Good teams are supposed to cruise late in the year against inferior opponents, and Ohio State certainly did that. Any time you can rack up 254 yards and four touchdowns on the ground it\u2019s likely to be relatively smooth smooth sailing.<\/p>\n
Quarterback Julian Sayin<\/a> continued his Heisman Trophy campaign, though it was a light day\u2019s work. He finished with 157 yards passing and two touchdowns in the ho-hum win for the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n RESULT: BYE Can Curt Cignetti\u2019s squad keep it rolling in the finale against Purdue on the road? There\u2019s a lot riding on it, including a potential first-round playoff bye and Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Heisman Trophy hopes.<\/p>\n RESULT: 48-0 win vs. Samford<\/a> The Texas A&M offense, meanwhile, had a well-balanced day. Four quarterbacks threw passes. Marcel Reed<\/a> threw three touchdowns before exciting. Meanwhile, Amari Daniels<\/a> topped 100 yards on the ground to lead a 247-yard team effort.<\/p>\n RESULT: 35-3 win vs. Charlotte<\/a> Quarterback Gunner Stockton<\/a> was held without a touchdown and did throw an interception. But Georgia leaned on the ground game for five scores and a relatively easy win over a very overmatched Charlotte team.<\/p>\n RESULT: BYE The Rebels will have one game remaining against rival Mississippi State<\/a>. Win that one, though, and Ole Miss should be into the playoff field as one of the strongest top 25 teams in the country.<\/p>\n RESULT: 42-27 win vs. USC<\/a> Quarterback Dante Moore<\/a> was sharp when it mattered most. He was picked off once but threw two absolute dimes for touchdowns in the contest. He finished with 257 yards and continues to look the part of a Heisman Trophy finalist.<\/p>\n RESULT: BYE There remains one tricky game left on the schedule, though. A regular season finale on the road at West Virginia<\/a> is the last test remaining before a potential Big 12 title game appearance.<\/p>\n RESULT: 17-6 win vs. Missouri<\/a> Meanwhile, John Mateer<\/a> needed a ton of volume to achieve 173 yards passing and two touchdowns. He threw 30 passes, completing only 14 of them. Still, it was enough to eke out an all-important win that preserved playoff hopes.<\/p>\n RESULT: 70-7 win vs. Syracuse<\/a> The game was over by the time the second quarter hit, as Notre Dame hung half its 70-point total in the first quarter. Survive and advance is the name of the game for the Fighting Irish, who remain highly ranked in the top 25 ahead of the regular season finale at Stanford<\/a>.<\/p>\n RESULT: 56-0 win<\/a> vs. Eastern Illinois<\/a> Alabama used its overmatched opponent to rest and recover and get plenty of different folks reps. Three quarterbacks threw at least five passes on Saturday, and the backups were sharp. All that is left is the game against Auburn<\/a>, which will determine whether Alabama reaches the SEC Championship Game.<\/p>\n Rest of the AP Top 25 Projections<\/p>\n BYU Cougars<\/a> (10-1)<\/p>\n Vanderbilt Commodores<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n Utah Utes<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n Miami Hurricanes<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n Texas Longhorns<\/a> (8-3)<\/p>\n Michigan Wolverines<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n Virginia Cavaliers<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n Tennessee Volunteers<\/a> (8-3)<\/p>\n James Madison Dukes<\/a> (10-1)<\/p>\n North Texas Mean Green<\/a> (10-1)<\/p>\n Tulane Green Wave<\/a> (9-2)<\/p>\n USC Trojans<\/a> (8-3)<\/p>\n Navy Midshipmen<\/a> (8-2)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Fernando-Mendoza-unloads-passionate-reasoning-to-stay-in-despite-injury-Im-going-to-put-my-life-on-t.png\")
Matthew O\u2019Haren-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Indiana was on a bye week after skating by Wisconsin<\/a> the week prior. Indiana has only had a handful of close games, with Penn State, Oregon and Iowa the only schools to keep things close against the high-powered Hoosiers.<\/p>\n
Texas A&M\u2019s defense was the story in the game against Samford, keeping the Bulldogs from doing just about anything. It was the epitome of a top 25 team taking on an overmatched opponent. Samford totaled less than 100 yards of total offense, picking up 46 yards passing and 31 yards rushing.<\/p>\n
Like Texas A&M, the defense was the story of the day in Athens, though it wasn\u2019t quite as pronounced. Georgia gave up 169 total yards in the contest, keeping Charlotte at bay throughout the afternoon.<\/p>\n![\"Ole](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/lane-kiffin-2.jpg\")
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (Photo: \u00a9 Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Few teams will have had as chaotic a bye week as Ole Miss, which is in the middle of a tug-of-war over coach Lane Kiffin<\/a>\u2018s services. Florida<\/a> and LSU<\/a> have both come calling and Ole Miss is at least trying to fend off the advances enough to finish out a really strong regular season.<\/p>\n
Oregon had one of the more challenging two-game stretches to finish the season, taking on USC and then Washington<\/a>. Well, the first test has been passed with flying colors, as the Ducks cruised on Saturday and never broke much of a sweat.<\/p>\n
Few teams in the top 25 are as hot as Texas Tech right now. The Red Raiders have piled up a month\u2019s straight worth of blowout victories, dating back to the lone loss of the season against Arizona State<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"OU](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/John-Mateer22-e1763854195121-1024x539.jpg\")
OU quarterback John Mateer. (Bryan Terry \u2013 Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
Beau Pribula<\/a> returned at quarterback for Missouri, a remarkably quick recovery following a scary injury a few weeks back. But Oklahoma\u2019s defense kept him out of sorts. He threw two interceptions and did not find the end zone.<\/p>\n
Notre Dame continues to cruise and running back Jeremiyah Love<\/a> continues to make a case to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Love was once again fantastic on Saturday, this time needing only eight carries to rush for 171 yards and three scores.<\/p>\n
It was a perfectly balanced effort for Alabama, which scored exactly 14 points in each quarter and finished with 270 passing yards and 269 rushing yards in the contest. Seriously, does it get more symmetrical than that?<\/p>\n