As the clock inches closer to the finale of the regular season, you can feel the hands speeding up across college football. For some teams, their personal clocks have already struck midnight — dreams fading as the magic wears off. Others are still out on the dance floor, the music blaring, refusing to let the night end. No one knows exactly when last call will come, but one thing is certain: if you’ve got a chance to make a move, now is the moment to take it.
Drama in the SEC
It seemed the clock might have struck midnight in Norman three weeks ago when the Sooners couldn’t finish a second-half comeback against Ole Miss. Combine that with the embarrassing loss to Texas two weeks earlier, and Oklahoma suddenly had no margin for error with a brutal stretch of games still ahead. Fast-forward two weeks, and road trips to Neyland and Bryant-Denny usually go about as well as a bad dream.
Coming off a strong win at Tennessee and a timely bye, Oklahoma now faced what many argued was the best team in college football since Week 2. Florida State’s collapse since beating Alabama in Week 1 hasn’t helped the Tide’s résumé, but after that confusing opening loss, Alabama had rattled off eight straight wins—four of them against ranked opponents.
This looked like the perfect setup for Alabama to notch another ranked win and strengthen Ty Simpson’s Heisman case. But a former Heisman frontrunner returning from injury had other plans.
John Mateer capitalized on a muffed punt by Alabama receiver Ryan Williams, scooping it up and sprinting 20 yards to give Oklahoma a 17–7 lead midway through the second quarter. Alabama answered with a touchdown of its own, but a blocked field goal as the half expired meant the Tide went into the locker room trailing for only the second time all season. A crisp 75-yard touchdown drive on their first possession of the second half briefly restored order.
And then the Tide’s offense decided it was done for the day.
Alabama’s next three drives produced a total of 15 yards, two punts, and a fumble. Fortunately for them, Mateer and the Sooners weren’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard either—but they were steady enough to kick a field goal and retake a 23–21 lead.
Down two with seven minutes left, Alabama needed its first consistent drive of the afternoon. Starting at their own six-yard line, the Tide steadily moved the ball until the first play after the two-minute warning, when Simpson was sacked by linebacker Kip Lewis—the first negative play of the series, and the one that knocked them off script. Faced with fourth-and-six under a minute to play, Simpson’s pass to Ryan Williams was broken up, and Oklahoma stunned Alabama for the second straight year.
It’s hard to say Oklahoma has fully survived its gauntlet when Missouri and LSU still remain, but both games are at home, and both teams look far different than they did a month ago. At 8–2 overall and 4–2 in SEC play, a trip to Atlanta is a long shot—but the CFP remains very much alive. With two more wins, the Sooners would have one of the strongest résumés in the country.
Alabama, meanwhile, enters a much stranger situation. Despite also sitting at 8–2, this was their first conference loss. They still have to visit Auburn—and no matter how bad Auburn is, Jordan-Hare is where rational football goes to die. If Alabama wins and Ole Miss beats Mississippi State, Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss would all finish 7–1 in conference play (and maybe Texas A&M if they upset Texas). At that point, the SEC tiebreaker apparently comes down to “record against the highest-placed common conference opponent,” which is a very official way of saying “good luck figuring that one out.”
How far Alabama drops in the rankings will be interesting, especially with one of their losses now looking terrible. There will absolutely be SEC/Alabama bias baked into the discussion, but Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama hasn’t exactly made the playoff committee’s job obvious.
The ACC Might Hate Themselves
The ACC seems determined to keep shooting itself in the foot. It all started Friday night when Louisville lost to a struggling Clemson team, a result that all but ended the Cardinals’ hopes of a conference title and any chance of stealing a CFP bid.
Meanwhile, Pitt hosted College GameDay in a marquee matchup where they had something to prove against Notre Dame. Notre Dame proved they’re good. Pitt proved… they are not. And yet, because this isn’t basketball and Notre Dame isn’t an ACC opponent, Pitt still sits at 5–1 in conference and very much alive in the ACC race.
Conference leader Georgia Tech needed a last-second field goal to survive Boston College. The Eagles now find themselves 1–10 overall and 0–7 in conference.
Virginia looked the best this weekend, crushing Duke and ending the dream run for all the college-football sickos who were ready to watch the Blue Devils steal the conference. Miami took care of business as well, and as the highest-ranked team in the ACC, they currently hold the league’s automatic CFP bid. There’s just one problem: Miami is 4–2 in conference, and there are four teams ahead of them with only one ACC loss.
Georgia Tech and Pitt play each other this week, so one of those contenders will be sorted out. But if Virginia and SMU win out, it eliminates even the possibility of Miami reaching the title game. I’m fully aware of the chaos we’ve already seen, and I know better than to rule anything out, but it sure looks like this conference is headed toward absolute mayhem—and very likely a bid-stealer for the playoff.
G5 Contenders
The only thing more chaotic than the ACC race is trying to figure out who the G5 representative will be in this year’s playoff. After Memphis’ meltdown last week, South Florida entered the week ranked 24th and in control of its destiny. You can probably guess what happened next — they lost to Navy. The Midshipmen ran for 338 yards and survived a last-second hook-and-ladder attempt to upset the Bulls. South Florida now has three losses, and even their win in the Swamp can’t save them.
Memphis decided to join the chaos by picking up its third loss as well, stumbling against East Carolina.
The American now comes down to Navy, North Texas, Tulane, and East Carolina. ECU already has three losses, while Navy and Tulane have two. North Texas — the Mean Green — are the only one-loss team left in the conference. And once again, I won’t pretend to understand every tiebreaker, but yes — the Army-Navy game does not count as a conference game, meaning Navy could potentially qualify for the CFP with no prep week.
Meanwhile, James Madison continues steamrolling opponents, hammering Appalachian State 58–10. Their lone loss to Louisville keeps looking worse, but they haven’t been in a one-score game since October 4th and haven’t trailed in the fourth quarter since September 5th.
San Diego State picked up its first win over Boise State since 2021 and now holds a strong lead in the Mountain West. But buried deep in the “receiving votes” section of the AP Poll, their path to cracking the CFP Top 25 is murky. Tuesday night’s rankings reveal is going to be very interesting.
Game of the Week: Texas A&M 31, South Carolina 30
This might be the most lopsided close game of the year. It was in the first window of games on Saturday, and as it unfolded, I knew immediately it would end up as the College Footblog Game of the Week.
South Carolina has been dreadful this season. I predicted them as my sleeper CFP team, and they could not have disappointed more. They’ve lost every close game and been blown out in plenty of others. Their lone conference win came against Kentucky, and LaNorris Sellers has taken a huge step backward. I can’t imagine anyone would have been dumb enough to predict he’d win the Heisman this year…
Texas A&M has been the complete opposite. They’ve won all their conference games, sit at third in the nation, and remain undefeated. Everything pointed to a blowout, especially with the game in College Station, where the Aggies entered as 17.5-point favorites.
And as many expected, the first half was a blowout—just not the way anyone thought.
The Gamecocks came out playing like the CFP hopeful I thought they would be back in August. LaNorris Sellers looked like a true Heisman contender as South Carolina poured it on the Aggies. They scored on three of their first four possessions, and a scoop-and-score pushed the lead to 20–3.
Texas A&M quarterback Marcell Reed—who actually is a Heisman hopeful—looked overwhelmed by the moment. He threw three straight interceptions late in the first half, which South Carolina turned into 10 points. The No. 3, undefeated Texas A&M Aggies went into halftime trailing 30–3 to a South Carolina team that entered the game 1–6 in conference play.
Ladies and gentlemen, there’s a reason football games are 60 minutes and not 30. Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko rallied the troops, and they came out swinging. Marcell Reed must have drunk Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff, because he came out a different man. Slinging the ball all over the field, he fired three touchdown passes on the Aggies’ first three possessions of the second half, and they added a rushing score on their fourth.
South Carolina was shell-shocked. The Gamecocks had run just 18 plays in the second half while the Aggies had scored 28 unanswered points. The tide had completely turned, and there wasn’t a soul in the country who thought South Carolina would fight back. An interesting fourth-down play call inside the 10 prevented A&M from scoring again and kept the game at a cosmetically pleasing 31–30, but it was never truly that close. The Gamecocks totaled only 76 second-half yards.
The largest comeback in SEC history kept Texas A&M’s undefeated season alive, made the SEC title race even more chaotic, and earned this matchup the honor of this week’s College Footblog Game of the Week.
Stat Line of the Week
Ahmad Hardy (Missouri): 25 CAR 300 YDS 3TD
Any time a running back eclipses 300 yards, there's a good chance they'll win Stat Line of the Week. Adding three touchdowns on top of that is just the cherry on top. The fact that he accounted for 68% of his team’s total yardage — and nearly outgained Mississippi State by himself — only adds to his brilliant night.
Will’s Corner
BYU 44, TCU 13
BYU's offense looked much more like its usual self after last week’s disaster in Lubbock. Back at home in their typical late-night window, Bear Bachmeier led scoring drives on the first seven possessions for the Cougars. BYU's defense was stout as always and even added a late pick-six from Tanner Wall. This was a game that had been circled on their calendar for a while, and they finally exercised their demons and beat TCU. Winning by 31 when they were only 3.5-point favorites was a nice bonus.
BYU isn’t out of the woods yet—they still have to travel to Cincinnati next week to take on the Bearcats. Cincinnati won’t be ranked after their most recent loss, but it’s still a must-win if BYU wants any shot at the Big 12 title.
Tennessee 42, New Mexico State 9
You might laugh at being excited about Tennessee winning this game the way they did, but go ask Auburn how their game against the Aggies went in 2023 and see how they felt. Tennessee looked as they should against a lesser opponent, but Joey Aguilar struggled more than expected. He threw two first-half interceptions and never quite looked like himself.
He did rebound with two long touchdown drives in the third quarter to put the game fully out of reach, and the 2025 Smokey Grey uniforms looked every bit as good on the field as they did in the reveal video. Tennessee now travels to The Swamp to take on Florida—a game where it seems like the Gators’ only hope is to ruin Tennessee’s season. Joke’s on them: most Vols fans probably think it’s already ruined.
Washington State 28, Louisiana Tech 3
Where was this offense when they played Oregon State? It wasn’t flashy or spectacular, but it moved the ball and finished drives. It’s not a stretch to say Louisiana Tech is better than Oregon State right now, and Wazzu had no trouble getting into the end zone Saturday night.
The defense continued its strong play, allowing just 167 total yards all game. Louisiana Tech’s only points came on a 51-yard field goal. The Bulldogs reached the red zone just once, and that possession ended in a turnover.
This win—played in front of maybe five thousand fans (we can talk about that later)—restored hope for a bowl game. Beat either James Madison this week (unlikely) or Oregon State next week (this better happen), and you can go ahead and pencil in the Cougs for either the LA Bowl or the Las Vegas Bowl.
Will's CFP Rankings
No more reaction to the corrupt AP Poll, just my own rankings as if I were on the committee, try and see what I value in my rankings and compare them to the actual rankings come Tuesday.
Heisman 5
1. Haynes King – Georgia Tech
Even though they barely scraped by a bad Boston College team, King was the reason they did. Throwing for 371 yards through the air and adding another 53 on the ground, his yearly totals are now up to 2,259 passing yards and 807 rushing yards. You can't forget about the 24 touchdowns he's responsible for, all while only turning the ball over twice. Two more good rushing performances in his last two games, in my opinion, would lock the award up.
2. Fernando Mendoza – Indiana
Mendoza added 300 yards to his passing totals, including four touchdowns in their win over Wisconsin. With only two incompletions all day, he has been a huge factor in why the Hoosiers are 11-0. There was speculation about whether Indiana could replicate last year’s outstanding performance, and not only have they done that—they’ve exceeded it thanks to Mendoza.
3. Marcell Reed – Texas A&M
What started as his worst half of the season—and most likely would have played him out of the finalist conversation—ended up becoming the saving grace for Reed. His two first-half interceptions were quickly overshadowed as he finished the game with 439 passing yards and three touchdowns. Interceptions have been a slight issue this year, but you can't overlook the impact he’s had in making the Aggies 10-0.
4. Jeremiyah Love – Notre Dame
Love added yet another strong performance with 147 yards and a touchdown in the win over Pitt. His slow start to the year has been forgotten, and a beautiful spin move on a 57-yard touchdown Saturday made every highlight reel online—it was even dubbed the best spin move for a touchdown since Braxton Miller’s against Virginia Tech. Love has now eclipsed last year’s rushing totals and is only two touchdowns behind his previous mark. Oh yeah, he also hasn’t fumbled yet.
5. Jacob Rodriguez – Texas Tech
I am a sucker for defensive guys in the Heisman race, and I think there’s no shame in putting Rodriguez in for a goal-line wildcat touchdown on Saturday. Rodriguez has 97 tackles, 7 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions, and 1 sack this year. For perspective, Manti Te’o’s senior year—which is sometimes regarded as the best defensive season in modern college football—featured 111 tackles, 0 forced fumbles, 7 interceptions, and 1.5 sacks. Rodriguez probably won’t catch Te’o’s interception total, but the tackles and sacks are well within reach.
CFB News
The YouTube TV versus Disney dispute ended late Friday night, just in time for a full slate on Saturday. Ultimately, missing two weeks of football might not have been the worst thing—plus I got a $20 credit, which I promptly used on NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the year… just to watch the Seahawks lose.
ESPN’s College Gameday is headed back to Eugene this week for a matchup between Oregon and USC. I think George Kliavkoff would be a wonderful Guest Picker for this one. It’s an interesting choice for Gameday—while it is a ranked matchup, there isn’t much real impact on the Big Ten race. Both teams are still sitting behind Indiana and Ohio State regardless of who wins.
Big Noon Kickoff is headed to Cincinnati for the BYU vs. Cincinnati game. BYU is 2–0 over the past two years when Big Noon is on site, so let’s hope the streak keeps rolling.
Games to Watch – Week 13
14. USC @ 10. Oregon – Nov 22, 3:30 PM ET (CBS)
Pitt @ 17. Georgia Tech – Nov 22, 7:00 PM ET (ESPN)
Guest Guesser Update
We split yet another week, that means with two weeks to go in the season, I am down by 7. I need to make some risky picks this week to try and make up some ground, stay tuned.
I’d love to hear from readers, too. Think my takes are dumb? Want my opinion on something I missed? Email me at thecollegefootblog@gmail.com.
