As promised, a busy Saturday has cleared up the crowded race for the College Football Playoff.
\nGames in the Big Ten and ACC have also \u2026<\/b>
\nAs promised, a busy Saturday has cleared up the crowded race for the College Football Playoff. Games in the Big Ten and ACC have also impacted the New Year’s Six landscape, as teams once in contention for the national semifinals now shift their sights to one of the premier non-playoff bowls. Beginning with Ohio State’s eye-opening destruction of Michigan State, here’s the fallout from one of the defining weekends of the regular season: C.J. Stroud has gone from the background of the Heisman Trophy conversation into the driver’s seat after a seven-week stretch of superb play capped by his bonkers box score against the No.8 Spartans: 32 completions in 35 attempts for 432 yards and six touchdowns, all achieved before taking a seat in the third quarter. The No.4 Buckeyes scored 49 points in the first half to send shockwaves through the Big Ten and scuttle any shot Michigan State had of completing a magical playoff berth under second-year coach Mel Tucker. Don’t look so surprised. Four different quarterbacks attempted at least one pass \u2014 including JT Daniels, who threw for 73 yards and a score \u2014 star defensive tackle Jordan Davis had a 1-yard rushing touchdown and No.1 Georgia whipped Charleston Southern 56-7 to remain unbeaten in advance of the rivalry game against Georgia Tech. (The final score next Saturday should be about the same.) With Clemson’s 48-27 win against No.12 Wake Forest, the ACC will fail to send a team into the national semifinals for the first time in the history of the playoff format. The Tigers‘ offense flashed after months of mediocrity, scoring more than 30 points for the first time against Power Five competition and going for 543 yards, with 333 coming on the ground. But equal credit should go to a defense that held Wake to just 36 yards on 31 carries and harassed quarterback Sam Hartman. After losing ugly to Baylor last Saturday, the No.11 Sooners rebounded to gut out a 28-21 win against Iowa State. The victory keeps Oklahoma in the playoff mix, if tenuously, and sets up one of the biggest meetings in the history of the Bedlam rivalry in next weekend’s game at No.9 Oklahoma State. However, the win featured another dismal passing performance from freshman quarterback Caleb Williams, who hit on 8 of 18 throws but added a 74-yard touchdown run.<\/p>\n