Alabama.
The was why Brian Kelly left South Bend. Twice his Irish had been embarrassed and exposed on the biggest stage as the Tide foiled Notre Dameβs attempt at winning a national title.
But he wasnβt running away, he was running straight to the team that had to enter Nick Sabanβs Death Star annually.
And when LSU got the opportunity to blow up the βBama dynasty, Kelly trusted his team ((and maybe the force) and Jayden Daniels executed a perfect two-point conversion play to win the game in Baton Rouge.
Maybe Texas A&M should take notes.
One hundred thousand fans stormed the field and left the eye at midfield untouched, starring out into the Louisiana night. An instant top 10 CFB classic and momentary peace for Brian Kelly.
After all, thatβs what he came there for.
SEC West Classic, SEC East Blowout
While the Tigers and Tide were trading punches in a classic that actually puts LSU in the driverβs seat to get to Atlanta; Tennessee and Georgia were deciding the east a few states over.
Where Georgia looked like, er, well, No. 1 Georgia.
The Bulldogs picked the best time to play their best while the Vols picked the worst time to lay an orange egg. They won 27-13 in a game that was never that close.
It was 27-6 deep into the fourth quarter before the Vols finally got it into the end zone. For fans who wanted a changing of the guardβdespite having Clemson and Alabama suffer huge defeatsβ it looks like that may have to wait.
Otherwise, it was a rainy, bloodbath between the hedges.
Did Someone Say Rain?
Up in Evanston, Northwestern led Ohio State 7-0 with minutes left before halftime.
Thatβs right. The βno wins on U.S. soil, one win totalβ Wildcats effectively used wind and rain to nearly give the Buckeyes their most humiliating defeat ever.
But that didnβt happen as the Buckeyes managed to turn the momentum with short field touchdown drives of 46 and 45 yards that ended the first half and started the second half. They were so short because Northwestern punted into the wind from their own 14 and then turned the ball over on downs at their own 45.
And the Scarlett and Gray stay at No. 2 becauseβ¦
The Fighting Irish
Ohio State and Michigan will sort themselves out when they play after Thanksgiving. But it still feels proper to have the Buckeyes over the Wolverines not because the weather but because playing Note Dame as a non conference opponent should mean something.
And man, it felt good for Clemson to go down in flames 14-35 as they allowed a special teams, defensive and offensive TDs to a squad that lost to both Marshall and Stanford at home.
The Big Four in the Big 12
In the deepest conference in the nation, the final three weeks will be full of intrigue.
Texas beat Kansas State; Baylor edged out Oklahoma and TCU came back yet again against Texas Tech. The Horns, Frogs, Cats and Bears are now jockeying for the two championship game spots.
And they will determine it on the field over the final three weeks. Of their combined final 12 games, these four teams will be playing each other in eight of them (66 percent).
Only enough, Baylor controls their own destiny and the path to winning the Big 12 championship still runs through Waco for the time being.
The Playoff
There was much talk last night about the Volunteers roadblocking both LSU and Oregon from the CFP. It is not outside the realm of possibility for the Vols to get in, but it will make for an interesting debate.
In 2016 and 2017, the Committee took non-division and non-conference champions in Ohio State and Alabama respectively. They ignored head to head in 2016 and spit on conference crowns in 2017. The Committee has proved it does not need to follow precedent of any kind, as both head to head and conference championship games were valued above all else in 2014.
There is a world where LSU beats Georgia for the SEC title; Ohio State, Oregon, TCU and Tennessee all win out and Michigan and Clemson both only have one loss.
In that instance, I would argue for Ohio State, TCU, LSU and Georgia to be in the top four. You have to honor the title game and the Bulldogs get the head to head over both the Ducks and Vols.
If there is any core lesson here it is that teams do not benefit from scheduling tough non-conference games. It can only hurt your chances. Everyone wants to critique Michigan's horrid non-conference schedule, but why would they risk taking a loss when they have the Buckeyes in the final game year in and year out and will be in the discussion even if they lose that game?
Oregon could very well beat UCLA, Utah, Washington and USC in the title game (which is just as good if not better than the Vols) and miss the Playoff because they lost to Georgia in the first week. They play any other FCS team and they are a lock as an undefeated.
Believe it or not we still have a long way to go and much to decide. Cannot wait to see what this CFB weekend has in store.