One Foot Inbounds

Michigan exploded offensively to pull away late from Ohio State while USC handled Notre Dame in the trenches.

USC, TCU, and Michigan all escaped with their playoff hopes intact, while Tennessee’s dream season was vanquished at the hands of South Carolina.

TCU beat a tough Texas team on the road with a stifling defensive performance, while Pac-12 Contenders Oregon and UCLA went down at home in deflating upsets.

Georgia asserted its dominance over Tennessee in the trenches and on the outside, Alabama isn’t championship caliber this year, and Clemson got hammered for its first loss.

Ohio State, Georgia, and Tennessee held serve in advance of the monstrous Georgia-Tennessee game. Syracuse, Oklahoma State, Wake Forest, and Cincinnati suffered dispiriting losses and had their hopes for the season dampened.

The unbeaten list was trimmed from nine to six as UCLA, Ole Miss, and Syracuse fell for the first time this year. TCU, Oklahoma State, and Alabama took care of business to keep their postseason aspirations alive.

The Tennessee Volunteers won the game of the year, defeating Alabama for the first time since 2006. After dark, Utah won a shootout to hand Lincoln Riley his first loss at USC.

The Volunteers and Bruins had their way with very good opponents, Mississippi State and Texas impressed with blowouts of their own, while close wins for Alabama, Notre Dame, and TCU can teach us about those teams, too.

Clemson defeated its second consecutive competitor for the ACC Atlantic crown, Alabama figured it out and rolled despite a Bryce Young injury, Georgia survived Missouri but looked vulnerable for the second straight week, and Michigan won an Iowa kind of football game.

Clemson and Oklahoma experienced massive issues on defense, but the Clemson passing game was surprisingly the unit able to withstand the opposing onslaught and pull out a win.