After 12 outings, Louisiana State University, Ohio State and Clemson are all unbeaten and can pencil themselves into the College Football Playoff bracket with a win on Conference Championship Weekend. The following is a case for each of the one-loss schools whose route to a national title strays a bit from the beaten path.
No. 4 University of Georgia
Given strength of schedule and sheer talent, Georgia may be the best team with a blemish on its record. It is also probably the least watchable.
Quarterback Jake Fromm lulls secondaries with an average of 7.6 yards per attempt, 59th among his position. Worsening matters for the Bulldog offense is the absence of its two premiere wide receivers. Lawrence Cager is sidelined by an ankle injury, while George Pickens’ Rocky Balboa impression Saturday earned him a first-half suspension in the Southeastern Conference Championship.
Impotent passing attack aside, Georgia still lines up running back D’Andre Swift in its backfield, never more than a well-timed cut away from going the distance. Meanwhile, the Bulldog defense is armed to its canine teeth with five-star athletes.
Should Georgia extinguish LSU’s white-hot offense and orchestrate an upset Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, its seat at the playoff table will be irrevocable. Whether Fromm’s unparalleled mastery of the three-yard slant route will make for good television is another debate entirely.
No. 5 University of Utah
When the Utes are ravaging the West Coast as late as 1 a.m. EST, much of the football-viewing populace is either fast asleep or embarking on a bar crawl to commemorate (or forget) its own school’s earlier performance.
Widespread recognition notwithstanding, head coach Kyle Whittingham’s squad is the class of the Pacific-12 Conference due largely to a defense that ranks third behind Ohio State and Clemson. Defensive end Bradlee Anae has acquainted opposing quarterbacks with the turf 12 times in 2019.
Offensively, running back Zack Moss has barreled his way atop Utah’s all-time leading rusher list with 1,246 yards and 15 touchdowns in his senior year.
What truly distinguishes the Utes is their discipline. Though quarterback Tyler Huntley’s production will not earn him the Davey O’Brien award, he has been a model of efficiency, completing 75.5% of his passes while throwing just two interceptions.
Ball security has come less easily for Huntley’s opponents, with Utah’s defense stealing the ball 21 times, good for sixth in turnover margin.
Utah is far from the flashiest option for the fourth seed, but it can be counted on never to shoot itself in the foot. After all, sloppy games, quarters, even mere moments, have left more explosive units like the University of Alabama and Wisconsin on the outside looking in.
No. 6 University of Oklahoma
Led by a transfer quarterback turned Heisman candidate, the 11-1 Oklahoma Sooners are one win from a potential playoff berth. That sentence may induce déjà vu because it has been the story for head coach Lincoln Riley each of the past three seasons.
This time around, the quarterback in question is Alabama export Jalen Hurts, responsible for more scores than any other player in the nation with 50. That includes 31 by air, 18 by ground and one touchdown reception just to cover all the bases.
Hurts’ statline is robust enough alone, but wide receiver Ceedee Lamb’s 1,035 yards and 14 end zone visits take Oklahoma’s explosive offense from a powder keg to a nuclear warhead.
Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s cohort, which in years past has more closely resembled a turnstile, now ranks a passable 26th. Rather, it has been Oklahoma’s inability to separate from inferior competition that has given the committee pause.
It took 24 unanswered points to sneak by Baylor, and a failed two-point conversion was all that kept Iowa State University from a double-digit comeback of its own versus Oklahoma. This lack of killer instinct culminated at Kansas State University in a 48-41 stunner that ejected Oklahoma from the driver’s seat en route to the playoff.
Despite the mishap in Manhattan, Kansas, Oklahoma is still considered by many to be the next team in. Even if the Sooners are not dancing amid a hail of confetti in January, they are sure to supply their own fireworks display wherever they compete.
No. 7 Baylor University
Baylor’s entire depth chart could miss the bus to the Big 12 Championship, and the 2019 season would still be more comedy than tragedy. In just three years, head coach Matt Rhule has elevated the Bears from a 1-11 program mired in scandal to an 11-1 playoff hopeful.
Alas, the Playoff Committee does not weigh the value of moral victories. It does consider things like a blown 28-3 lead against Oklahoma. Nevertheless, a convincing bit of revenge for the Bears on Saturday might raise enough pollsters’ eyebrows to propel them into the top four.
Authoring Baylor’s Cinderella story is quarterback Charlie Brewer, who has a propensity for making critical plays with the game on the line. His efforts are bolstered by senior wideout Denzel Mims, whose 11 touchdown receptions are tied for sixth in the country.
Headlining the Bears’ front seven is tackle James Lynch, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound bogeyman who makes frequent appearances in opposing quarterbacks’ nightmares. Lynch’s pair of strips is part of a greedy Baylor defense that ranks second in forced turnovers.
Naysayers will cite the fact that Baylor sits outside the top 30 in both offensive and defensive production. However, the win column trumps all others on the stat sheet, and in that respect the Bears have been consistently prolific.
