College Football: Week 12 Review

Five Headlines of Week 12

  1. Sparty Shredded- CJ Stroud throws for 432 yards, six touchdowns to lead #5 Ohio State to a huge 56-7 win over #7 Michigan State and take control of the Big Ten East.
  2. Ducks Shot Down in Utah- #4 Oregon is dismantled by #24 Utah’s rushing attack and its playoff hopes are dashed in a 38-7 loss.
  3. Statement Made in Cincy?- #3 Cincinnati clinches a date with #17 Houston in the AAC Championship game with a convincing 48-14 win over SMU.  
  4. Death Valley Destruction- Clemson keeps their ACC Atlantic hopes alive, beating #13 Wake Forest convincingly 48-27 to end the Demon Deacons' perfect ACC season. 
  5. Auburn's Offense Lost Without Nix- Without Bo Nix under center, Auburn falls to South Carolina, 20-10, before next week's clash in the Iron Bowl with Alabama.
College Gameday's Game of the Week- #5 Ohio State 56, #7 Michigan State 7 (Columbus, OH)
Before they took the field, this week's premier matchup between the top two teams in the Big Ten East felt like a battle of heavyweights going in for a title fight. Two potential Heisman candidates squaring off to try and pull ahead in the eyes of the voters. The result was far from anything we expected. #5 Ohio State was the better team on paper, according to the experts, and they showed why in the first half of this one. Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud threw for six touchdowns in the first half of this game and finished with 432 yards in the game. All three of Ohio State's superstars at wide receiver finished with over 100 yards receiving and at least one touchdown. They ran for over 200 yards and two touchdowns. The defense shut out #7 Michigan State in the first half and then only allowed the one touchdown to start the fourth quarter. This was a masterclass put together by Ohio State's entire team. Today's performance from Stroud might have catapulted him as the favorite for the Heisman, even if he did all of his work in the first half. This win, paired with #8 Michigan's win over Maryland, sets up a matchup next week in the Big House with the winner moving on to the Big Ten Championship game. This is going to be one of the biggest games this season and Ohio State has to be the favorite, even on the road. 

My Game of the Week- #3 Cincinnati 48, SMU 14 (Cincinnati, OH)
Outside of the Michigan State-Ohio State game, this was the game I was looking forward to the most because this was #3 Cincinnati's first chance since the Notre Dame game to prove itself as a worthy playoff team. SMU was shaping up to be arguably its toughest test of the season since they beat the Irish, plus it would help the Tigers clinch a spot in the AAC Championship game against #17 Houston. This performance from Cincinnati exceeded all of my expectations. Quarterback Desmond Ridder threw for three touchdowns, ran for a touchdown, and caught a touchdown, accounting for five of the team's seven trips to the endzone. The defense held SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai to just 66 yards passing and held the Mustangs' offense out of the endzone until midway through the fourth quarter. I'm not sure what else the playoff committee is looking for to prove they are a worthy team to make it to the playoff. They're now guaranteed a title game opportunity against Houston and should they beat East Carolina next week and win the conference title the following week, there's no reason Cincinnati shouldn't be playing for a spot in the National Championship game. 

Teams of the Week
  1. #5 Ohio State- They absolutely dismantled #7 Michigan State in the first half, so they could cruise to a victory in the front end of the "Michigan Tour".
  2. #24 Utah- The Utes threw a wrench in everyone's plan with their destruction of #4 Oregon and in doing so clinched a title game opportunity where they'll likely be getting the Ducks again. 
  3. Clemson- The Tigers aren't completely out of the ACC Atlantic picture just yet with their win over #13 Wake Forest, though they need some help next week to get back to Charlotte. 
  4. #3 Cincinnati- I've thought all season this team is for real and beating a team like SMU the way they did was convincing enough that I hope the committee feels the same as I do. 
  5. #20 Pittsburgh- Coastal madness can come to an end now that the Panthers have finally locked up the division with a win over Virginia. 
Most Disappointing Teams of the Week (Some had cupcake games, so getting to 5 was hard)
  1. #4 Oregon- The road was simple for the Ducks, they just needed to win out to make the playoff, but #24 Utah had other plans. Now they need to win next week to get their revenge in two. 
  2. #7 Michigan State- Usually I can pardon a team for losing to a top-five opponent, but the way Sparty lost today makes that nearly impossible because this was just ugly. 
  3. Auburn- The Iron Bowl is usually one of the best games of the season but after losing to South Carolina, I feel an Alabama win is imminent so it takes the fun out of it. 
My Top 25 Going into Week 13 (Not the Official AP Top 25 of College Football Playoff Rankings)
  1. Georgia (11-0, W 56-7 Charleston Southern)
  2. Cincinnati (11-0, W 48-14 SMU)
  3. Ohio State (10-1, W 56-7 #7 Michigan State)
  4. Alabama (10-1, W 42-35 #21 Arkansas)
  5. Michigan (10-1, W 59-18 Maryland)
  6. Oklahoma State (10-1, W 23-0 Texas Tech)
  7. Notre Dame (10-1, W 55-0 Georgia Tech)
  8. Ole Miss (9-2, W 31-17 Vanderbilt)
  9. Oregon (9-2, L 38-7 Utah)
  10. Oklahoma (10-1, W 28-21 Iowa State)
  11. UTSA (11-0, W 34-31 UAB)
  12. BYU (9-2, W 34-17 Georgia Southern)
  13. Houston (10-1, W 31-13 Memphis)
  14. Michigan State (9-2, L 56-7 #5 Ohio State)
  15. Baylor (9-2, W 20-10 Kansas State)
  16. Wake Forest (9-2, L 48-27 Clemson)
  17. Wisconsin (8-3, W 35-28 Nebraska)
  18. Pittsburgh (9-2, W 48-38 Virginia)
  19. Iowa (9-2, W 33-23 Illinois)
  20. Utah (8-3, W 38-7 #4 Oregon)
  21. Texas A&M (8-3, W 52-3 Prairie View)
  22. Louisiana (10-1, W 42-14 Liberty)
  23. San Diego State (10-1, W 28-20 UNLV)
  24. Appalachian State (9-2, W 45-7 Troy)
  25. NC State (8-3, W 41-17 Syracuse)
Week 13 Games to Watch
  1. #2 Ohio State v. #6 Michigan
  2. #10 Oklahoma v. #7 Oklahoma State
  3. #3 Alabama v. Auburn
  4. #8 Ole Miss v. Mississippi State
  5. #5 Cincinnati v. East Carolina

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