The College Football Playoff teams are essentially set, at least the theory for who will make it is set. The winner of Michigan-Ohio State, the Pac-12 champ, Florida State and the SEC champion (probably Georgia) are the likely four teams that will be competing for a national championship.
However, chaos can still ensue. The Pac-12 can easily cannibalize itself to miss out on another playoff, Georgia could lose in the SEC championship to a two-loss SEC West team, Florida State could get upset with a relatively weaker schedule late and Michigan and Ohio State can play a really close game where neither team looks much better than the other.
The tenth week of football was a good one, but chaos did not reign supreme, just not yet. High-scoring offense highlighted the week, at least nearly everywhere but Pullman and Chicago.
WSU vs. Stanford
What a disappointing stretch for WSU football. It has been harped on social media and in WSU circles, but going from 4-0 to 4-5 is as bad as it gets in the last season of the Pac-12. Scoring just a single touchdown against Stanford is not the most promising outcome, but it gets much worse the more you dive into the stats.
Four total yards of rushing offense, 33% success rate on third downs, 3.8 yards per play, six punts, an interception thrown, five penalties for 60 yards. Fans knew it was going to be an ugly game, given the rain, but the Cougs blew those expectations out of the water in the wrong way.
WSU will be favored to beat Cal and Colorado, or at least they would have been five weeks ago, so a bowl game is not out of the question. But, with how this team has looked since playing UCLA, it would be a saving grace to win two more games.
Alabama vs. LSU
LSU was hanging on a thread to make the College Football Playoff. With two losses already coming into their bout with the Crimson Tide, a big win and an SEC Championship victory over Georgia likely would give them the nod with the committee’s infatuation with the Conference.
Jalen Milroe and Alabama had other plans, though. Milroe passed for 219 yards through the air but did a lot of his damage on the ground, rushing for 155 yards on just 20 carries, scoring the ball four times with his legs. In his best performance all season, his dual-threat capabilities were on full display in a big 42-28 win.
Washington vs. USC
Another week, another win for the Huskies where it came down to the last 15 minutes. Expectedly, these two teams were locked in a shootout where a single defensive stop felt like it could be the difference.
Michael Penix Jr. finished with 256 yards and two TDs, but through a pick, while Caleb Williams finished with a better performance, going for 312 yards and three TDs.
Dillon Johnson carried the UW offense, rushing for 256 yards on nearly 10 yards a carry and four TDs. He dominated a horrible USC defense but the Huskies defense left a lot to be desired out on the field. Giving up 11.5 yards a carry to the Trojan’s Austin Jones, UW’s flaws grow bigger and bigger with each passing week.
With the Huskies playing Utah and Oregon State in the coming weeks, the thought of the Pac-12 losing their only undefeated team left is not out of the question.
Georgia vs. Missouri
The Bulldogs keep finding ways to win. Dec. 4, 2021, was the date of the last time this football team lost a game. That is not to say they have not been in close games, but it is to say that they always get the job done.
Their suffocating defense intercepted Missouri QB Brady Cook twice and got in the backfield several times to disrupt his timing. While Georgia’s offense played efficiently and did not turn the ball over, they showed signs of some pitfalls in the first half.
Oklahoma State vs. Oklahoma
For the final time for the foreseeable future, the battle of Oklahoma. With the Sooners coming in a playoff contender, they were heavily favored to win it, but Oklahoma State had other plans. A huge 27-24 win is a beautiful bookend to this rivalry as it stands, with the Cowboys getting the last laugh.
Ollie Gordon ran the ball 33 times for 137 yards and two TDs, proving to be a dominant workhorse back who did more than enough to get the win. Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel threw for 344 yards but had just one TD and threw an interception.
Not only did Oklahoma State win bragging rights, they likely knocked the Sooners completely out of playoff contention, exactly the perfect ending for the game.
