Murphy Horning on College Football

PLAYOFF Status Changes for Week 13 (here's last week's guide for reference) Michigan State: Controls own destiny to Eliminated Oregon: Controls own destiny to Eliminated Wake Forest: On life support to Eliminated Cincinnati: Doesn't control own destiny to Controls own destiny Michigan: Doesn't control own destiny to Controls own destiny The biggest winner of Week 12 is Cincinnati. The Bearcats are finally in the Top 4 (three weeks overdue many would say) and now control their own destiny for the CFP. Oregon and Michigan State getting blown out turned heads in the college football world, and had significant impact on the playoff race. Suddenly, Notre Dame appears to be one break away (more on that later) for the College Football Playoff. Here is a breakdown of the playoff chase for each team in the race.  #1 Georgia: Controls own destiny Alabama winning the SEC West will be the last significant thing that happens to Georgia in the regular season as that ensures a Bulldo

CFP Status changes for Week 12 (See last week's guide for reference) Oregon: moves from doesn't control own destiny up   to controls own destiny  Notre Dame: moves from on life support  up   to doesn't control own destiny  Oklahoma: moves from c ontrols own destiny down   to  on life support Texas A&M: moves from on life support down   to eliminated  Texas A&M lost to Ole Miss, so whatever miracle playoff chance they had is gone. Oklahoma's loss makes things easier for teams on the outside looking in, especially Oregon who now controls their own destiny. Even for teams who's statuses I didn't change, their playoff chances went up after the Sooners defeat to Baylor last week. For the team capsules below, I will show the status of each team, and if their playoff chances went up, down or unchanged after week 11. Without further ado, here's the guide for each team remaining in the playoff race #1 Georgia: controls own destiny Playoff chances: Unchanged

Who I'd like to be based on playoff scenarios Teams who control their own destiny #1 Georgia #2 Alabama #3 Ohio State #4 Oklahoma #5 Michigan State Teams who don't quite control their own destiny, but likely in if they win out #6 Oregon #7 Michigan Team who don't control their own destiny, but will get in with some help  #8 Oklahoma State #9 Cincinnati Teams still "alive" but on life support  #10 Texas A&M #11 Notre Dame #12 Wake Forest #1 Georgia- Controls own destiny Explanation:   Barring a stunning loss for the Bulldogs in their last three regular season games, Georgia will be in the playoff regardless of what happens in the SEC Championship Game. Two SEC teams will likely make the playoff if Georgia loses the SEC title game to Alabama. There won't be any controversies about the Bulldogs unless they get shocked in the next three weeks. There is no way Georgia wins out and doesn't finish #1.  Georgia's remaining schedule:  11/13 @ 4-5 Tennessee

Maryland (1-1 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) @ #7 Ohio State (2-0 Big Ten, 4-1 overall), Saturday 10/9 at Noon on FOX at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. Line: Ohio State -21 Ohio State and Maryland will play their seventh matchup since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Buckeyes are 6-0 in the series, with the last matchup being in 2019 where OSU won 73-13. The two programs were scheduled to face off in College Park, MD during November of last year, but the game was canceled due to COVID issues in the Maryland program.  Buckeyes fans are feeling much better about the team after a 52-13 win at Rutgers last week, in which Ohio State was only a two touchdown favorite. C.J. Stroud threw for five touchdown passes and 330 yards against what was the 18th best passing defense in the game, showing Stroud is clearly better than how he looked vs Tulsa. The pollsters are feeling better about the Buckeyes as well, as Ohio State jumped from 11th to seventh in the recent AP Poll. Maryland rolled into

by Murphy Horning #11 Ohio State (3-1) @ Rutgers (3-1), Saturday 10/2 at 3:30 PM on Big Ten Network, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ Storylines This is the eighth matchup between Ohio State and Rutgers since the latter began Big Ten play in 2014. The Buckeyes are 7-0 in the series, and none of the matchups have been close. The closest matchup was last year, a game Ohio State won 49-27 at home vs the Scarlet Knights.  Ohio State had problems  in their first three games, which has led to the Buckeyes falling from third to 11th in the AP Poll since after Week 1. After Kyle McCord started vs Akron, and Jack Miller played most of the second half at QB, all indications show C.J. Stroud will be under center for the Buckeyes vs the Scarlet Knights in Week 5.  Rutgers has had a solid start under Greg Schiano in 2021, as the Scarlet Knights went 3-0 in non-conference play, and gave #19 Michigan a run for their money in Ann Arbor, as Rutgers lost 20-13. The Scarlet Knights boast the country'

#1 Alabama QB Bryce Young is exceeding expectations for the Tide, as he's thrown for 10 touchdowns and no interceptions through three games. A two point win against Florida while giving up 245 rushing yards shows Alabama isn't invincible, but the Tide's QB situation looks better than the other heavyweights. Through three weeks, the Tide is the best of the lot.  Properly rated #2 Georgia Georgia's offense has been rather pedestrian, as J.T. Daniels has thrown for three TD's and two picks, and neither Zamir White or Kendall Milton has emerged as a feature running back. The Bulldogs defense more than makes up for their middling offense through three weeks, as they have the best yardage and scoring defense in the country. That alone puts the Dawgs among title contenders in 2021. Properly rated #3 Oregon The Ducks shocked Ohio State on September 11th without Kayvon Thibodeaux and Justin Flowe, arguably Oregon's two best defensive players. Oregon plays sound offense,