Ohio State, Clemson dispatch upstarts
The superpowers asserted themselves over the upstarts Saturday. In a season that has been dotted with upsets and surprises, the most talented teams are rising to the top.
No. 7 Michigan State and No. 13 Wake Forest have been good stories, but against No. 5 Ohio State and Clemson, they were outclassed.
In Columbus, Ohio, the day’s marquee matchup was over for all intents and purposes after about a quarter. The Buckeyes were up 49-0 at halftime on the Spartans behind a near-perfect performance by C.J. Stroud, who called it a day in the third quarter with 432 yards passing and a school-record six touchdown passes.
If there is an offense in the country that might have a chance to do more than just dent No. 1 Georgia’s ferocious defense, it might be the Buckeyes’.
“We have a high ceiling, and we’re still striving towards greatness,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.
Next up for the Buckeyes and their star studded offense is a trip to No. 8 Michigan, which looked ready against Maryland to try to break an eightgame losing streak in The Game.
That Oregon loss in September is a distant memory for Ohio State, which is victory away from a fifth straight Big Ten title game appearance. The Buckeyes have won the previous four.
In Death Valley, Clemson put together its best offensive performance of the season and slammed the door on the slightest glimmer of hope Wake Forest (9-2) and the Atlantic Coast Conference had to put a team in the College Football Playoff.
The Tigers (8-3) are too far gone to make the playoff for a seventh straight season, but suddenly their is hope to extend their streak of six of straight ACC titles. If Wake loses next week at Boston College and North Carolina State losses to North Carolina, Clemson is back in conference title game for a rematch against No. 20 Pitt.
Michigan State has had remarkable turnaround in year two under coach Mel Tucker, who is reportedly weighing a massive contract extension from the school because it believes he can build a program that can truly threaten Ohio State.
Michigan State learned Saturday there is still a long way to go.
Even if Wake were to stumble next week, this has been the Demon Deacons’ best season in more than a decade, clueing the rest of the country in on the nice job coach Dave Clawson has done at the smallest Power Five school in the country.
Still, Wake’s experienced roster and creative offense was no match for Clemson’s dudes, led by freshman running back Will Shipley.
The Tigers were the first team this season to hold the Demon Deacons under 35 points and extended their winning streak over Wake to 13. After a 2-2 start, Clemson has a path to New Year’s Six bowl.
“They’ve rallied and they battled,” coach Dabo Swinney said. “The foundation of our program has won the day for us.”
A foundation built on four straight top-10 recruiting classes.
In the Big 12, No. 12 Oklahoma has spent much of the season searching for its top form, but after bouncing back from last week’s loss behind five-star freshman Caleb Williams, the Sooners will head into Bedlam against No. 9 Oklahoma State positioned for a fifth straight conference title game appearance. OU has won each of the previous four.
In the SEC, No. 2 Alabama locked up its side of the conference against Arkansas, booking a spot in what figures to be a titanic championship game against Georgia.
If Stroud isn’t the leader in what has felt like a wide-open Heisman race, its probably the Tide’s Bryce Young. Alabama’s star first-year starter passed for a school-record 561 yards and five touchdowns against No. 21 Arkansas.
Before the season, there was a feeling of inevitability at the top of college football with four super teams (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma) dominating their conferences and Georgia trying to enter that conversation.
With Thanksgiving approaching, a season that at times seemed to be trending toward chaos is on the verge of falling into place largely as expected.
Bored Bearcats?
Maybe Cincinnati was just bored? The Bearcats caught a lot of flak over the last month for failing to hammer four straight second-division American Athletic Conference opponents.
Facing what was supposed to be one of the toughest tests on their schedule, the Bearcats unloaded on SMU with a do-it-all performance by Desmond Ridder.
Cincinnati’s most complete game of the season clinched a spot in the AAC title game against No. 17 Houston and should help bolster its College Football Playoff hopes.
The conference schedule maker did UC no favors.
The Bearcats play on the road on a short week, meeting East Carolina on Black Friday.
The Pirates improved to 7-4 on a 53-yard, walk-off field goal by freshman Owen Daffer, whose season-best had been 39 yards.
Bearcats best be on point.
AROUND THE COUNTRY
The rapid descent of Florida and coach Dan Mullen continued with an overtime loss at Missouri. The Gators will limp into a rivalry game against Florida State at 5-6. “The Florida football program is going to be here for a long time. It’s not about one game,” Mullen said. “Got to make the program better.” At 2-6, Florida has its fewest SEC wins since 1986 . ... The Seminoles come to Gainesville at 5-6, too, but feeling good about turning around their season after an 0-4 start. ... Notre Dame reached double-digit victories for a fifth straight season, an Irish record. You need to win a national title as a coach to get a statue at Notre Dame. Brian Kelly might never do that, but he has established a standard in South Bend that seemed to be unreachable for more than a decade before he arrived . ... On the way to putting up 62 points on rival USC, UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for signing an autograph for a fan after one of the six touchdowns he accounted for . ... No. 15 UTSA remained unbeaten and locked up a trip to the Conference USA title game with a wild last-second touchdown against UAB . ... After losing its sixth straight game, Texas has sole possession of ninth place in the Big 12 and owns a loss to the lone team behind it.