Rivalry weekend lived up to expectations. Next comes conference championship games across the Bowl Subdivision, most carrying heavy impact on the College Football Playoff.
Next weekend will feel different without Ohio State. The Buckeyes lost 13-10 to Michigan for a fourth loss in a row in the series and will be replaced in the Big Ten championship game by Penn State.
That loss was one of two that will change the outlook at the top of US LBM Coaches Poll. Ranked No. 2 heading into Saturday, the Buckeyes will fall at least four spots and maybe five depending on how voters view the comparison with Tennessee. Ohio State should hold the edge because of wins against the Nittany Lions and Indiana.
One team set for a much steeper drop is Miami. Previously No. 6, the Hurricanes lost 42-38 to Syracuse and fell short of the ACC title game, replaced by Clemson.
Here’s who to expect in the top 10 of this week’s Coaches Poll:
Oregon beat Washington 49-21 and moved to 12-0 for the second time in program history, joining the 2010 team that lost to Auburn in the national title game. That big win against Ohio State looks a little bit weaker, but there’s no doubt the Ducks have been the most consistently strong team in the country.
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Texas picked up where it left off 13 years ago and beat Texas A&M 17-7 in one of the most hyped games in the rivalry’s history. That’s the best win of the year for the Longhorns. It’s also a deeply vital one in terms of giving Texas room for error heading into the SEC title game against Georgia.
Penn State’s regular season ends with six wins against bowl teams but just one ranked win, against No. 25 Illinois. Also, that one loss to Ohio State takes a big hit after Saturday. That still won’t prevent the Nittany Lions from playing host in the first round of the playoff or even earning that coveted fifth spot, which would mean playing the No. 12 seed in the opening round and then potentially getting Boise State in the quarterfinals.
Notre Dame returned interceptions 99 and 100 yards for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to score a 49-35 win at Southern California. That’s 10 wins in a row after losing to Northern Illinois in September, making this by far the program’s most successful year under coach Marcus Freeman.
Georgia survived an epic, eight-overtime classic to beat rival Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs had already clinched a spot in the SEC championship game before meeting the Yellow Jackets and will make the playoff as one of the top four seeds with a win against the Longhorns.
Losing to this Michigan team is the low point of Ryan Day’s tenure, leaping past the previous three losses to the Wolverines. OSU has some major concerns to address before postseason play, beginning with the inability to control the line of scrimmage against a one-dimensional opponent with major issues on offense.
DAY DONE?: Another loss to Michigan puts Ohio State coach on hot seat
Nico Iamaleava’s four touchdown passes sparked Tennessee’s 36-23 win against Vanderbilt. This assures the Volunteers a playoff berth, though getting an opening-round home game is far from certain. One thing that is certain, though, is that Tennessee is a different team when Iamaleava plays up to his potential. But can he do it on the road?
SMU closed out an amazing ACC regular-season championship with an easy 38-6 win against California. Picked near the bottom of the conference in the preseason, the Mustangs are one of the great success stories of the year.
Indiana’s 66-0 romp against rival Purdue completes the finest regular season in program history, with all due respect to the 1967 squad that shared the Big Ten title and reached the Rose Bowl. The Hoosiers set a program record for wins under first-year coach Curt Cignetti and will be the most unexpected member of the playoff field.
The Broncos aren’t the only option here. Another is Alabama, which rebounded from last week’s loss to Oklahoma to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Maybe the best option other than the Broncos is South Carolina, which was No. 14 heading into the weekend and then beat No. 12 Clemson on the road. This would be a one-step jump for the Broncos but would require South Carolina to leapfrog Alabama, which is hard to see happening.
