Chaos reigned in the SEC during Week 13. Three title contenders all went down and are likely out of the College Football Playoff race. Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, all in the top 15 of the CFP Rankings heading into Saturday, added third losses in a wild day within the SEC.
The bad news for those teams is good news for other playoff contenders. Indiana failed its big test against Ohio State, but with only one loss and all the SEC carnage, it should still be in the playoff field. It was similar good news for Tennessee, which improved its playoff position and should be the fourth SEC team to make the playoff cut now.
Here are the grades for all teams with national title odds of +4000 or better.
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Bye: Oregon (+390)
Ohio State
Grade: A+ | Title odds: +260
The Buckeyes delivered a statement win over Indiana, completely dominating the Hoosiers’ high-powered offense. Ohio State gave up a touchdown on Indiana’s first offensive series of the game — an efficient 11-play, 70-yard drive — but clamped down from there and overwhelmed Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke with pressure. The Buckeyes gave up only 81 offensive yards the rest of the game, 75 of which came on a late fourth quarter touchdown drive when the game was already decided. Ohio State should be in the College Football Playoff even if it adds another loss the next two weeks.
Grade: B- | Title odds: +360
The final score, 59-21, was a blowout, but it’s hard to be overly impressed with a win that included giving up 21 points and 351 yards to a 2-9 UMass team that fired its coach, Don Brown, on Monday. The good news, though, is Carson Beck continues to improve and look more comfortable after a rough stretch of the season, totaling four touchdowns and 297 yards passing against the Minutemen.
Grade: A- | Title odds: +440
Nursing a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Texas went on a 15-play, 86-yard touchdown drive that ate up eight minutes and 22 seconds, destroying any hope Kentucky had of getting back in the game. Texas didn’t call a single pass on that drive, and if it can keep running the ball effectively like that in key spots, it’ll take so much pressure off Quinn Ewers, who is nursing an ankle injury. The defense again looked great, giving up only one touchdown and 232 total yards. Texas still hasn’t fully figured it out yet but it is getting closer, and that’s dangerous for everyone else.
Grade: A | Title odds: +1400
Notre Dame held Army to a season-low 233 yards and ruined the Black Knights’ perfect season in an impressive 49-14 win. Notre Dame’s defense will keep it in every game and looked dominant again against Army, but the offense more than carried its weight, too. Running back Jeremiyah Love led the way with three touchdowns and 136 total yards while quarterback Riley Leonard added two touchdowns on an easy 10 of 13 for 148 yards day. With all the attention around the game at Yankee Stadium, Notre Dame easily rose to the occasion and looks poised to make the playoff.
Grade: D | Title odds: +1600
The Nittany Lions needed a fake punt and a late fourth-down conversion to hold off a five-loss Minnesota team in a 26-25 win. Penn State fell down 10-0 early and didn’t look like a legitimate title game contender against an average Big Ten opponent. Penn State is the most overrated team in the country at this point with neither the résumé nor the on-field performances good enough to justify a No. 4 ranking.
Tennessee
Grade: B+ | Title odds: +2100
The Volunteers started slow and were forced to punt on their first three offensive drives against UTEP, but Nico Iamaleava settled in and finished with four touchdowns in the blowout 56-0 win over the Miners. Tennessee added another four touchdowns and 241 yards through its rushing game. Tennessee’s best news, though, came elsewhere around the SEC. Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all losing puts the Vols in great position to make the playoff if they can beat Vanderbilt next weekend after finding themselves as the first team left out in the most recent rankings.
Grade: B | Title odds: +2600
The Hurricanes took care of business against Wake Forest in a 42-14 win. It wasn’t always pretty, though, and Miami squandered opportunities that came the game closer than it should have been until it finally broke through for three fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure the victory. The offense totaled more than 500 yards — sure to impress the playoff selection committee given chair Warde Manuel’s public comments — but there’s still plenty of room for improvement ahead of what should be an ACC title game against SMU.
SMU
Grade: A- | Title odds: +3500
SMU clinched a spot in the ACC Championship after a dominant 33-7 win over Virginia. Kevin Jennings had a career day, throwing for 323 yards and two touchdowns to power an easy win. Poor Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea had a much different day. The Mustangs sacked him nine times and limited him to only 108 yards passing. SMU looks like the ACC’s best team and has a résumé that warrants inclusion in the playoff field.
