so, the Deacons have built a case for being the second team from the ACC if they lose to Miami for the second time in the conference title game. That case gets stronger when contenders such as No. 13 Kentucky start falling back.
Florida
Aaron Philo returned as the starter and threw for 119 yards and ran for another 102 as Florida continued its up-and-down first year under Jon Sumrall by beating Kentucky 21-14. The Wildcats had won four of five in a series that was previously owned by the Gators. After beating Ole Miss back in late September, Florida had a pair of two-game losing streaks sandwiched around an upset of Texas. Now bowl eligible, the Gators can picture an eight-win regular season with Vanderbilt and Florida State to close things out. For Kentucky and new coach Will Stein, a third loss essentially ends any playoff shot. But there’s so much still on the table. With Missouri and rival Louisville to end November, the Wildcats could easily squander all of this new momentum by going from 7-2 to 7-5 and potentially 7-6 with a bowl loss. That would take some fun out of what’s been a great year.
Stanford
Here’s something you didn’t see coming: Stanford going to a bowl game. Picked last or close to it in most preseason ACC predictions, the Cardinal improved to 5-5 with a 40-22 win at Virginia Tech and have a great shot at bowl eligibility with a miserable California team up next. Both teams hired a new coach this winter, but the Cardinal have found an identity under Tavita Pritchard while the Golden Bears are a train wreck under Tosh Lupoi. Against a much better opponent in the Hokies, Stanford ran for 233 yards and was plus-three in turnover margin.
Losers
Clemson
Is this rock bottom? It can be hard to keep track. Losing 20-6 at home to Georgia Tech definitely feels like a new low, especially given that Clemson went into Saturday still alive in the ACC hunt and the fact that Georgia Tech had lost three in a row by a total of 72 points and five of six overall. How bad was this? Tech ran for 269 yards; the Tigers gained 228 yards overall. Clemson was totally derailed by an injury to quarterback Tait Reynolds on its opening drive and later lost backup Christopher Vizzina, forcing the offense to rely on Trent Pearman. As a group, this trio went 15 of 34 for 142 yards (4.2 yards per attempt) with an interception. Whether or not this was the lowest point yet, here’s something everyone agrees on: Dabo Swinney’s decision to bring back Chad Morris as offensive coordinator was not a good one.
Missouri
A third loss in four games eliminates Missouri from playoff contention. This was going to happen eventually. The Tigers have one solid win in Florida, a grab bag of meaningless wins (Texas A&M, Arkansas, Kansas) and losses to every legitimate opponent on their schedule: Mississippi State with Kamario Taylor, Ole Miss, Texas and now Georgia. This is a good team but far from a great one, and you need to have some greatness to survive the competitive nature of the SEC.
USC
Just win a game that you need to win. Win a game against a strong opponent and make some national noise for all the right reasons, not the wrong ones. USC has been waiting for a reputation-making win since joining the Big Ten and could’ve gotten just that in Bloomington, only to turn the ball over three times and fade away in the second half. For a little while there, you could’ve imagined a way for the Trojans and Lincoln Riley to sneak into the playoff as the third team from the Big Ten. That’s no longer in play. Now we wait for the end of the Riley era in L.A. and the start of a Riley era elsewhere. (Maybe in Waco, Texas?)
Michigan
This season has turned from bad to sort of horrifying for Michigan and especially for first-year coach Kyle Whittingham, who compiled a Hall of Fame career at Utah but may have made a mistake taking the job with the Wolverines. This week’s dismissal of offensive coordinator Jason Beck did nothing to help against Oregon, which gave up just 71 passing yards and had two takeaways in a very easy 31-7 win. This drops UM to 5-5 with No. 4 UCLA and Ohio State ahead, so even bowl eligibility is a long shot. The Whittingham era could continue in 2027, but this looks like a very flawed partnership with a dismal future.
Wisconsin
The Badgers played Maryland, which not only has an interim coach after firing Mike Locksley but started backup quarterback Cardell Williams in place of an injured Malik Washington. So to lose 24-21 to the Terrapins might be the most deflating result of the Luke Fickell era, and that title has competition. Wisconsin had no answer for Williams, who accounted for all three of his team’s scores and at one point completed a program-record 19 passes in a row. On the other side, Wisconsin threw for 99 yards and has been held under 100 yards three times in its past five games. The Badgers had a chance to make this a true breakout season after an awful start under Fickell but have continued to squander opportunities in Big Ten play.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama punching CFP ticket leads college football Week 11 winners and losers
