Best of Week 12: Top 25, Gophers lose, Georgia wins SEC East

Week 12 of the college football season brings with it a full slate of Top 25 games and plenty of drama. We’ll have all the news, analysis and best moments of the day covered right here.

Jump to: Top 25 games | Best of Week 12

Injury updates and latest news

• Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, was carted off the field with an injury in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Mississippi State. He has a dislocated right hip and will miss the rest of the season, according to sources.

• Notre Dame’s streak of 273 straight home sellouts, second nationally only to Nebraska’s 373 straight, ended with Saturday’s game against Navy.

• South Carolina athletic director Ray Tanner gave his coach a vote of confidence, saying “I want to make it clear that Will Muschamp is our football coach and will be our coach going forward.”

He took a flying leap!

ESPN’s Pat McAfee once took an infamous swim in an Indianapolis canal. Saturday, he made a splash in the beautiful, murky green waters of Waco, Texas.

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During College GameDay, Pat McAfee belly flops into the Brazos River while wearing a full suit.

Best of the week

Like looking in a mirror

Bella Martina, a 16-year-old Georgia high school student who went viral with her re-creations of Trevor Lawrence photos, met the Clemson QB. “That one girl actually does look a lot like me so it’s kind of crazy,” Lawrence said previously. He was right.

Look who Trevor Lawrence just met. #TikTok #Clemson pic.twitter.com/RFOBL2EZfm

— TheClemsonInsider (@ClemsonInsider) November 16, 2019

For the uninitiated, here was the video that started all the fun.

Bruh 😂 pic.twitter.com/tK5dOPbWMB

— RunDaBawl.com®️ (@FunnyMaine) November 2, 2019

Suitable for framing
Michigan players Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and Khaleke Hudson celebrated a win over Michigan State and holding on to the Paul Bunyan Trophy — once called “the ugliest trophy in college football” by former Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr, according to the Detroit Free Press — with a pose replicating the mythical lumberjack.

Whole squad struck the Paul Bunyan pose pic.twitter.com/kgxYseGVzW

— Patrick Barron (@BlueBarronPhoto) November 16, 2019

Now, that’s a wave

One of the best things in college football is the fans and players waving to the kids at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which overlooks Kinnick Stadium. Saturday, four-time cancer survivor Casey O’Brien took part in the tradition.

Minnesota’s Casey O’Brien is a four-time cancer survivor.

On Saturday, he was part of Iowa’s traditional wave to the children’s hospital 🙌

(via @BigTenNetwork) pic.twitter.com/V9e0NsFJb5

— ESPN (@espn) November 16, 2019

A really big play
Ball State senior offensive lineman Danny Pinter got a taste of glory with a touchdown catch.

The BIG FELLA trucks into the end zone for a TOUCHDOWN!@BallStateFB leads 10-3 pic.twitter.com/FJsM3Yv2zl

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) November 16, 2019

College football’s meme team

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From the LSU Stare Girl to the Florida State Book Reader, you never know who will become the next viral image and newest member of college football’s Meme Team.

Go inside the world of the suddenly famous college football fans, plucked from obscurity by television producers, then launched into the world in meme form through myriad social media platforms. It’s the modern twist on Andy Warhol’s “15 minutes of fame” theory, only these 15 minutes are portioned out in three-second GIFs over years and years. For more, read David M. Hale’s story on college football’s instafamous fans.

Ferocious attack
It has been a rough year for Oklahoma’s Sooner Schooner. First, it took a spill in Norman last month during the West Virginia game. Now, before the Sooners’ big game in Waco, a miniature version of it was toppled by a full-sized animal (not sure if it was Judge Joy or Judge Lady, tbh) inside Baylor’s bear habitat.

⚠️Warning⚠️
Travel by covered wagon comes with high risk of bear attacks @Baylor @BaylorAthletics @BUFootball @OU_Football @OU_Athletics pic.twitter.com/MKeQ4axPfT

— Judge Joy and Judge Lady (@bubearhabitat) November 15, 2019

Top 25 games

In order of game time, with College Football Playoff rankings; lines courtesy Caesars Sportsbook

New Mexico at No. 21 Boise State
Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
How to watch: ESPN2 and ESPN app
Line: Boise State -28
And our best line: Boise State currently has an 89% chance to win the Mountain division and a 75% chance to win the Mountain West, according to FPI.

Arizona at No. 6 Oregon
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN app
Line: Oregon -27.5
And our best line: The Ducks have a 31% chance to reach the College Football Playoff, the best of any Pac-12 team and fifth best of any school in FBS. Oregon can become the first Pac-12 team to make the CFP multiple times since it began in 2014.

What the games mean

No. 2 Ohio State 56, Rutgers 21
Let’s be honest: The only question was whether the Buckeyes would cover. (In a bit of an upset, they did not.) Rutgers was mostly overwhelmed, Justin Fields went over 300 passing yards for the first time, JK Dobbins went without a second-half carry for the fourth time, Chase Young finished his suspension, no key players got hurt, and now, with the formalities out of the way, it’s time to gear up for Ohio State-Penn State. — Bill Connelly

No. 3 Clemson 52, Wake Forest 3
The Tigers did what they have done over the past six games — dominate an overmatched ACC opponent with relative ease. This time, the domination came against one of the better teams in the league in Wake Forest. Once again, Clemson pulled its starters before the fourth quarter even began. Trevor Lawrence threw four touchdown passes, and he has zero interceptions since throwing two in the first quarter against Louisville on Oct. 19. This is Clemson’s sixth game with 50 or more points this season, most in the FBS. Meanwhile, the defense shut down the No. 2 offense in the ACC. After an open date, the Tigers play rival South Carolina. The idea will be the same — win that plus the ACC championship game and they are back in the playoff. — Andrea Adelson

No. 4 Georgia 21, No. 12 Auburn 14
The Bulldogs clinched the SEC East, and should remain in the selection committee’s No. 4 spot this week, with their toughest regular-season games behind them. Wins on Saturday by Notre Dame and Florida will also continue to help separate Georgia from the rest of the one-loss pack. If Georgia can defeat LSU to win the SEC title, it would give the conference its best shot at having two teams finish in the top four.

Unlike in the season-opening win against Oregon, the fourth-quarter magic of Bo Nix came up short. The Tigers will have a chance to recover this week against FCS Samford, but all eyes will be on the Nov. 30 Iron Bowl to see what Alabama looks like without injured starter Tua Tagovailoa. The question is if Auburn can play the role of spoiler, or if Alabama can still state its case as a top-four team without Tagovailoa. — Heather Dinich

No. 5 Alabama 38, Mississippi State 7
Alabama scored an easy, and very costly, win in Starkville. The Tide bolted to a 35-7 lead in the second quarter and cruised, but the obvious story wasn’t the result. Tua Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip late in the first half, then Bama’s star defensive lineman, Raekwon Davis, went down as well. Tagovailoa is done for the season with two regular-season games left and the Tide still immersed in the national title hunt. — Bill Connelly

No. 20 Iowa 23, No. 8 Minnesota 19
The offense Hawkeyes fans waited for all season finally showed up. An aggressive, creative and balanced approach gave Iowa a nice first-half lead against unbeaten Minnesota. Senior quarterback Nate Stanley passed the ball with confidence, and Iowa finally wised up and used dynamic freshman Tyler Goodson (94 yards, 1 TD) as its featured back. Although the Hawkeyes’ defense struggled with Minnesota’s talented receivers, pressure from A.J. Epenesa, Kristian Welch and others did enough to slow down the Gophers. Why it took so long for Iowa to perform like this is a question that will linger throughout the offseason, but the Hawkeyes kept the Floyd of Rosedale trophy and notched a signature win.

A one-dimensional offense and a defense that started too slowly led to Minnesota’s first loss, which likely ends its playoff chances. P.J. Fleck’s team didn’t wilt at Kinnick Stadium, by far the toughest environment the Gophers have seen this season, but it couldn’t convert yards into points, generate a run game or contain a more balanced Iowa offense with a hot quarterback in Stanley. Minnesota’s miscues in the red zone proved especially costly. The Gophers remain in good shape to win their first West Division title but likely must beat rival Wisconsin on Nov. 30 at TCF Bank Stadium. — Adam Rittenberg

No. 9 Penn State 34, Indiana 27
The Nittany Lions strung together a gritty, 18-play scoring drive that ate 9:01 off the clock late in the fourth quarter to beat a much-improved Indiana team and keep their playoff hopes alive. PSU can now focus on Ohio State — the most important remaining regular-season game for both teams, as it will decide the East winner. ESPN’s FPI gives PSU a 15.9% chance to win, but an upset would catapult it right back into the conversation. — Heather Dinich

No. 11 Florida 23, Missouri 6
It took a while for the Gators to get going offensively in a win over Missouri but there were definite bright spots, including the continued development of Kyle Trask — who has now thrown two touchdown passes in eight straight games, the longest streak by a Florida player since Tim Tebow in 2008 (10 straight). The defense had another big game, and Jonathan Greenard appeared to be rounding back into form with two sacks and five tackles for loss. The Gators have an open date to prepare for rival Florida State, where they will try for back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since 2008-2009. — Andrea Adelson

No. 14 Wisconsin 37, Nebraska 21
The Badgers stayed within striking distance of Minnesota in the Big Ten West by winning 37-21 at Nebraska. It was the Jonathan Taylor show once again, as the star tailback ran 25 times for 204 yards with two touchdowns. It was the third time Taylor ran for 200 yards or more against the Cornhuskers. He has 11 career games with at least 200 yards, which ties Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams and Marcus Allen for the most in FBS history, according to data from ESPN Stats & Information. With 5,634 career rushing yards, Taylor passed 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker’s NCAA record for most rushing yards by a player through his junior season. Walker had 5,596 yards from 1980-82. — Mark Schlabach

No. 15 Michigan 44, Michigan State 10
Michigan moved to 8-2 with an improving offense and only Indiana and Ohio State remaining on the schedule. That rivalry game against the Buckeyes is a lot more intriguing than it looked at the beginning of the season, but Indiana is no pushover. The Wolverines will need similar performances out of quarterback Shea Patterson, who threw for more than 350 yards. — Tom VanHaaren

No. 16 Notre Dame 52, No. 23 Navy 20
The Fighting Irish have found another gear. Since the blowout loss to Michigan and a funky, narrow win against Virginia Tech, Notre Dame has beaten Duke and Navy by a combined 90-27. The Irish put up 300 yards and 38 points in the first half and cruised. Finish strong against BC and Stanford, and Notre Dame could be in position for a New Year’s Six bowl, not a bad consolation prize considering how dire things looked in Ann Arbor.

Navy’s first game as a ranked team in more than two years couldn’t possibly have started worse: The Midshipmen lost fumbles on their first two possessions, Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four of its first 17 plays, and that was that. The good news: It wasn’t a conference game. Ken Niumatalolo’s squad will now prepare to rebound against SMU in a game that, depending on how Memphis is faring, could still have AAC West title implications. — Bill Connelly

No. 18 Memphis 45, Houston 27
The Tigers got off to a slow start, but outscored Houston 35-3 in the second and third quarters to remain in contention for a New Year’s Six bowl bid. Memphis outgained Houston 531-256 in total yards, and held the Cougars to 99 rushing yards. As long as Memphis avoids an upset at South Florida on Saturday, the Tigers will have a chance to take the lead in the NY6 race if they can end the regular season with a win against Cincinnati. — Heather Dinich

Iowa State 23, No. 19 Texas 21
The Longhorns’ appearance in the CFP top 25 might be fleeting, as they were stunned by unranked Iowa State’s game-winning field goal as time expired. It was the Cyclones’ first win against Texas since 2015. It’s not going to get any easier, as Texas is at Baylor on Saturday, and ESPN’s FPI gives the Longhorns a 37% chance to win. If Texas does fall out of the ranking, it will impact the playoff résumés of both Baylor and Oklahoma. — Heather Dinich

No. 22 Oklahoma State 31, Kansas 13
The Cowboys have quietly won three games in a row to climb up the Big 12 standings, the latest a 31-13 decision over Kansas. Tailback Chuba Hubbard ran for 122 yards with two touchdowns on 23 carries. It was his seventh game this season with at least 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns, which is second-most in a season in Big 12 history, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Texas’ Ricky Williams had eight such games in 1997. OSU’s defense turned in one of its better performances of the season, limiting the Jayhawks to only 290 total yards, including 39 rushing. The Pokes also picked off three passes. — Mark Schlabach

West Virginia 24, No. 24 Kansas State 20
The Wildcats’ first “bad” loss of the season came courtesy of West Virginia, a squad that had just one conference win before coming into the Little Apple. The loss, the Wildcats’ second straight after falling at Texas a week ago, virtually wipes away any outside shot they might have had at sneaking into a Big 12 title game. Two turnovers and too many mistakes spelled doom for a K-State team that was better in most other statistical categories on Saturday. — Sam Khan Jr.