Week 12 of the college football season is officially in the books, and we’re speeding towards the finish! It’s crazy to believe that we’ve almost hit the postseason, and the bracket for the College Football Playoff is starting to come into view.
That was just a lie, by the way. That was just wrong, the College Football Playoff bracket is still anyone’s guess. There are still a wealth of things to be decided and a wealth of factors to consider.
But in the meantime, your favorite sportswriter just tends to take things one week at a time. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do! Let’s jump right into what Week 12 had to offer for us.
Texas’ inconsistent offense could be an issue come CFP time
That’s right. I said it.
I said the quiet part out loud, and it seems like there aren’t a lot of people in the college football world who are talking about this aspect of Texas’ play. Because over the past month or so, their offense has left a lot to be desired.
The Longhorns struggled to put away Arkansas. And yes, I know that Arkansas isn’t exactly a pushover in the SEC. I know that it’s inevitably going to be a challenge going to Fayetteville and attempting to win a game in a hostile environment like that. Heading into Razorback Stadium and living to tell about it isn’t exactly a walk in the park.
But Texas’ offense was…not great. Quinn Ewers was good, as he completed 20 of his 32 passes for two touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over, but he only threw for 176 yards and posted a just-okay QBR of 62.0. The Longhorns’ first two drives ended in punts before they finally scored a touchdown midway through the first quarter. And they only scored three more points for the rest of the half, which allowed Arkansas to remain within striking distance and climb back into the game in the second half. Texas eventually pulled away and won the game 20-10, but they left a lot to be desired, particularly offensively.
If Texas fancies themselves as true contenders for a national championship, which I know for a fact they do, then ten points on seven drives is absolutely not going to cut it in a potential College Football Playoff matchup. I don’t really care who they’re playing, the fact of the matter is that that’s simply not going to get it done.
LSU has officially hit rock bottom
And I thought things couldn’t get any worse after LSU was curb-stomped by Alabama on their home field. Well, it turns out I was wrong.
Simply put, LSU had no business losing to this iteration of the Florida Gators. But, in typical LSU fashion during the program’s time under head coach Brian Kelly, they find a way to disappoint us all. The Tigers lost an extremely winnable game to a very young Florida team by a score of 27-16 on Saturday. And one of the most painful aspects of this one was that this game was tied at 13 going into the fourth quarter. Guess how many points LSU scored the rest of the way.
That’s right. Tres. That means “three” in Spanish! And three points is…not a lot of points in a football game!
The Tigers only mustered up three points after staying in the game all the way up until the final quarter of action. From there, Florida scored two touchdowns on their final two drives to put the game away and take home the 11-point win. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was up-and-down, as he threw a touchdown pass without an interception but also completed under 60% of his passes and posted a 62.8 QBR. He also nearly lost two fumbles but managed to get back on top of both of them.
And even though he wasn’t playing in the game, Kelly made headlines as well, but for the wrong reasons. He apparently yelled at one of his players, and then another player of his, wide receiver Kyren Lacy, took exception to that and yelled at him after an LSU drive stalled out.
If there is one thing that you, the reader, takes away from this week’s piece, it is this: LSU needs to cut their losses and fire Brian Kelly. It is clear they have taken a step back under him, and if this game and this behavior on the sideline is any indication, the Tigers are going nowhere fast with him at the helm.
Ashton Jeanty can carry the Boise State Broncos to the CFP
If there were any doubts that this Boise State team is good enough to, at the absolute least, earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, those doubts should be long gone.
Boise State now finds themselves sitting at 9-1 and 6-0 in Mountain West play. They are currently ranked 13th in the country and that ranking should rise when the new AP Poll releases. But what the Broncos really care about is the College Football Playoff rankings, and as of the most recent rankings, they are in the CFP field. And that largely has to do with a certain running back hailing from Jacksonville, Florida.
Yes, Ashton Jeanty just continues to run…and run…and run…and run some more. He simply cannot be stopped. I cannot overstate just how ridiculously good Jeanty has been this season, and this game against San Jose State was no exception. Jeanty posted a mind-boggling 159 yards on 32 carries and a ridiculous three touchdowns. Jeanty is now up to 1,893 rushing yards and 26 scores on the season. Just mind-blowing stuff.
And it’s not like he’s necessarily a one-man show out there, because while he is the star of the show for Boise State, the rest of the offense didn’t do too bad either. Quarterback Maddux Madsen threw for 286 yards and a touchdown and didn’t turn the ball over. And the Broncos’ defense picked off San Jose State quarterback Walker Eget twice while holding the Spartans to just 37 rushing yards and 21 total points on the game.
This Boise State team is good. Note the emphasis on team. The Broncos wouldn’t be winning at the rate that they are if they weren’t playing well as a team. But it’s obvious that the superstar of this show in Boise is Ashton Jeanty. And he should be the frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy, and if all is right in the world, he will win it at the end of the year. I don’t make the rules, people!
Notre Dame has now been underrated in the College Football Playoff race
Ever since the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lost to Northern Illinois in that stunning upset a while back, people stopped taking them seriously in the College Football Playoff race.
Well, they just might be back. Cue the Sam Ehlinger meme.
But in all seriousness, Notre Dame has been nothing short of dominant over the past few games. Ever since the Northern Illinois loss, the Fighting Irish have put up point totals of 66, 28, 31, 49, 31, 51, 52, and 35 over their past eight games. The largest amount of points they’ve given up in a game over that stretch is 24 in their seven-point win over a solid Louisville team.
And this past weekend’s win over Virginia was no exception. The Fighting Irish’s train just kept on rolling. Quarterback Riley Leonard went 22-for-33 for 214 yards and three passing touchdowns. Star running back Jeremiyah Love continued his stellar season, as he ran for 137 yards on 16 carries and found paydirt twice. This game was, quite literally, over by halftime, and a dominant first half for the Irish was punctuated by defensive back Xavier Watts picking off Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandera. Tres was also the number of times Notre Dame picked off Colandera.
The players and coaches for Notre Dame must have put all their heads together after the Northern Illinois loss and made a vow that a game like that would never happen again. And it seems like that vow has worked, because the Irish have been absolutely dominant over the past eight games, and they’ve fought their way back into the conversation as a legitimate CFP contender.
This week will tell just how good Oregon really is
It has been said before that the way a team responds to adversity shows just how good they truly are. And that case may just be in play for Oregon based on the results of this past Saturday.
Oregon narrowly escaped Big Ten foe Wisconsin in Madison by a score of 16-13, and it was abundantly clear that the Ducks simply did not play their best game. Dillon Gabriel completed 22 out of his 31 passes and threw for 218 yards, but he didn’t throw a touchdown and threw an interception in the red zone during the first quarter.
Oregon’s defense was phenomenal for the most part in this game, as they forced Wisconsin to punt on three of their first four drives. However, the offense just was out of sync, and they were unable to put up more than six points on the board and help out the defense’s efforts. The Ducks went into the halftime break down 10-6.
In the third quarter, the offense finally showed a little bit of life, as running back Jordan James ran in an 11-yard score to tie the game at 13. From there, the Oregon defense didn’t allow the Badgers offense to muster a single point for the rest of the game. Atticus Sappington nailed a 24-yard field goal for the Ducks to put them up 16-13, and then Matayo Uiagalelei picked off Wisconsin quarterback Braedyn Locke to officially secure Oregon’s narrow three-point victory.
There was a large bout of adversity that Oregon faced in this game, there’s no doubt about that. After the Ducks had largely steamrolled through the rest of the Big Ten throughout the year (save for the Ohio State game), this was the first hiccup. They are still the top team in the country, and they deserve that ranking. But how they come out and respond this week against Washington will tell how good this team truly is.
And last but not least…
The SEC (and Tennessee-Georgia) is complete madness
What do we even make of this conference?
The only sure thing about the SEC is that there is no sure thing. And this isn’t exactly a new concept, the SEC beating up on each other has been happening for several years now. But this Tennessee-Georgia game was no exception to that rule.
Georgia managed to take a 14-point victory over Tennessee at Sanford Stadium in Athens, and this game made both teams’ potential College Football Playoff futures look even more confounding.
For the Bulldogs, this game was the perfect combination of their offense playing well and Tennessee’s offense being subpar. Carson Beck played well, throwing for two scores and shocker: he didn’t turn the ball over! He also completed over 60% of his passes and posted a 98.0 QBR. Nate Frazier seemingly took over the RB1 spot from Trevor Etienne, as he carried the ball 19 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.
But outside the running game, the Tennessee offense was largely lethargic and out of sync. Nico Iamaleava completed 20 of his 33 passes for a mere 167 yards while not throwing a touchdown or interception. Running back Dylan Sampson was probably the best player on the Volunteers’ offense in this one, as he also carried the ball 19 times, but he ran for 101 yards and a score.
This game was tied at the halftime break, but Georgia’s offense turned it up in the second half, thanks in part to Beck running in for a touchdown from ten yards out to give the Bulldogs a 24-17 lead, and then Frazier punched it from two yards away to ice the game for Georgia.
Are these two teams still contenders for the College Football Playoff? Yes. The question of if they make it is an entirely different story. But this changes the complexion of things for both teams. For Tennessee, their margin for error now becomes razor-thin. And for Georgia, this win may have just saved their season if some other things go according to plan.
So, just another boring day in the SEC.
Elms' Essentials: Week 11
