Colorado's path to the College Football Playoff, plus some lingering questions from Week 12

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While you were sleeping, BYU’s perfect record was put on ice on a 33-degree night in Provo, Utah. Here’s what happened in college football yesterday and how the College Football Playoff rankings might change.

Close Calls, Big Results

Lingering questions for LSU, Tennessee

A few big results left me with some questions last night.

• Kansas 17, CFP No. 6 BYU 13. The Cougars suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Jayhawks. Kansas set up the game-clinching TD with this pooch punt on fourth-and-14 (featuring a helmet doink) from Jalon Daniels. Devin Neal scored on the next play on a run up the middle. The Jayhawks have beaten two ranked teams in two weeks (they upset Iowa State last week). Lingering question: Is Colorado going to win the chaotic Big 12?

• No. 1 Oregon 16, Wisconsin 13. The Badgers jumped out to a surprising 10-6 halftime lead and didn’t let the Ducks get into the end zone in the first half. Wisconsin got momentum in the running game while Oregon looked worn down from playing its eighth game in eight weeks (the Ducks have their second bye next week). But QB Dillon Gabriel crafted a key 13-play, 81-yard drive to tie the score in the fourth quarter before Matayo Uiagalelei iced the game with an interception on the Badgers’ final possession. Lingering questions: Will a little adversity followed by a bye week light a fire under the Ducks? How far off is Wisconsin, which is 0-6 vs. ranked teams under Luke Fickell, from where it wanted to be in Fickell’s second season?
• Florida 27, No. 22 LSU 16. One week after pledging to keep coach Billy Napier, Florida got a win to back up that decision. The Gators scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as QB DJ Lagway made an admirable return from injury. And how about this weird stat? The Tigers held the ball for 41:18 to Florida’s 18:12, but the Gators averaged 7.9 yards per play to the Tigers’ 4.2. LSU hasn’t won since Oct. 19 against Arkansas, and its past three losses have been by double digits. Lingering question: Is patience wavering under Brian Kelly?
• No. 12 Georgia 31, No. 7 Tennessee 17. The Bulldogs rallied from a 10-0 second-quarter deficit to defeat the Vols and likely regain a spot in the Playoff committee’s projected bracket on Tuesday. UGA QB Carson Beck faced some scrutiny after throwing nine interceptions in his previous four games, but he quieted the critics by completing 25 of 40 passes for 346 yards, two TDs and zero interceptions, while rushing for 32 yards. The Vols were held scoreless in the second half and QB Nico Iamaleava didn’t throw a TD pass for the first time since Tennessee’s Oct. 12 win against Florida. Tennessee’s Playoff chances dipped to 45 percent, per The Athletic. Lingering question: Can we trust this version of Beck to keep showing up?

Playoff Projection

Colorado is in, BYU takes big hit

Here’s my projection for Tuesday’s Playoff bracket:

ACC: I’m not sure the committee will follow suit, but I won’t back down from the argument that SMU (which beat Boston College 38-28) should be ranked ahead of Miami (off yesterday). Louisville’s bad loss to Stanford puts a dent in the “best win” of both resumes, which means we should defer to the quality of losses for the Mustangs and Hurricanes. SMU’s loss to BYU (although it took a hit yesterday) still looks better than Miami’s loss to unranked Georgia Tech. And no, we can’t forget about Clemson, which beat Pitt 24-20 and is still alive in the conference title race. But for now, the Canes and Tigers should be on the outside looking in — with the chance to earn their spot.

Big Ten: Not much movement here. Despite the close call in Madison, Oregon came out on top, which means it will keep its status as the No. 1 team in the rankings and the top seed in the bracket. Ohio State will stay put after downing Northwestern 31-7 at Wrigley Field. Penn State, which beat Purdue 49-10, and Indiana, which was off yesterday, stayed safely in the field, too.

Big 12: Here comes the chaos! BYU’s loss to Kansas will hurt its ranking and allow Colorado to jump to the top spot in the Big 12. The Buffaloes have won their past four games by double digits, and their only conference loss was by three points to Kansas State. BYU’s win against SMU might still give it the edge, but I’m siding with Colorado’s recent dominance. And somehow the crowded, and chaotic, Big 12 race now includes Arizona State (?!?).

SEC: Ranking Alabama (which beat Georgia but lost to Vanderbilt and Tennessee), Ole Miss (which beat Georgia but lost to LSU and Kentucky), Tennessee (which beat Alabama but lost to Arkansas and Georgia) and Georgia (which beat Alabama, Texas and Tennessee but lost to Ole Miss) is a big old mess. But here’s how I see it. The Bulldogs have the three best wins of any team in the country. They should get credit for that, while respecting head-to-head matchups in the rankings, making the order Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee (with the Vols left out of the Playoff). Texas (which beat Arkansas 20-10 yesterday) will hold down the conference’s top seed.

Group of 5: No. 13 Boise State dug a 14-0 hole against San Jose State. But the Broncos outscored the Spartans 42-7 the rest of the way as Heisman Trophy hopeful Ashton Jeanty broke the program record for the most rushing yards in a single season (1,893 in 10 games).

Quick Snaps

The bracket, the bubble and the Big 12 race have new main characters. Stewart Mandel breaks it all down in his Week 12 Final Thoughts.

USC broke a three-game losing streak by topping Nebraska 28-20. QB Jayden Maiava made his first start for the Trojans while former Huskers DB Ceyair Wright had a pick six and a blocked field goal against his former team.

The fourth quarter of South Carolina–Missouri featured four lead changes, including three in the final six minutes. The Gamecocks pulled out the 34-30 win to eliminate No. 13 Missouri from the SEC title race and CFP.

No. 25 Tulane shut out Navy 35-0 to clinch a spot for both the Green Wave and No. 24 Army in the AAC Championship Game. Navy started the season 6-0 but has lost three of its past four.

As for coaching news, Indiana announced an eight-year deal for Curt Cignetti that averages $8 million, plus an annual $1 million retention bonus. And Baylor’s Dave Aranda will return for a sixth season. The Bears have won four in a row and reached bowl eligibility with a 49-35 win against West Virginia.

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(Top photo of Deion Sanders: Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)