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College Football Roundup: Week 12

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I was kind of just running away.” —Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon on setting the FBS record for the most yards rushed in a single game. Gordon ran a whopping 408 yards on Saturday, leading his team to a 59-21 win against Nebraska. The record was previously held by TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson, who set the record with 406 yards in 1999.

THINGS TO KNOW

• No. 5 Alabama Beat No. 1 Mississippi State

In perhaps the biggest game of the week, No. 1 Mississippi State lost its first game of the season to No. 5 Alabama, which puts Alabama at the top of the SEC West and in prime position for a spot in the four-team playoff at the end of the season.

But Mississippi State’s chances of earning a spot in the playoff aren’t dead yet. Mississippi State lost the game close, 20-25, on the road, and playoff favorites Florida State and TCU struggled this week against teams with mediocre records, so it’s possible Mississippi State could earn a spot anyway. Alabama also must win the rest of their games in order to keep Mississippi State out of the hunt for the SEC Championship. Reminder: The College Football Playoff committee has said they will give preference to conference champions when deciding which teams will make it to the playoff.

A few scenarios: 1) Should Alabama wins the rest of their games, Alabama will represent the SEC West in the SEC championship. 2) Should Alabama lose to SEC rival Auburn in two weeks and Mississippi State win the rest of their games, Mississippi State will represent the SEC West in the SEC championship. 3) Should BOTH Alabama and Mississippi State lose in the coming weeks, neither will represent the SEC West in the SEC championship. Rather, Ole Miss, the other highly-ranked team from Mississippi, will. Stay tuned.

• No. 6 Arizona State Lost

Playoff favorite No. 6 Arizona State lost to unranked Oregon State this weekend, probably ending Arizona State’s chances of competing in the playoff. This weekend’s loss was Arizona State’s second of the season, putting Arizona State in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-12 South.

LOOK AT IT THIS WAY…

• How much is winning really worth?

$6.3 million, according to the University of Florida. The school announced Sunday that Will Muschamp, Florida’s head coach, will not return to coach next season, and the school will pay Muschamp $6.3 million to step down, according to ESPN. The announcement comes after Muschamp’s team lost 20-23 in overtime to South Carolina at home Saturday. Florida, though 5-4 this season, finished the 2013 season 4-8.

GAME SPEAK

• Head-to-head

“Head-to-head” matchups are simply games in which two teams play each other. Head-to-heads become extremely important as the season draws to a close because they often determine which teams will represent their division in conference championships. For example, if two teams are tied for first in their division with the same number of wins and losses, the tiebreaker is often the head-to-head, so whichever team won the head-to-head matchup is considered the winner.

Read up: overtime, conference championship, take a knee, shut out, strength of schedule, wildcat, tiebreaker, rushing yards, trap game, pick six, cupcake, conference

GAMES TO WATCH

• Arizona (#15) at Utah (#20): ESPN, Saturday, Nov. 15,  3:30 EST

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