Mr. CFB: What We Learned, Week 13
Some day we’ll look back and remember Rivalry Weekend, 2021, as one of the best in the history of college football.
It started Saturday at noon with Michigan’s stunning domination of Ohio State 42-27 in the snow at the Big House. It sent Michigan to its first-ever Big Ten championship game this Saturday against Iowa.
That game was followed by Alabama’s comeback against Auburn to win in four overtimes, 24-22. It kept the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes alive.
The day concluded with one of the best Bedlam games ever between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The Cowboys won 37-33 to advance to their first-ever Big 12 championship game.
So what did we learn from a college football weekend that we will never forget?
Here are five things:
1—The Conference championship games are set. But after Ohio State’s loss, what will the new College Football Playoff rankings look like Tuesday night?
Let’s combine the two. Here are my projected Top 10 rankings with the conference championship matchup for each:
Team…………….….Games remaining
1—Georgia (12-0): vs. Alabama, SEC Champ game
2—Michigan (11-1): vs. Iowa, Big Ten Champ game
3—Alabama (11-1): vs. Georgia, SEC Champ game
4—Cincinnati (12-0): vs. Houston, AAC Champ game
5—Oklahoma State (11-1): vs. Baylor, Big 12 Champ game
6—Notre Dame (11-1): Season over
7—Ohio State (10-2): Season over
8—Ole Miss (10-2): Season over
9—Baylor (10-2): vs. Oklahoma State, Big 12 Champ Game
10—Michigan State (10-2): Season over
Other Power Five championship games:
ACC: Pittsburgh vs. Wake Forest
Pac-12: Oregon vs. Utah.
2—Note to Georgia: If you get the opportunity to knock Alabama out, you better do it. Auburn had to learn that lesson the hard way.
Alabama has had issues with its offensive line all season and it looked like the Iron Bowl was when it would finally catch up to the Tide. Alabama could not run the ball. It couldn’t pass protect. Auburn was in complete control of the game.
Still, down 10-0 Alabama kicked a field goal and found a way to drive the ball 97 yards to tie the game at 10-10. That sent the game into overtime, where the Crimson Tide won 24-22 after four extra periods.
The lesson for Georgia, Alabama’s opponent in the SEC championship game this Saturday, is this: As long as Bryce Young is on the field then Alabama has a chance.
Alabama has been in five one-possession games and lost only one when Texas A&M kicked a field goal at the buzzer to win 41-38.
3—Georgia will never say this out loud, but the Bulldogs got a break when Michigan beat Ohio State.
As great as Georgia’s defense is, I promise you the Bulldogs were concerned when they looked at the high-flying offense of Ohio State. Because of quarterback C.J. Stroud and a tremendous trio of wide receivers, Ohio State had the offense that is most like Alabama’s. Now the Buckeyes are out of the mix.
If Georgia plays Michigan, which relies heavily on the run, it will be a team that is more like the Bulldogs. And that’s a good thing.
4—While the loss to Alabama was soul-crushing, you have to admire the way Auburn’s players fought.
Auburn’s starting quarterback, Bo Nix, was out. The backup quarterback, T.J. Finley, could barely walk.
But still Auburn controlled most of the Iron Bowl. But most of doesn’t count. Alabama came up with some major heroics to win in four overtimes, 24-22.
“Our guys played hard and put themselves in a position to win,” said first-year coach Bryan Harsin.
It was a difficult finish to the season for Auburn. After back-to-back wins over Arkansas (38-23) and Ole Miss (31-20) in October Auburn was 6-2. Things looked promising.
But Auburn finished with four straight losses and in three of those blew double digit leads.
Bottom line: Auburn should have finished better than 6-6.
5—LSU sends Coach O off with the perfect ending:
Stories like these are why we love college football.
Ed Orgeron grew up in Louisiana dreaming that some day he would be the head football coach of the LSU Tigers. That dream came true and he even won a national championship with a perfect 15-0 team in 2019.
But season he was relieved of his duties. He promised to stick around and coach his players for the rest of the season. Rarely does that happen these days.
That decision paid off as LSU quarterback Max Johnson threw a 28-yard touchdown pass with only 20 seconds left to beat No. 14 Texas A&M 27-24 at Tiger Stadium.
You can’t make this stuff up. No one would believe it.
“We just kept preaching to our football team to keep on fighting, keep on fighting and something good will happen,” Orgeron said after the game.
LSU (6-6) avoided its first losing season since 1999. The Tigers will go bowling but Orgeron has already determined that he will not coach the team in that game. LSU is expected to name a new head coach soon.