We have reached the portion of the season that is largely agonizing for all fans. Either your team is performing well and seems well-positioned to make the College Football Playoff and you’re terrified something’s going to mess that up, or your team is underperforming and you want everyone fired. Or you could be a fan of Georgia, which means you are still fuming over the selection committee’s treatment of your beloved Bulldogs. The ‘Dawgs would be the first team out of the 12-team bracket, if the season ended today.
I am sure Tennessee coach Josh Heupel loved that the committee provided some additional motivation to Kirby Smart and co. heading into a high-stakes matchup Saturday night in Athens, Ga. Obviously, this is a must-win for Georgia in its efforts to stay alive in the CFP race — and if the Bulldogs win, we can also start brushing up on the SEC tiebreakers, because this could get very, very messy for all the two-loss teams. Tennessee could make life simple for itself (and those of us who haven’t pulled out a calculator recently) by beating the Bulldogs, though it’s a tall task that could be made more difficult if quarterback Nico Iamaleava is not able to play. His counterpart for Georgia, Carson Beck, is the most turnover-prone quarterback in the conference, though.
So, I’ll give the advantage to both defenses in this one — and I’d strongly suggest you take the under.
Here’s what else I’m watching for in Week 12:
Is Kansas about to spoil another season?
It’s been a strange season for the Jayhawks, who have done well to keep their coach and quarterback amid all the program’s recent success ... but are 3-6 this season and near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. But last week, Jalon Daniels accounted for more than 350 total yards, Devin Neal rushed for two touchdowns, and Kansas played its best game of the entire season to upset then-No. 17 Iowa State. That performance makes this Saturday’s game against BYU in Provo particularly intriguing.
The Cougars are unbeaten but certainly look beatable, as we’ve seen both Oklahoma State and Utah lead until the final seconds of their games before a dramatic, come-from-behind BYU win. Does the magic run out against Kansas? Or do the Cougs continue to march toward a Big 12 championship game appearance and a potential automatic spot in the 12-team CFP?
Is it time to check in on Oregon?
The undefeated Ducks remain No. 1 in both the CFP rankings and the AP poll, and most of the nation hasn’t paid much attention to them since they beat Ohio State in a thriller at Auzten. And that’s probably totally fine with Dan Lanning and his players, because they do not want to be anywhere near the chaos and upsets in the sport at the moment. Oregon is taking care of its business in a way that other top teams are not, which is why Vegas thinks so highly of these Ducks. They’re two-touchdown favorites at Wisconsin, which is a tough place to play even if the team is not necessarily the world’s toughest out this year. This is the kind of game Luke Fickell‘s Badger teams have not been able to win since he’s taken over, so it’d be a shocker if Wisconsin were able to pull off the upset.
It should be a good time to take a deeper look at the Ducks, who just this week saw their offensive line named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. This offense is a far cry from the one that appeared quite disjointed (and unable to protect quarterback Dillon Gabriel and/or set up a strong rushing attack) in the early part of September.
How is the Heisman Trophy race shaping up?
Well, it looks like it’s going to be a tight race. We’ve had the same four players in the mix for most of the season — Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel — and all four remain there as of mid-November. The odds change weekly, per BetMGM, with Hunter in the lead heading into Week 12. He’s still averaging 118 snaps per game (that he played in), and he remains one of the most productive wide receivers in the sport ... while playing nearly every defensive snap, too. Hunter’s remarkable play is part of the reason Colorado is 7-2 with a clear path to the Big 12 championship game. I’d argued early in the year that he should earn a trip to New York City as a Heisman finalist regardless of Colorado’s win-loss record — because I though the Buffs would struggle again, coming off a 4-8 season — but now that this team is squarely in the mix for a conference championship and potential spot in the CFP, that should only help his case.
I’ve still got Jeanty atop my personal leaderboard, though. He’s no longer averaging a first down per carry, but he’s putting up historic numbers and trying to carry Boise State to its first Playoff berth. I understand that he’s doing a lot of his damage against Group of 5 teams, but we all saw what he did to Oregon, too. He should be in New York City as well — just like the quarterbacks from Miami and Oregon. I’ve got Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke in my ranking because the unbeaten Hoosiers are the best story in the sport this season, and Rourke has led an incredibly efficient and effective offensive attack. If he’s going to have a real chance to win the greatest individual honor in college football, though, he’ll have to earn it against Ohio State next Saturday. Talk about an opportunity for a Heisman moment!
