Snap judgments from college football's Week 13
It’s rare that the most anticipated game of the season meets and even exceeds expectations. But Ohio State-Michigan did just that, a double-overtime thriller complete with officiating controversies and major College Football Playoff implications.
Each week, we give you the biggest knee-jerk reactions to college football results. Usually, it’s based on a small sample size, and it’s a bit outrageous. But now, with Week 13 in the books, some of these snap judgments have some heft to them.
1. Ohio State might have just punched its ticket to the four-team Playoff — no matter what happens in the Big Ten title game.
The Buckeyes’ résumé is complete now, with a stunning, come-from-behind win against No. 3 Michigan as icing on a cake the CFP selection committee already finds delicious. If the committee continues its belief that Ohio State is unequivocally better than teams such as Penn State and Wisconsin (who will face off in Indy next weekend for the Big Ten championship) then tiebreakers that could hurt the Buckeyes like conference titles and head-to-head results won’t matter.
That’s why you have to feel really good if you’re Urban Meyer: You have three wins against top-10 teams, two of which came on the road: Michigan, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. You’ have a loss that won’t hurt you, also to a top-10 team. And you have to think the committee views you as one of the four best teams in the country — particularly with that defense.
Ohio State bolsters its case for College Football Playoff spot
2. Jake Browning is the biggest riser in the Heisman race.
This is undoubtedly a weird Heisman race. No one seems to want to grab this Trophy. It will still maybe, probably, eventually go to Louisville’s Lamar Jackson, but the Cardinals followed up a blowout loss to Houston last week with a shocking loss to Kentucky that came directly as a result of Jackson's four (!) turnovers. Which means that there’s space for other contenders to at least knock on the doorstep of the award — though not everyone (cough, Jabrill Peppers, cough) in the race took advantage of the opportunity this weekend.
But Washington quarterback Jake Browning did. He was 21-for-29 for 292 yards and three touchdowns in the Huskies’ dominant Apple Cup victory on Friday. Washington appears poised for a Playoff berth if it wins the Pac-12 championship game next weekend — while Jackson sits on his couch, done until a bowl game — and if Browning puts up numbers like this again, he could find himself headed to New York City, at the very least.
LSU names Ed Orgeron head coach
3. Ed Orgeron got the chance his players, but not the pundits, wanted him to.
LSU taking off the interim tag on its coach coach after very public courtships of Jimbo Fisher and Tom Herman was not necessarily the most universally praised decision. But it’s what LSU players wanted, and even former coach Les Miles. Coach O got his dream job, and if he hires the right staff around him — i.e. if he hires a great offensive coordinator — he can do well there.
Or LSU will have a coaching search on its hands in three years. We don’t know. But we’ll at the least get to see how hard his players can play for him with the interim tag removed.
No. 9 Colorado holds off No. 20 Utah to capture Pac-12 South title
4. The Pac-12 will give us the most intriguing conference championship game.
Washington has been terrific — as has Browning — ever since its loss to USC. Colorado’s re-emergence has been one of the best stories in college football. Those two teams meet, with the Huskies’ Playoff bid at stake (though you could also make a long-shot case for the Buffaloes as well) in Friday night’s game.
Though it’s been weird and somewhat disorienting to see a Pac-12 with Oregon, Stanford, USC and UCLA not among the top-tier teams, it’s also pretty fun to get unexpected-but-fun matchups like Washington-Colorado. This likely will be the championship game with the closest spread, and perhaps the wildest actual on-field product. #Pac12AfterDark #4Eva
HIGHLIGHTS FROM WEEK 13
