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5. Texas A&M: The Aggies’ 7.36 yards per play in Saturday’s 48-3 win against South Carolina was the program’s highest per-play average against an SEC opponent under Jimbo Fisher.
6. Florida: Kyle Trask played his way into Heisman Trophy contention after throwing four touchdowns in the big win against Georgia, making him the first quarterback in SEC history to toss at least four scores in five consecutive games.
7. Cincinnati: The Bearcats limited Houston to 282 yards of offense and 3.3 yards per carry in the latest dominant performance from one of the nation’s best defenses.
8. Indiana: A combined 2-61 since 1968 against Penn State and Michigan, the Hoosiers are 2-0 against those two bluebloods in 2020 and on the verge of the program’s most successful finish since 1967.
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At this point, there’s no team worthy of moving ahead of Clemson and into the top four. Along with the fact that it took two overtimes, a factor to consider when weighing how the Tigers will be viewed for the playoff is how the selection committee will weigh the missing pieces during Saturday’s loss.
Will the committee give Clemson credit for nearly winning without Lawrence under center? Maybe, though the fact that D.J. Uiagalelei set a single-game record for most passing yards against Notre Dame does damage to that case.
The losses on defense were far more important. Down pieces up front, multiple linebackers and hurting for proven depth, Clemson’s typically outstanding unit was eventually worn down by Ian Book and the Notre Dame offense.
Brigham Young will also test the committee. Beating Boise State handily helps the Cougars’ case, but the committee won’t be too impressed by the team’s overall strength of schedule. In the end, however, BYU’s high quality of play could be too much to ignore.
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