Survive and advance was the theme of Week 12. At least it was for college football’s top-four, plus USC.
The top-four won by a combined 26 points. None played a ranked opponent and if it weren’t for Ohio State’s defensive score in the final seconds, it would have been 19 points. Georgia looked ugly in a 16-6 win over Kentucky, Ohio State vs. Maryland came down to the last drive, Michigan used a last-second field goal to beat Illinois and TCU did the same to beat Baylor.
And then Tennessee vs. South Carolina happened. The No. 5 ranked Vols saw their playoff dreams die in Williams-Brice Stadium. Spencer Rattler and South Carolina absolutely torched Tennessee en route to a 63-38 victory.
Oh, then USC vs. UCLA – the most entertaining game of the day – happened. Quarterback Caleb Williams was fantastic, and the Trojans kept their CFP hopes alive with a 48-45 win.
Did you think we were done there? Nope. The night ended with a great game between Oregon and Utah, which the Ducks won 20-17.
Other fun ones included: No. 13 UNC losing to Georgia Tech, No. 14 Ole Miss losing to Arkansas, No. 20 UCF losing to Navy, No. 22 Oklahoma State losing to Oklahoma, and No. 24 NC State losing to Louisville.