College football’s Week 13 slate mightily altered the season’s trajectory, with five ranked upsets having massive playoff implications.
Here are some knee-jerk reactions to Saturday’s action:
Indiana is still safely in the CFP despite its first loss
The No. 5 Hoosiers will certainly drop in the playoff rankings come Tuesday, and rightfully so. But Saturday’s 38-15 loss shouldn’t eliminate it from the bracket altogether. No. 2 Ohio State was expected to win, and it did.
Now, some will criticize Indiana for playing too easy of a schedule, and if that’s the case, then they were expected to dominate said schedule. Averaging 43.9 points per game qualifies as such, and running into the Buckeye’s buzzsaw isn’t as big a detriment as it’s being made out to be. The only scenario keeping the Hoosiers out of the playoff is if they lose to 1-10 Purdue in Week 14.
No three-loss SEC teams will make the CFP
Thanks to massive upsets suffered by No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Mississippi and No. 15 Texas A&M, all three accrued a third loss on the season and have essentially been eliminated from playoff contention. The committee will not consider a three-loss team regardless of conference difficulty.
The conference will, however, have three bids in the bracket. No. 3 Texas, No. 10 Georgia and No. 11 Tennessee are firmly on the inside of the bubble and need only win in Week 14 to secure their spots. Which of those programs emerges with the SEC crown is harder to predict, but the new format’s debut will only be strengthened by these recent developments.
Ohio State owns a resume worthy of the No. 1 ranking
It won’t happen, but No. 2 Ohio State should at least be considered by the AP voters for the No. 1 ranking. By virtue of their loss to undefeated Oregon, the Buckeyes cannot be considered by the playoff committee for the No. 1 spot. However, the resumes tell a slightly different story.
The two programs both own a pair of ranked wins, but both of Ohio State’s are in the Top 5. That would be a No. 1-worthy resume in any other season, but this hasn’t been a typical year by any means. A rematch in Indianapolis is likely on the horizon to settle the debate.
Arizona State is hot, but still no CFP contender
The Big 12 has been flipped on its head after No. 21 Arizona State survived to hand No. 14 BYU its second consecutive loss, and No. 16 Colorado was dropped down a peg by spoiler Kansas. Despite impressive back-to-back wins by the Sun Devils, they’re, naturally, playing with fire and will inevitably be burned.
ASU started its last two games hot, with 21-0 and 21-3 halftime scores, respectively, but its second-half performances were dismal. Defensive turnovers saved the Sun Devils in the end, but a clear trap game against in-state rival Arizona (4-7) is on deck. If they handle that, a likely tough opponent in the Big 12 title game could prove to be too much to handle for second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham and Co.
A surprise team will make the CFP bracket
Thanks to multiple falters in the SEC on Saturday, another team is likely in line to benefit from the vacated at-large berth. Which conference that team emerges from is a tossup at this point. The ACC seems the best positioned given its leaders, No. 8 Miami and No. 13 SMU, both only own a single loss. If the two programs meet in the conference championship without picking up an additional loss, the loser could be tapped for an 11-seed by the committee. The Big 12 is an unlikely contender for an additional berth with multiple-loss teams and another Group of Five champion will not surpass No. 12 Boise State on the committee’s radar.
