Final: Ohio State wins National Championship
Update: New Years Six Selections
Update: CCG Results
Added: Week 13 Analysis
Top 25 Losses for Week 13:
27-37 // #5 Wash St (10-1) vs. #23 Washington (8-3)
17-33 // #6 Michigan (9-2) vs. #2 Ohio St (11-0)
21-32 // #10 Notre Dame (9-2) vs. #9 USC (9-2)
28-31 // #13 Iowa (9-2) vs. #1 Wisconsin (11-0)
28-34 // #15 Texas A*M (9-2) vs. #7 LSU (9-2)
14-40 // #17 Auburn (9-2) vs. #3 Alabama (10-1)
The only upset here was in the Apple Cup, with the Huskies knocking the Cougars out of playoff contention. With Oregon beating Oregon State 24-21 in the rivalry fka the Civil War, the Pac-12 North finished with a 3-way tie. That tie is won by the team with the "highest ranking in the SportSource Analytics poll entering the final weekend of the regular season." The editor there has not yet released those rankings, so I used ranking "after" this weekend, but in either case WSU goes to Vegas, largely because they avoided the Big Ten in OOC play.
Who will join the Big Ten Champion and Alabama (if they win out), in the playoff? Likely Texas (if they win out), but it seems pretty wide open, surprisingly.
Analysis will be posted tomorrow.
In the Pac 12, USC (9-2) had an impressive win over Notre Dame (9-2) as they too go to Vegas, likely with playoff hopes, even if dimmed by WSU's loss.
In the ACC, Miami (9-2, 6-1) defeated Duke (3-8, 0-7), 34-17, eliminating Virginia (8-3, 5-2), who then lost to Virginia Tech (9-2, 6-1) 24-29, eliminating Miami. Clemson (10-1) inched by South Carolina (7-4) 26-20 but has poor playoff chances, even with only 1 loss; the average ranking of ACC teams is actually worse, this year, than those of the American.
In the Big 12, Oklahoma (8-3) earned a rematch against the Longhorns by obliterating Texas Tech (6-5) 50-17. Texas (10-1) beat OSU (8-3) 27-24 and is likely a win away from their first trip to the College Football Playoff.
In the SEC, Georgia (9-2) showed up against Georgia Tech (4-7), winning 54-10. They face an Alabama team who ran all over once cinderella team Auburn 40-17.
In the American, UCF (10-1, 6-1) secured a slim victory over USF (3-8, 2-5) 20-17, and will face Navy (9-2, 8-0) for the Conference Championship.
In the Mountain West, Boise State (10-1, 7-0) defeated Colorado State (5-6, 4-3) at a slowed pace, 32-24. San Diego State (7-4, 5-2) defeated Hawaii (6-6, 4-3) at a more upbeat 50-28. The two will face off in Boise next week.
In Conference USA, La Tech (7-4, 6-1) lost to FIU (8-3, 5-2), 17-18, opening the door for Southern Miss (8-3, 5-2) to take the division; they did, routing UAB 49-7. In the East, FIU's win wasn't enough as FAU (8-3, 5-2) also won, defeating Middle Tennessee 39-13.
In the Sun Belt, after Troy (9-2, 6-1) stumbled into their finale against App State (9-2, 7-0), losing to Tennessee by 7, the Trojans continued to fall flat on their face in Boone, losing 21-44. Louisiana (8-3, 5-2), who has already clinched the West, lost to La Monroe 21-28. The Cajun's hopes of winning the conference are slim, having lost to the Mountaineers 14-36 earlier this year.
In the MAC, WMU (8-3, 6-1) held on to its lead in the West, by beating Buffalo (7-4, 5-2) 26-17. Miami(OH) (7-4, 5-2) also lost to a West team, EMU, by a score of 10-46. That left Ohio (8-3, 5-2) the MAC-East champion by default; the Bobcats at least pulled out a victory, defeating Akron 20-13.
Among the Independents, Liberty (5-6) clinched bowl eligibility by defeating UMass (3-8) by a score of 43-10.