Tag: NCAAF

Charting the path to the College Football Playoff for every contender

From the top-3 teams to Baylor and Utah, here’s a guide to the CFP scenarios.

Although the College Football Playoff race this season seems a bit less complicated than previous seasons, it’s still challenging to keep track of which teams need to win or lose and when if your team is on the bubble.

Generally, regardless of which team you root for, you want the top-3 teams, Ohio State, LSU and Clemson, to win out because if they lose, depending on which team it’s to, they could still make the playoff and take the fourth spot. For example, if LSU loses to Georgia in the SEC championship game, both teams could get in, which is not ideal for everyone else. Though unlikely, the same could be true if Ohio State’s only loss is, say, to 12-1 Minnesota.

So ahead of the final regular-season games for the playoff hopefuls with conference championship matchups looming, here’s a guide to help you keep track of which teams to root for and against in the next couple weeks.

If you cheer for Ohio State, LSU or Clemson…

Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

Obviously, this one is pretty simple. The top-3 teams are in total control, on 11-game win streaks going into Week 14 and have at least an 86 percent chance to make the playoff. All they have to do is keep winning, and they’re in the College Football Playoff. And realistically, Ohio State could lose to Michigan and LSU could lose to Texas A&M, and they likely would both still make it as one-loss conference champions.

With its strength of schedule, Clemson is probably the only team that cannot afford to lose either this weekend against South Carolina or in the ACC title game to have a shot at defending its national championship.

However, for these three fan bases, you also want to probably want to root for Auburn to beat Alabama this weekend, which would hand the Crimson Tide their second loss and probably keep them out of the playoff for the first time. An Alabama loss wouldn’t help ensure Ohio State, LSU or Clemson contend for a title, but come on: Do you really want to have to deal with Alabama in the playoff?

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If you cheer for Georgia…

You want everyone else to lose and lose multiple times. The Bulldogs are 28.5-point favorites against Georgia Tech on Saturday, so that game really shouldn’t be an issue. But to make the playoff, they will likely have to upset LSU in the SEC championship game, which college football math suggests isn’t actually that outrageous of a goal. The Tigers currently have a 52.4 percent chance to beat Georgia, according to ESPN’s FPI, which makes this game basically a coin toss and probably a big reason why the Bulldogs currently have a 50 percent chance to make the playoff.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

But Georgia will also want a backup plan, however unlikely it may be. If it loses a close SEC championship game and finishes 11-2, it could possibly still make the playoff if the selection committee views it relatively favorably compared with potential two-loss conference champions around the country.

Bulldogs fans should root for Alabama to lose to Auburn and Minnesota to lose to Wisconsin, in addition to two-loss Big 12 and Pac-12 winners. Since it seems unlikely that Baylor will fall to Kansas this week, the best bet is for Oklahoma to lose to Oklahoma State for its second defeat of the season but then win the Big 12 championship game. And then in the Pac-12, you want two-loss Oregon to beat likely Utah in the title game. (If Utah loses to Colorado this weekend, USC will represent the Pac-12 South, which means the conference will have a two-loss champ either way.)

If you cheer for Alabama…

You want to beat Auburn, obviously, and then sit back and watch the college football world burn so your team’s 47 percent chance to make the playoff gets a boost. You need the top-3 teams to win out and maintain their positions, but you especially want LSU to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game.

From there, you’re cheering for Georgia’s backup plan. You want as many playoff contenders as possible, particularly the conference champions, to have a less favorable resume than the Crimson Tide. And, if the top-3 teams win out, Alabama probably will be up against Georgia, Oklahoma, Baylor and Utah for that final playoff spot. So two losses for everyone!

If you cheer for Utah…

And your team doesn’t beat Colorado, none of this matters. Utah lost to USC, currently second in the Pac-12 South, back in September. So another loss would put it in a tie with the Trojans, who would then win the tiebreaker. But Utah is a 28.5-point favorite over the Buffaloes, and if it does, it will advance to the Pac-12 championship game. Beat Oregon and win the conference, and it will look pretty good to the selection committee as a one-loss champ.

But for good measure, Utah fans should also root for Alabama to lose to Auburn and for a two-loss Big 12 winner, which would certainly help it in the eyes of the committee.

If you cheer for Oklahoma or Baylor…

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

You’ve got a one-loss team with a shot at the conference title. But first, Oklahoma needs to beat Oklahoma State, and Baylor needs to beat Kansas in Week 14. They could both lose and still play in the conference championship game, but they’d probably be eliminated from the playoff picture.

Both fan bases want their team to emerge as a one-loss Big 12 champion, and the best-case scenario would also include a decisive victory. But to all but ensure a playoff berth, fans should also root for Auburn over Alabama and a two-loss Pac-12 winner, which would likely Oregon.

If you cheer for Minnesota or Wisconsin…

You’re probably excited/very nervous about their Big Ten West matchup Saturday because the winner will play Ohio State in the conference title game. Wisconsin is a slim 3-point favorite in Minneapolis.

Now, both teams have ridiculously low chances to make the playoff with Wisconsin at just two percent and Minnesota at one percent. However, if the winner of Saturday’s game can ultimately upset Ohio State, it might be hard for the selection committee to deny it a playoff spot — especially if we’re talking about a one-loss Minnesota team. In that scenario, it seems like the Buckeyes would still get in if that’s their only loss, so the committee really couldn’t justify putting the Big Ten runner-up in without the champion.

Winning the conference is really the only hope here. A loss at any point would be Minnesota’s second and Wisconsin’s third, and that won’t earn a playoff spot without some colossal chaos around the country — and even then, it might not be enough.

If you cheer for Penn State, Florida, Michigan or Oregon…

Better luck next season.

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How Penn State’s, Oregon’s losses impact the College Football Playoff picture

The CFP race has been simplified.

Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football show where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.

Two more College Football Playoff lost in Week 13, and the playoff race continues to be simplified.

Penn State lost to now-No. 1 Ohio State, while Oregon fell to Arizona State. It was the second loss of the season for both the Nittany Lions and the Ducks, which effectively ends their playoff runs. No two-loss team has ever been invited to the playoff, and for that to happen this year, the team would have to be a conference champion, and we’d need some late chaos around the other conferences. Additionally, Oregon could still win the Pac-12, but Penn State has no chance to be a conference champ.

So what’s the larger impact of Penn State’s and Oregon’s losses?

Penn State coach James Franklin  (Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports)

Behind Ohio State, LSU and Clemson — assuming the top-3 teams win out — it means that remaining fourth playoff spot will some down to Alabama, Oklahoma or Baylor and Utah.

Also, the Big Ten’s chance to go from having no teams in the last two years to two teams in is over. For a while, it seemed like the Nittany Lions could join Ohio State in the playoff if the right scenario played out, but Penn State needed to beat the Buckeyes for that to happen.

For Oregon, the loss hurts the Pac-12 in the eyes of everyone else, as it tries to push for a serious playoff contender.

But the good news is it still has Utah, which is 10-1, No. 6 in the latest playoff rankings and has a shot to win the conference title game. It still will have to beat Oregon, which isn’t looking quite as good as it was a couple weeks ago, but it might be hard to deny a one-loss Pac-12 team a shot at the playoff.

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NCAA upholds postseason ban for Mizzou football

The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) still have a chance to finish with an even .500 record this fall, but the team won’t be playing for a bowl game the day after Thanksgiving after the NCAA Tuesday upheld its postseason ban for the program.

The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) still have a chance to finish with an even .500 record this fall, but the team won’t be playing for a bowl game the day after Thanksgiving after the NCAA Tuesday upheld its postseason ban for the program.

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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Wisconsin kicker’s wild 62-yard field goal is the longest of 2019 season

What a kick!

Why not try to kick a field goal with a four-point lead and two seconds left in the first half? Credit to Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst for going for it in that situation against Purdue on Saturday.

The Badgers were up, 21-17, with a drive that started on their own 27-yard line with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter. They moved up the field quickly, and with only a couple seconds left, they could have taken a knee or kicked a field goal.

Thankfully, they chose the latter, and senior kicker Zach Hintze stepped up. He narrowly made the kick, but it was good nonetheless. And just, wow.

The Badgers entered the break with a 24-17 lead over Purdue.

Going into Week 13’s games, four players were tied for the longest field goal of the season at 57 yards. But now, Hintze stands alone at the top of that category.

It wasn’t, however, the longest field goal in college football history. That honor goes to Ove Johansson, who kicked a 69-yarder for Abilene Christian University, now an FCS team, in 1976, as NCAA.com noted earlier this year.

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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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Chase Young is back to stunning college football fans after dominating Penn State

Chase Young’s return did not disappoint.

Chase Young returned to the field for Ohio State on Saturday in the Buckeyes’ 28-17 home win over Penn State, and he made quite the statement as he helped his team clinch the Big Ten East.

Young served a two-game suspension for violating the NCAA’s arbitrary rules regarding a small loan he received (and paid back) reportedly so his girlfriend could travel to Pasadena to see Ohio State play in the Rose Bowl.

Prior to the suspension for the Buckeyes’ games against Maryland and Rutgers, Young was in the Heisman Trophy conversation. And based on his performance against the Nittany Lions, that suspension might not and should not keep him from being a finalist.

Young entered Saturday’s game second in the nation with 13.5 sacks on the season. And with his three sacks against Penn State to bring his total to 16.5, he broke the school’s single-season sacks record. He passed Vernon Gholston’s record of 14.0 from 2007, and, again, this is after Young missed two games this season.

He also had nine total tackles, five solo and four for loss, and two forced fumbles in the Buckeyes’ Week 13 win.

Ohio State fans were thrilled to have him back on the field for a big win, and college football fans in general returned to being in total awe of possibly the best player in the country this season. And NFL fans are practically drooling over him.

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Western Carolina QB had the saddest sequence in unequal matchup vs. Alabama

This had the potential to be awesome, until it didn’t.

This could have been a good play. It could have been a wildly wacky play. Instead, it was a terribly sad play that summarizes what FCS teams must feel like playing one of the best in the FBS.

The Western Carolina Catamounts took on Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, and it went exactly as you might expect. The Crimson Tide had a 38-0 lead at the half, and in the first 10 minutes, they kicked a field goal, scored a 57-yard touchdown when quarterback Mac Jones connected with wide receiver DeVonta Smith and had an 81-yard pick six against Catamounts quarterback Tyrie Adams thanks to defensive back Xavier McKinney.

But to its credit, Western Carolina had a couple solid moments but just couldn’t come close to sustaining them. And even if their fans got their hopes up watching the beginning of this play from Adams, their excitement was quickly crushed.

Early in the second quarter on 3rd-and-9 from Alabama’s 37-yard line as pressure closed in, Adams threw the ball, which was then batted down by McKinney. But rather than hitting the ground, it landed right back in Adams’ hands, and he took off running toward the left sideline.

But as McKinney tackled him, Adams fumbled, and it was recovered by defensive back Patrick Surtain II. The Crimson Tide scored on their next drive to take a 24-0 lead, capitalizing on one of three Western Carolina turnovers. Adams also threw two interceptions on back-to-back drives.

This game is in no way fair with Alabama being a 58-point favorite against a 3-8 team that’s eighth among nine Southern Conference squads.

But still, Adams’ accidental pass to himself looked like it could have evolved into something awesome, until it didn’t.

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Alabama football welcomes Tua Tagovailoa back to campus in sweet video

Tua Tagovailoa returned to campus Friday after having surgery on his hip for a season-ending injury.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa returned to Tuscaloosa after having “successful” hip surgery Monday in Houston, following a season-ending injury in the Crimson Tide’s win over Mississippi State last Saturday. He is expected to make a full recovery, but it’s possible that was the last time fans will see him playing in an Alabama uniform.

Tagovailoa greeted his teammates Friday ahead of their team dinner and game against Western Carolina on Saturday in Week 13. And they were thrilled to see him, along with coach Nick Saban, who even posed for a selfie with the recovering quarterback.

The Crimson Tide’s Twitter account shared a touching video of Tagovailoa’s return and his teammates’ reactions Friday night.

More via 247Sports.com:

“It was really good last night,” Saban said Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. “He came to the team dinner. He’s always very positive. Great spirit. Really good to have him back. He wanted to come to the game today, so we’ll see how that goes.”

Via Tagovailoa’s Instagram account

The Crimson Tide also decorated Tagovailoa’s scooter to give it a personal touch. The junior quarterback has documented much of the support he’s received on his Instagram stories.

Via Tagovailoa’s Instagram account
Via Tagovailoa’s Instagram account

With Tagovailoa out for the season, sophomore quarterback Mac Jones is stepping up as the starter. Jones also filled in against Arkansas when Tagovailoa was recovering from an ankle injury earlier this season.

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