The SEC continues to insist on playing meaningless games against Group of Six and FCS opponents late in the season, and that means there won’t be much shakeup in the College Football Playoff Rankings this week.
No. 1 Ohio State pounded Rutgers, No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 Texas Tech, and No. 6 Ole Miss were off. No. 3 Texas A&M beat Samford, No. 4 Georgia beat Charlotte, and No. 10 Alabama rolled against Eastern Illinois. Plus, No. 9 Notre Dame submitted the most dominant performance of the entire week in a 70-7 win over Syracuse. That left only a few games of significance inside the Top 12.
Did Oklahoma lock up a CFP spot on Saturday?
The first meaningful results came in the noon slate with Oklahoma holding off Missouri. The idea that John Mateer is back to his Washington State form is wildly overblown, but offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle is bringing a conservative enough approach on that side of the ball that the Sooners won’t beat themselves. And Brent Venables' defense can beat just about anyone.
The Sooners locked down one of the country’s leading rushers in Ahmad Hardy, and even with Beau Pribula back healthy, Missouri was helpless to threaten Oklahoma downfield. Next week, LSU won’t have much better luck, and with a leaky offensive line, the Sooners should ride their defense to another dominant win. Oklahoma has all but locked up a spot in the CFP, and so have the Oregon Ducks.
Oregon’s big win could be enough to jump Ole Miss
Dan Lanning’s team still has to play Washington on the road next week, and the Huskies are no pushover, but USC was clearly the biggest remaining hurdle on the schedule. The Trojans hung around, but the dominant run game that Oregon has unlocked throughout the season kept the Ducks in control all afternoon, and with both of its starting safeties out, USC was helpless to stop tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
Barring any shocking upsets in Week 14 or the conference championships, the at-large bids are largely decided. Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Notre Dame are all near certainties to make the CFP. It may just be a matter of seeding.
SEC and ACC Conference title scenarios
As for the SEC’s CFP contingency, I’m giving Georgia the top spot and predicting the Dawgs avenge their loss to Alabama in the SEC Title Game. Kirby Smart’s team, however, does not control its own destiny heading into the final week. The Dawgs need a Texas win over Texas A&M, and I tend to think that it will come on Saturday.
Georgia Tech’s loss to Pitt helped to clear up the ACC Title Game scenarios, with Virginia, Pitt, and SMU still in the mix for a spot in Charlotte. Of that group, SMU is playing the best football right now, so I’ll back the Mustangs to beat Cal in the final week of the regular season and take down Virginia in the ACC Title Game.
1. Ohio State, Big Ten Champion
2. Georgia, SEC Champion
3. Indiana, At-large
4. Texas Tech, Big 12 Champion
5. Texas, A&M, At-large
6. Oregon, At-large
7. Ole Miss, At-large
8. Notre Dame, At-large
9. Oklahoma, At-large
10. Alabama, At-large
11. SMU, ACC Champion
12. North Texas, American Champion