Winner: USC
USC trailed UCLA 23-35 at the end of the 3rd quarter before outscoring the Bruins 20-3 in the 4th quarter on Saturday. The win not only allowed USC to keep of possession of the coveted Victory Bell trophy, but gives USC home field advantage against Washington in next weeks Pac-12 Conference Championship. It will be interesting to see where the selection committee places the undefeated Trojans this week who have outside hopes of a top 10 position.
Winner: UNC
What a day for the TarHeels in Miami on Saturday. North Carolina ran all over the Hurricanes totaling a FBS record of 544 rushing yards while only allowing 314 total yards against. Complete domination of a #10 ranked Miami team will almost guarantee UNC a spot in this weeks top 10. Now UNC will be hoping that the selection committee will place division rivals Clemson and Notre Dame in the college football playoffs, guaranteeing UNC a spot in the Orange Bowl. Even without an Orange Bowl appearance this season has to be considered a huge success for the program and for one of my all-time favorite coaches in Mack Brown.
Winner: Ohio State
Yes, that does say Ohio State(The Ohio State). I know the game this week against Michigan was cancelled and at the moment the 5-0 Buckeyes haven't even played enough games to qualify for the Big 10 championship. But, the path to the playoffs for the Buckeyes still got easier this week. With Florida losing to a terrible LSU team and most likely getting blown out by an undefeated Crimson Tide next week, Florida is out of the playoffs. Whos the 4th best team in the country? Is anyone interested in watching Texas A&M get bulldozed by Alabama in the semifinal game? I know it isn't fair and Ohio State(The Ohio State) always gets special treatment, but c'mon the Buckeyes are the only other team that has a chance against Alabama. Sorry.
Loser: Nebraska
What a disaster of a season for the Cornhuskers in 2020. Their record now sits at 2-5 and the offense continues to be the problem. In 4 of the teams 5 losses this season the offense hasn't been able to put up more than 20 points. Yesterday was more of the same with the Cornhuskers only managing 17 points against Minnesota while throwing for a marginal 111 passing yards. Next week Nebraska travels to New Jersey to take on Rutgers in the final game of the season. While both teams records aren't great, Rutgers does come in off a big win against Maryland and will be looking to finish the season strong.
Loser: Gus Malzahn
Sunday morning Auburn announced that they have fired head coach Gus Malzahn less than a day after the team finished the season 6-4 in a victory over Mississippi St. Over the eight seasons Gus ran the program the Tigers appeared in a BCS Championship and two other New Year's Six bowl games. The team went 68-34 during Malzahn's tenure. It will be interesting to see where the school decides to look for a replacement for the veteran coach during the current pandemic making the coaches carousal even more complicated this year. It isn't all bad new for the former head coach though, as he is due an almost $11 million buyout check from the university in the next 30 days and over $21 million total.
Big Loser: Florida
Saturday night Florida choked away a chance to compete in the college football playoffs. Losing 37-34 to a struggling LSU team will be too much of a eye sore for the committee to select Florida ahead of Ohio State or even Texas A&M. The Gators do have a chance to play #1 Alabama in the SEC Championship game, but will come in as huge underdogs against the Nick Saban led program. There's no way the Gators can win right? Right??? Unless.....
