Kirk Herbstreit updates his top six college football rankings

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest rankings of the top teams in the country including Notre Dame, Alabama and more

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest rankings of the top college football teams in the country. There weren’t any upsets in Week 12’s action.

Ohio State narrowly defeated a pesky Indiana team, Clemson’s game at Florida State was postponed, Alabama dominated Kentucky in a sixty point victory, Florida won in a SEC game against Vanderbilt, and Cincinnati topped UCF.

Overall, Cincinnati’s win and Ohio State’s win were the two biggest storylines of the week.  Another interesting development was the incredible debut performance of Georgia Bulldogs quarterback JT Daniels. Daniels transferred to the University of Georgia after being a five-star recruit, who played at USC, then tore his ACL in a game for the Trojans last season.

In the SEC, Alabama and Florida are on a crash course to play each other in the SEC Championship Game. Will either team be tested in their remaining games? Florida plays Kentucky this week and Alabama plays the Auburn Tigers.

In the ACC, Notre Dame and Clemson are probably going to play each other in a rematch in the ACC Championship Game. Ohio State looks like the only other serious College Football Playoff contender.

Here’s who Kirk Herbstreit puts in his top six schools:

Notably, Herbstreit doesn’t put the BYU Cougars or Texas A&M Aggies in the top six. Both teams will need some help to make the College Football Playoff. BYU may not be able to make it at all after playing one of the easiest slates of games major college football has ever seen.

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Kirk Herbstreit releases his latest top six college football rankings

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest top six rankings including Florida, Notre Dame, Clemson, and more.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest edition of College Football Playoff hopefuls following a quiet week of college football. Week 11 featured numerous cancelled/postponed games including: Georgia at Missouri, Ohio State versus Maryland, and LSU versus Alabama.

In notable college football action, Florida blew out Arkansas 63-35, Miami kept their slim hopes alive with a 25-24 comeback win over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame won handily at Boston College, and Wisconsin demolished Michigan 49-11.

The race for the CFP is coming down to the wire. The Big 12 is essentially eliminated from CFP contention, although Oklahoma State could win out and finish the season with one loss.  The Pac-12 needs either USC or Oregon to win out. Both programs need to look more impressive than they did in Week 11.

The SEC has only three teams with high hopes for making the playoff: Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M. Texas A&M beat Florida, but trails Alabama by two games in the SEC West. The Aggies will hope to win out and that Alabama will defeat Florida in the SEC Championship. They’ll need more help than that. They’ll root for a two loss loser in the likely Notre Dame versus Clemson ACC Championship.

Ohio State is favored to represent the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff following the conference’s limited season. Wisconsin looks to be Ohio State’s biggest competition in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have a big game against Indiana this weekend.

How Kirk Herbstreit ranked the top teams in college football:

Overall, Herbstreit’s rankings look pretty solid. They haven’t changed at all since last week. BYU has been impressive, but its schedule has been very easy, so it would be fair to rank Texas A&M or Wisconsin over the BYU Cougars.

Aside from that, the rankings look good. Notre Dame deserves to be ranked over Ohio State due to its body of work. The Fighting Irish are 8-0 and Ohio State is only 3-0.

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SEC Power Rankings: Georgia almost out of SEC Championship race

The Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, Texas A&M Aggies and Florida Gators compose the top four teams in our SEC Power Rankings.

The SEC only had a few games last week, with teams like LSU, Alabama, and Missouri on bye. The Florida Gators defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in the most important SEC East game of the season.

Georgia’s passing game has never taken flight this season and it, along with rough defensive performances against elite offenses, has cost the Bulldogs their SEC Championship hopes.

Florida is now expected to face Alabama in the SEC Championship Game unless there are multiple upsets in the upcoming weeks. It’s no coincidence that they are the top two ranked teams in SEC Mike’s latest edition of SEC power rankings.

The Georgia Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 behind the Texas A&M Aggies, who did beat Florida, but are rated behind the Gators. Texas A&M has College Football Playoff hopes that are realistic. They wouldn’t have to play in the SEC Championship Game, which will determine one team to make the College Football Playoff. The Aggies will root for Alabama to win the SEC.

Beyond the top four rankings, Arkansas has been consistent this season in a surprising development. Auburn looked impressive against LSU a couple weeks ago and Ole Miss has a quality offense, but can’t stop opposing offenses.

This week, Georgia will play at Missouri, who is rated as the No. 8 team in the conference. The Tigers have a few players suspended for the first half of the game.

Here are the full conference rankings:

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Kirk Herbstreit’s top six college football teams: Gators move up

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his College Football Playoff contenders including Notre Dame, BYU, Clemson, & Florida.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest edition of College Football Playoff contenders following another week of action. Notre Dame prevailed over Clemson in double overtime and Florida defeated Georgia 44-28 in Jacksonville, Florida.

The race for the CFP is starting to play itself out. The Big 12 is essentially eliminated from CFP contention, although Oklahoma State could win out and finish the season with only one loss.

Now, the SEC only has three teams with high hopes for making the playoff: Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M. Texas A&M did beat Florida, but trails Alabama by two games in the SEC West.

Interestingly, Kirk Herbstreit ranks the Gators over the Aggies even though Texas A&M won their head-to-head game. That being said, if Florida loses to Alabama in the SEC Championship and Texas A&M wins out, then the Aggies will have a playoff argument.

The problem for the Aggies is they don’t have many impressive wins on their resume outside of Florida. Additionally, they’ll have to cheer against Notre Dame and Clemson in the ACC. The Fighting Irish and Tigers will likely have a rematch in the ACC Championship game. Both Notre Dame and Clemson could make the playoff if they don’t lose before the ACC Championship.

Ohio State is favored to represent the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff following their limited season. Will any College Football Playoff hopefuls emerge from the Pac-12? The Pac-12 is a little bit late to the action.

Here’s how Kirk Herbstreit ranked the top teams in college football:

Overall, the rankings look pretty solid. BYU has been impressive, but their schedule has been exceedingly easy, so it is tempting to rank Texas A&M over the Cougars.

Aside from that, the rankings look good. Notre Dame deserves to be ranked over Ohio State due to their body of work. The Fighting Irish are 7-0 and Ohio State is only 3-0.

Dropping from Herbstreit’s rankings are the Georgia Bulldogs, who no longer have a realistic shot at the College Football Playoff.

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Georgia Bulldogs get positive injury update on star RB

The Georgia Bulldogs got a positive injury update on freshman running back Kendall Milton after the loss to Florida.

The Georgia Bulldogs lost against the Florida Gators in more ways than one. The entire UGA team seemed to suffer an injury throughout the game or before it. The conference-only schedule is weighing on the Dawgs and they’ll have to rely on depth in several key positions from here on out.

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, freshman running back Kendall Milton only suffered a slight MCL sprain in the defeat. Milton, a former five-star recruit out of California, went down following a first down run in the second half.

Kendall Milton’s father, Chris Milton, has the scoop on his injury:

A sprained MCL is much preferable to a torn ACL, torn MCL, and other serious knee injuries. Milton could possibly return during the season or for the upcoming bowl game. Milton has 31 carries for 183 yards on the season. He’s broken a lot of tackles in the limited touches he’s received.

Zamir White and James Cook are Georgia’s healthiest running backs at the moment. The duo will look for more carries this Saturday against the Missouri Tigers. Georgia out-rushed Florida 165 yards to 97, however the Gators dominated with their aerial attack.

Florida defensive back Brad Stewart Jr. (2) breaks up a pass intended for Georgia running back Kendall Milton (22) during the annual Florida Georgia rivalry game held at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville Fla. Nov. 7, 2020. Photo per The Gainesville Sun

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UGA football benches Stetson Bennett for D’Wan Mathis

The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart elected to bench quarterback Stetson Bennett in favor of D’Wan Mathis against the Florida Gators.

Following another interception, the Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart elected to bench quarterback Stetson Bennett in favor of D’Wan Mathis. With Georgia trailing Florida 41-21, the Bulldogs had nothing to lose in trying a new starter.

D’Wan Mathis began the season as Georgia’s starting quarterback against the Arkansas Razorbacks, but struggled in the first half of that contest. He was benched for Stetson Bennett in that game. Bennett helped stabilize the Georgia offense in the early part of the season.

It’s become apparent that Bennett has limitations in the passing game, so it makes sense for the Dawgs to roll with Mathis, who has more to add in the rushing attack.

Georgia has a fraction of the passing offense of powerful offenses like Florida and Alabama. It is not due to a lack of open receivers, but more so a lack of accurate down the field passes.

D’Wan Mathis threw for a touchdown pass on his first drive against Florida, but ran a slow-paced run-heavy offense in the process.

Here’s how Georgia football Twitter reacted to the promotion for D’Wan Mathis:

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Georgia gives up 38 points to Florida in brutal first half

The Georgia Bulldogs have been absolutely shredded by Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators during the first half.

The Georgia Bulldogs have been absolutely shredded by Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators during the first half. Florida will take a 38-21 halftime lead that should be an insurmountable deficit for the Bulldogs.

Georgia’s defense performed well to start, but has been Swiss cheese since the opening drive. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask has four touchdowns in the first half, while UGA quarterback Stetson Bennett has four completions.

It is apparent that the Bulldogs won’t be able to make a comeback with their passing game. Eric Stokes did record on pick-six on Trask. That’s the Dawgs’ lone score since opening the game with a 14-0 lead.

Florida outscored Georgia 38-7 since the opening minutes. Georgia has been unable to slow down the game on the offensive end, recording numerous three and outs, which haven’t all been Stetson Bennett’s fault.

UGA tight end John FitzPatrick had a key drop after Florida took a 28-21 lead. Georgia would’ve gained about twenty yards on the wide-open play.

Additionally, Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken has dialed up some wide open deep shots, but Stetson Bennett has missed these throws by several yards.

Georgia’s defense has failed to pressure Kyle Trask, who has sat back and picked his favorite match-up against the Georgia secondary. He often finds open targets against linebackers, who have to travel massive swaths of turf to cover a skill position player or against Tyson Campbell, who hasn’t been able to turn his head on several chuck plays.

In defense of the UGA defense, they are missing several starters and haven’t gotten much help from the offense (14 offensive points in the first half).

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Georgia down two starting safeties after Lewis Cine ejected for targeting

UGA football is down two starting safeties for the Georgia-Florida game after Lewis Cine was ejected for targeting on Kyle Pitts.

Georgia safety Lewis Cine has been ejected for targeting.

That leaves UGA without its two starting safeties for the remainder of the game.

Cine’s hit camp with roughly 9 minutes remaining in the first half. He delivered a huge blow to Florida superstar tight end Kyle Pitts.

It was really just an unfortunate play. Cine was clearly not trying to do anything illegal, but more so just get lower than his opponent. Instead, he and Pitts got low at the same time and it resulted in an ugly play.

Georgia takes lead with pick-six, Florida immediately ties it again

UGA football regained the lead in the Georgia-Florida game thanks to an Eric Stokes pick-six.

Boom! Georgia regained the lead in the second quarter thanks to an Eric Stokes pick six on 3rd and 10.

Stokes stepped right in front of the comeback route, bobbled it and then took it back to the house for his second pick-six of the year.

Watch it here:

UPDATE:

Two plays later and we are tied at 21-21 again.

Florida hit a 50 yard wheel route and then a 25 yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts on the right sideline.

Georgia QB Stetson Bennett goes to locker room. Who’s next?

Georgia football QB Stetson Bennett left for the locker room in the first quarter of UGA vs Florida. Who replaced him?

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett left for the locker room in the first quarter of the game against Florida.

It looks like an injury to Bennett’s right shoulder. He took a huge shot on his touchdown pass he made to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint.

Taking his place is D’Wan Mathis, who opened the season as the UGA starter before pulled for Bennett against Arkansas.

Bennett’s start to the game was pretty consistent with his play as of late. No turnovers, but some missed passes and a dropped snap that killed his final drive.