The weekend of Thanksgiving is all about rivalry on the college football field. And yet again they delivered for fans in 2019.
The Iron Bowl stole the show for many when Auburn held off No. 5 Alabama for the win at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Crimson Tide fall from the one-loss ranks while other teams in the group like Oklahoma and Utah emerged victorious on Saturday.
While LSU crushed Texas A&M at night, Ohio State made another case for No. 1 with its afternoon performance in “The Game.” The Buckeyes rose to No. 1 1 in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings, but LSU held on to the top spot in other polls.
With another week gone and conference championships up next, college football coaches across the country submitted their new top 25 ballots .
Check out the new top 25 Below.
LSU heads into the SEC Championship Game with an undefeated record after a 50 – 7 blowout of Texas A&M. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase again impressed when it comes to award conversations. Burrow threw for three touchdowns and 352 yards in his final home game. Chase went for 197 yards and two touchdowns of his own , which puts him at 1, 260 and 15 on the season. Next up? Georgia. ************************
How many Heisman finalists does Ohio State have? In a – 27 victory over rival Michigan, it was the Justin Fields and JK Dobbins show for the Buckeyes. Fields threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in his first appearance in The Game, while Dobbins went for 211 and four of his own. He now has 366 yards and five career touchdowns against Michigan, and Saturday puts him right in the conversation for the Heisman ceremony with teammates Fields and Chase Young as well as former teammate Joe Burrow.
Another perfect regular season for coach Dabo Swinney. The rival South Carolina Gamecocks never stood a chance either in what was a 38 – 3 final score. Trevor Lawrence was the star of the show offensively. His 65 – yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins was one of the throws of the year. Lawrence finished with 295 passing yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers await Virginia in the ACC Championship Game.
The Bulldogs keep themselves in the top four with a 52 – 7 rivalry win over Georgia Tech. Coach Kirby Smart has some questions to answer at the offensive skill positions before LSU given the injury situation and an ejection yesterday for George Pickens. But yesterday, Georgia won big. Quarterback Jake Fromm completed less than half of his pass attempts but still went for 254 yards and tour touchdowns in the win.
The Utes lock up their spot in the Pac – 12 title game, and gain steam in the College Football Playoff rankings debate. Would a win Friday over Oregon be enough to get Utah in the field? To get there, Utah took down Colorado 45 – 15 on Saturday night. Quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 82 3 percent of his passes with two touchdowns, and the defenses held star Laviska Shenault to 68 yards from scrimmage.
6. Oklahoma 11 – 1)– Kennedy Brooks and Jalen Hurts combined for 221 rushing yards and two touchdowns in a 34 – 16 Bedlam victory over Oklahoma State. The Sooners defense delivered, and must do so again in a highly-anticipated rematch with Baylor for the Big 12 Championship. The debate wages between Utah and Oklahoma for a potential fourth playoff spot.
7. Florida (10 – 2)– The Gators defeat rival Florida State 40 – 17 behind three touchdown passes from quarterback Kyle Trask in a big performance. The win snaps a four-game home losing streak to Florida State and marks two 10 – win seasons in a row for Dan Mullen since he became head coach. Florida finishes second in the division behind Georgia and both losses this season have been against teams projected for the College Football Playoff.
8. Baylor (11 – 1)–On fire since the loss to Oklahoma, Baylor gets its shot for revenge and a chance to make one more statement to the playoff committee in an upcoming rematch with the Sooners. Saturday afternoon, Baylor blew out Kansas 61 – 6 with seven rushing touchdowns from five different players.
9. Alabama 10 – 2)– With the most penalties ever committed under Nick Saban in the process, the Crimson Tide los the Iron Bowl 48 – 45 to the Auburn Tigers. The loss eliminates Alabama from playoff consideration in a shocking ending. Alabama missed a potential game-tying field goal off the post in the final two minutes and the put too many men on the field to allow Auburn to run out the clock. Jaylen Waddle still had a stellar game with 230 combined receiving and return yards and Four touchdowns. ********
10. Wisconsin (10 – 2)– With a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line, Wisconsin not only beat Minnesota, but pushed it to borderline blowout status, 38 – 17 with College GameDay in Minneapolis. Star running back Jonathan Taylor scored twice, and the Badgers should climb significantly tomorrow night in the updated College Football Playoff rankings.
11. Penn State 10 – 2)– Three Journey Brown rushing touchdowns and a strong defensive showing helped Penn State make up for the loss of Sean Clifford. In a 27 – 6 victory on Senior Day, Penn State’s defense let Rutgers compile 384 yards of offense, but kept the Scarlet Knights out of the end zone. James Franklin has his third 10 – win season in four years.
12. Auburn (9-3)– What a game. Auburn wins 48 – 45 against rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl, and Gus Malzahn picks up his third head-to-head victory against Nick Saban. Auburn’s defense had no answer for Jaylen Waddle for most of the game, but came up when needed. A batted-down third-down pass forced Alabama to kick a field goal in the red zone. And the miss from 30 yards out sends the Tigers into celebration mode.
13. Oregon 10 – 2)– It came down to a late fumble recovery, but the Ducks hang on for a 24 – 10 victory over rival Oregon State and its backup quarterback . After weeks of dominant performances, Oregon heads into the Pac – (Championship Game with two shaky showings in a row.)
14. Notre Dame (10 – 2)– The Fighting Irish win it 45 – 24 thanks to a big day for Ian Book. The veteran Notre Dame quarterback put up four touchdowns and 255 yards in a victory over Stanford. Two of those went to star receiver Chase Claypool, who finished with 63 yards.
15. Minnesota 10 – 2) – PJ Fleck and the Gophers were a breakout team in college football, but a 38 – 17 loss to Wisconsin sees the program fall short of its championship aspirations. The dangerous receiver duo of Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman combined for 14 catches, 236 yards and two touchdowns but it was not enough.
16. Memphis 11 – 1)–Big win for Mike Norvell, whose Memphis Tigers take down No . 19 Cincinnati, 34 – 24, and advance to the conference championship game. Quarterback Brady White fed Damonte Coxie all day. White hit Coxie six times for 145 yards and a touchdown in the win. ********
17. Boise State 11 – 1)– The Broncos held off Colorado State in a 31 – 24 victory that locks up a perfect season in conference play. A Jaylon Henderson touchdown run in the fourth quarter was the difference. Henderson also threw for two touchdowns in a 253 – yard performance for Boise State.
18. Michigan (9-3)– While a fan base hungry for a win has a different opinion, a loss to Ohio State does not hurt much in the eyes of the coaches. The Buckeyes add Michigan to the list of victims in 2019 with a 56 – 27 final score. Shea Patterson had some hot moments at quarterback, but finishes with an 18 – for – (day, one touchdown and one interception.)
19. Iowa (9-3)) – Keith Duncan comes up big yet again. This time the Iowa Hawkeye kicker drilled a 48 – yard field goal for a 27 – 24 victory over Nebraska. Duncan finishes the season with an impressive 29 – for – 34 mark on field goals, including the game winner against Nebraska.********
20. Appalachian State 11 – 1)– In a 48 – 13 blowout of Troy, Appalachian State got big performances from both stars on offense. Quarterback Zac Thomas accounted for five total touchdowns and 326 passing yards. Tailback Darrynton Evans compiled 109 yards and three touchdowns from ********
21. Cincinnati (10 – 2)– The Bearcats lose their first conference game of 2019, but get a chance for revenge soon enough in the conference championship game. Cincinnati has two losses this season, one to Memphis Friday evening and the other came back in September against Ohio State.
22. Virginia (9-3)– The Cavaliers return to the rankings and clinch the ACC Coastal Division with a 39 – 30 Friday victory over rival Virginia Tech. Bryce Perkins had a combined 475 passing and rushing yards, as UVA outscored the Hokies 19 – 3 in the fourth quarter.
23. Navy (9-2)– A great turnaround year continues for the Midshipmen and coach Ken Niumatalolo. Thanks to a 56 – 41 win at Houston, Navy has eyes on a 10 – win season if it can end a three-game losing streak to Jeff Monken in the Army-Navy rivalry.
24. USC (8-4)) – The Trojans did not play this week after a win over UCLA ended the regular season. There will be no Pac – 12 title game for USC or coach Clay Helton because of Utah’s win over Colorado.
25. Air Force 10 – 2)– The Falcons get ranked after a 20 – 6 victory over Wyoming ends the regular season.
Others Receiving Votes: (Southern Methodist) ; Oklahoma State 40; Kansas State 24; UL Lafayette 21; Indiana 14; Hawaii 7; Central Florida 7; Arizona State 6; Tennessee 3; San Diego State 3; Iowa State 3; Virginia Tech 2; Temple 1.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings