College football is unpredictable and delightful, which is why we live for what happens on Saturdays. And Week 12 certainly delivered, from a 27-point comeback win for the No. 3 team in the nation to a potential landscape-altering result in Tuscaloosa.
Each Sunday, I’ll publish my biggest takeaways from the college football weekend. I’ll highlight the most interesting storylines, track College Football Playoff contenders and specifically shout out individual and team performances that deserve the spotlight.
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1. Georgia is a team we can trust to win the national championship.
This is not the same Georgia that won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022. Those Bulldogs were suffocating defensively, and Stetson Bennett was nearly flawless in Georgia’s biggest games. But the defense was what carried those teams — and what instilled fear in opponents. It was quintessential Kirby Smart. This version of Georgia isn’t nearly as dominant defensively, but it’s still in the top half of the SEC and it shows up in the fourth quarter no matter what. Its offense isn’t as explosive as Tennessee’s or Ole Miss’s, but Gunner Stockton always seems to make the right throw when it matters most. The Bulldogs have now played two complete games in a row — their best performances of the year after a season known for one-score games — and it’s time to officially anoint Georgia as one of the top national championship contenders. This is the team I trust most out of the SEC … well, at least right now.
2. Alabama’s flaws proved fatal on Saturday. And now we’ll see how much the selection committee penalizes the Tide.
I’ve wondered for weeks if Alabama’s offensive line play and its sometimes-nonexistent run game would cost the Crimson Tide in a pivotal moment. And then … it did, coupled with a more pedestrian performance from Ty Simpson — who threw a costly interception after rarely making mistakes all season long and struggled with Oklahoma’s pressure all game. Simpson and the passing attack have saved the day many times this season, but they couldn’t get it done against Brent Venables’ defense at home. Now, it’ll be interesting to see what the College Football Playoff selection committee does with Alabama.
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The committee has basically treated the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide like it was undefeated to this point, despite the bad early-season loss to Florida State. Now, it’ll be hard to ignore that blemish on Alabama’s resume, now that the committee has to compare the Tide to other two-loss teams. Two-loss Oklahoma will need to remain ahead of two-loss Alabama due to the head-to-head result, but it’s not clear if the committee would put the Sooners ahead of Oregon and Notre Dame at this point. I think so, but we don’t know enough about this particular committee yet. And what about Alabama? Is this team going to stay ahead of two-loss Notre Dame despite a much-worse loss but a better best win? The committee will finally have a difficult decision to make on Tuesday.
3. Oklahoma’s defense may drag this team to the College Football Playoff.
Let’s give Venables a ton of credit. He decided to take over defensive play calling this offseason, saying that he was going to do it because he was very good at it. And he is! It’s been a difference-maker for a team that desperately needed to show improvement this season. The offense is still a work-in-progress; Oklahoma had just 212 total yards of offense, with 10 points coming off turnovers. But when you have an elite defense that can make life hell for one of the best quarterbacks in the country, you don’t have to do too much. The Sooners have now won two CFP elimination games in a row, and they have two unranked opponents left to play (in Missouri and LSU).
Oklahoma’s path to the Playoff is now clear, with all of the toughest parts of a challenging schedule behind it. It sure looks like Venables is poised to go from the hot seat to the CFP.
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4. Texas A&M is unbeaten but not without issues.
Saturday’s matchup between Texas A&M and South Carolina turned into one of the wildest games we’ll see all season. It was truly a tale of two halves, with the Gamecocks dominating the first half and building a 30-3 lead before allowing 28 unanswered to the Aggies, who eked out the win. The good news for Texas A&M is that this team found a way to win, and winning is hard. And the Aggies outgained the Gamecocks by 295 yards in the second half. But it’ll be hard to forget a first half that saw some of Texas A&M’s worst mistakes of the season — from Marcel Reed’s two brutal interceptions and his fumble to the inexcusable drops by his top receivers. The Aggie defense basically no-showed the first half as well, allowing over 300 yards of offense and an alarming 8.2 yards per play.
I’ve wondered for weeks if Texas A&M was a good team that can win games a lot of different ways … or if this is a team with high variance. After Saturday’s performance against a three-win team, I’m leaning the latter.
5. USC and Michigan survive and stay in the College Football Playoff mix.
The Trojans came back from 14 points down to beat No. 21 Iowa; they’re now 8-2 with two road losses (to Illinois and Notre Dame). They’re playing elimination games every week, and they’re surviving and advancing. They’ve also got a trip to Oregon coming up and a chance to add a marquee win to a resume that could use a crown jewel. If USC wins out, it will be 10-2 with wins over Oregon and Michigan (and Iowa, which the committee likes – even if they’re about to fall out of the CFP rankings). That’s a very intriguing at-large resume for a team that would then be squarely on the bubble.
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Likewise, after eking out a win over Northwestern, Michigan is 8-2 with two road losses (to Oklahoma and USC) with a massive opportunity still on its schedule. If the Wolverines were to win out — and that’s a big if considering how good Ohio State looks, but let’s play out the scenario — they’d finish 10-2 with a win over the No. 1 team in the country. That would be the best win anyone has and would have to push Michigan onto the right side of the bubble, right? I know it’s a tall task, but I didn’t think the Wolverines would beat the Buckeyes a year ago, either. I’m just saying … these are two teams that shouldn’t be ignored just yet.
