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Overreacting to everything I saw.
College Football

10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 12 in the SEC

Chris Wright

By Chris Wright

Published:

Indiana didn’t even play in Week 12, yet the Hoosiers dominated headlines all week.

Thank the Playoff selection committee for that.

For the Hoosiers (and that silly committee), reality awaits in Week 13.

Reality arrived Saturday for Missouri, Boise State haters and especially LSU.

Those are just some of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 12 in and around the SEC.

10. Thank goodness for Playoff expansion, right?

I laughed at the 2nd set of Playoff rankings.

How could you not?

Indiana finally played an “average team” with at least some NFL-type size … and Curt Cignetti’s high-flying offense suddenly looked like Iowa under Brian Ferentz.

IU set season-lows in the following (and probably a few others not included):

  • Fewest touchdowns: 2 (IU scored at least 4 vs. everybody else)
  • Fewest points: 20 (previous low was 31)
  • Fewest yards: 246 (bit less than the 701 vs. W. Illinois, eh?)
  • Fewest rushing yards: 40 (120+ vs. everybody else)
  • Fewest explosive rushing plays: 1 (IU had led the B1G with 55 runs of 10+ yards)

Forget comparing IU to Texas, which manhandled a still-optimistic Michigan team 31-12 at the Big House in Week 2. Or Oregon, which did even more damage in another House invasion. Those aren’t fair comps for a team like IU; they’re cruel.

Compare IU to average. IU scored fewer points vs. Michigan than USC … and Minnesota … and Washington … and Illinois did — and the Hoosiers were playing at home.

The Playoff committee probably watched it unfold? Maybe? Hard to tell. They responded to the Hoosiers’ nearly flunking their first pop quiz by moving them up 3 spots to No. 5 in Tuesday’s poll.

Hysterical.

But here’s what nearly made me spit out my tea …

Can you imagine if we were still stuck in the 4-team era of yesteryear, staring at the prospect of this 4-team field?

  • No. 1 Oregon: 13-0 Pac-12 champion
  • No. 2 Ohio State: 13-0 Big Ten champion after beating, what, a 7-5 Iowa team in the Big Ten title game?
  • No. 3 Texas: 12-1 Big 12 champion
  • No. 4 Penn State: 11-1
  • No. 5 Indiana: 11-1
  • No. 6 BYU: 12-1 if it beat Texas in Big 12 title game to take the Longhorns’ Playoff spot.

The highest-ranked team from “last year’s SEC” is No. 7 Tennessee, and the Vols just lost to Georgia — guaranteeing that at least 1 2-loss team will make the SEC Championship Game.

Fortunately, this is nothing more than a fun exercise in pointing out how ridiculous the 4-team format was to begin with.

We have 12 teams now, finally — at least 3 of which will come from the SEC, and most likely 4.

Indiana could be 1 of them in the field, sure, but let’s not pretend they deserve to host a first-round game.

9. However, a Playoff game in the snow would be epic …

The 4-team Playoff produced plenty of drama, but it largely avoided any outcomes impacted or decided by the elements.

Sure, a few games were played in the rain, but nobody had to go 80 yards through snow, howling winds or a combination thereof to lock up a spot in the title game or win it all.

This year? Stay tuned …

It’s ridiculous that Boise State already isn’t in the top 8, but there’s a chance it climbs to the No. 8 spot, which means it would host a first-round game on Dec. 20 or 21. Bundle up and prepare for temperatures in the 30s.

There’s a better chance Ohio State, Indiana or Penn State claims an at-large bid and is ranked high enough to host a first-round game.

Weather is the only thing less predictable than the Playoff committee’s choice of what matters most this week, but those night games could be played in the snow, with temps in the 20s.

(I mean, there’s a reason the Big Ten has held its championship game every year in a dome … 3 weeks earlier.)

To be honest, I’m all for it.

The thought of a warm-weather program bundled up and playing football in snow for the first time, on that stage? QBs who have never even thought about wearing gloves, suddenly learning how to throw with them in real time?

It might not be pretty, but it would be fun to watch.

And all the more reason to win your conference title game and avoid an unnecessary and potentially dangerous hurdle.

8. No, Mizzou, you’re not a Playoff team … is South Carolina?

Poor Eli Drinkwitz.

After last week’s win against Oklahoma, the Mizzou coach defended his backup quarterback who fueled the win and then went all in, dropping this pearl of wisdom:

Mizzou wasn’t in the Playoff hunt, of course, but for those still playing along, South Carolina removed all doubt Saturday, rallying for a thrilling 34-30 win to hand Mizzou its 3rd loss.

There has been a growing buzz about whether a 9-3 Gamecocks team could sneak in as the final at-large Playoff team.

Well, the Gamecocks are 7-3 now with in-state games against Wofford and Clemson remaining.

Unless Notre Dame loses again — thus opening another at-large bid — it’s almost impossible to imagine any viable Playoff path for the Gamecocks.

That’s a shame, too, considering the Gamecocks are legitimately 2 stops (and a couple of horrendous calls) from being 9-1 inside the top 10 of the Playoff ranking.

Wonder if the committee takes botched calls into account?

Either way, take a bow, Shane Beamer.

7. Angry Kirby is the best Kirby (rinse, repeat)

Part of what made Nick Saban so dominant for so long is the man refused to lose 2 games in a row.

Kirby Smart paid attention.

The Playoff committee wrote off Georgia after the Dawgs lost to Ole Miss last week — because if we’ve learned anything from Danny Kanell it’s this: All losses are the same, Paaawwlll!

And Georgia has lost twice!

Laughably, the Dawgs were the Unlucky Dog — the first team out in Tuesday’s Playoff poll.

You knew what was coming Saturday: Course correction.

Georgia hasn’t lost back-to-back games since 2018, when it lost the SEC title game to Alabama and then dropped a who-cares-now? Sugar Bowl to Texas.

Saturday, the Dawgs rebounded from a slow start to hammer Tennessee and make an emphatic Playoff statement.

Pick who you want. There aren’t 6 better teams in America than Georgia, much less 12.

6. Florida is going to a bowl game …

The Gators picked up their 5th — and most unlikely — victory Saturday, knocking off No. 22 LSU.

They need 1 more win to qualify for a bowl, but go ahead and block out a few days in late December. No matter what happens next weekend at Ole Miss, the Gators will clinch bowl eligibility on Thanksgiving weekend at rival FSU.

How they got from Billy Napier’s final hours to the verge of is … interesting.

Napier deserves a lot of credit. His players clearly never stopped fighting for him.

But don’t give him all of the credit. I’m not sure Saturday night happens if Graham Mertz stays healthy and Napier isn’t forced to give DJ Lagway full control of the offense and the team’s direction.

Lagway and Jadan Baugh, a pair of elite freshmen, have fueled Florida’s turnaround after spending most of the first half of the season watching upperclassmen largely underachieve.

Ultimately, nobody cares how the sausage is made, as long as it tastes great.

Florida is cookin’ right now.

5. Oh, no, you didn’t go there …

4. Predicting the SEC’s 4 Playoff teams

1. Alabama, 2. Ole Miss, 3. Georgia, 4. Texas A&M

You want Texas? Fine. The Longhorns outlasted Arkansas, but they weren’t overly impressive.

Let the committee nitpick. Texas and Texas A&M close the season; they’ll settle this the old-fashioned way: on the field. I’m going with Texas A&M to win at home and get to the SEC title game for the first time.

Speaking of which …

3. 2-loss SEC team drama …

The SEC Championship pairing will be incredibly simple … or deliciously complex.

Nobody likes boring. Let’s root for chaos.

Because Georgia beat Tennessee, we are guaranteed to have a 6-2 team in the SEC title game.

Which one? Grab a calculator, you’re going to need it. (And we might get 2 if A&M or Texas lose next week before their showdown.)

It’s possible, if not likely, that 5 teams finish with a 6-2 record.

Here’s the most likely path to joining Georgia at 6-2:

  • Texas A&M (5-1) — beat Auburn, lose to Texas
  • Texas (5-1) — beat Kentucky, lose to Texas A&M
  • Tennessee (5-2) — beat Vanderbilt
  • Ole Miss (4-2): beat Florida and Mississippi State
  • Alabama (4-2): beat Oklahoma and Auburn

Now we know why the SEC waited until the last second possible before announcing the tiebreaker procedures.

2. Here’s your Heisman moment …

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1857855926524428695

2b. Auburn, all of this could have been yours

Not sure if Tigers fans or administrators want to hear this, but everything that is happening at Colorado — nonstop national media coverage, immeasurable economic impact, pending Heisman Trophy celebration, likely Playoff berth — could have happened on The Plains had the Tigers had the foresight to hire Deion Sanders 2 years ago.

Oops.

1. Indiana extends Curt Cignetti for 8 years …

Honestly, this is the overreaction of the year.

Smart on Cignetti and his agent to get it signed the week before traveling to Ohio State, though.

Chris Wright
Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.

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