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Matt Zenitz |
An 18-point lead had shrunk to three.
With 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Clemson held a lead of just 28-25 over 3-8 South Carolina, which lost its previous game to a school named The Citadel.
The combination of the No. 1 Tigers' narrow 34-25 win over South Carolina and No. 2 Alabama beating Auburn for its ninth straight win could lead to a change at the top of the College Football Playoff rankings.
The new rankings will be released Tuesday night.
Clemson has been No. 1 since the initial Playoff rankings were released Nov. 3.
The Tigers beat then-No. 16 Florida State, 23-13, Nov. 7 and improved to 12-0 with the win over South Carolina.
However, here are Clemson's last three games:
— A 37-27 win over 3-6 Syracuse Nov. 14, a game the Tigers led by just seven midway through the fourth quarter.
— A 33-13 win over 3-7 Wake Forest Nov. 21.
— The game against South Carolina.
Alabama has a loss. Clemson doesn't. But the Tigers have just two wins over ranked teams. The Tide has five, including three against top-10 teams.
Alabama lost, 43-37, to then-No. 15 Ole Miss Sept. 19. The team has outscored those other five ranked opponents by an average margin of 31-14.
While the Tide held a fourth quarter lead of just 19-13 over 6-5 Auburn Saturday before pulling away for a 29-13 win, Alabama beat then-No. 17 Mississippi State, 31-6, and then-No. 2 LSU, 30-16, in its previous two games against FBS opponents.
The Tide will play Florida in the SEC championship game on Saturday.
"We're playing the best team in college football," Gators coach Jim McElwain said.
Alabama is a 17-point favorite over Florida, which lost, 27-2, to Florida State Saturday after pulling out an overtime win against lowly FAU in its previous game.
Clemson, meanwhile, will have a chance to make a statement about the caliber of its team.
The Tigers will face North Carolina in the ACC championship game.
The Tar Heels have won 11 straight games since a season-opening loss to South Carolina.
North Carolina was No. 14 in the Playoff rankings last week. It will likely move up to at least No. 10 after No. 7 Baylor, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 12 Florida each lost either Friday or Saturday.
In the meantime, it's possible the Tigers could drop as low as No. 3 in the new Playoff rankings behind both Alabama and Oklahoma, which was No. 3 in last week's rankings.
Like the Tide, the Sooners have five wins over ranked teams, including three in their last three games.
Oklahoma beat then-No. 6 Baylor, 44-34, Nov. 14, then-No. 18 TCU, 30-29, Nov. 21 and No. 11 Oklahoma State, 58-23, Saturday.
It's worth mentioning, though, that Baylor lost standout quarterback Seth Russell to a season-ending injury prior to the game against the Sooners while TCU faced Oklahoma without star quarterback Trevone Boykin and Oklahoma State played most of Saturday's game without starting quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Either way, Oklahoma likely locked up a spot in the Playoff with its win over Oklahoma State.
Alabama and Clemson will both be in with wins Saturday.
The same can be said for the winner of the Big Ten championship game, which features No. 4 Iowa vs. No. 5 Michigan State.
Seemingly, the only challenge for the Playoff committee if Alabama and Clemson both win is figuring out where all four Playoff teams should be ranked.
No. 1 will face No. 4 in Miami. No. 2 will play No. 3 in Dallas.
"I feel like we'll be hard to beat," Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland said. "If guys keep executing the way that we know we can and guys keep paying attention to coach [Nick Saban], then we're going to be a hard team to beat."
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With 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Clemson held a lead of just 28-25 over 3-8 South Carolina, which lost its previous game to a school named The Citadel.
The combination of the No. 1 Tigers' narrow 34-25 win over South Carolina and No. 2 Alabama beating Auburn for its ninth straight win could lead to a change at the top of the College Football Playoff rankings.
The new rankings will be released Tuesday night.
Clemson has been No. 1 since the initial Playoff rankings were released Nov. 3.
The Tigers beat then-No. 16 Florida State, 23-13, Nov. 7 and improved to 12-0 with the win over South Carolina.
However, here are Clemson's last three games:
— A 37-27 win over 3-6 Syracuse Nov. 14, a game the Tigers led by just seven midway through the fourth quarter.
— A 33-13 win over 3-7 Wake Forest Nov. 21.
— The game against South Carolina.
Alabama has a loss. Clemson doesn't. But the Tigers have just two wins over ranked teams. The Tide has five, including three against top-10 teams.
Alabama lost, 43-37, to then-No. 15 Ole Miss Sept. 19. The team has outscored those other five ranked opponents by an average margin of 31-14.
While the Tide held a fourth quarter lead of just 19-13 over 6-5 Auburn Saturday before pulling away for a 29-13 win, Alabama beat then-No. 17 Mississippi State, 31-6, and then-No. 2 LSU, 30-16, in its previous two games against FBS opponents.
The Tide will play Florida in the SEC championship game on Saturday.
"We're playing the best team in college football," Gators coach Jim McElwain said.
Alabama is a 17-point favorite over Florida, which lost, 27-2, to Florida State Saturday after pulling out an overtime win against lowly FAU in its previous game.
Clemson, meanwhile, will have a chance to make a statement about the caliber of its team.
The Tigers will face North Carolina in the ACC championship game.
The Tar Heels have won 11 straight games since a season-opening loss to South Carolina.
North Carolina was No. 14 in the Playoff rankings last week. It will likely move up to at least No. 10 after No. 7 Baylor, No. 10 Michigan, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 12 Florida each lost either Friday or Saturday.
In the meantime, it's possible the Tigers could drop as low as No. 3 in the new Playoff rankings behind both Alabama and Oklahoma, which was No. 3 in last week's rankings.
Like the Tide, the Sooners have five wins over ranked teams, including three in their last three games.
Oklahoma beat then-No. 6 Baylor, 44-34, Nov. 14, then-No. 18 TCU, 30-29, Nov. 21 and No. 11 Oklahoma State, 58-23, Saturday.
It's worth mentioning, though, that Baylor lost standout quarterback Seth Russell to a season-ending injury prior to the game against the Sooners while TCU faced Oklahoma without star quarterback Trevone Boykin and Oklahoma State played most of Saturday's game without starting quarterback Mason Rudolph.
Either way, Oklahoma likely locked up a spot in the Playoff with its win over Oklahoma State.
Alabama and Clemson will both be in with wins Saturday.
The same can be said for the winner of the Big Ten championship game, which features No. 4 Iowa vs. No. 5 Michigan State.
Seemingly, the only challenge for the Playoff committee if Alabama and Clemson both win is figuring out where all four Playoff teams should be ranked.
No. 1 will face No. 4 in Miami. No. 2 will play No. 3 in Dallas.
"I feel like we'll be hard to beat," Tide linebacker Reggie Ragland said. "If guys keep executing the way that we know we can and guys keep paying attention to coach [Nick Saban], then we're going to be a hard team to beat."
Continue reading...
