TCU, LSU headline conference title fallout
Winners TCU
The big fear for the Horned Frogs coming out of the narrow 31-28 Big 12 championship game loss to Kansas State wasn’t whether they’d be jumped by Ohio State but whether the committee would give Alabama the benefit of the doubt at the Frogs’ expense. By keeping TCU at No. 3, the committee avoided making a historically bad decision that would’ve cast a dark cloud over the entire selection process. Better yet, TCU wasn’t docked for losing to one of the nation’s best teams – another very good decision by the committee – and will take a shot at exploiting a Michigan pass defense that has given up 715 yards through the air on 7.5 yards per attempt in the past two games.
Kansas State
The Wildcats’ first conference championship since 2013 sets the table for bigger success in the future under coach Chris Klieman. Sparked by quarterback Will Howard, who went unbeaten as the starter after replacing Adrian Martinez in November, Kansas State avenged this year’s earlier loss to TCU. In the end, the Wildcats were held out of the playoff debate due to the 17-10 loss to No. 18 Tulane during non-conference play.
Michigan
No. 2 Michigan will sail into the playoff as the second seed after taking apart Purdue in the Big Ten championship game. Without running back Blake Corum, out for the rest of the year with an injury, the Wolverines leaned on Donovan Edwards, who ran for 185 yards and a score after setting a career high with 216 yards in the win against No. 5 Ohio State. The 43-22 win also included a solid but not spectacular game from J.J. McCarthy: 11 completions in 17 throws for 161 yards and three TDs. Back-toback Big Ten champions for the first time since 2003-04, Michigan has entered a new stratosphere under coach Jim Harbaugh and must be seen as Georgia’s biggest threat for the title.
Tulane
The Green Wave are headed to the Cotton Bowl after beating No. 23 Central Florida 45-28 to complete a remarkable turnaround and win the American Athletic. After winning just two games in 2021, Tulane lost just twice during the regular season: by a field goal to Southern Mississippi and a touchdown to UCF. In addition to beating the Kansas State and Knights, the Green Wave added wins against another five bowl teams in Houston, East Carolina, Memphis, SMU and Cincinnati. This success made coach Willie Fritz one of the top contenders for the Georgia Tech job, which eventually went to interim coach Brent Key. Keeping Fritz on the sideline is a huge win for Tulane.
Troy
In another year, Troy might’ve been the Group of Five’s representative in the New Year’s Six. The Trojans will settle for one of the best years during the program’s Bowl Subdivision existence after romping over Coastal Carolina 45-26 for the Sun Belt championship. While Troy had shared the conference crown in 2010 and 2017, this is the Trojans’ first outright since the 2009 team ran the table in league play.
Ohio State
As a gift for making the playoff, OSU gets to face off with the defending national champion Georgia – an opponent that does what Michigan does, only better. Last time we saw the Buckeyes, they were getting stampeded by the Wolverines’ physical style; the Bulldogs might do the same and then some. But there’s a pretty good track record among the previous three teams that backdoored into the playoff:
⬤ 2016 Ohio State was blanked by Clemson 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl.
⬤ 2017 Alabama beat Clemson 24-6 in the Sugar Bowl and then topped Georgia 26-23 in overtime in the championship game.
⬤ And last year’s Bulldogs lost the SEC championship game to Alabama before beating Michigan 34-11 in the Orange and defeating the Crimson Tide 33-18 in the rematch.
Sometimes, these late-season losses can force teams to exhale, take a step back and re-evaluate things heading into postseason play. After a somewhat sloppy but still effective regular season, the Buckeyes could be recharged by the loss to Michigan.
Losers LSU
All of the intrigue surrounding the SEC championship game was erased by the Tigers’ loss last Saturday to Texas A&M, leaving No. 1 Georgia entrenched in the playoff win or lose and LSU competing for the New Year’s Six, not the top four. Playing for seeding and the chance to avoid another loss in the championship game, the Bulldogs stepped out to a 35-7 lead in the second quarter and strolled to a 50-30 win. The loss held LSU out of one of the major bowls, sending the Tigers to the Citrus Bowl.
Alabama
Nick Saban made the rounds Saturday across multiple networks to issue one final plea: Alabama lost two games on the final play against two elite teams, Tennessee and LSU, and were playing well at the end of the regular season. After all, he suggested, the playoff should be about which four teams can win the whole thing. A better option would’ve been to win one of those losses; the oneloss Crimson Tide were getting in ahead of Ohio State, but the two-loss option didn’t have the resume. Coming up short of the playoff leads into an intriguing offseason for the program, which could make staffing changes in addition to losing quarterback Bryce Young.