The Crazy College Football Playoff Picture Heading Into Week 13
Week 12 of the College Football schedule saw some teams continue their fight for a playoff spot, and some of their playoff hopes were destroyed. A good amount of the top teams from Ohio State, Michigan, TCU, and USC needed some help late to pull off the win and keep moving toward their goal of the playoff, while other teams like Tennessee and North Carolina will not be going to the playoff after their Week 12 loss.
College Football has two more weeks left with Week 13 and conference championship week, and the playoffs will be decided. There are still a handful of teams trying to be one of the four to get into the playoff, and the next two weeks will be crazy.
Teams Who Still Have A Chance At The Playoffs
The top team in college football, the Georgia Bulldogs, continues to win and keep their perfect season alive. They won against Kentucky in a close score matchup, sixteen to six, but if you watched the game, Kentucky had no chance from the start. Georgia finishes off its SEC regular season undefeated. It will host the ACC’s Georgia Tech on Saturday, playing the number seven team in the county LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
Georgia is a lock to make the playoffs; they shouldn’t lose a game the rest of the season, and if they were to fall to LSU, they would still probably make it as a one-loss non-conference champ.
The number two team in the country, the Ohio State Buckeyes, held on to a late win against Maryland 44-30, and they kept their playoff hopes alive. However, Ohio State has some concerns coming down the stretch. Their running back room has been a mess the last few weeks, with TreVeyon Henderson being banged up and not producing great and Miyan Williams getting injured in the first half against Indiana last week and missing the Maryland game. However, their third-string running back and true freshman Dallan Hayden, had a career day rushing for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
The Dallan Hayden Game™️ pic.twitter.com/NCtrOry60D — Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 20, 2022
The other Big Ten School, the Michigan Wolverines, had to kick a game-winning field goal at home vs. Illinois to keep their undefeated season going. However, the big story of this game was not the late second win but their star running back and Heisman hopeful Blake Corum hurting his knee in the first half and only playing one snap in the second half. Michigan was also missing their second-string running back Donovan Edwards, and the status for both is unknown for their next game at Ohio State.
An obvious choice this week 🎙 Call of the Game vs Illinois pic.twitter.com/4VCtgllumL — Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 20, 2022
We finally have made it to The Game between Michigan and Ohio State, and the winner of that game will most likely be heading to the playoffs if something crazy doesn’t happen in the Big Ten Championship Game. The loser of the game isn’t out of the playoff, but they will need a lot of help to see a playoff appearance.
TCU survived on the road at Baylor and kept their playoff hopes alive. They won on a last-second kick which was not easy since TCU ran the ball and had no timeouts with under 20 seconds, and the kicker and special teams unit had to sprint onto the field and kick it through the post as time expired.
TCU IS FORCED TO RUSH THE FIELD GOAL UNIT OUT ONTO THE FIELD WITH NO TIMEOUTS…. AND WINS IT AT THE GUN. THE #4 HORNED FROGS REMAIN UNDEFEATED pic.twitter.com/lsXYYUZYL5 — uSTADIUM uNIVERSITY (@uSTADIUMCollege) November 19, 2022
TCU is in control of its destiny. If they win, they will make their first-ever playoff, and if they decide to lose, they will probably need some help. However, they have Iowa State and the Big 12 Championship and should be favored in both games.
The number six team, the LSU Tigers, got a big win over a non-power five school in UAB. So LSU playoff hopes are alive for the moment, but they have two losses; we have never seen a two-loss team make the playoffs, and they still must beat Georgia to have a chance.
The USC Trojans keep the PAC-12 playoff chances alive with a late game-winning interception over their rivals, the UCLA Bruins. After that game, quarterback Caleb Williams looked like he could be the favorite for the Heisman. USC has the most challenging reaming schedule among all playoff contenders, with Notre Dame and, most likely, Oregon in the PAC-12 Championship Game. But, if they win the next two games, they will head to their first playoff, and Lincoln Riley’s first year in California will be a huge success.
PLAY 1: @koreyforeman54 seals the game with the clutch interception! pic.twitter.com/xFND54a5rS — USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) November 20, 2022
The one loss Clemson Tigers blew out a horrible Miami Hurricanes team by 30 points, and a team that once looked dead after their terrible loss at Notre Dame a couple of weeks ago has some life again. They will still need a lot of help to get in, and they already got it with Tennessee losing and being eliminated.
Goodbye Tennessee And North Carolina
All the Tennessee Volunteers had to do was win at South Carolina and beat Vanderbilt, and they probably were going to the playoff. But they decided they would go to the Sugar Bowl instead and let South Carolina drop 63 points. So Tennessee’s season is over, and the sad news coming out of this game was their star quarterback Hendon Hooker tearing his ACL and ending his season and Tennessee career.
Tennessee will play the red-hot Vanderbilt Commodores on a two-game SEC winning streak beating Kentucky and Florida. This school hasn’t won an SEC game since 2019, and suddenly, they turned into the most incredible show in Nashville. I think Tennessee will stop Vanderbilt’s little run, and the Volunteers will win ten games and head to the Sugar Bowl.
The number 13 team, the North Carolina Tar Heel’s chance at the playoff ended with their loss against Georgia Tech. North Carolina had one loss coming into the game, and they still had the ACC Championship with Clemson ahead of them to add to their resume but none of that matters anymore.
The excellent news in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is that basketball season has started, so all the students and fans can turn their attention to one of the best teams in the sport.
Teams Who Need A Lot Of Help
There are a few teams that are a long shot at making it but aren’t entirely out of it. One is a two-loss Alabama team that beat up on their FCS opponent Austin Peay. Oregon got the win over number 10, Utah. Oregon will have to win the PAC 12, and they will need a significant amount of help to get in, which will probably be very difficult with two weeks left to play.
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