The SEC's A Hot Mess, Notre Dame Is In And Field-Storming Has To Stop
The penultimate weekend of the college football season was a wild ride from noon through midnight, and not much was cleared up during the process.
Ohio State ended Indiana’s hopes of a perfect season, Colorado’s bid for the College Football Playoff came to a screeching halt, Notre Dame made a massive statement and the race for the SEC title is … still as clear as mud.
What are the biggest takeaways from this weekend?
The SEC Was A Hot Mess Saturday Morning, But Isn’t On Sunday
Do you remember that scene in "The Hangover" when Zach Galifianakis sees math equations in his head? That’s what the race for the SEC Championship Game was going into Saturday’s action.
It isn’t anymore.
Georgia clinched a spot in Atlanta with a 6-2 conference record – a record it polished off last week in the win over Tennessee.
AUBURN, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 23: Running back Jarquez Hunter #27 of the Auburn Tigers looks to run the ball by linebacker Scooby Williams #0 of the Texas A&M Aggies during overtime at Jordan-Hare Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
Ole Miss and Alabama are out after losses to Florida and Oklahoma, respectively.
The Texas A&M - Auburn game was wild within a vacuum, taking four overtimes to settle. Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed hit Amari Daniels right in the numbers in the bottom half of the fourth OT. Daniels, however, had hands of stone as the ball fell helplessly to the ground. It was the Aggies’ second conference loss and third overall loss of the season, so their CFP chances are done, right?
Wrong.
All of the chaos on Saturday has set up the renewal of the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry as one for the ages. The winner will go to the SEC Championship Game, where the winner will secure an automatic bid for the CFP.
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED???
The Buckeyes Orchestrated The Beatdown, But Indiana Isn’t Dead Yet
Ohio State’s offense wasn’t exactly crisp, but the defense was absolutely terrifying in the 38-15 win over the Hoosiers. Let’s be real, Ohio State is a slide by quarterback Will Howard one second after the clock expired from being undefeated. Instead, the Buckeyes defense showed up again and proved that they are a complete team as they head full steam toward a rematch with the Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game.
COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 23: Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball while being chased by Jamier Johnson #9 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second quarter at Ohio Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
The two best teams in the country are in the Big Ten, and it isn’t even close.
Indiana isn’t a part of that duo, but it still will be in the College Football Playoff (assuming the Hoosiers beat lowly Purdue next week). Sure, the loss on Saturday looks bad, but beating teams by two-plus touchdowns for the majority of the season combined with massive chaos behind them in the CFP rankings should leave no doubt.
Notre Dame Is In
Speaking of chaos, Notre Dame avoided all of it in the 49-14 win over previously-undefeated Army. Jeremiyah Love was stellar on the ground, Riley Leonard was efficient through the air and the defense locked down the Black Knights for a full 60 minutes. I’ve referred to the Fighting Irish as the "best boring team in the country" for the last month-plus, and they showed why as they casually went about their business en route to a 10-1 record.
They have USC next week and, as long as they don’t get blown out, they should be fine in the race for a CFP spot. They don’t play on Championship Weekend, so they don’t have to worry about what seems like inevitable chaos the day before Selection Sunday.
Travis Hunter Is Still The Heisman Front-Runner
I wrote after Colorado’s loss to Kansas - which ended the Buffaloes CFP hopes - that the future for the program is still bright. Hunter’s immediate future is as well.
BOULDER, COLORADO - NOVEMBER 16: Travis Hunter #12 of Colorado Buffaloes. (Photo by Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)
The two-way superstar had 125 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns, seven tackles and one pass breakup. Barring a massive turn of events, that should wrap up any doubt that existed going into the weekend.
Premature Field Storming
I’m all for fans having fun, but fans have to at least be smart about it.
We had two premature field storms on Saturday - Arizona State over BYU and Oklahoma over Alabama. There have been other instances this year, including two that I was present for – Ole Miss over Georgia and Kennesaw State over Liberty.
That has to stop. It’s dangerous.
I saw a few Ole Miss staffers get absolutely trucked as they tried to keep Rebels fans back against the Bulldogs, and I’m sure the same happened in Tempe and Norman on Saturday.
How do you fix it? You can’t. Replay reviews are here to stay, and getting it right is the most important thing.
"I just think that the sport is drunk."
My wife said that at 12:10 a.m. ET. She’s not wrong.