Tag: LSU Football

5 questions with Kirk Herbstreit about the CFP, Chase Young and why Utah is overlooked

Which team would win a hypothetical matchup between LSU and Ohio State?

Ahead of college football’s Week 14, there are only a handful of scenarios remaining for which four teams could compete for a national championship. Some of them depend on Saturday’s games, while others could play out based on the conference championship matchups in a couple weekends.

Currently, LSU and Ohio State are in a battle for the No. 1 seed, while undefeated Clemson looks like the third lock for the playoff. But that fourth spot, should the top-3 teams win out, is up for grabs among teams like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Baylor and Utah.

So before the final regular-season games for the College Football Playoff contenders, For The Win spoke with ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit about the varying scenarios, the top teams’ chances and the Heisman Trophy race.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

1. If LSU and Ohio State played each other this weekend, who would win?

Oh man, how about this: If they played 10 times, I think it would be 5-5.

I think LSU’s offense up to this point has been prolific. It’s been as good as I can remember seeing. This year, if you were to ask me to look back at Thanksgiving about what’s been the pleasant surprise, I would not just say LSU; I would say LSU’s offensive style, their quarterback — who I think’s going to win the Heisman in Joe Burrow — the approach by their head coach, Ed Orgeron. They’re attacking every game, they’re not taking a conservative approach offensively, which they’ve been known for for years and years.

Joe Burrow, Justin Fields (Getty Images, AP Photo)

That being said, Ohio State offensively and defensively, has been — I think you could argue along with Clemson — the most complete team in the country as far as every week. So that would be a tough one.

Neutral site, I don’t know what Vegas would say. I hope we get a chance to see that game play out because it would be a fun championship game.

2. If LSU, Ohio State and Clemson are the first three playoff teams, which one gets the last spot?

This weekend will have a big impact. But if Georgia beats LSU, which would be, obviously, a major upset, I think Georgia would be in, and Ohio State would move up to No. 1, Clemson would move to No. 2, Georgia would be at No. 3, and I think LSU would still be the fourth team. That would be the easy answer.

If LSU, Ohio State and Clemson were to win out, that eliminates Georgia, you’ve got Alabama at No. 5 without going to an SEC championship game. And then you’ve got Utah. Oregon might be out, but Utah is not. And I think Utah holds a trump card. If they beat Colorado and ultimately go to the Pac-12 championship and beat Oregon, I think Utah will leapfrog Alabama. And, if Georgia loses to LSU, I think Utah would end up being the fourth team to go.

I think Alabama’s only chance is to win, and they’ve got to be dominant for the committee to throw out the metrics and just say: “We think Alabama’s better than Oklahoma [and Utah].” With all that being said, I think it’s really setting up for eventually Utah or Oklahoma to go by Alabama if the top three keep winning.

3. Do you think Oregon’s loss to Arizona State this weekend hurt Utah’s chances?

Kyle Whittingham (Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports)

Not at all, no. Here’s the thing with Utah: A lot of people east of the Rockies, if I asked them to name one player on Utah’s team, they couldn’t. So it’d be easy to look at Utah and not necessarily give them much credit or the benefit of the doubt because they play in a conference that most people don’t respect and most people don’t watch. So when you see Utah up there, you’re like, “Utah? Why are they up there?”

People don’t respect that brand, and I think that’s unfortunate because Kyle Whittingham is an incredible coach, and they’ve got a great team this year. If their only loss is on the road on a Friday night against USC, and they end up being Pac-12 champs, no way they’ll leave Utah out if they’re 12-1.

4. ESPN’s Allstate Playoff Predictor updates each team’s chance to make the playoff weekly, and it seems largely accurate. But have you ever seen a percentage on there that was a bit puzzling?

Right now is one. This week, Utah is at nine percent to make the playoff. You’ve got the main three up there with Ohio State, Clemson and LSU at 86 percent or higher. Then there’s a pretty good drop to Georgia and Alabama. Oklahoma is ironically at 12 percent.

Lincoln Riley and Jalen Hurts (Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports)

This is subjective analysis. Everybody can weigh in on this. The only thing that matters is what the committee thinks. And if you follow what the committee has done, it’s interesting that our Allstate Playoff Predictor has Oklahoma at 12 percent and Utah at nine percent, because to me, I’ve really felt that they’ve sent us a loud message that they don’t necessarily respect the Big 12. If you go back to last week’s [College Football Playoff] rankings, Oklahoma after beating Baylor, they only moved up one spot to No. 9. Baylor was all the way down at No. 14 with one loss.

If Utah keeps winning, and they win a conference championship, I just don’t know what Oklahoma has to do to climb. And personally, I don’t see Oklahoma getting by Utah if Utah keeps winning. And the only reason I say that is based on the first few weeks with the way the rankings have shook down and how they’ve really sent a message: They’re not impressed by the Big 12.

5. Realistically, could Chase Young win the Heisman? Should we start calling it the best offensive player award if defensive players aren’t often finalists?

I remember when Ndamukong Suh was dominating every week in ‘09 and he ended up making it to New York City, and you could have made a pretty strong case for him that year that he deserved serious consideration.

Chase Young, I think if he didn’t have a two-game suspension and miss the Maryland and Rutgers games, who knows how many stats he could have had in those games? I think 20 sacks was very realistic for him, which is unheard of.

Chase Young (Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports)

For the first seven, eight, nine weeks, everybody was talking about Burrow, Jalen Hurts, Chase Young, Justin Fields, Tua [Tagovailoa]. It’s almost like we’re at the point where it’s Joe Burrow, last man standing, and then everybody else. Most people are going to put Joe Burrow in that No. 1 spot with two weeks to go, but who are you going to put at two and three?

Do you penalize Chase Young because he was suspended for two games? Do you recognize how he handled that situation and how forthcoming he was? Do you forgive him for that and keep him on your ballot? I have no idea. But one thing’s very clear. If you’re asking if the Heisman Trophy is supposed to go to the most outstanding player in college football, I don’t know how Chase Young can’t be on a ballot.

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College Football Playoff: Georgia still has a better chance than Alabama, Oklahoma

Could Georgia upset LSU in the SEC title game in a couple weeks?

Ohio State, Clemson and LSU have the top-3 spots in the College Football Playoff locked up — at least, according to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor. A couple weeks ago, their chances to make the playoff were comfortably in the 80 percent range, and now, the Buckeyes are nearly at 100 percent while the two Tigers teams are in the high 80s.

The obvious takeaway here with such absurdly high percentages is that the Playoff Predictor — an algorithm based on a variety of factors the selection committee considers when ranking teams — expects those three teams to win their final regular-season games and, ultimately, their respective conference championships, which would basically guarantee their playoff berths.

None of this is new. The only undefeated teams left, these three programs have dominated their schedules, and even when they’ve been challenged, they survived. Here are their chances to make the playoff and win the national championship, according to the Playoff Predictor.

1. Ohio State (11-0)

Playoff: 95 percent
Win championship: 37 percent

2. Clemson (11-0)

Playoff: 87 percent
Win championship: 27 percent

3. LSU (11-0)

Playoff: 86 percent
Win championship: 15 percent

(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

So let’s assume Ohio State, Clemson and LSU perform exactly the way they’re expected to, and look at the teams fighting for the fourth and final playoff spot.

4. Georgia (10-1)

Playoff: 50 percent
Win championship: 7 percent

5. Alabama (10-1)

Playoff: 47 percent
Win championship: 12 percent

Georgia has the fourth-best chance to make the playoff after beating Texas A&M, 19-13, in Week 13. But if our above scenario plays out, it means the Bulldogs will lose to LSU in the SEC championship game, which would effectively end their playoff hopes. However, should Georgia win the conference title game, both it and LSU could get in.

And with the Playoff Predictor giving the Bulldogs a 50 percent chance to make it, perhaps an upset in the SEC championship game is more likely than everyone thinks.

Going into the final week of the regular season — Georgia plays Georgia Tech on Saturday — the Bulldogs have a 46.5 percent chance to win out, which includes the conference title game, according to ESPN’s FPI. To compare, LSU, which plays Texas A&M on Saturday, only has a 44.2 percent chance to win out, and, at this point, is only slightly favored to win the SEC championship game. Georgia eventually beating LSU is the conference’s best-case scenario but the worst for just about everyone else.

(Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)

After losing to LSU earlier this month, Alabama has no room for error, which means beating Auburn in Week 14 and then sitting back and watching the conference championship game play out.

The best-case scenario for the Crimson Tide making their sixth straight playoff appearance is for LSU to beat Georgia, so then their only loss is to arguably the best team in the nation. But should that happen, they also need to hope the selection committee views it more favorably than a potential one-loss Big 12 champ in Oklahoma or Baylor or a one-loss Pac-12 champ in Utah. How much do conference championships really mean?

6. Oklahoma (10-1)

Playoff: 12 percent
Win championship: 1 percent

7. Utah (10-1)

Playoff: 9 percent
Win championship: Less than 1 percent

Oklahoma has won its last three since being upset by Kansas State, but the wins haven’t been pretty. In Week 13 against unranked TCU, the Sooners had a 21-0 lead at one point before letting the Horned Frogs come back. They held on for a 28-24 win after beating Baylor by three and Iowa State by one the previous two weeks. That, combined with their loss to unranked Kansas State, is likely why both the Playoff Predictor and selection committee don’t have Oklahoma higher. Its best-case scenario is an Alabama loss this weekend and LSU winning the SEC — plus winning the Big 12, obviously.

Although its playoff chances are in the single digits, Utah is still very much in the mix, assuming it can win the Pac-12. Oregon losing in Week 13 to Arizona State hurts Utah a little because they both arguably needed each other ranked highly to bolster their playoff arguments. But Utah could still make it, especially if the Big 12 has a two-loss champ and Alabama falls to Auburn.

8. Michigan (9-2)

Playoff: 3 percent
Win championship: Less than 1 percent

9. Baylor (10-1)

Playoff: 3 percent
Win championship: Less than 1 percent

10. Florida (8-2)

Playoff: 2 percent
Win championship: Less than 1 percent

See the full Playoff Predictor list here.

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Georgia football injury report ahead of UGA vs Tech game

Take a look at Georgia footballs injury status prior to UGA’s final game of their regular season before LSU at Georgia Tech.

Georgia defeated the Texas A&M Aggies this Saturday in a cold and rainy matchup by a final score of 19-13.  A win is a win, but man wouldn’t it be nice to close some teams out strong?

The Dawgs didn’t look bad in the first half, nearly covering the 13-point spread they were given prior to the game. It was the 2nd half that made Bulldog fans scratch their heads.

The Aggies outscored Georgia 10-6 in the 2nd half.  That is a pretty bad look for a No. 4 team, but give credit to a hard-fought, Jimbo Fisher coached team.

Now the Dawgs have just one more opponent left before facing LSU in the SEC Championship game, and that is Georgia Tech.

With LSU looming, the Dawgs will look to be as healthy as possible for that game.

Here is a look at the injured Bulldogs heading into week 14 at Tech.

Full injury report:

Probable: DB Eric Stokes

Stokes left the Texas A&M game just before halftime after he got a little dinged up on a hit.  Kirby Smart did not seem concerned about the matter.  Expect Stokes to be ready to go.

Probable: DB Tyson Campbell

Campbell has been playing through a toe injury for the past couple of weeks but is cleared to play against Tech.

Probable: OL Cade Mays

Mays has been nursing an ankle injury since the Missouri game.  He dressed against A&M but was very limited, as is expected next week in order to save him for LSU.

Questionable: WR Trey Blount

Blount is listed as questionable with an undisclosed injury.

Questionable: WR Lawrence Cager

Cager has been battling a left shoulder injury nearly the entire season.  Even missing a number of games, Cager is still the Dawgs leader in receptions and receiving yards.  Expect Cager to get minimal time if any to rest him up for the SEC Championship game vs LSU.

OUT: WR Tommy Bush

Bush has been recovering from a sports hernia and will likely be out for the year.

OUT: DT Tramel Walthour

Walthour is battling a lower-body injury and has no timetable for his return.

OUT: OL Owen Condon

Condon has been battling a lower-body injury all year and Saturday was seen in a sling.  Should likely be out for season.

OUT: OL Justin Shaffer

Shaffer was in a neck brace for the A&M game and has no timetable for his return.

OUT: QB D’Wan Mathis

Freshman quarterback D’wan Mathis is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from his brain this offseason.  There is no current timetable for Mathis’ return.

Georgia football falls in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings

Georgia football dropped in CBS Sports’ CFB rankings.

It’s a good thing the only poll that matters is the College Football Playoff rankings. Well, at least for now. We’ll find out if I will still be saying that on Tuesday night when those are released.

But after a week in which Georgia did not look particularly great in a 19-13 win over Texas A&M in Athens, CBS Sports dropped the Bulldogs one spot in its rankings, swapping them with Alabama. The Dawgs remained No. 4 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.

Related: Kirk Herbstreit predicts CFP teams if Georgia beats LSU

CBS Sports’ new-top is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Alabama

5. Georgia

6. Utah

7. Oklahoma

8. Florida

9. Minnesota

10. Baylor

Alabama looked good, sure. But it was against Western Carolina. The Tide may very well still be able to win a national championship over any of the playoff committee’s top-four teams, but if you don’t win your conference, let alone your division, you should not be given the opportunity to prove that.

Here is my prediction for what the College Football Playoff rankings will look like on Tuesday night.

College Football Playoff projections following Week 13

Predicting the College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13.

Week 13 saw Georgia football beat a talented Texas A&M team to advance to 10-1 on the season.

Georgia looked like it has all season – unable to finish a drive on offense but smothering on defense.

That’s been Georgia’s recipe this season, but how much longer will it work? We will find out in two weeks when the Dawgs take on LSU in Atlanta.

Right now, Georgia is sitting at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind LSU (1), Ohio State (2) and Clemson (3).

Right behind the Bulldogs is Alabama, hoping that it can not only win next week vs Auburn but also that LSU will take care of business in the SEC Championship, thus eliminating Georgia from playoff contention.

Behind Alabama currently is Oregon, but that won’t last long after the Ducks lost to Arizona State. The best part about Oregon losing is that now we don’t have to hear about how Rob Mullens, the Oregon AD and the chair of the CFP selection committee, is “recused from the room” when the committee discusses the Ducks. Is it just me, or has that been mentioned way too many times this season?

Ohio State definitely had the most impressive win of the weekend among the teams near the top of the rankings (Arizona State probably had the best win, though, in beating Oregon). I would not expect the committee to swap LSU and OSU, however. LSU’s beaten plenty of top-ten teams itself.

Then there’s Utah, which is 10-1 and needs some help to make it into the final four. The Utes have not really beaten anyone, but if Georgia and Alabama both fall and Utah wins its conference, then it has a much better argument.

Oklahoma, however, assuming it wins out, will be right there with Utah vying for that last Playoff spot if both Alabama and Georgia lose before the final rankings reveal after the conference championship games wrap up.

Here’s our College Football Playoff projections:

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Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia running back D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia football running back D’Andre Swift played in what might have been his final home game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, going out with a W one last time.

Though the Bulldogs were able to beat the nearly ranked Aggies of Texas A&M on senior day, the win wasn’t pretty from an offensive perspective.

Swift mentioned his frustrations with the offense and even got on to Fromm a bit during the game, with love of course.

“For us to get to where we want to go, we have to get better on offense.”

Against the Aggies, Swift carried the offense all game. 19 times and put up 103 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. However, the offense failed to convert Swift’s yards into points. His frustration was justified, but he and Fromm are fine and understand that it’s just part of the game.

Georgia will have a mini bye-week in Atlanta next week to right the ship against Georgia Tech before facing the daunting LSU offense in The Benz. Time will tell if the Dawgs can turn it around and use better weather conditions to their advantage on the scoreboard.

Ohio State’s win vs. Penn State wasn’t good enough to take LSU’s No. 1 spot

The best we can hope for is LSU vs. Ohio State in the College Football Playoff.

Going into Ohio State’s top-10 matchup against Penn State on Saturday, there was talk of the Buckeyes reclaiming their No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings if they blew the Nittany Lions out.

Although the Buckeyes won, 28-17, some unexpected mistakes against its highest-ranked opponent to date suggests it should stay stay in the No. 2 spot behind LSU, assuming the Tigers wreck Arkansas, the only SEC team without a conference win, on Saturday night.

For the first time this season, Ohio State briefly looked beatable — even as Penn State also beat itself late in the game — in its smallest margin of victory this season. However, it did clinched the Big Ten East with the win and will have a shot at the conference title in a couple weeks.

Overall Saturday, the Buckeyes fumbled four times and lost three. Two lost fumbles in the third quarter led to Penn State scoring drives and allowed the Nittany Lions back into the game.

They entered Week 13 with 14 fumbles on the season, eight lost, for an average of 1.4 per game. After they jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the third quarter, running back J.K. Dobbins and quarterback Justin Fields fumbled on back-to-back drives — and that was after Fields’ first-quarter fumble and turnover.

Now, Penn State’s defense is still one of the best in the country, and obviously, the Buckeyes were able to survive with an 11-point win. But they should need more than that to leap over LSU in the CFP rankings in Week 14.

Comparing the top-2 teams

The top-2 teams clearly have two of the most powerful and explosive offenses in the nation, and they’re led by Heisman Trophy candidates: LSU quarterback Joe Burrow and Ohio State’s Fields and Dobbins.

Going into Week 13, the Tigers and Buckeyes had similar offensive stats. LSU was second nationally in yards per game with 556.0 and third with 7.64 yards per play, while Ohio State was fourth at 541.7 and sixth with 7.26 yards per play. But Ohio State was No. 1 in scoring offense with 51.5 points per game and leads the country with 69 offensive touchdowns, while LSU was No. 2 with 47.8 points per game and third with 60 offensive touchdowns.

Defense is where the Buckeyes have the largest edge. Led by another Heisman candidate in defensive end Chase Young, Ohio State entered Week 13 at No. 1 in scoring defense (9.8 points per game), in yards per play (3.52) and in yards per game (216.4).

The Tigers’ defense isn’t at the level fans have come to expect and gave up an average of 5.39 yards per play ahead of their Week 13 game against Arkansas. They were also tied for No. 48 nationally with opponents putting up 367.8 yards per game and No. 44 with 23.8 points per game.

They crushed Ole Miss last week by three touchdowns, but they also gave up 37 points. Even against then-No. 3 Alabama earlier this month — LSU’s best win of the season so far — they had a 33-13 halftime lead and ended up winning, 46-41.

LSU’s record is slightly stronger and entered Week 13 ranked No. 1 with wins against three teams currently ranked by the CFP committee, and it should get credit for beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Ohio State’s record was ranked No. 2 ahead of this week — though that could change after Saturday — and it now also has wins against three teams in the CFP rankings.

The “eye test” helps Ohio State

The Buckeyes’ advantage to counter LSU’s schedule has been the so-called “eye test,” or which team simply looks better. They’re clearly the most balanced team in college football and, for the most part, have plowed through their opponents.

Though against a tougher schedule, LSU had a seven-point win over Texas, a three-point win over Auburn and then that five-point win against Alabama.

The fewest points Ohio State had previously won by was 24 twice (Florida Atlantic and Michigan State), and they never looked beatable at any point this season. Until the third quarter against Penn State.

And however brief that moment of weakness was, it seems like it might have been enough to keep Ohio State in the No. 2 spot, as LSU will surely destroy the worst team in the SEC on Saturday night.

Of course, the best we can hope for is that LSU and Ohio State will play each other in the College Football Playoff semifinals or national championship game and end this discussion in 60 minutes. But until then, the Tigers at No. 1 and Buckeyes at No. 2 sounds just right.

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Can undefeated LSU, Ohio State and Clemson win out?

As the only unbeaten teams left, they’re headed toward perfect regular-season records.

College football is down to just three undefeated teams going into Week 13: LSU, Ohio State and Clemson. Minnesota and Baylor dropped off the list last week with losses to Iowa and Oklahoma, respectively, so now we’re left with this trio.

Although we’ve looked at just the upcoming week’s opponents for unbeaten teams, it’s late enough in the season to expand that a little to the end of the regular season and the conference championship games. (We’ll also dig deeper into that in a few weeks.)

Will any of the three undefeated teams lose in Week 13? Probably not, especially considering one of them is off. And it’s looking increasingly likely that all three will enter bowl season with perfect records.

So here are our predictions for how the three remaining undefeated teams will play in Week 13 and beyond. They’re based on their upcoming opponents, how they’ve played so far, the College Football Playoff rankings and ESPN’s Football Power Index projections.

(All games are on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

No. 1 LSU Tigers 10-0

Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

Wins: Georgia Southern, Texas, Northwestern State, Vanderbilt, Utah State, Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss
Chance of winning out: 44.4 percent
Week 13 game: Arkansas (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Undefeated after Week 13: Yes

LSU closes out its regular season against Arkansas and then Texas A&M, two teams it shouldn’t have trouble beating. The Razorbacks have yet to win an SEC game this season, and they’re certainly not going to do it against the top-ranked team in the nation as 42.5-point underdogs. The Tigers have 98.7 percent chance to beat Arkansas and an 84.7 percent chance to take down the Aggies, both of which sound about right.

What is a little puzzling is that LSU still only has a 44 percent chance to of winning out, according to ESPN’s FPI. It’s a metric that includes conference championship games when they’re applicable, so for the Tigers, it goes beyond the next two weeks. Georgia clinched the SEC East last week with a win over Auburn, and if LSU can win this week, it will lock up the SEC West. Presumably, the Tigers’ relatively low chance to win out is because of this likely conference matchup, but it’s not exactly clear why.

LSU’s high-powered offense is led by Heisman Trophy front-runner Joe Burrow, who leads the nation with a 78.6 completion percentage and has 38 touchdowns compared with just six interceptions. As a whole, the Tigers’ offense is second in the country to Oklahoma with an average of 556.0 yards per game and second to Ohio State with an average of 47.8 points. Sure, Georgia’s defense is only giving up 267.2 yards per game (No. 6 nationally), and the Bulldogs have some excellent wins on their schedule. But all this is to say it seems like the Tigers should have a higher chance to win out at this point — at least slightly more than 50 percent, even if they are headed toward a game against the No. 4 team.

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes 10-0

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Wins: Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami (Ohio), Nebraska, Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Maryland, Rutgers
Chance of winning out: 56.4 percent
Week 13 game: Penn State (Noon ET, FOX)
Undefeated after Week 12: Yes

The Buckeyes close out the regular season against No. 8 Penn State and No. 13 Michigan, two of the toughest teams on their schedule. However, nothing suggests they won’t plow over both teams like they’ve done against every other opponent so far this season. They’re 18.5-point favorites at home against the Nittany Lions with an 83.9 percent chance to win this weekend. They also have a 77.4 percent chance of beating Michigan on the road. And for the record, their chance of winning out seems awfully low too.

With the nation’s No. 1 defense (216.4 yards/game, 3.52 yards/play) and the No. 4 offense (541.7 yards/game, No. 6 with 7.26 yards/play), Ohio State is looking like the most balanced team in the country. And with quarterback Justin Fields, running back J.K. Dobbins and defensive end Chase Young — who returns to the field after a two-game suspension from the NCAA — the Buckeyes have three of the best and most explosive players in college football on their roster.

However, they might not be able to lose to either team — or eventually in the Big Ten championship game — and still make the College Football Playoff. But that doesn’t seem likely anyway with a team of this caliber — though they do have the most challenging remaining schedule of the the teams on this list.

No. 3 Clemson Tigers 11-0

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Wins: Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Charlotte, North Carolina, Florida State, Louisville, Boston College, Wofford, NC State, Wake Forest
Chance of winning out: 88.5 percent
Week 13 game: Bye
Undefeated after Week 13: Yes (duh)

Clemson is off in Week 13 before closing out the season against South Carolina, a 4-7 team that upset Georgia in October and lost to Appalachian State in November. So really, who knows what could happen here?

Following a rocky start to the season, the Tigers have found their groove and are absolutely destroying every opponent in their path, and they currently have a 92.6 percent chance to beat South Carolina. This could be a blowout — it will probably be a blowout — or the Gamecocks could flirt with pulling off another stunner. Either way, Clemson should still win the ACC without much difficulty.

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Watch: Aaron Murray says Jake Fromm’s experience could be difference maker if Georgia gets to CFP

Georgia football great Aaron Murray says that UGA QB Jake Fromm’s experience could be the difference maker if the Bulldogs get to the CFP.

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No moment is too big for Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who has played in two SEC Championships, a Rose Bowl and a national title game all in just his first two years.

Now, as Fromm’s third season is coming to an end, he will have a chance to play in at least one more huge game, the conference championship vs LSU in two weeks.

If Fromm is able to guide the Dawgs to a win in Atlanta over the Tigers, then Georgia, assuming it does not drop a regular season game to Texas A&M or Tech, will punch its ticket to another College Football Playoff.

If that scenario plays out, there’s one former Bulldog who thinks Fromm’s experience will be a huge factor in the postseason.

Aaron Murray, the SEC’s all-time leading passer in just about every possible category, discussed Fromm’s experience compared to LSU’s Joe Burrow, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, the players who they predict will fill the other three spots.

“Justin Fields has never played in a championship game, never played in the playoffs,” Murray said on he and Drew Butler’s college football show hosted by CampusLore. “Joe Burrow, never played in a championship game, never played in the playoffs. Trevor Lawrence, two games. Played in the playoffs last year and then he won the national championship.

Jake Fromm has played in multiple SEC Championship Games, played in a national championship game, played in playoff games.

He has more experience than all these guys combined,”

Murray went on to talk about why that experiences is so important, pointing to the fact that’s just a different type of game.

“It’s a big stage, man. These playoff games are not a regular season game. It’s not a game at home, it’s not a rivalry game. Everyone in the country’s watching this.”

In Fromm’s two SEC Championship appearances, he is 41/61 for 484 yards and five touchdowns. In the College Football Playoff two seasons ago, Fromm went 36/61 for 442 yards and three touchdowns.

Angry Tweets: CFB fans react to Georgia’s No. 4 ranking

Angry college football fans tweet after Georgia football checked in at No. 4 in the CFP Rankings.

On Tuesday night, Georgia checked in at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, remaining the highest ranked one-loss team.

According to the most recent edition of the CFP rankings, Georgia’s ranked wins include:

No. 16 Notre Dame

No. 10 Florida

No. 15 Auburn

The full top-six is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Alabama

6. Oregon

Surprisingly, Texas A&M, which Georgia hosts this weekend, remained unranked despite checking in at No. 23 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top-25.

Following the release of the rankings, college football fans gave their thoughts on Twitter.

Originally, I was planning on making this an article that included happy tweets from UGA fans. Then, as I browsed Twitter all I saw was triggered fans of other schools…mostly Alabama. 

Enjoy.