Wait, what happened last weekend? Did Notre Dame play? I thought we had a bye? How many of you have to deal with the pity from your friends? That’s way worse than anyone rubbing it in, way worse. Oh well, onward and upward to another week my friends.

Top 11

1 Alabama (+1, 10-0, 31-24 W at Miss State)

Gutted out a tough road win to gain their 10th win for the 10th consecutive season.

2 Oklahoma (+2, 9-1, 38-20 W vs. TCU)

Surging forward and the only team, right now, I’d predict could beat Alabama.

3 Miami (+3, 9-0, 41-8 W vs. Notre Dame)

The Turnover Chain has magical powers.

4 Clemson (E, 9-1, 31-14 W vs. Florida State)

Fell asleep a bit against the ‘Noles but ultimately took care of business.

5 Wisconsin (+4, 10-0, 38-14 W vs. Iowa)

Completely suffocated an Iowa offense that scored a million against Ohio State.

6 Auburn (+5, 8-2, 40-17 W vs. Georgia)

The Tigers leap ahead to the top of the 2-loss teams with a big win over Georgia and close road losses to quality teams.

7 Georgia (-6, 9-1, 40-17 L at Auburn)

Stumbled hard on the Plains and will have the SEC Championship game to make a statement.

8 Ohio State (+4, 8-2, 48-3 W vs. Michigan State)

Embarrassed the Spartans and are now in the driver’s seat for the Big Ten East.

9 Notre Dame (-6, 8-2, 41-8 L at Miami)

Most likely out of the national title picture barring massive carnage.

10 USC (NR, 9-2, 38-24 W at Colorado)

Don’t sleep on the Trojans they could finish 12-2 this season and sneak up into the Top 5.

11 TCU (-4, 8-2, 38-20 L at Oklahoma)

Expected to rematch with Oklahoma and could torpedo the Big 12 playoff chances.

Next 2

Oklahoma State (+1, 8-2, 49-42 W at Iowa State)

Out of the playoff picture but firmly in the NY6 discussion with both Kansas schools remaining.

Penn State (NR, 8-2, 35-6 W vs. Rutgers)

Similar to Okie State, out of the playoff picture with a great chance of securing a major bowl bid.

Dropped out: Washington, Michigan State

G5 Top 3

1 UCF (E, 9-0, 49-24 W vs. UConn)

The Civil Conflict Trophy remains in Orlando for another year.

2 Memphis (E, 8-1, Bye)

A decent SMU team awaits this weekend, currently in line to face UCF in the AAC title game.

3 USF (E, 8-1 Bye)

A win at USF in 2 weeks would put the Bulls in the AAC title game.

You Were Bad

Toledo

The Rockets had a chance to lock down the MAC and break into the AP rankings. They lost by 28 to Ohio, instead.

Ball State

More MACtion as the Cards lose by 46 points to Northern Illinois.

Pitt

Allowed North Carolina their first ACC win of the season.

Notre Dame

 

Michigan State

Probably too much to ask Sparty to win this one. Something better than a 45-point loss to OSU would’ve been better.

Duke

Lost to Army which isn’t that big of a deal I was just wanted to mention the Black Knights are 8-2!

Florida

Defeated at South Carolina and now flirting with their fewest wins in a season since 1979.

Nebraska

They got Fleck’d by 33 points in Minneapolis.

Syracuse

Allowed 40 second half points to Wake Forest in a 64-43 loss.

Tennessee

Butch Jones now officially fired after a 33-point loss at Missouri.

Colorado State

Blew a 35-10 lead late in the 2nd quarter and fell to Boise State in overtime.

Week 12 Preview

Enemy Watch

Eastern Michigan (+3) at Miami, Ohio
California (+16) at #22 Stanford
Virginia (+19.5) at #3 Miami
Western Carolina (OFF) at North Carolina
Kentucky (+21.5) at #7 Georgia
Maryland (+16.5) at #17 Michigan State
Boston College (-21.5) at UConn
#19 NC State (+1.5) at Wake Forest
UCLA (+16) at #11 USC

If I really bet money I would probably have lost more on Stanford than any other team. Here I am again wondering if it’s wise to pick Cal and those points.

How surprised would you be if Virginia beat Miami?

Did you know Kentucky is 7-3 with a pair of close losses? As Vegas shows it’s a really weak 7 wins. I’m sure Georgia will be coming back with vengeance following last week’s loss.

Wake being favored at home over NC State makes me giggle.

The Rosen vs. Darnold bowl is sure to excite very few college football fans compared to NFL fans.

Too Close for Comfort

Syracuse (+13.5) at Louisville

A pair of awful defenses with potent offenses. Take those points!

Upset Pick of the Week

Texas A&M (+2.5) at Ole Miss

The Aggies can’t be this bad, can they?

National Spotlight

#24 Michigan (+7.5) at #5 Wisconsin

This weekend is pretty awful for our viewing pleasure.

So, I think Ohio State is going to make the playoffs with 2 losses with a November blowout loss to Iowa on their resume. I think we’re *finally* going to have a massive talk-about-it-all-offseason controversy. Here’s how:

Alabama defeats Auburn and Georgia knocking both conference foes out of the playoffs.

Oklahoma beats West Virginia and survives a rematch with TCU.

Clemson beats Miami in the ACC Title game and Ohio State defeats Wisconsin in the B1G Title game. Let’s say USC beats Washington State in the Pac-12 Championship but won’t get into the playoffs. So, before the league title games we should have rankings like so:

1 Alabama
2 Oklahoma
3 Miami
4 Clemson
5 Wisconsin
6 Georgia
7 Ohio State

Miami going 12-0 and then missing the playoffs would seem crazy but so would losing and still making the playoffs. The Canes will have the Notre Dame win, probably a quality Virginia Tech win (8-4 at worst, likely) and then a cavernous drop for a third-best with an overall thin resume as a non-champion of a conference.

If Michigan beats Wisconsin that would mean the Wolverines are going to be inside the Top 15 come next weekend and finish no worse than 9-3. Ohio State would then turn around and beat 11-1 Wisconsin. Even with 2 losses they’d have 4 wins over post-championship week Top 20 teams: Michigan State, Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Doesn’t this conference champion get in over Miami?