Week 12 of the College Football season is in the books, as we're truly in the final stretch of the regular season with all eyes turning toward the Playoff race. This weekend brought us pivotal games as Oklahoma knocked off Alabama to stay alive, Texas was most likely eliminated by Georgia, and Ole Miss survived a scare from Florida.
On Tuesday Night, the College Football Playoff committee will unveil its third set of rankings, giving everyone a better idea of where everyone stands. After all of the pivotal clashes we saw this weekend, the Playoff race has been significantly altered shaping the final few weeks.
These 12 teams have the best chance to make the College Football Playoff
The way that the American has played out the last few weeks has put the James Madison Dukes in a great position to earn the Group of 5 bid into the Playoff. The Dukes moved to 9-1 on the season on Saturday blowing out App State. As the American continues to beat itself up, the Sun Belt has a great chance to steal a playoff bid, especially if James Madison doesn't lose again.
Coming into the weekend, everyone expected Oklahoma to get eliminated by Alabama, but for the second week in a row, Brent Venables team went on the road and won big. The Sooners have a Playoff worthy resume now, but they still can't afford another loss. The final two weeks bring tests against talented Missouri and LSU teams who'll be playing to end this team's season.
It took a massive 4th quarter effort for Brent Key's team to survive what would've been a shocking upset at the hands of a terrible Boston College team. Surviving against Boston College was massive as all the Yellow Jackets need to do is beat out Pitt this weekend to earn a place in the ACC Championship.
This weekend dealt a massive blow to Alabama's chances of making the College Football Playoff, but they're still in a great place to make the Playoff. The good news for Alabama after their loss is that they only need to beat Eastern Illinois and Auburn in order to make the CFP. The Iron Bowl may be scary, but this team still has all it's goals ahead of them if they win out.
On Saturday, Notre Dame made what everyone thought could be a tough game against Pitt look easy cruising to victory on the road. After the 0-2 start, Notre Dame has climbed right back into the playoff race with 8 straight wins. Barring disaster, Notre Dame will make the Playoff as their final two games come against Syracuse and Stanford.
The Oregon Ducks made sure to leave no doubt on Friday Night, dominating the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Ducks now head into a difficult final stretch as they'll have to face a USC team fighting for the College Football Playoff along with a frisky Washington team. The key for Dan Lanning's team will be getting healthier as Dante Moore has lost a ton of his top targets.
Kirby Smart's team looked like the Georgia teams of old on Saturday Night with a dominant performance against Texas. The Bulldogs move to 9-1 and with Charlotte this weekend, they'll ensure they finish no worse than 10-2. This team is starting to look like one of the Georgia teams we've seen win National Championships, which should have everyone on notice.
Ole Miss survived a serious push from the Florida Gators to move to 10-1 on the season with just one game left to play. The Rebels are on the bye week giving them an extra week to prepare for the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State. The biggest concern in Oxford has nothing to do with the team on the field, but the status of their head coach Lane Kiffin who's actively being pursued by LSU and Florida.
Texas Tech added another blowout win to its resume this weekend, beating UCF in a blowout moving to 10-1 on the season. The Red Raiders have just 1 game left against an abysmal West Virginia team which should let this team pick up one more blow out win. Texas Tech is leaps and bounds better than everyone else in the league when Behren Morton is healthy, and even with a loss in the Big 12 Championship, this team is Playoff bound.
This weekend, Texas A&M was pushed to the absolute brink falling behind 30-3 in the first half against South Carolina. With their backs against the wall, Texas A&M stormed back outscoring the Gamecocks 28-0 in the second half to escape with a win. Considering that the Aggies should move to 11-0 against Samford, this team is certainly going to make the Playoff.
After being tested by Penn State, the Indiana Hoosiers had a scary first half against Wisconsin before turning it on in the second half to win 31-7. At 11-0, the Hoosiers are going to make the College Football Playoff, and more likely than not the Big Ten Championship. The only question left for Indiana is whether they can beat Purdue to finish the regular season unbeaten before they can prove they're an actual contender in the Big Ten Championship.
Almost every top contender has been tested expect for the Ohio State Buckeyes who have controlled every game they've played in. The Buckeyes are already up to 10 wins meaning more likely than not heading to the College Football Playoff. This week brings a dress rehearsal against Rutgers before the Buckeyes will try to finally snap their streak against Michigan.