What’s up everyone! Alabama and Texas were the only Top 10 teams to lose this past weekend. Outside of Pitt that lost inevitably to Notre Dame and Louisville suffering a loss to Clemson, the rest of the ranked ACC teams survived. The Big 12’s state of Utah dismantled their opponent to get back into the postseason race. While Texas A&M avoided a monumental upset loss, Indiana didn’t want any part of it and wrecked Wisconsin in the second half. Ohio State continues to cruise through their schedule knowing the Michigan matchup is inevitable. The AAC continues playing musical chairs to get the two AAC title finalists. Meanwhile, James Madison saunters through after destroying Appalachian State in hopes of nabbing a playoff spot as the highest Group of Five.

We are down to 2 weeks of the regular season, and there’s nothing like traps being set up to make life complicated for a few teams that are overlooking this week’s opponents for rivalry week. It’s best not to make that mistake.

12) JAMES MADISON (9-1)

Thanks to Navy upsetting USF and East Carolina upsetting Memphis, the door is now open for James Madison’s postseason opportunity. They look like one of the better Group of Five teams playing with confidence against higher level opponents. They’ve proven it against Louisville and in other previous matchups against Power 4 opponents. Curt Cignetti would have a big smile if the Dukes found their way in the CFP.

11) BYU (9-1)

BYU bounced back big by taking out their frustration on TCU. I would’ve assumed TCU would’ve made this a game, but BYU was the better team outright. Bear Bachmeier also bounced back and got this offense playing complimentary football and imposing their will on TCU’s defense.

10) ALABAMA (8-2)

Alabama faced their toughest test on the schedule against probably the best defense in the SEC. Bama struggled before getting things going, but it wasn’t enough to control the game to win on homecoming night. Bama’s now 0-2 at home against Oklahoma if no one’s aware of it. What lost them the game was turnovers and receiver drops. That puts Bama in a peculiar situation like last year, but not as bad this time.

9) OKLAHOMA (8-2)

The odds were against Oklahoma in the Alabama matchup, but they played with nothing to lose. Defense and special teams played exceptional and won an unblemished turnover battle. The offense also did enough to get the team in scoring position against one of the most known brands in college football. Oklahoma won back-to-back games against Bama since joining the SEC. They also defeated the SEC’s state of Alabama since joining the conference (4-0). As an Oklahoma fan, LET’S F***ING GO!!!!!!!!

8) NOTRE DAME (8-2)

The Irish were not affected by the Land of the Yinzers of Pittsburgh. They quieted the crowd instantly with Jeremiah Love’s awesome touchdown run on the first drive. Then, the defense followed up with a turnover score. They ran away and are seeing a bit of light through a couple of months of smoke with just two games remaining.

7) OLE MISS (10-1)

Ole Miss survived against Florida and boy it could’ve been a chaotic situation if they didn’t. Defense struggled, and mistakes and penalties hurt them. Trinidad Chambliss took some shots, but the offense kept moving. That was enough to make it to a bye before they travel to Starkville to face their rival, Mississippi State.

6) OREGON (9-1)

Oregon sent the Gophers burrowing back home after being manhandled. Minnesota was outmatched in every way and couldn’t stop the Ducks’ assault. Dante Moore had a solid Friday night while tight end Kenyon Sadiq showed that he could be an NFL prospect someday.

5) TEXAS TECH (10-1)

The “Millions and Millions of Dollars Paid” Program put UCF in their place. Tech had enough mercy to allow a safety, but the team put on a clinic. Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez also got involved on offense and scored a touchdown on his one only play. Tech heads into a bye with just a trip to West Virginia.

4) GEORGIA (9-1)

Georgia was in a close game with Texas, but they knew the 4th quarter would be their advantage and Texas was baited into it. Georgia handed Texas their third straight loss in this meeting since joining the SEC and also eliminated them from SEC title talks and playoff contention. As for Georgia, they qualified for the SEC title game for the fifth straight season (most by any SEC team in conference history).

3) TEXAS A&M (10-0)

Texas A&M pulled off a historic comeback against South Carolina and made it look so easy. They scored 21 unanswered points in 20 game minutes in the third quarter. Offense, defense, and special teams went supernova and pretty much won the second half and the whole game by default. Marcel Reed atoned for his mistakes with playmaking abilities and the receivers also atoned their drops with big play catches and touchdowns. Like Indiana last week, the Aggies “Refused to Lose”.

2) INDIANA (11-0)

Indiana followed up their comeback thriller with a clobbering to Wisconsin. The game was close by halftime, but Curt Cignetti wasn’t having it again and got the team right for the 2nd half. Fernando Mendoza was surgical, and receiver Charlie Becker had back-to-back big games. Indiana has a bye before traveling to West Lafayette to try closing out their regular season undefeated against in-state rival, Purdue.

1) OHIO STATE (10-0)

Ohio State sent UCLA packing after getting a comfortable lead. Nico Iamaleava not being there may have been one downside for the Buckeyes. It would’ve been an interesting reminder of Nico’s playoff experience there. Either way, they took care of business per usual and might not see a challenge for another week prior to The Game.

HONORABLE MENTION

EAST CAROLINA

While USF, Memphis, Navy, Tulane, and North Texas grabbed all the attention in the AAC, East Carolina was lurking. They have their sights set on trying to play in the AAC title game but needed help and a key win against Tulane or Memphis. They fell to Tulane earlier this season but also saw Tulane fall to UTSA, giving the Pirates hope. Enough hope to reel in Memphis for an upset win to finally give them a shot. If they clear out their last two with AAC chaos in front, they’re the unlikelies to play for an AAC title.

ARIZONA

Arizona had a rollercoaster of a season. They won the first three and lost three of the last four before ripping off the next three, including their upset win against Cincinnati to end their Big 12 title opportunity. Depending on how things end, Arizona could end with potentially 9 wins in their quiet bounce back season.

MIAMI, GEORGIA TECH, AND VIRGINIA

Pitt was expected to lose, but Miami, Georgia Tech, and Virginia had to win to not only keep their ACC title hopes alive but also keep the ACC representative’s playoff hopes alive too. Miami and Virginia dismantled their traps while Georgia Tech really worked to clutch against Boston College to avoid theirs. All three did what they were supposed to do and now keep their hopes of everything ACC alive.