As the College Football season begins coming to a close, the playoff picture become clearer and clearer. The first year of a 12-team playoff format looks to be just what college football fans were needing, with some already pleading for a 16-team format next year. It’s fair to say with the new age of NIL, the playing field has been evened. At least the gap between elite power teams and the middle class has substantially been reduced. This Saturday proved just that with more ranked teams falling to unranked opponents, even some top 10 teams met their match.
BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars came into this weekend ranked No. 14 in the playoff standings, just outside the top 12. With little margin for error, they went on the road to face No. 21 Arizona State. The game looked like a blowout early on, with ASU leading the Cougars 21-3 at the half.
However, BYU was able to fight back into this game and make it close right up till the end. Arizona State would manage to hang on, pulling the upset win over the Cougars 28-23. Greatly, hurting BYU’s chances of advancing to the College Football Playoffs. They are still alive technically for the Big 12 Championship, so their playoff hopes aren’t completely dead. Following back-to-back losses to fellow Big 12 opponents though, it’s fair to say BYU can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Ole Miss Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels came into this Saturday ranked No. 9, firmly in the playoff mix after dominating Georgia 28-10 last week. Much like any other Ole Miss team though, this one was not prone to showing up against good teams and letting a bad team walk all over them the following week.
The Rebels went to Gainsville to take on the unranked Florida Gators. Florida coming off a huge win against LSU last week should have been a warning sign for Lane Kiffin and company. Quarterback Jaxson Dart would throw for 323 yards and a pair of touchdowns but also be picked off twice against the improving Florida secondary. Ole Miss would fall 24-17 in the swamp, ultimately ending all their hopes of making the playoffs regardless of who they beat before.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The Alabama Crimson Tide entered the week ranked No. 7 in the country. They’ve been a hard team to figure out all year long. Owning wins over Georgia, LSU, and Missouri. Yet, coming into this contest with losses to Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Fans looked at the Tide’s 52-7 win over Mercer last week as maybe them getting their grove back just in time. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Alabama traveled to unranked Oklahoma this week, a game they were favored to win without problems. As Oklahoma came into this game only 5-5 in their first year of SEC play. Quarterback Jalen Milroe would have one of his worst showings of the season. Completing less than 50% of his pass attempts for only 164 yards and three interceptions. The Crimson Tide would fall in embarrassing fashion to the Sooners, 24-3. Making it appear as if Head Coach Kalen DeBoer will be missing the playoffs his first year after taking over Alabama from all-time great Nick Saban.
College Football Playoff Standings Before Saturday
#1: Oregon (Bye Week)
#2: Ohio State (Won vs. Indiana 38-15)
#3: Texas (Won: vs. Kentucky 31-14)
#4: Penn State (Won vs. Minnesota 26-25)
#5: Indiana (Lost vs. Ohio State 38-15)
#6: Notre Dame (Won vs. Army 49-14)
#7: Alabama (Lost vs. Oklahoma 24-3)
#8: Miami (FL) (Won vs. Wake Forest 42-14)
#9: Ole Miss (Lost vs. Florida 24-17)
#10: Georgia (Won vs. UMass 59-21)
#11: Tennessee (Won vs. UTEP 56-0)
#12: Boise State (Won vs. Wyoming 17-13)
On the Bubble:
#13: SMU (Won vs. Virginia 33-7)
#14: BYU (Lost vs. Arizona State 28-23)
#15: Texas A&M (Lost vs. Auburn 43-41)
#16: Colorado (Lost vs. Kansas 37-21)
#17: Clemson (Won vs. The Citadel 51-14)
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