Texas A&M comeback, Alabama loss lead Week 12 winners and losers
- Texas A&M overcame a 27-point deficit to defeat South Carolina 31-30, marking the largest comeback in school history.
- Quarterback Marcel Reed’s strong second-half performance may have positioned him as a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.
- In other key games, Oklahoma upset Alabama, and Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh, impacting the national playoff picture.
Down 30-3 at halftime to South Carolina, No. 3 Texas A&M remained unbeaten, made school and SEC history, stayed on track for the conference championship game and might’ve moved quarterback Marcel Reed to the front of the Heisman Trophy race in storming back for the 31-30 win.
Steadily chipping away at the Gamecocks’ lead, the Aggies went ahead for good on a 4-yard touchdown run by EJ Smith four minutes in the fourth quarter. By that point, the comeback was a foregone conclusion: South Carolina was melting down amid the now-typical A&M second-half barrage.
The 27-point comeback is the largest in school history. Since 2004, SEC teams were 0-286 when trailing by 27 or more points.
Beating the Gamecocks doesn’t change the math in terms of an SEC championship. That path still leads through the Black Friday rivalry against No. 10 Texas and will be impacted by other conference results that determine how many teams end November with one league loss.
But avoiding this pothole maintains the Aggies’ dual avenues to the 12-team tournament. By remaining one of three Bowl Subdivision teams still unbeaten, A&M retains the wiggle room to potentially lose to the Longhorns and again in the SEC championship and still earn an at-large berth with room to spare.
On an individual level, Reed’s second half could move him ahead of No. 2 Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and into the driver’s seat for the Heisman Trophy, finally bringing some clarity for one of the most unsettled races in recent history.
After throwing two interceptions and coughing up a fumble the Gamecocks returned for a score in the first half, Reed rebounded to complete 16 of 20 throws for 298 yards and three scores in the final two quarters.
After a dominant six-quarter run that started in the second half against LSU and continued through last week’s win against Missouri, the sluggish start against USC should be a wakeup call leading into the games that will decide where the Aggies land in the final playoff rankings.
But A&M joins No. 10 Oklahoma as one of the clear winners from Saturday’s action, along with losers such as No. 4 Alabama and South Florida:
Winners
Oklahoma
The Sooners converted 3 of 13 third-down attempts, averaged 2.6 yards per carry, compiled 212 yards of offense and still beat Alabama 23-21, securing the biggest win of the Brent Venables era and likely rocketing into prime at-large position. Being plus-three in turnover margin made the difference. With the offense stuck in neutral and unable to move bodies at the line of scrimmage, the Sooners’ defense came up big time and again, from a pick-six in the first quarter through a fumble recovery that set up the go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter through a game-clinching fourth-down stop near midfield with under a minute to play. In the big picture, this upset is great news for the SEC, which could send at least five teams to the tournament.
Georgia
With Alabama losing and A&M sneaking past the Gamecocks, No. 5 Georgia should be seen as the SEC favorite after hammering No. 10 Texas 35-10. The Bulldogs took control with a pair of Gunner Stockton touchdowns in the first half, were temporarily wobbled when Texas turned a Stockton interception into a touchdown to make it 14-10 but clobbered the Longhorns with a 21-point fourth quarter. The Texas offense disappeared, mounting just 271 yards on 4.6 yards per play, and Stockton wildly outplayed Arch Manning, who needed 43 attempts to throw for 251 yards, a touchdown and a pick. This was a complete performance that should open some eyes about Georgia’s chances at the national title.
Notre Dame
The No. 9 Fighting Irish aced their final real test left in the regular season by blitzing No. 23 Pittsburgh 37-15 behind 147 rushing yards and a score from Jeremiyah Love, who has essentially locked down All-America honors with two games remaining in November. This one was over early: Notre Dame led 21-3 at halftime and pushed that lead to 28-3 on the first drive of the third quarter. Now 8-2 with Syracuse and Stanford ahead, only an unexpected flop against an overmatched opponent will keep the Irish out of the playoff.
Southern California
Down 21-7 in the first half and struggling to get moving against Iowa’s physical defense, No. 18 USC scored 19 unanswered points and beat the Hawkeyes 26-21 to remain in the Big Ten and playoff conversation. By holding serve at home, the Trojans will face No. 6 Oregon next weekend still very much alive in the Big Ten race; a clean finish and another Michigan win against Ohio State would give them the tiebreakers to earn a spot opposite Indiana at Lucas Oil Stadium. The ability to handle the Hawkeyes highlights the growth USC has undergone since a very disappointing Big Ten debut last season.
Michigan
Dominic Zvada made a 31-yard field goal as time expired and the No. 17 Wolverines beat Northwestern 24-22 to just barely hang on to any shot at the Big Ten crown and a playoff berth. Ahead 21-9 early in the fourth quarter, Michigan turned the ball on three successive possessions, including a pair of interceptions from Bryce Underwood, before mounting a 50-yard drive in the final two minutes to escape with a road win. While a team that needs every second to beat the Wildcats might not have a shot at beating Ohio State and then Indiana to earn an automatic bid, the Wolverines are at least still in the conversation for the tournament and could end up as the third of fourth Big Ten team in the field with an upset of the Buckeyes.
Virginia
Over in the ACC, No. 19 Virginia rallied from last week’s rough loss to Wake Forest to beat Duke 34-17 and move one step closer to the conference championship game. One big reason for rebound: After missing the game against the Demon Deacons due to injury, Chandler Morris was back under center for the Cavaliers and delivered 316 yards and two touchdowns. After notching a rare blowout win in a year defined by close calls, Virginia takes next weekend off before facing rival Virginia Tech.
Losers
Texas
There was an idea heading into Saturday night that Texas could be the first three-loss team to make the playoff, thanks to a nice list of wins, a really tough schedule and the chance to beat one of Georgia and A&M down the stretch. The Longhorns could still beat the Aggies — and might still be favored at home, even. But to lose by 25 points at Georgia might make that result moot by shutting down one major factor in the Longhorns’ corner: credibility. While Texas will still have an argument for an at-large bid at 9-3, it’ll be much weaker for having this blot on its résumé should five other SEC teams ahead of it hold serve.
Alabama
Down the line, the big fallout from the loss to OU will be seen in where Alabama falls in the playoff rankings, and whether the Crimson Tide end up earning a bye or even hosting in the opening round. An eight-game winning streak in the wake of a loss to Florida State in the opener still as Alabama in very good position to land in the tournament, potentially even as the top seed in the SEC. But after giving the game away with careless turnovers, the Tide will have to dodge disaster in the Iron Bowl against Auburn to avoid potentially missing the league championship game.
South Florida
Losing 41-38 to Navy drops South Florida into sixth place in the American and ends any realistic chance of squeezing into the playoff while reopening a path for the Midshipmen and East Carolina. This is hugely disappointing: USF scored a key win against Florida in September and was in position to reach the American championship game behind one of the top offenses in the FBS. The blame falls on a defense that has cratered in recent weeks and gave up 338 rushing yards to Navy. Two big winners in the wake of this loss are Tulane, which now has a clear path to the championship game, and Sun Belt-leading No. 25 James Madison, which benefits from any disarray in the American.
Bobby Petrino
Petrino has zero chance of securing the full-time job as Sam Pittman’s replacement after dropping to 0-5 in the interim role with a 23-22 loss to LSU. This is great news for the Razorbacks – there are handfuls of strong candidates on the market even if Rhett Lashlee seems poised to stay at SMU – but bad news for anyone hoping for a reprise of Petrino’s previous run in Fayetteville, which was gloriously dysfunctional long before his memorable motorcycle ride.
