The Oklahoma Sooners played spoiler on Saturday night in their dominant 24-3 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Sooners used a ball control strategy, leaning heavily on the run game to move the ball into Alabama territory seemingly at will.
That includes two drives in the first quarter where the Sooners marched into Bama’s side of the 50 but were unable to come away with points after several self-inflicted wounds. But Oklahoma tightened up and played a clean game the rest of the way on offense and the defense gave quarterback Jalen Milroe fits for four quarters.
Oklahoma’s win over the Crimson Tide put Bama’s College Football Playoff hopes on life support. Alabama slipped outside of the top 12 in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll to No. 13 in the nation.
The top four stayed the same, with Oregon continuing to receive every first-place vote. Notre Dame is new to the top five after handing Army its first loss of the season in a 49-14 win for the Irish. With just USC remaining on the schedule, it looks like Notre Dame has secured its place in the playoff.
Georgia is now the highest-ranked two-loss team at No. 6 in the nation. They’ve clinched a spot in the SEC title game and await the winner of Texas vs. Texas A&M next Saturday in College Station. If Georgia can avoid a letdown against Georgia Tech, they’ll have a clear path to the playoff.
The final two weeks and conference championship weekend could create a lot of chaos for the playoff committee to parse through.
Full US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 13
| Rank | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon Ducks | 11-0 | 1,375 (55) |
| 2 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 10-1 | 1,318 |
| 3 | Texas Longhorns | 10-1 | 1,267 |
| 4 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 10-1 | 1,175 |
| 5 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 10-1 | 1,150 |
| 6 | Georgia Bulldogs | 9-2 | 1,103 |
| 7 | Miami Hurricanes | 10-1 | 1,023 |
| 8 | Tennessee Volunteers | 9-2 | 972 |
| 9 | SMU Mustangs | 10-1 | 917 |
| 10 | Indiana Hoosiers | 10-1 | 867 |
| 11 | Boise State Broncos | 10-1 | 838 |
| 12 | Clemson Tigers | 9-2 | 780 |
| 13 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 8-3 | 621 |
| 14 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 8-3 | 596 |
| 15 | Arizona State Sun Devils | 9-2 | 592 |
| 16 | Ole Miss Rebels | 8-3 | 569 |
| 17 | Iowa State Cyclones | 9-2 | 473 |
| 18 | Tulane Green Wave | 9-2 | 434 |
| 19 | Texas A&M Aggies | 8-3 | 357 |
| 20 | BYU Cougars | 9-2 | 329 |
| 21 | UNLV Rebels | 9-2 | 205 |
| 22 | Army Black Knights | 9-1 | 165 |
| 23 | Memphis Tigers | 9-2 | 151 |
| 24 | Missouri Tigers | 8-3 | 148 |
| 25 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 8-3 | 132 |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 18 Colorado; No. 25 Kansas State;
Others Receiving Votes
Kansas State 124; Colorado 115; Duke 31; Syracuse 19; Louisville 8; Louisiana 7; Washington State 6; LSU 3; Miami (OH) 1; James Madison 1; Iowa 1; Georgia Tech 1; Baylor 1;
List Of Voters
The US LBM Board of Coaches for the 2024 season: Tim Albin, Ohio; Major Applewhite, South Alabama; Tim Beck, Coastal Carolina; Mike Bloomgren, Rice; David Braun, Northwestern; Jeff Brohm, Louisville; Fran Brown, Syracuse; Neal Brown, West Virginia; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Jamey Chadwell, Liberty; Bob Chesney, James Madison; Chris Creighton, Eastern Michigan; Sonny Cumbie, Louisiana Tech; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Ryan Day, Ohio State; Kalen DeBoer, Alabama; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri; Mike Elko, Texas A&M; Tony Elliott, Virginia; Jedd Fisch, Washington; James Franklin, Penn State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Willie Fritz, Houston; Alex Golesh, South Florida; Tyson Helton, Western Kentucky; Mike Houston, East Carolina; Butch Jones, Arkansas State; Brent Key, Georgia Tech; GJ Kinne, Texas State; Chris Klieman, Kansas State; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Clark Lea, Vanderbilt; Lance Leipold, Kansas; Pete Lembo, Buffalo; Sean Lewis, San Diego State; Mike Locksley, Maryland; Mike MacIntyre, Florida International; Gus Malzahn, Central Florida; Chuck Martin, Miami (Ohio); Derek Mason, Middle Tennessee; Joey McGuire, Texas Tech; Bronco Mendenhall, New Mexico; Jeff Monken, Army; Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh; Ken Niumatalolo, San Jose State; Barry Odom, UNLV; Gerad Parker, Troy; Brent Pry, Virginia Tech; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Mark Stoops, Kentucky; Jon Sumrall, Tulane; Lance Taylor, Western Michigan; Jeff Traylor, Texas-San Antonio.