Highlights, Lowlights, and Results — Plus the New Playoff Rankings From College Football Week #13

  

This was an interesting weekend with a number of key losses, meaning not only was there a shakeup in the polls, but it led to some new decisions to be made by the Playoff Committee – which means some curious decisions were to be made.

Some big names suffered losses while a number of previously under-considered schools keep winning, which means the arbitrary conclusions and head-scratching placements continue until the final playoff seeding takes place. All this means it was another fun weekend of games.

• The Cardinals played the Cardinal, and the coaches in Kentucky had to be garnishing their bourbon with Tums tablets Sunday. After taking a 14-point lead in the 4th, Louisville allowed Stanford to not only tie things but gave them the ball in the closing moments. A pass out of bounds with one tick remaining drew a personal foul, and then they saw Louisville jump offsides, so Stanford won on the 52-yard field goal following 20 yards of penalties assessed with one second on the clock.

• Travis Hunter became the odds-on Heisman favorite as he became the first player to record an interception and a touchdown in the same game for the third time in a season.

• Tulane is appearing as a legitimate poll denizen as they smoked a strong Navy team to earn its 9th straight victory.

• Zach Zabrowski for the Central Missouri Mules had a monster game on the stat sheet, completing 40 of 46 passes for 569 yards and three touchdowns, as well as rushing for three additional scores.

• NC State is the school that made a last-minute voting switch to allow expansion this season. As a result, first-year member SMU has the inside track to make the finals, something the Wolfpack has never experienced in seven decades. 

• Central Connecticut won on a 2-point conversion that did not exactly go according to how it was drawn up in the playbook.

Oregon 16 – Wisconsin 13

The top-ranked squad did not look like themselves on the road. The gradually improving Badgers gave them a handful, as the Ducks did not get the lead until a field goal was made with less than three minutes to play. Oregon did not have a TD until 4th quarter, and QB Dillon Gabriel went for 218 and an interception with no TDs – only the second time he has done so.

Georgia 31  – Tennessee 17

The Volunteers broke their first-half curse and jumped out to an early lead, but the Bulldogs knotted things at halftime and then shut out Tennessee in the second half. Carson Beck settled himself and went without an interception for a change. He threw for 347 yards with 2 TDs to bring them back from the bubble this week.

Kansas 17 – BYU 13

The Jayhawks have defied favorable projections most of the season as BYU has been one of the surprises, with the Cougars playing into an early first-round bye position. Then the teams switched jerseys, it appeared. BYU made four trips in the Red Zone and only netted two field goals, including a last drive stalling on the 15-yard line.

South Carolina 34  – Mizzou 30

In a wild, fun game, two evenly matched schools went to the wire with four lead changes in the 4th. The Tigers took their last lead with a 34-yard pass at just over a minute remaining, but the Gamecocks drove the field to win with 15 seconds to spare. QB Lenoris Sellers has a huge game with 353 yards passing and five touchdowns tossed. 

Clemson 24 – Pitt 20

After a surprising start to the season, Pitt now lost its third straight. After going ahead on a field goal with about 1:30 remaining, Clemson was hoping to drive for the tying kick. Instead, 20 seconds later, QB Cade Klubnik ripped off a 50-yard touchdown run. The win keeps Clemson in the running for the ACC title game and a playoff berth as a result.

Florida 27 – LSU 16

The Gators are a resurgent team behind blue-chip QB D.J. Lagway as LSU dropped their third straight and dropped out of postseason contention. Arguments between coach Brian Kelly and some of his players broke out, the frustration coming as the Tigers held ball possession at nearly a 42/18 minute ratio.

The Playoff Bracket Positions

Top Seeds (Receiving a Bye)

1. Oregon

2. Texas

3. Miami

4. Boise State

Seeded Matchups

12. BYU at 5. Ohio State

11. Georgia at 6. Penn State

10. Ole Miss at 7. Indiana

9. Alabama at 8. Notre Dame

[Key Games Week #13:  Indiana @ Ohio State / Army @ Notre Dame / BYU @ Arizona State ]

The AP Top-25

1. Oregon

2. Ohio State

3. Texas

4. Penn State 

5. Indiana 

6. Notre Dame

7. Alabama 

8. Georgia

9. Ole Miss

10. Tennessee

11. Miami

12. Boise State

13. Smu

14. BYU

15. Texas A&M

16. Colorado

17. Clemson

18. Army

19. South Carolina

20. Tulane

21. Arizona State

22. Iowa State 

23. UNLV

24. Illinois

25. Washington State