Now it’s in the hands of the committee.
It wasn’t all that pretty, but Ohio State is once again on top of the Big Ten. You have to give credit to Pat Fitzgerald as he had the Wildcats ready for the Buckeyes in Indy. But Trey Sermon and the Ohio State defense proved to be too much for Northwestern. Ryan Day got his second in a row and it’s the fourth straight conference championship for the program.
Justin Fields has had better days as he battled through a thumb injury and the absence of Chris Olave. Trey Sermon ran wild behind the Buckeyes’ offensive line. All the Oklahoma transfer did was rush for 331 yards to break Eddie George’s single-game record. The Ohio State defense – led by sixth-year senior Justin Hilliard – buckled down to hold the Wildcats scoreless in the second half.
We’ll find out for sure this afternoon, but Ryan Day will once again be leading the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff. There was plenty more action around the country yesterday that helped give the committee a bit of a clearer picture.
Oregon 31, No. 13 USC 24
“If Ohio State is a playoff contender, then USC should be too!” I heard plenty of that this week from some weirdos who haven’t been paying attention and apparently missed the Trojans’ 34-30 win against a horrible Arizona team. The same Arizona team that got annihilated 70-7 versus the Sun Devils and just fired its head coach. Fortunately, we won’t have to hear about the Pac 12 anymore.
Mario Cristobal and the underdog Ducks got off to a 14-0 lead Friday night before USC managed to make things interesting. It was a bit of a weird one as Oregon put up just 243 yards of offense, but the Duck defense came up with several big plays. Trojan turnovers put Oregon in a great position as its first two touchdown drives spanned just 9 and 32 yards. Tyler Shough and Anthony Brown combined to throw for just 108 yards, but each signal-caller tossed a pair of touchdowns. Sophomore defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux took home MVP honors.
A replay review gave Jamal Hill a beauty of an interception late in the fourth (his second) to basically seal the win for Oregon.
PAC 12 Championship Game
Jamal Hill with the toe touch INT for Oregon pic.twitter.com/YtQTxlLy23
— Sideline Sports (@sportsideline) December 19, 2020
It was a rough night for Kedon Slovis. The USC quarterback completed 28 of 52 passes for 320 yards with two touchdowns. But it was his three interceptions that likely cost Clay Helton the game. Slovis was picked off on two of USC’s first three drives with both resulting in touchdowns for the Ducks. And the late fourth-quarter pick prevented any chance of a comeback. Bru McCoy was the game’s leading receiver with six catches for 76 yards and a score. Amon-Ra St. Brown pitched in with five for 74 and a touchdown of his own.
So, the Ducks are Pac 12 champions. Now we move on to the annual “is Clay Helton getting fired?” time of year along with the inevitable talks of Urban Meyer heading to SoCal.
No. 5 Texas A&M 34, Tennessee 13
SEC fans are probably pounding their chests and labeling this as a big win for the Aggies. The same Aggie team that beat 0-9 Vanderbilt by a score of 12-7 earlier in the year. Kellen Mond threw for 281 yards and a touchdown against the Vols, but it was the TAMU ground game that did most of the work. Isaiah Spiller, Ainias Smith, and Mond each recorded rushing scores. Spiller was the game’s leading rusher with 89 yards on 26 carries.
Tennessee is still bad and the program is also dealing with a new NCAA compliance investigation. Tough times all around in Knoxville. J.T. Shrout and Harrison Bailey combined to complete 12 of 20 passes for 189 yards with two scores and an interception. The Volunteer ground game was shut down with 24 yards on 17 carries.
Now sitting at 3-7, is Jeremy Pruitt going to survive the offseason? It’s looking less likely with the NCAA now doing some digging. As for the Aggies, nice try on your playoff chase.
No. 10 Oklahoma 27, No. 6 Iowa State 21
It was a tale of two halves as the Sooners scored 24 in the first two quarters before the Cyclones made a run. Lincoln Riley got some revenge against Matt Campbell after the Oct. 3 loss in Ames. Oklahoma was outgained 392 to 435 but Spencer Rattler and the offense did enough to capture yet another Big 12 championship. The win makes six straight conference titles for the Sooners.
Rattler threw for 272 yards and a touchdown and added another score on a nine-yard scamper. Rhamondre Stevenson was the game’s leading rusher with 97 yards. Marvin Mims caught seven passes for 101 yards, including a 45-yard score in the opening quarter. Alex Grinch is set to interview for the Arizona head coaching vacancy. His defense delivered on Saturday with three interceptions. Tre Brown’s pick came with about a minute left in the game when Iowa State was driving for a potential win.
Brock Purdy had a rough one as he connected on 27 of 40 passes for 322 yards and a score to go along with the trio of turnovers. Tailback Breece Hall provided 105 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Xavier Hutchinson gave the Sooner secondary some problems with 10 catches for 114 yards.
When the playoff rankings are announced today, it will be the first time in four years that the Sooners have missed out.
| TEAM | W-L | RANK | PREV. |
|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 6-0 | 1 | 1 |
| INDIANA | 6-1 | 2 | 2 |
| NORTHWESTERN | 6-2 | 3 | 3 |
| IOWA | 6-2 | 4 | 4 |
| PENN STATE | 4-5 | 5 | 6 |
| WISCONSIN | 3-3 | 6 | 7 |
| MINNESOTA | 3-4 | 7 | 5 |
| MICHIGAN STATE | 2-5 | 8 | 8 |
| MICHIGAN | 2-4 | 9 | 9 |
| NEBRASKA | 3-5 | 10 | 12 |
| RUTGERS | 3-6 | 11 | 10 |
| MARYLAND | 2-3 | 12 | 11 |
| PURDUE | 2-4 | 13 | 13 |
| ILLINOIS | 2-6 | 14 | 14 |
No. 9 Cincinnati 27, No. 23 Tulsa 24
Even a dominant performance wouldn’t have been enough for Luke Fickell to make a serious playoff push. A three-point victory over Tulsa obviously didn’t help the Bearcats’ case. Still, Cincinnati has to feel good about reaching 9-0 and winning its first AAC title.
Bearcat quarterback Desmond Ridder put up 352 yards of total offense with two touchdowns. Alec Pierce was the game’s leading receiver with five receptions for 146 yards and a score. Kicker Cole Smith booted a 34-yard game-winner as the final seconds ticked off the clock. Tulsa was led by quarterback Zach Smith and tailback Corer Taylor II; both of whom found the end zone against a Cincy defense that ranks No. 9 nationally.
No. 3 Clemson 34, No. 2 Notre Dame 10
This one actually went about like I expected it would. Trevor Lawrence’s absence wasn’t even the biggest story when Notre Dame beat the Tigers back on Nov. 7. Clemson missing several contributors along the defensive line was the bigger problem. With the Tigers just about at full strength last night, it wasn’t even close in Charlotte.
Clemson was up 24-3 at the half and didn’t let the Irish pose any sort of a comeback threat. Lawrence connected on 25 of 36 passes for 322 yards with two scores and an interception. Travis Etienne was held in check in South Bend, but that wasn’t the case this time around. The senior rushed for 124 and a touchdown on just 10 carries. Lawrence added 90 with a score on the ground. Amari Rodgers caught eight passes for 121 yards, including a 67-yard touchdown.
Things looked promising early on for Notre Dame. The Irish got a field goal on the opening drive and then picked off Lawrence on the Tigers’ first possession. Jonathan Doerer missed a 24-yard chip shot and then it was mostly downhill from there. Ian Book managed 219 yards through the air with no scores. The bigger issue was the 35 yards he lost due to sacks. True freshman back Chris Tyree dashed 21 yards for Notre Dame’s lone touchdown.
It would have taken a major blowout for the Irish to have any shot of missing the playoffs. This wasn’t quite on that level, but it clearly wasn’t a good showing for Brian Kelly’s crew.
No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 7 Florida 46
We expected a lot of points in this one, and that’s precisely what went down in Atlanta. Alabama’s defense had been trending in the right direction ever since giving up 48 points to Ole Miss two months ago. It took a step back last night, but Najee Harris and the Tide offense were up to the task. All in all, the SEC title game was a fun one to watch.
Mac Jones was ridiculously good hitting on 33 of 43 passes for 418 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Najee Harris ran for 178 with two scores and added another 67 receiving yards and three more touchdowns through the air. DeVonta Smith caught 15 passes for 184 yards and two scores. I have no problem admitting that Alabama deserves to have three Heisman finalists.
NAJEE HARRIS AGAIN.
His FOURTH touchdown of the first half, just incredible. pic.twitter.com/mt02ufDBWk
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) December 20, 2020
Kyle Trask and the Gator offense came to play. Trask threw for 408 yards and three scores on the night. Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts were pretty much uncoverable against the Tide. Toney caught eight passes for 153 and a score. Pitts hauled in seven for 129 and a touchdown. Trevon Grimes got in on the action as well with 78 receiving yards, including a 50-yard score. The lack of ground game continues to be a problem for Dan Mullen. Florida’s offense is ranked No. 100 nationally in rushing and recorded just 54 yards against the Tide.
The rest of the Big Ten slate wasn’t all that exciting. Michigan/Iowa probably would have given us a beatdown, but unfortunately that one ended up getting canceled. The same can be said for the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket with Indiana/Purdue also getting scratched.
Nebraska beat Rutgers on Friday by a score of 28-21. Dedrick Mills ran for 191 yards for the Huskers. Wisconsin got the best of Minnesota in overtime, 20-17. Garrett Groshek ran for 154 and a score for the Badgers. Mohamed Ibrahim led the Gopher ground game with 151 yards while Tanner Morgan tossed a pair of touchdown passes.
Penn State won its fourth straight with a 56-21 victory over Illinois. The ground game went for 253 and four touchdowns with most of that coming from a pair of true freshmen. Keyvone Lee went for 85 and a score while Ceziah Holmes rushed for 77 and two touchdowns. Jahan Dotson inflicted all kinds of damage to the Illini secondary with six catches for 189 yards and two scores. Late last night, the PSU program announced that it will not be participating in a bowl game.
LSU somehow beat Florida in Gainesville last week even though it was missing about 70 percent of its secondary. There was a shootout in Baton Rouge yesterday as the Tigers topped Ole Miss by a score of 53-48. LSU true freshman Max Johnson threw for 435 yards with three scores. Fellow frosh Kayshon Boutte set a new SEC record with 308 receiving yards and three scores.
Can’t forget about the MAC. Underdog Ball State bested previously unbeaten Buffalo 38-28 to capture the championship in Detroit. The Cardinals scored 28 in the second quarter to pull away. Ball State’s defense held Bulls’ star tailback Jaret Patterson to just 47 yards on 18 carries. Buffalo came into this one as nearly a two-touchdown favorite.
- Week’s Best: Trey Sermon, Justin Hilliard, Jahan Dotson, Bama’s passing game (per usual), Najee Harris, LSU’s true freshmen
- Week’s Worst: Florida/LSU/Ole Miss defenses, Jeremy Pruitt, Brian Kelly
- Week’s Weirdest: I think I have a weird new respect for Lane Kiffin for not even hiding it when telling his players to fake injuries.
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) December 19, 2020
The final College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled today at noon. We didn’t get any upsets in the relevant conference championship games, so I think we have a pretty good idea of what things are going to look like once the committee is done deliberating.
My guess on how things look? 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Ohio State, 4. Notre Dame
Maybe the committee gives the Irish the edge and slots them at No. 3 since they’ve played five more games than Ohio State? I guess that wouldn’t be a total shocker. Either way, the Buckeyes are going to have to deal with one of the country’s most talented rosters whether it be the Tigers or Tide.
If I’m being honest, a matchup with Notre Dame would be the only one that I’d feel particularly confident about. Clemson and Alabama would both present some problems for a secondary that’s had its troubles in 2020.
What are your final playoff rankings looking like? After yesterday’s showing in Indy, how are you feeling about a matchup with Clemson or Bama?
