College football week 5 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.
Related: 5 Things to watch in college football week 12
BYU and Colorado looked like they both could make the CFP, even if it was unlikely, before the week. Colorado took care of business against Utah and will move up the rankings. They probably have too much jumping to do in order to be an at large team, so they’ll most likely have to win the Big 12 Championship Game to make the CFP.
For BYU, their path to an at-large bid is going to be tougher now too. The Cougars lost to a Kansas team that is now 4-6. After BYU was ranked sixth last week by the CFP committee, they will fall down the rankings. While both BYU and Colorado could get within range to make it in the CFP, one of the two will lose in the Big 12 Championship Game, with the result possibly being them being out.
There was a lot of talk about Georgia losing a step this season. Quarterback Carson Beck’s play has been highly criticized and the Bulldogs were even out of the first projected CFP released by the committee. This week they had a must-win game on the road against Tennessee.
While the first half was close, Georgia was able to pull away in the second half to notch the 31-17 win. Beck played a good game, as he passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns. While they were temporarily out of the CFP, Georgia is now back and will be a lot of people’s pick to win the National Championship again.
With Georgia’s win this week, the SEC is now going to be a mess. Texas defeated Arkansas, keeping them tied at the top of the conference standings. Texas A&M is also tied with the Longhorns. These two teams play in two weeks. Assuming both teams win next week, both have games they will be favored in, the rivalry game between these two teams will decide who is in the SEC Championship Game.
The loser of that game will have two conference losses. There are currently four other teams in the conference with two losses in league play. Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss all will be watching that game with interest, as it could come down to a five-way tie to decide who gets to play in the SEC Championship. Even after the SEC Championship, the CFP Committee will have a lot of work to do ranking these teams.
Boise State is the favorite in the Mountain West. They won this week over San Jose State and will be favored for the rest of their games. One of their tougher games in the conference was against UNLV. The Rebels have just that one conference loss. Anyone hoping for a rematch between those two teams may not get what they want.
Colorado State is 7-3 on the season, but all three losses are out of conference. The Rams do not play Boise State or UNLV in the regular season, so they have a path to go undefeated and play in the MWC Championship Game. With unbalanced conference schedules and no divisions, this could be a common occurrence moving forward. The Rams have a game against Fresno State this week, which could test them.
Washington State was ranked 18th by the CFP committee in the initial rankings. They had just one loss, which was to Boise State. It was a longshot, but winning out could have helped them make the CFP. That would have been impressive, especially because they don’t have an officially recognized conference this season.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they lost in week 12 to New Mexico. Because they aren’t in a conference this season, that will end all hopes for Washington State. The Cougars have had a good season and hopefully getting into a conference next season can help them have an extra shot to make the CFP.
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