Here’s how the college Power Five stacks up heading into week 12 of the regular season.
Three top 10 matchups on Saturday led to major shuffling in the race to the College Football Playoff and a few changes in the conference power rankings.
In the most surprising result of the weekend, No. 1 Georgia’s undefeated campaign came to an uninspiring end with a 40-17 drubbing at No. 10 Auburn, which now has a shot at the College Football Playoff despite suffering a pair of losses. The SEC nearly had a disastrous weekend with Alabama trailing Mississippi State late, but the Crimson Tide managed to survive with a Devonta Smith touchdown in the final minute.
Saturday’s biggest winner was Miami, which made a statement by crushing Notre Dame 41-8 to rise all the way to No. 2 in the new AP Poll. Oklahoma is also closing in on a playoff berth after earning an impressive 38-20 victory over TCU to take control of the Big 12.
Elsewhere, the Pac-12 is all but eliminated from playoff contention after Washington dropped a 30-22 contest at Stanford. Ohio State has a glimmer of hope after eviscerating Michigan State 48-3, and is on track to meet undefeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game after the Badgers picked up their first ranked win with a 38-14 triumph over Iowa.
Here’s how the Power Five grades out following an eventful week 11 across the country.
5. Pac-12
A miserable year for the Pac-12 continued over the weekend, as the conference lost their final one-loss team to fall further behind the rest of the nation.
Washington has looked shaky on the road all season long, and dropped its second game of the season with a 30-22 loss at Stanford on Friday night behind yet another ugly offensive performance. The three-loss Cardinal is still right in the Pac-12 North hunt, and might just be able to get revenge on USC if Bryce Love stays healthy and K.J. Costello at least doesn’t make any mistakes under center.
USC clinched the Pac-12 South title by holding Colorado at bay in a 38-24 road win, and is quietly back up to No. 12 at the AP Poll at 9-2. For all their faults including a horrific injury list, the Trojans have a great shot to finish the regular season with 10 wins while earning a New Year’s Six berth.
No. 15 Washington State now controls its own destiny in the division after battling Utah in a 33-25 road win, led by unstoppable defensive end Hercules Mata’afa. There wasn’t much of note elsewhere, as UCLA beat Arizona State to move both teams to 5-5, while Arizona had little trouble with Oregon State.
There’s too much mediocrity in the conference for the Pac-12 to rise above fifth, and missing out on the playoff isn’t a great look. Week 12’s schedule is headlined by a pair of rivalry showdowns in UCLA-USC and Cal-Stanford.