College Football Takeover: Week 13 Sets up Championship Weekend

How6rd’s Takeaways

Michigan, welcome to the CFB Playoffs: With the big rivalry game between Michigan and Ohio State taking place this past weekend it got as intense as many expected, but the Wolverines pulled off the victory secured by a game-ending pick from QB Kyle McCord and the Buckeyes are essentially out of the playoff race. After having one of the weakest schedules amongst those in playoff conversation before this week began Michigan had a very solid showing in this one getting some huge stops on defense and playing to win at all costs each drive on offense. This game ultimately came down to the team that made the least mistakes was going to be the one to win, and Michigan picked off McCord twice in the first quarter and (basically) the final drive of the game both resulting in two moments that pushed this team to victory. Ohio State now has lost to Michigan three consecutive seasons and there are a lot of questions about head coach Ryan Day’s job, which I personally must say losing to a rival three years in a row after multiple years of success against them beforehand certainly should bring up concerns. The Wolverines come in ranked number two in the recent CFB Playoff rankings and even with the Big 10 Championship to go it would take not only an Iowa upset but an absolute beatdown from the Hawkeyes to raise any concern for their playoff hopes.

Close call against Auburn makes Alabama’s playoff path complicated: After a shocking loss against New Mexico State the Auburn Tigers were expected to get throttled in this game against a red-hot Alabama squad beating some solid SEC competition on the path to their final game. For the Crimson Tide, this unfortunately wasn’t a tune-up game and their hopes for a shot into the playoffs came down to a 4th-and-goal which was technically a 4th-and-31 (yes they needed 31 yards to reach the endzone only) which was a pass from Jalen Milroe to receiver Isaiah Bond made that possible. An absurd game-winning play with 32 seconds remaining in the game kept Alabama’s hopes alive and now still being ranked eighth in the country need a win against Georgia to have any shot in general. The problem is that their are seven teams still ahead of them and in my opinion even with a win against Georgia they still might not be able to get in especially if Texas (their only loss of the season) wins the Big 12 Championship. In my opinion, I believe that even with an Alabama win Texas and Florida State must lose their games in order for Alabama to fit into the final four (unless they dismantle Georgia and knock the Bulldogs out completely possibly then I don’t know). As much shit as the world is giving the committee this season, I will be glad I am not in that decision-making process if Alabama pulls the victory in the SEC Championship because it could get WILD trying to balance everything out mostly because of the Texas Longhorns pulling off the win in Tuscaloosa of all things.

Wow…the ACC sucks doesn’t it: I’ve mentioned this before due to the same team losing to a noticeably poor team weeks ago yet another Louisville loss to their SEC rivals in Kentucky, who had lost five of their last six games before going into the Cardinals’ home field, degrades the second best team in this conference’s season and if it wasn’t for Florida State this conference would be a gigantic step down to the rest of the Power 5 at this rate. NC State hasn’t lost since October 14th so they are plausible as a threat, but Clemson’s ranking in the CFB Playoff system really doesn’t mean much looking at the struggling teams they beat in conference and beating a poor South Carolina team by just barely two possessions. The rest of the conference fell off a cliff and Florida State is the lowest-ranked top-4 playoff team as it stands even being 12-0 because of it. Bowl season should be interesting to see how many wins ACC teams as a whole can pull off because it seems that stepping out of the ACC in matchups has been almost all of these teams’ true weaknesses besides Florida State, and it’ll be interesting to see how well the Seminoles are able to beat an exposed Louisville team before potentially making a playoff appearance.

PC’S Takeaways

Snow Farmageddon- The snowy tundra of Manhattan was an insane image on Saturday. The K-State Wildcats should’ve cleared the field off. It may have helped them win this football game. The Iowa State offense didn’t have a possession over 5 plays. Their main running back, Abu Sama III, had 276 yards and 3 touchdowns. He had multiple plays that went over 50 yards and put 6 points on the board for the Cyclones. Will Howard continues to show his ups and downs of his college career that took a massive hit. He had 280 yards in the air and 1 touchdown, but also had a massive interception. He continues to demonstrate that he can’t be the option for the Wildcats to take that leap from good to great. The offensive run game, which is usually a strong suit for them, lacked any type of gain against the stifling Cyclones defense. The Wildcats are going to make a bowl, but their QB has already said he was transferring so we can see how this works out for the K-State faithful for their upcoming bowl game.

Grab Your Popcorn, It’s Almost that Time- Championship week is finally upon us. We have a lot of interesting matchups taking place next week. Alabama is taking on undefeated Georgia. Texas is looking to get into the College Football Playoff by winning the Big 12 Championship. Even without Jordan Travis, Florida State is looking to claim the ACC Championship. Oregon and Washington are going to clash in the Pac-12 Championship. Playoff spots are on the line, Champions will be crowned. Oh baby I’m excited already. If I had to pick, the Bulldogs will prevail over the Crimson Tide, the Longhorns will win but miss the playoff. Florida State is good enough to beat out the Ville. Finally, Michael Penix Jr. will solidify himself as the Heisman winner with a win over the Ducks.