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College football fans faced no real surprises in the 12th week of the 2024 season.
Oregon handled a test from Big Ten Conference opponent Wisconsin, while Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Alabama and Notre Dame each took care of business.
The upset of the weekend came from Kansas as they held BYU to 13 points and won the game 17-13. It was the Cougars’ first loss of the season and added to the questions about just how good they are in an appreciably weaker Big 12 Conference.
Georgia also made a statement with its win over Tennessee. The Bulldogs were on the outside of the College Football Playoff bracket when last week’s rankings were released. Georgia is likely to be back in the field when the rankings are released again.
Here are some more winners and losers from the week.
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Winners
Kansas wide receivers Quentin Skinner, left, and Trevor Wilson celebrate a recovered fumble during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)
Florida: Well, the Florida Gators have at least bought into head coach Billy Napier. But the Gators did a solid for SEC teams still fighting for a spot in the conference title game. Saturday night in “The Swamp” turned into a nightmare for LSU in its 27-16 defeat, which was its third-consecutive loss. The Gators defense sacked Tigers QB Garrett Nussmeier seven times, making the Brian Kelly offense continue to look like a mess. Coming off a 49-17 curb-stomping last week against Texas, it was DJ Lagway that returned at QB and led Florida to the upset win. There are major problems in Baton Rouge and Gainesville. But this weekend, it was the Gators that took advantage of the situation, ending any chance the Tigers had of making the college football playoffs.
Kansas: For the second time in consecutive weeks, the Kansas Jayhawks caused havoc within the Big 12 by beating No. 6 BYU and handing the Cougars their first loss of the season, throwing a wrench into the conference title game picture. Last week, it was Jalon Daniels leading Kansas to a win over No. 17 Iowa State, and now he has done it again, beating ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in program history. Now Kansas needs to win its last two regular-season games to make a bowl. But as we’ve seen in the past two weeks, the Jayhawks don’t have a problem playing the role of “spoiler” in the conference.
Georgia: The 2024 season has been filled with ups and downs for Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. But on Saturday night against Tennessee, the senior quarterback delivered one of his better performances. Most importantly, he avoided turning the ball over. Beck finished the game with two touchdowns and helped lift the Bulldogs to a 31-17 win over the seventh-ranked Volunteers. The win was critical for Georgia because a third loss on the season would likely have ended the team’s hopes of making it to the College Football Playoff. Georgia still has some noticeable areas where they need to improve if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs, presuming the committee grants them a spot. However, head coach Kirby Smart has a championship pedigree, which could give the Bulldogs an advantage down the stretch.
Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter jokes with teammates as he waits with quarterback Shedeur Sanders to do a television interview after an NCAA college football game against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Colorado: Deion Sanders and company are just on the fringes of potentially qualifying for the expanded playoff, and they’ll need more wins like the one they got on Saturday against Utah to get there. With an offensive explosion and games against Kansas and Oklahoma State coming up, Sanders’ team needs to be at least as good as they were on Saturday to get there.
Ohio State: Ohio State has the inside track to get back to the Big 10 championship game. Their biggest challengers will be their next two games against a surprise underdog story in undefeated Indiana and a historic rival in Michigan, which has fallen well below the level of beating Ohio State the last three seasons. It’s all in front of the Buckeyes.
Losers
Tennessee: The Vols entered Saturday night’s game against Georgia controlling its own destiny when it came to the playoffs. But after Georgia defeated them 31-17, Tennessee must now rely on others to get them into the postseason. One of the biggest problems for this Josh Heupel football team is that the offense looks nothing like what we’ve come to expect, and not scoring in the second half will obviously lead to problems. It’s not as if Georgia is the top-tier team we’ve seen in year’s past, but Tennessee made Carson Beck look like a Heisman Trophy candidate with its defensive performance against the Bulldogs. This was one that the Vols needed, but after leading 10-0 in the first quarter, Georgia went on a 31-7 run to finish the game.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel yells to an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
BYU: The Cougars have been playing with fire over the last month, and it finally came back to bite them on Saturday night in Provo, Utah. BYU had 23 first downs compared to 13 for Kansas, but that still wasn’t enough, and now the Cougars are going to feel the heat from the playoff committee. Now, BYU has to travel to Arizona State next weekend, with the Sun Devils beating Kansas State on Saturday. This could turn into a nightmare scenario for the Cougars if they were to lose again next weekend. But with the emergence of Colorado, it’s been trending toward Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes taking the Big 12 automatic bid for the college football playoff over the last few weeks. This one is coming down the stretch, and I don’t trust the Cougars.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks already earned what was perhaps their signature win of the season on Nov. 2 when they upset Texas A&M. But this past Saturday’s win over Missouri shows that South Carolina is a team that future opponents should be worried about. The Gamecocks could make another leap in the upcoming College Football Playoff rankings. While a berth in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta remains unlikely, coach Shane Beamer appears to have the South Carolina football program trending in the right direction.
LSU: The Tigers shockingly lost to the Gators on Saturday in a devastating fourth-quarter collapse. Losing a rivalry game always hurts, but giving one away like LSU did is embarrassing, too.
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The Fox News Digital Sports college football winners and losers were compiled by the Fox News Digital Sports staff and the OutKick.com staff.
