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Oklahoma falls; Michigan survives
Ohio State set to host Michigan State

Nick Knudsen

The Top-7 remains the same but Notre Dame has worked their way up to No. 8 after Baylor defeated Oklahoma. Georgia continued to roll, Alabama handled their business against New Mexico State, Oregon skated by, and Ohio State looked dominant against Purdue.

SEC

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In control of their own destiny: Georgia and Alabama

Eliminated: Ole Miss, Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Texas A&M, LSU, Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina

For a few minutes, it looked as if Tennessee would be a tough test for Georgia, but UGA RB James Cook’s three touchdowns led the Dawgs to a 41-17 win in front of 102,455 in Knoxville.

An early field goal put New Mexico State up 3-0 on Alabama. The Tide responded with 59 consecutive points while gaining close to 600 total yards of offense highlighted by WR Jameson Williams’ six receptions for 158 yards and three touchdowns.

Key Games This Week:

ACC

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Eliminated: Wake Forest, Pitt, NC State, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Boston College, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Miami, and Duke.

Wake Forest  bounced back to improve to 6-0 in league play with a win over NC State. The No. 9 Demon Deacons are almost certainly a lock for the ACC title game. Even if they lose to Clemson this week, they would only need to beat Boston College to clinch the Atlantic division.

If Pitt defeats Virginia this weekend, the Panthers will clinch the Coastal division.

Florida State converted on a late fourth down to topple Miami and end the Blake James era in Coral Gables. Will Manny Diaz  be the next to follow in the footsteps of his now former athletic director?

Key Games This Week:

Big Ten

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In control of their own destiny: Ohio State

Alive but needs help: Michigan and Michigan State

Eliminated: Iowa, Penn State, Maryland, Indiana, Rutgers, Minnesota, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, and Northwestern.

In what was the game of the day, Michigan looked as if they were going to choke in another big game situation when Wolverines QB Cade McNamara fumbled deep in Michigan territory with the score tied at 14-14. The defense rose up to hold Penn State to field goal and UM RB Hassan Haskins carried the offense to midfield before McNamara connected with TE Erick All on a 47-yard touchdown pass with 3:29 remaining to give the Wolverines a 21-17 win on the road.

A week after upsetting Michigan State, Ohio State dismantled Purdue early sprinting out to a 45-17 lead by halftime. The Boilermakers did find some success through the air, throwing for 390 yards on the day, but OSU held Purdue to under 100 yards on the ground. Ohio State hosts Michigan State this weekend before wrapping up the regular season in Ann Arbor.

Michigan State didn’t waste any time bouncing back against Maryland. The Spartans scored four touchdowns in their first seven drives. Heisman candidate Kenneth Walker III rushed for 143 yards on 30 carries and added two touchdowns to his resume.

Wisconsin is in great position to win the West and potentially play spoiler in Indy.

Key Games This Week:

Big XII

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Alive but needs help:  Oklahoma and Oklahoma State

Eliminated: Baylor, Texas, Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Kansas, and West Virginia

It seemed like only a matter of time before Oklahoma was exposed. OU QB Caleb Williams threw two interceptions while going 9/18 for 142 yards through the air. The Baylor defense kept the Sooners vaunted offense in check and caused Lincoln Riley to turn back to previously benched starting quarterback Spencer Rattler. The Sooners may have a shot to enter back into the playoff race with wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma State, but if there is any truth to the Riley to LSU rumors, will that serve as a distraction down the stretch?

Baylor sits at 5-2 in the Big XII Standings with wins over both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State meaning that the Bears will find their way into the Big XII Championship Game with wins over Kansas State and Texas Tech. Bedlam should serve as an elimination game for a spot in the Big XII Championship.

Oklahoma State averaged 7.2 ypc on 62 rushing attempts en route to 447 yards on the ground against TCU. The Cowboys defense kept up the good work holding TCU to under 300 yards of total offense to lead OSU to a 63-17 win. This looks to be Mike Gundy’s best shot to finally get over the hump and capture  the school’s first Big XII football title since 2011.

Key Games This Week:

Pac-12

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In control of their own destiny:  Oregon

Eliminated: Arizona State, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State, Washington, Cal, Utah, UCLA, USC, Colorado, and Arizona

Oregon held a one score lead over 5-5 Washington State midway through the fourth quarter and, once again, the Ducks’ offense came through in the clutch to put away the game to keep No. 3 Oregon in line for a playoff spot. In five of their last six games, Oregon has had to fight into the fourth quarter to secure a victory. This is a troubling trend and a similar type of performance in Salt Lake City could be costly this weekend.

Key Games This Week:

Group of Five/Independent

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Alive but needs help : Cincinnati

Technically alive but unlikely:  Notre Dame

I attended Cincinnati’s Friday night visit to USF to get an up close look at the Bearcats and walked away feeling no different that I did before the game.

Cincinnati is a good team. I have no issues with the Bearcats holding the No. 5 spot and threatening to crash the playoff party, however, I will not be upset if one-loss Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, and, should they fall in Atlanta, UGA all earn playoff spots ahead of Cincinnati.

If the Bearcats play a clean game, they are capable of playing playoff-worthy football, but the odds of Cincinnati playing a clean game for 60 minutes seem quite low based on what they’ve put on film over the last month. When the Bearcats played mistake free football, they cruised. Two opening turnovers allowed USF to jump out to a 7-0 lead and some mistakes in the second half allowed a struggling USF offense to make big plays. The Bulls would make enough plays to cover.

The Bearcats are good enough to upset Ohio State or Oregon – they don’t stand a chance against Alabama or Georgia (yes, I did watch last year’s Peach Bowl). Not many teams would stand a chance against the Tide or Dawgs this season, so we shouldn’t hold that against the Bearcats. Something tells me SMU or Houston may make the Cincinnati to the playoff discussion a moot point.

Notre Dame continues to quietly rack up wins against a soft schedule. The one-loss Irish are on the edge of the playoff picture and, with no conference title game ahead, will need a lot of help to garner any real consideration for one of the four playoff spots.

Key Games This Week:

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