Around the CFB World Week 12

Headlines

1. Oklahoma is back?

Although the loss to Kansas State seemed to put a big damper on OU’s playoff hopes, things took a turn in the right direction when the Sooners topped an undefeated Baylor 34-31 in Waco. More impressive was the Sooners overcoming a 31-10 deficit to hand the Bears their first loss of the year.

2. Pac-12 collision course

With just three undefeated teams remaining, it figures that at least one, one-loss team will be in a spot for the playoffs. The two teams that might be best suited for this are Utah and Oregon, the clear cream of the crop in the Pac-12. Both left the weekend with dominant victories, Oregon 34-6 over Arizona and Utah 49-3 against UCLA. The wins put both teams one step closer to a Pac-12 title and with that, a solid postseason resume.

3. Bearcats are a coming

The elite Group of Five team for most of the season had been some combination of SMU, Navy, and Memphis. Throw Cincinnati in that mix as well. With a 37-yard field goal at the buzzer against USF, the Bearcats won their eighth straight game, with their only loss coming to Ohio State, and still poised for a big game in two weeks against Memphis.

Taillines

1. Something bad involving a boat

It looks like some of the magic that PJ Fleck had with the Gophers a week ago did not carry over against Iowa. The Gophers never led in the 23-19 loss to the Hawkeyes. The game ended rather anticlimactically when, on what would be Minnesota’s last attempt to reach the endzone, the Gophers were sacked on consecutive plays and then threw a pick on fourth down.

2. Still, and not surprisingly, not back

Another week, another disappointing performance by the Longhorns. The latest came in a 23-21 loss to Iowa State in Ames. Things didn’t go well off the bat with the Longhorns trailing 10-7 at the half. UT rallied for 14 points in the fourth quarter. With Iowa State on the Texas 25 yard line about to kick a field goal on fourth down, UT jumped offsides, surrendering five yards and a new set of downs. It wasn’t much but three plays and three yards later, the Hawkeyes converted on the game winning field goal as time expired.

3. Not very patriotic

With both Navy and Notre Dame being ranked for the first time in years, the matchup had the makings of a sneaky good contest. Things got out of hand very quickly. After the Irish scored on the opening drive Navy fumbled on consecutive drives, both of which resulted in a Notre Dame touchdown, resulting in 38-3 deficit at the half. The margin was too much to overcome as ND won 52-20.

Video Potpourri

Notes

• The big game in the SEC was the Georgia-Auburn matchup which saw the Bulldogs win 21-14. Georgia led 21-0 after three quarters, but there was never sense UGA was the superior team, with Auburn out gaining Georgia, and winning the time of possession.
• Clemson and Ohio State both won big over their respective opponents.
• Wisconsin ran over Nebraska 37-21 with Jonathan Taylor posting 207 yards rushing in the win. Combined with Minnesota’s loss, the Badgers are now back in a position to earn a Big Ten title game appearance if they win next week, and the following week against the Gophers.
• With their 31-28 win over Middle Tennessee, Rice won its first game of the year, leaving Akron as the one winless school in the FBS.
• Seemingly out of nowhere, Virginia Tech is well positioned to earn a trip to the ACC title game. After routing Georgia Tech 45-0, the Hokies next two games are against Pitt and Virginia, all three have just two losses in conference play.