Somebody somewhere in the heavens must like Mike Elko. Or maybe Texas A&M football. Or maybe just drama.
That may be the only way to explain how A&M could suffer back-to-back conference losses to South Carolina and Auburn and still be in contention for the Southeastern Conference championship.
Seriously, with the loss to Auburn, the Aggies needed Ole Miss to lose to Florida and Alabama to lose at Oklahoma. Both happened.
So by divine intervention and SEC tie-breaker procedures, the Aggies (8-3, 5-2) can reach the SEC Championship game if they can beat Texas (10-1, 6-1) on Saturday night at Kyle Field.
“The football gods blessed us with another chance,” Elko said. “This (Texas) game was always going to mean something. Now, it means everything.
“We have the opportunity to kind of right the last two wrongs in SEC play, go out with a bang and put ourselves in the SEC Championship Game.
“That’s the focus. That’s the task at hand. Obviously, we’re excited and ready for the challenge.”
If the Aggies prove up to the challenge, they will advance to Atlanta to face Georgia for the conference title. If they don’t, Texas will face the Bulldogs.
It’s that simple.
However, the other three Power 4 conference races aren’t as simple as the regular season goes into its final week.
Here’s a look:
Big Ten: Oregon has clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana are in contention with one conference loss each.
Ohio State, which fell to Oregon, will get a rematch if the Buckeyes defeat archrival Michigan. If not?
ACC: SMU (10-1, 7-0) is in. The Mustangs will face either Miami (10-6, 6-1) or Clemson (9-2, 7-1).
It’s pretty simple: If Miami defeats Syracuse, the Hurricanes will play SMU for the conference title. If Syracuse upsets Miami, Clemson will play SMU.
Big 12: This one is confusing because as many as nine teams still have a shot to get to the Big 12 title game.
Let’s focus on the four teams with two conferences losses — Arizona State (9-2, 6-2), BYU (9-2, 6-2), Iowa State (9-2, 6-2) and Colorado (8-3, 6-2).
The final week’s schedule has those teams playing as follows: Oklahoma State at Colorado, Arizona State at Arizona, Kansas State at Iowa State and Houston at BYU.
Of course, if two teams remain tied, those two will advance. That’s not likely to happen.
More likely, all four teams will remain tied. In that case, the tie-breakers will put Arizona State vs. Iowa State.
In the case of a three-way tie, the breakdown would be:
Simple. Right?
1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State, RB: The nation’s rushing leader surpassed the 2,000-yard mark last week. He rushed for 169 yards on 19 carries and scored a touchdown in a 17-13 victory over Wyoming. That raised his season totals to 2,062 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns.
2. Cam Ward, Miami, QB: How strong is Ward’s season? He was criticized for having a mediocre outing in a 42-14 victory over Wake Forest last week. Ward passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown. When that qualifies as a mediocre outing, you should be a strong Heisman contender. Ward is ranked second in the nation in passing. He has thrown for 3,774 yards and 34 touchdowns.
3. Travis Hunter, Colorado, WR/CB: Bounced back from a pedestrian showing the week before to catch eight passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-27 loss to Kansas. Hunter is ranked eighth in the country in receiving with 82 catches for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdowns. On defense, he’s intercepted three passes and broken up nine.
4. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon, QB: The Ducks were idle last week, so Gabriel did not have the opportunity to add to his totals. He remains 11th in the nation in passing. He has thrown for 3,066 yards and 22 touchdowns for the unbeaten Ducks.
5. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss, QB: A two-interception debacle in a loss to Florida should end any meager chances he had of getting back into the race. However, that doesn’t change the fact he has had an excellent season. Dart leads the nation with 4,107 yards of total offense. He has passed for 3,732 yards and 24 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 375 yards and three touchdowns.
1. No. 3 Texas at No. 20 Texas A&M: Bitter rivalry renewed. A trip to the SEC Championship Game at stake. Texas playing its first night road game. It’s all there.
2. No. 16 South Carolina at No. 12 Clemson: Another bitter feud. Clemson still has playoff hopes. But with two losses, the Tigers cannot afford another setback. The Gamecocks would love to end Clemson’s playoff aspirations.
3. Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State: Despite Michigan’s struggles, it’s still an intense rivalry. Michigan has a chance to end Ohio State’s Big Ten title hopes.
4. No. 5 Notre Dame vs. USC: The Irish are in the playoff. Trojans are going nowhere. But it’s a traditional rivalry with a lot of history. An upset is not out of the question, especially on the West Coast.
5. Oklahoma at LSU: Just want to see which fanbase hates its coach more after this one ends.
Editor’s note: This story was written and published before Tuesday night’s release of the fourth College Football Playoff rankings. Rankings in this story are from the latest AP Poll.
Quote:
5. Oklahoma at LSU: Just want to see which fanbase hates its coach more after this one ends.
