And let the arguments and posturing commence in earnest.
Even before No. 6 Auburn put the finishing touches on its Iron Bowl upset of No. 1 Alabama, the questions began: could a one-loss non-SEC champion Crimson Tide team earn a spot in the College Football Playoff? The short answer is, well, yeah — last season, one-loss Ohio State made it over two-loss Penn State, and the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes head-to-head.
The biggest difference there, however, is résumé.
While Alabama beat a Florida State team that was ranked No. 3 in the 2017 opener, the Seminoles’ season imploded into a 5-6 record heading into the regular-season finale. That means the only quality wins UA has for its argument is No. 14 Mississippi State (they’ll drop after the Egg Bowl loss) and No. 18 LSU. Ohio State, meanwhile, had wins over three teams that finished the 2016 regular season ranked in the CFP Top 10: No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Wisconsin No. 9 Oklahoma. The losses — No. 7 Penn State for OSU, No. 6 (for now) Auburn for UA — are essentially a wash.
The arguments in both directions are expected to be hot and heavy ahead of next weekend’s Selection Sunday, especially if two-loss OSU knocks off unbeaten Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game a week from today. With that in mind, Nick Saban has already begun stumping for his one-loss squad.
Alabama’s best hope to become the second SEC team to make the playoffs this season — let’s face it, the SEC champion, even if it’s two-loss Auburn, isn’t being left out — is for Ohio State to lose to Wisconsin, two-loss TCU to beat one-loss Oklahoma and possibly a three-loss (or four, pending tonight’s Notre Dame game) Stanford to win the Pac-12. That would seem to be the easiest path, relatively speaking, for the Crimson Tide to qualify for a fourth straight playoff, assuming it doesn’t matter who wins the ACC championship game.
Even then, though, you have to wonder if the playoff committee can justify in its own mind putting two teams from the same conference into the tourney while leaving out TWO Power Five conference champions — especially when it’s a team like the Crimson Tide which, despite having just the one loss, carrying such a lackluster and underwhelming résumé into the argument.
And if Ohio State is the Big Ten champion? Wins over No. 10 Penn State, No. 16 Michigan State and what will likely be a No. 2 or No. 3 Wisconsin should make Alabama fans very nervous over their team’s postseason fate — even given OSU’s inexplicable loss to Iowa.
In hindsight, Oklahoma could have suspended Baker Mayfield for its entire game against West Virginia and still won. Instead, Mayfield sat the first two plays and No. 4 Oklahoma scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions to blow past the overmatched Mountaineers for a 59-31 win.
Coupled with losses by No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Miami, the win increases the Sooners’ standing in the College Football Playoff derby, concludes OU’s regular season at 11-1 and hands Lincoln Riley‘s club its fourth straight regular season Big 12 championship, sending the Sooners into the Zombie Big 12 Championship against No. 12 TCU next Saturday.
Kyler Murray started the game at quarterback and played himself out of a job in two snaps. He opened the game with a 66-yard rush, setting up Rodney Anderson to punch in a 4-yard score to put the Sooners on top for good.
West Virginia’s first touch consumed nearly half the first quarter, moving 64 yards in 13 plays before settling for a 28-yard Evan Staley field goal.
Mayfield entered the game after that and Oklahoma was off to the races. He led five touchdown drives in five chances over the remainder of the first half, then another touchdown march on his only drive of the second half. He concluded his swan song by connecting on his first eight throws and firing as many touchdowns as incompletions, nailing 14-of-17 throws for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
Anderson led the Sooners with 13 carries for 118 yards and four touchdowns, all of them in the first half.
Oklahoma’s first eight drives — which, again, all ended in touchdowns — covered 579 yards on 42 snaps. That’s 13.79 yards a play. Murray played the majority of the second half, hitting 2-of-2 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown while rushing three times for 80 yards. As a team, Oklahoma gained 646 yards of total offense (333 passing, 313 rushing) with 26 first downs on 54 plays.
For West Virginia, Chris Chugunov played at quarterback for the injured Will Grier and hit 10-of-20 passes for 137 yards. Justin Crawford led all runners with 25 carries for 137 yards and three touchdowns, all of them in the second half. West Virginia trailed 45-10 at halftime.
The Mountaineers closed their regular season at 7-5 (5-4 Big 12) and will wait for their bowl destination next Sunday.
There are rivalry games… and then there’s the Iron Bowl.
The biggest game in the SEC nearly every regular season lived up to the billing once again with a thrilling, back-and-forth battle between No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Auburn for three and a half quarters that resulted in a 26-14 upset win for the Tigers at home to seize control of the SEC West title, the conference as a whole and likely the race for a spot in the Sugar Bowl for the College Football Playoff.
The difference on the Plains for the home team was undoubtedly quarterback Jarrett Stidham. The transfer by way of Baylor and a junior college that many expected to lead Gus Malzahn’s offense to a storybook season was terrific on the biggest stage in the sport once again in leading Auburn to their second win over a No. 1 team in three weeks. The dual-threat threw for 237 yards with pinpoint accuracy against that feisty Tide secondary and really made a difference with his legs, scrambling out of several sacks and rushing for 51 yards and a score. Stidham formed a tough one-two punch in the backfield with Kerryon Johnson (106 yards, one touchdown rushing), who churned out tough carries and recorded the first points of the game by way of a perfectly executed jump pass.
However there’s also some concern for Auburn over the status of their star tailback as Johnson pulled up lame on a play late in the fourth quarter and could miss the SEC title game and possibly more. He injured his shoulder earlier in the game on a diving run toward the pylon and appeared to be favoring it as he made his way to the injury tent.
While the effort was one of the best of the year for the Tigers, the same could not be said for their opponents from Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban’s side was uncharacteristically undisciplined between penalties, bad snaps and some awful numbers on third down (3-of-11). Quarterback Jalen Hurts lost a fumble but was otherwise the only source of offense for Alabama, throwing for 112 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 82.
However there wasn’t any magic left in the team as the Tide lost for the first time in the regular season since September of 2015.
The result also shakes up the College Football Playoff standings and presumably puts a number of different scenarios in play for the SEC possibly placing two teams in the final four. At the very least the conference itself will secure one bid as Georgia and Auburn meet again, this time in Atlanta, for the conference championship next Saturday and a likely trip to the Sugar Bowl semifinal.
Folks on the Plains will turn their attention toward the rematch tomorrow however, as the rest of Saturday night will be left to celebrate another win over a No. 1 team and their hated rivals to the West.
No. 5 Wisconsin (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) put the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season in blowout fashion, defeating Minnesota (5-7, 2-7 Big Ten) on the road by a score of 31-0. Say what you might about the level of competition Minnesota has faced this season, but the Badgers have done everything asked of them to be in the College Football Playoff discussion, and they may be one win shy of reaching the playoff for the first time in school history.
Wisconsin had a straightforward approach to beating Minnesota fueled by steady defense and a good running game. Jonathan Taylor rushed 20 times for 149 yards and a score in the big win to continue a dominant freshman season. Alex Hornibrook passed for 151 yards and three touchdowns for an efficient afternoon when needed.
All that stands in the way for the Badgers now is Ohio State and the selection committee. A win against the Buckeyes to string together a 13-0 record with a Big Ten championship capped by a win against a top 10 team feels like it should be enough on its own to be rewarded with inclusion in the College Football Playoff. And with the top two teams in the nation losing this weekend, it still remains a guessing game how the selection committee will evaluate the situation. Nothing should be considered a given, but if Wisconsin is the last undefeated power conference team standing at the end of the season, then that should be enough if the Badgers can pull it off.
Wisconsin will play Ohio State next week in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. Minnesota’s season is now done with a 5-7 record, bringing the first season under P.J. Fleck to a close. There were some positives at times, but the Gophers have plenty of rowing to do to take steps forward in the Big Ten West pecking order and to give Wisconsin a decent run.
There’s been a ton of movement on the coaching carousel the past few days, but apparently Kansas won’t be involved this time around.
Kansas lost to Oklahoma State Saturday afternoon, dropping their record to 1-11 as they lost the last 11 games of the season. While there’s been speculation that David Beaty would be three-and-done, athletic director Sheahon Zenger indicated in a statement shortly after that latest loss that the head coach would indeed get a fourth season.
KU is now 3-33 — and 1-26 in Big 12 play — in nearly three full seasons under Beaty. For perspective, Turner Gill won five games in his two seasons after replacing the ousted Mark Mangino in 2010, while Gill’s replacement, Charlie Weis, won six games in his three seasons before he was replaced by Beaty in 2015.
With the Week 13 drubbing in Stillwater, the Jayhawks have now lost 46 straight road games, the second-longest streak at any level in college football history.
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