College football week 12 is in the books. After every week fans can take away things from what happened on the field. Here are 5 things learned from college football week 12.
1. There is Still a Gap Between Ohio State and Everyone Else
Coming into the season, Ohio State was expected to win the Big Ten, but there were some vulnerabilities. They would have a new quarterback and plenty of new starters on the backend of the defense. It took a while for everything to gel together, but now the Buckeyes have proven that the gap between them and everyone else in the conference is still there.
The latest data point to use for this is the Buckeyes’ huge win over Michigan State, where they led at halftime 49-0. Michigan State came into the game ranked seventh by the CFP Committee. Their offense is set for the foreseeable future with C.J. Stroud at quarterback and TreVeyon Henderson at running back with new recruits funneling in on the offensive line and at wide receiver every year. The Buckeyes will get a chance to show the gap between themselves and the rest of the Big Ten in their rivalry game with Michigan next Saturday.
2. Oregon and the Pac-12 are Out of the CFP
Oregon was the third-ranked team by the CFP Committee entering the week. They had aspirations of making the College Football Playoff, but had a tough game on the road at Utah with the Utes being favored in the game. The Ducks were shell-shocked and lost the game 38-7.
The loss marks another year that the Pac-12 will be left out of the College Football Playoff. They have lost key recruiting battles in their states to other conferences and have had too much parity in their league to produce a good enough team for the CFP. Several teams in the conference have a long way to go before they are real contenders on a national scale.
3. Heisman Race is Down to Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud
Ohio State’s big game against Michigan State was already mentioned, but to be more specific, C.J. Stroud had a fantastic game. He took advantage of the Spartans having the worst passing defense in the country and passed for 432 yards and six touchdowns on the day. He had just three incompletions, going 32/35 on the day. The game keeps him squarely in the Heisman race. On the season, he has passed for 3,468 yards, 36 touchdowns and five interceptions on 71.1 percent completion.
The other player who is a favorite for the award is Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Alabama doesn’t have their best defense this season and Young has had to put up point for his team to win. That was the case against Arkansas where he passed for 559 yards and five touchdowns, breaking the single-game passing record at Alabama. The game puts Young at 3,584 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and three interceptions on 71.7 percent completion.
4. Bedlam Will be Huge This Season
It’s not every year that both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have National Championship hopes by the end of the year, but that is the case this year. The Cowboys have just one loss this season, which came at the hands of Iowa State. They have been fueled by their defense and running game, which is not something that was expected by a Mike Gundy-coached team. The Cowboys shut down Texas Tech this week with their good defense to clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game, no matter what happens in Bedlam.
Oklahoma lost to Baylor, but bounced back to beat Iowa State 28-21. After dropping to 13th in the rankings, the win puts them back on track to move up in the CFP rankings. The win also keeps them alive in the Big 12 Championship race. They’ll need to get through Oklahoma State to get there, though which adds some extra drama to Bedlam this season.
5. Cincinnati SHOULD be in the CFP if They Win Out
Fans of college football know that the College Football Playoff Committee can be unpredictable. Cincinnati knows that more than most schools. They have sat at fifth in the rankings for a few weeks now, but because of a few results, they should now be in the CFP if they win out.
Oregon losing means the Bearcats should move up into the top four for the first time this season. Michigan will likely be ranked behind them, but they have to play Ohio State. The loser will be eliminated from CFP contention. They beat Notre Dame, who will be ranked just behind Michigan. On top of that Oklahoma and Oklahoma State play each other once, maybe twice in the next two weeks. Cincinnati will have a tough AAC Championship game against Houston to help their case for the CFP, but with other teams losing Cincinnati just needs to win out to make the CFP in all likelihood.
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