Winners and Losers: College Football Week 13 (Rivalry Week)
(Photo by Junfu Han/Detroit Free Press/USA TODAY Network)
Winner: BIG BLUE (and the end of the Jim Harbaugh Curse)
Son of a gun, they finally did it.
Michigan has beaten Ohio State in a game of football, THE game of football.
The No. 5 Wolverines had lost eight straight and 15 out of the last 16 to the No. 2 Buckeyes, with head coach Jim Harbaugh never beating his dreaded Columbus rivals.
Like most of their wins, Michigan’s passing game did very little, with quarterback Cade McNamara throwing for just 159 yards and an interception.
The Ohio State defense let the Wolverines rack up 42 points, and UM running back Hassan Haskins scored five (!!) touchdowns along with 169 yards.
Michigan has won the Big Ten East and will play for their first Big Ten title since 2004, and, with a win, their first national title since 1997.
The Buckeyes had won 26-straight Big Ten games, including 21 in a row over ranked Big Ten teams.
OSU quarterback C.J. Stroud performed well in the loss, throwing for 394 yards, two touchdowns and no picks.
Big Blue is back.
(Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Loser: The UTSA Roadrunner’s Perfect Season
The most painful news of the weekend was the true Cinderella of the 2021 college football season finally not fitting into the glass slipper.
The UTSA Roadrunners lost for the first time all season in their final game, falling 45-23 to 5-6 North Texas.
UTSA had three quarterbacks go under center, all of which failed. None threw for over 100 yards and they combined for 12/27 passing, 161 yards, and one touchdown.
Rushing did well, with 205 yards on 35 carries, plus a touchdown, but the defense is the main reason this game was lost.
North Texas had two running backs rush for over 100 yards, and both scored multiple times. The Mean Green rushed for 340 yards on 60 total carries, scoring six times.
The loss still earns UTSA their greatest season of all time, finishing at 11-1 and surely earning the top bowl in the Conference USA, assuming they beat Western Kentucky next week for the conference crown.
The epitome of brutality.
(Photo by Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports)
Winner: The Inevitability of Alabama Football
It seems like every season, Alabama finds a way.
This year is no different.
The No. 3-ranked Crimson Tide pulled off a wild win at Auburn in the annual Iron Bowl, and the game was arguably an instant classic for the series.
Auburn took a 10-0 lead over the first three quarters, defensively stifling Alabama. The Tigers had five sacks in the first quarter, the most Alabama head coach Nick Saban has ever allowed in that time frame.
Alabama crawled back, scoring 10-straight in the fourth to tie the game with 24 seconds to go, forcing the first-ever overtime in the Iron Bowl’s 86 total meetings.
Each team traded off touchdowns and then field goals to force triple-overtime. The new college football rules show that both teams have a two-point conversion battle after the second overtime until one team fails to score and another does.
Both scored in the third, but a Bryce Young completion to John Metchie III sealed the win for Alabama.
The Tide now roll to Atlanta to face off against No. 1 Georgia, a game where for the first time in over a decade, Alabama will likely be the underdog in a postseason matchup.
(Photo by Joe Hermitt // Penn Live, Patriot-News)
Loser: James Franklin and Penn State
Oh, James.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have regressed into a good-but-not-great program ever since their 2017 Rose Bowl loss to USC.
PSU still went 11-2 in 2017 but failed to repeat as Big Ten East or overall champs. The Nittany Lions sank to 9-4 in 2018, back up to 11-2 in 2019, collapsing to 4-5 last season, and now 7-5 this year.
The Nittany Lions have yet to reach the Big Ten title game more than once under James Franklin, and this season may be one of the most disappointing, as they lost to every major Big Ten East opponent and the Big Ten West champions (Iowa).
Rewarded for this year’s mediocrity, Franklin earned a decade-long contract, getting paid at least $7 million every year until 2031.
So get used to him, Penn State fans. He’s your guy.
(Photo by Jack Wallace // Sports Illustrated)
Winner: The Top of the ACC
The best of the ACC fared pretty well this weekend, despite the conference’s weaknesses over the 2021 season.
No. 23 Clemson absolutely annihilated in-state rivals South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl, beating them down 30-0 in their first shutout in the series since 1989. The Tigers have now beaten the Gamecocks seven times in a row.
No. 20 NC State edged by North Carolina in a Tobacco State rivalry matchup. This win is the Wolfpack’s 9th, their first nine-win season since 2018, and potentially their first 10-win season since 2002.
NC State scored two touchdowns in the final 1:35, despite UNC having a 99.9% chance to win with two minutes to go. The Wolfpack scored on a 64-yard bomb, followed up by an onside kick recovery and a 24-yard passing score.
No. 17 Pittsburgh, the 2021 ACC Coastal champions, clobbered Syracuse in the Carrier Dome 31-14, cementing their first 10-win season since 1981.
No. 18 Wake Forest cruised by Boston College, 41-10, and earned their first ACC Atlantic title since 2006.
Now the bottom of the ACC, they can be forgotten.
(Photo by Ian Maule / ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Loser: Oklahoma’s Big 12 Dominance
Finally, finally, finally. Oklahoma falls.
Now the Sooners still won 10 games, but their routine of running through the Big 12 is no longer a lock.
No. 8 Baylor (10-2, tiebreaker over OU) and No. 7 Oklahoma State (11-1) will face off in Arlington for the Big 12 crown, the first time Oklahoma will not be present since the Big 12 title game’s inception in 2017.
The game that lost it? Falling 37-33 at OK State, the first win for the Cowboys in tha annual series since 2014.
The Pokes scored 14-unanswered in the fourth quarter after giving up a safety and fumble touchdown in the third. Oklahoma’s high-octane offense was shut out in the second half.
OU’s quarterback Caleb Williams still put up 252 yards and three touchdowns, no interceptions, in the loss.
Oklahoma has won six-straight Big 12 titles, and Oklahoma State will play for their first title since 2011.
Minus the dominance of UGA, this year has been *almost* as wild as the 2007 season.