Arch Manning accomplished one thing akin to the soccer model of hitting for the cycle in baseball on Saturday as No. 17 Texas throttled Arkansas 52-37. The Longhorns’ redshirt sophomore quarterback scored as a passer, runner and receiver whereas totaling six touchdowns in what amounted to the perfect sport of his profession thus far.
Dealing with the woebegone Arkansas protection is strictly what Manning wanted amid an up-and-down season that has seen Texas fall from a No. 1 preseason rating to the outer fringes of the playoff dialog. Crushing a foul Razorbacks staff will possible do little to extend Texas’ possibilities of reaching the CFP as a three-loss staff, however it might give Manning and his staff an emotional raise.
With unbeaten No. 3 Texas A&M coming to city subsequent week, the Longhorns nonetheless have loads to play for. Taking down the extremely ranked Aggies would mark a significant rivalry win and breathe a sliver of life into Texas’ slim CFP hopes. Manning concluded his day towards the Razorbacks with a career-high 389 yards on 18 of 30 passing.
Manning was certainly one of Week 13’s large winners from a consequential day of motion that introduced us one step nearer to seeing convention championship sport matchups set. Here is the total rundown of winners and losers.
Winner: Vanderbilt reaches milestone
Vanderbilt tied a program document with its ninth victory because the No. 14 Commodores took down Kentucky 45-17. With yet another victory, Vandy will develop into the ultimate Energy 4 program to achieve 10 wins in a season for the primary time. However that is solely the start of the Commodores’ aspirations. With a win at Tennessee subsequent week, Vanderbilt would head into Choice Sunday at 10-2 document and a sensible probability at CFP inclusion. For a program that went 9-36 between 2020 and 2023, the turnaround has been traditionally spectacular. Oh, and Diego Pavia’s Heisman chances are high wanting up after the star quarterback totaled greater than 500 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Loser: Kansas State blows a marquee alternative
It has been a irritating season for Kansas State, nevertheless it appeared the Wildcats have been closing in on a marquee win at No. 12 Utah. Then got here a surprising collapse that encapsulated the agony the Wildcats have handled all through a season of unmet expectations. Utah rallied again from a 10-point deficit within the sport’s closing levels for a surprising 51-47 victory behind the wheels of quarterback Devon Dampier. His 59-yard scamper on a decisive 4th-and-1 play arrange the go-ahead landing that lifted the Utes to an unbelievable win.
Winner: Oregon nears CFP lock standing
A rash of offensive accidents solely worsened for No. 7 Oregon, leaving the Geese taking part in three backup offensive linemen at one level. However the shifting unit obtained the job performed in a vital 42-27 win over No. 15 USC. The sport’s greatest spotlight got here on particular groups, as Malik Benson’s 85-yard punt return with 9:58 left within the second quarter put the Geese forward for good. Benson additionally made 4 catches for 67 yards as Oregon navigated a top-15 showdown with out the highest three receivers on its depth chart.
Winner: Notre Dame seems to be like a title contender
Notre Dame apparently obtained the memo that it might must accumulate model factors to impress the Faculty Soccer Playoff choice committee. The Combating Irish scored on offense, protection and particular groups within the first quarter alone whereas beating Syracuse to a pulp. The ultimate rating was 70-7, however the Combating Irish realistically might have approached 100 on this sport in the event that they’d wished to. The Orange have been a completely inept opponent — they began a walk-on from the lacrosse staff at quarterback — however this was nonetheless a formidable displaying from an Irish staff with one thing to show.
It is onerous to imagine that Louisville was thought to be an ACC title contender and CFP candidate just some weeks in the past. The Cardinals, who have been as soon as 7-1 and No. 15 within the CFP Rankings, have now dropped three straight after taking a 38-6 loss at SMU. The Playing cards began redshirt freshman Deuce Adams at quarterback amid a foot damage to Miller Moss. However any hope of a QB change bringing a spark to the passing sport shortly dissipated as Louisville produced a paltry 228 complete yards. SMU additionally had its means offensively as Kevin Jennings threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns with out an interception.
Winner: Oklahoma’s protection delivers once more
Oklahoma’s protection delivered as soon as once more, because the No. 8 Sooners stayed on monitor with a suffocating 17-6 win over No. 22 Missouri. The visiting Tigers had a large number of possibilities, reaching OU territory six occasions. Nevertheless, these six forays throughout the 50 resulted in simply six factors. OU picked off Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula twice within the second half and generated eight tackles for loss for the sport. It marked the second week in a row that Oklahoma has defeated a ranked opponent whereas producing lower than 300 yards of offense.
Loser: Kansas is fading quick
Kansas began 4-2 and appeared destined to return to a bowl sport. However after falling 38-14 at Iowa State, the Jayhawks have dropped 4 of their final 5, and shutting towards No. 13 Utah bodes poorly for KU’s hopes of reaching six wins. So does the protection’s incapability to get off the sector. The Cyclones transformed 9 of 16 third downs and 4 of 5 fourth downs whereas almost doubling up KU in time of possession. Kansas fell behind 17-0 early. It lastly discovered some offensive momentum, however KU could not rally all the way in which again towards an Iowa State offense that stayed one step forward all sport.
Winner: Shaky JMU retains CFP hopes alive
James Madison remains to be holding out hope that it could possibly be one of many 5 highest-ranked convention champions and earn a spot to the Faculty Soccer Playoff. However these hopes almost went up in smoke on Saturday earlier than the Dukes rallied for a 24-20 win over Washington State. Wayne Knight’s 58-yard landing run with 6:24 remaining put JMU forward 24-20. The Dukes then made a defensive stand to emerge with an in depth win over a Cougars staff that additionally pushed CFP candidates Virginia and Ole Miss to the brink in shut losses this season.
Loser: North Carolina’s bowl goals die painfully
Invoice Belichick’s debut marketing campaign in faculty soccer will not finish in a bowl look after North Carolina fell to 4-7 with a dramatic 32-25 loss to rival Duke. The Blue Devils pulled off a faux discipline objective whereas trailing by some extent with underneath three minutes remaining and parlayed the daring name right into a landing and 2-point conversion. It was a painful solution to lose for the Tar Heels, who’ve develop into accustomed to ache throughout what was alleged to be a celebratory season. Hiring Belichick was alleged to sign that North Carolina was severe about soccer. As a substitute, it resulted in this system failing to achieve the postseason for the primary time since 2018.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck has thrown seven touchdowns with out an interception over his previous two video games to get again on monitor and maintain the No. 13 Hurricanes within the playoff hunt. In Saturday’s 34-17 win at Virginia Tech, he totaled 320 yards and 4 touchdowns. His favourite goal was the stud freshman Malachi Toney, who tallied profession highs in catches (12) and receiving yards (146). That is the form of play the ‘Canes grew to become accustomed to from Beck throughout a 5-0 begin towards a difficult schedule.
Loser: Baylor falls aside
Baylor suffered an epic meltdown within the second half of a 41-17 loss at Arizona. The Bears led 17-14 on the break however have been outscored 27-0 the remainder of the way in which. A trio of second-half turnovers doomed Baylor’s possibilities and left it needing a win over Houston subsequent week to achieve bowl eligibility. The varsity has already signaled that coach Dave Aranda will return for a seventh season, however after 4 losses over the previous 5 video games, it is onerous to think about anybody feels nice about that call.
Winner: Tennessee ends Swampy streak
No. 20 Tennessee’s again was towards the wall because it crushed Florida 31-11. Due to modifications to the SEC’s scheduling construction, the Volunteers will not be returning to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium till 2029. Thus, if anybody on the present roster wished to be a part of the staff that ended the Volunteers’ 10-game highway shedding streak towards the Gators, they wanted to get it performed Saturday evening. The Vols left little question as they jumped on their rival early and constructed a 31-0 lead. At 8-3 (4-3 SEC), Tennessee’s hopes of a return to the CFP are over, however profitable within the Swamp for the primary time since 2003 marked a significant accomplishment from a season in any other case outlined by the agony of shut losses to Georgia and Oklahoma.
Loser: Georgia Tech squanders an opportunity
No. 16 Georgia Tech squandered its probability to achieve the ACC Championship Recreation for the primary time since 2014 because it was surprised at dwelling by Pitt 42-28. What ought to have been a celebratory night inside Bobby Dodd Stadium shortly became a nightmare because the Panthers jumped out to a 28-0 lead. Following the dominant early barrage, Pitt held on because the Yellow Jackets tried in useless to rally. Moments of alternative like this are uncommon at Georgia Tech, and subsequent week’s rivalry showdown presents one other large second of potential glory. But it surely’s onerous to not really feel like this staff let a golden ACC alternative slip by its fingers throughout a uncommon yr through which each Clemson and Florida State have been down.
Loser: Illinois embarrasses itself
No. 21 Illinois put forth an embarrassing effort in a 27-10 highway loss towards one of many worst Wisconsin groups in a technology. The excellent news for the Illini is that they weren’t the one individuals to embarrass themselves at Camp Randall Stadium. Wisconsin college students dashing the sector made for a cringe-worthy scene. Badgers (4-7, 2-6 Large Ten) additionally rushed for a win over Wisconsin earlier this month. That was at the very least considerably comprehensible because it marked the primary victory towards a Energy 4 opponent in over a yr. However has Wisconsin actually sunken so low that beating a barely ranked Illinois staff warrants dashing the sector?
Winner: BYU surges onward
No. 11 BYU saved its Large 12 title aspirations on monitor and added a glimmer of hope for its at-large playoff consideration with a 26-14 win at Cincinnati. LJ Martin led the way in which with 222 yards dashing and two touchdowns for the Cougars (10-1, 7-1 Large 12), who’re possible destined for a Large 12 title sport rematch with Texas Tech. The Crimson Raiders received the primary assembly in dominant vogue throughout Week 12. However the Cougars can safe a high-stakes rematch in the event that they deal with enterprise towards UCF subsequent week.
