College Football Playoff Landscape Shaken After Wild Weekend
The College Football Playoff landscape was shaken up on Saturday as three top 10 teams fell to lower-ranked opponents, while three more in the top 15 also lost. The SEC was the biggest conference to take a hit, with No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Ole Miss, and No. 15 Texas A&M suffering losses to unranked teams.
Despite the chaos, one team remained locked in: No. 1 Oregon. The Ducks had the weekend off and had already clinched a spot in the Big Ten Conference Championship.
Arizona State, Tennessee, Florida, Notre Dame, and Nebraska emerged as winners, while Colorado, Ole Miss, Rutgers, North Carolina, and the SEC as a whole, including Alabama, Texas A&M, and others, became losers.
Arizona State beat BYU to solidify their control of their own destiny in the Big 12 conference and potentially set up a massive final weekend in the conference. Tennessee’s victory over UTEP put them in a prime position to clinch a playoff spot. Florida’s win over Ole Miss dealt a crushing blow to the Rebels’ playoff hopes. Notre Dame continued to ride high with a win over Army, while Nebraska secured their elusive sixth win of the season.
On the losing side, Colorado’s loss to Kansas all but confirmed they will not make the Big 12 Championship. Ole Miss’s loss to Florida has left them in dire need of a miracle to make the playoffs. Rutgers’ heartbreaking timeout against a ranked opponent will be remembered for a long time, and North Carolina’s humiliation at the hands of Boston College has put their season in a tough spot.
The SEC’s wild weekend left many questions unanswered, with Georgia clinching a spot in the SEC Championship, and the winner of Texas vs. Texas A&M’s game facing them in Atlanta.