Let me get out in front of this topic: you will not find talk about the College Football Playoff rankings and how they were good/bad here. The only argument I will present is that from the very beginning, the playoff should have been eight teams. Many arguments, debates, anger and more would have been avoided. Not all of it of course. This is college football, but it would have been less.
With that out of the way: wow, that was an incredible weekend of college football. Sure, there was the usual Big Ten title drubbing and the ACC Championship was a snoozer once again. But it did not take much digging to find incredible moments elsewhere. Since this is my article, I’m going to move shoutouts to the front of the line.
Shoutouts:
Shoutout to Division III, where reigning champion No. 1 North Central won a high-scoring game over No. 4 Wisconsin-La Crosse 55-42. Joe Sacco led the way (194 rushing yards, one touchdown) for the Cardinals. No. 3 Wartburg moved to 13-0 after overcoming a 21-3 deficit against a name college football fans should know in No. 5 Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Knights threw the go-ahead touchdown with under a minute to play, and Preston Rochford had an interception to close out the game. The game of the day might have been between the No. 8 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets and No. 7 Johns Hopkins Blue Jays. After a slow start (Johns Hopkins led 3-0 after the first quarter) both teams came alive the rest of the way. The home Blue Jays scored a touchdown to tie the game with under two minutes left, but the Yellow Jackets drove into position. They left buzzing as Kyle Ihle made the game-winning field goal from 34 yards out with four seconds left.
In Division II, No. 3 Harding University beat No. 2 Grand Valley State 7-6 as the Bison took the lead on a Cole Keylon quarterback sneak with under four minutes left. That ended a 15-play drive that took almost nine minutes. It was an impressive showing as Harding’s second-ranked scoring offense came into the game averaging over 50 points per game but was able to win the slogfest (Grand Valley State ranked fourth in scoring). It is the second straight close victory as Gage Price blocked Central Missouri’s extra point in a 35-34 win on Nov. 25.
In NAIA ball, No. 1 Northwestern (Iowa) beat No. 12 Saint Xavier 34-17. No. 11 College of Idaho upset No. 2 Grand View (Iowa) 31-17 as Andy Peters ran for three touchdowns. No. 3 Keiser (Fla.) beat No. 7 Bethel (Tenn.) 56-14 with Andrew Burnette carrying the Seahawks to victory (24 rushes, 134 yards, three touchdowns). Finally, No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) beat No. 6 Indiana Wesleyan 31-21 with Davon Starks dominating on defense (two interceptions returned for touchdowns).
Now onto the rest of the weekend.
Alabama is Inevitable
Georgia rolled into the SEC title game on a 29-game win streak looking to make it 32 to complete a national title three-peat. Instead, Alabama rolled on its way to a 27-24 victory. It’s the Crimson Tide’s fourth win over Georgia in the SEC title game in four tries.
Dare I say it? This year’s Alabama team has been…likable? Maybe it’s Jalen Milore’s fun personality and game-breaking ability. Maybe it’s because Nick Saban has seemed to not be so on edge (outside of game days of course). Maybe it’s because this Crimson Tide team does not feel like the typical tidal wave.
Texas marched into Tuscaloosa and handled them. What was supposed to be an easy getaway trip to Tampa to play South Florida was a 10-3 score until Alabama punched in a late touchdown to make the score look better. The Crimson Tide beat hapless Texas A&M and Arkansas by only one score in back-to-back weeks. It took a miracle and a half to beat Auburn. On Georgia’s first drive, the Bulldogs punched Alabama in the mouth, driving down and scoring a touchdown with ease. But that was the last time the two-time champion looked in control. Any sense of outside likability for the Crimson Tide melted away as time expired, and it appears that it has completely gone up in smoke with their playoff inclusion.
They’ll play No. 1 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. It’ll be only the sixth time the programs have played. The biggest previous matchup was the Orange Bowl of the 1999 season. Alabama lost 35-34 on a missed extra point in overtime. That was Tom Brady’s final college game. Hopefully this upcoming game will be even more exciting.
The Group of Five Champions
– Miami (OH) took down Toledo 23-14 to win the MAC. Head coach Chuck Martin did a fantastic job to even get the RedHawks to this point. They lost star quarterback Brett Gabbert to a season-ending injury eight games into the year. At 6-2, the team could have folded. After all, bowl eligibility was locked up. Instead, after losing that game, they won their final five games. At 11-2, they have a chance to finish with the second-best record in program history. They play Appalachian State in the Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl on Dec. 16 on ABC.
– Boise State beat UNLV 44-20 in Las Vegas for the Mountain West Championship. It was the cherry on top of an incredible run by interim coach Spencer Danielson. He took over with the team at 5-5 and seemingly completely out of the Mountain West title race. But the Broncos won three games in a row and won yet another conference crown (15th overall at the FBS level). Danielson was named the permanent head coach on Sunday.
– Troy demolished Appalachian State 49-23 after an explosive fourth quarter. It was a 21-17 Trojans lead to begin the fourth quarter. Then a Kimani Vidal rushing touchdown (his third on a day he finished with five) was followed by an individual scoop and score by Don Callis less than ten seconds of gametime later blew it open. Vidal rushed for 233 yards and averaged nine yards a carry. At 11-2, it could be back-to-back 12-2 seasons for the Trojans. Troy faces Duke in the 76 Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 23 at noon ET on ABC.
– SMU went into New Orleans and beat Tulane 26-14. After such a horrible start, it looked like it would be a second straight Green Wave AAC title.
Instead, the Mustangs won their first conference title since 1984 to fully complete the comeback from the infamous death penalty from the late 1980s. Backup quarterback Kevin Jennings did just enough while the defense held back any semblance of a Green Wave push.
– That SMU victory knocked Tulane out of the rankings and gave 13-0 Liberty the New Year’s Six berth as the highest ranked Group of Five team (I wonder: Did the injury to Preston Stone have the same effect on SMU like Jordan Travis’ injury did to Florida State in terms of dropping in the rankings?). The Flames beat New Mexico State 49-35 in the first conference championship game of the weekend thanks to CJ Daniels (seven catches, 157 yards, one touchdown) and Colt Brennan Award finalist Kaidon Salter (20-of-25 passing, 319 yards, two touchdowns; 12 rushes, 165 yards, one touchdown):
The Top Four
In order, Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama made the College Football Playoff. Michigan mushed Iowa (more on that later), Washington waved goodbye to the Pac-12 as it beat Oregon 34-31, Texas thrashed Oklahoma State 49-21, and the Alabama game was already covered. A quick thought on each team:
– The Wolverines have not been the most entertaining team to watch, but they feel like a slow moving wall of lava.
– Washington was a home run or nothing team, but the emergence of Dillon Johnson makes this the scariest offense.
– Texas is back! Also, does a nice showing by Quinn Ewers mean the Arch Manning era begins next season?
– Blake Sims sprinted so Jalen Milroe could soar.
FCS Playoff Highlights
Note: The following numbers signify the seeding of the teams, not their rankings.
– The No. 5 UAlbany Great Danes squished the Richmond Spiders 41-13. Bill Hackett returned an interception 71 yards for a touchdown.
– The No. 8 Villanova Wildcats froze the Youngstown State Penguins 45-28 thanks to five rushing touchdowns between three ball carriers (Jalen Jackson, DeeWil Barlee, Connor Watkins).
– No. 7 Furman held off Chattanooga 26-7. Kicker Ian Williams accounted for 13 points (4-of-4 on field goals, one extra point).
– The No. 3 South Dakota Coyotes nipped Sacramento State 34-24. Tyler Ebel had four punts for 198 yards, including a 60-yard boot.
– The top-ranked and reigning champion South Dakota State Jackrabbits bounced the Mercer Bears out of the postseason with a 41-0 drubbing. Isaiah Davis logged 117 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
– In an incredible game, North Dakota State upset No. 6 Montana State 35-34 on a blocked extra point in overtime.
– Florida A&M won the SWAC Championship as it beat Prairie View A&M 35-14. The Rattlers move to 11-1 as Willie Simmons has done a superb job during his time with the program so far:
They will play Howard in the Cricket Celebration Bowl at noon on Dec. 16 (ABC/ESPN+).
– No. 2 Montana cruised over Delaware in the snow 49-19.
– No. 4 Idaho closed out the day with a thrilling 20-17 overtime win over Southern Illinois. The Salukis missed the game-winning 41-yard field goal as regulation expired. Also…
Iowans Win
While Iowa got blasted into the turf by Michigan to the tune of a 26-0 defeat in the Big Ten title, some took full advantage of the goose egg.
About the author
I’m a Washington Huskies fan who is still amazed but not surprised that we didn’t have more success under Chris Petersen (I blame Jake Browning). Sports are my life. I know nothing else. I graduated from Bethany Lutheran College with a degree in Communication. I’ve been a part of a newspaper since 8th grade, including my college’s official newspaper where I was co-copy editor.
