Dave Preston is an AP Top 25 voter. Read his ballots here.
The College Football Playoff field is set after Conference Championship Game weekend finalized the field. And just like the ACC Championship Game wasn’t set until the final game of the regular season, the ACC Championship Game would put the final touches to the 12-team field.
While Notre Dame misses the playoff despite winning 10 straight after an 0-2 start, it was at the expense of one of the teams they lost to (Miami was the last at-large team in the field).
I was surprised the committee went with a rematch of Alabama-Oklahoma in the first round, and there are those who felt that the Crimson Tide should have been excluded after their 21-point SEC Championship Game loss to Georgia (just like 11-win BYU was bounced because of their 27-point loss in the Big 12 Championship Game to Texas Tech).
Many will say that Tulane and James Madison don’t belong on the same field with the top 10 teams in the nation. But this is better than the BCS or a four-team field, right?
James Madison (12-1) got Troy’s best punch in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, leading 17-14 at intermission. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned this fall, it’s that JMU owns the second half, having outscored opponents 198-24 over their last eight regular season games. And Friday night they scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to put away Troy 31-14 and eventually maneuver into a College Football Playoff spot.
Duke Do’s: Wayne Knight rushed for 212 yards and a touchdown on a night where the passing game had issues. Alonza Barnett III added 85 yards and a score on the ground. Sahir West tallied three sacks while posting 10 tackles as the defense held the Trojans to 4-18 on third down.
Duke Don’ts: Barnett completed 40% of his passes for under 10 yards per completion and tossed an interception. The offense converted just 2-14 third downs. The defense delivered a pair of second quarter hiccups that resulted in touchdowns for Troy. The team committed seven penalties for 80 yards.
Next: Dec. 20 at Oregon on TNT in the first round of the College Football Playoff at 7:30 p.m.
Virginia (10-3) would have secured a berth in the College Playoff with a win over Duke in the ACC Championship Game but allowed the Blue Devils to reach the end zone twice on their first three possessions and trailed 20-10 in the fourth quarter. A last-second rally knotted things up at 20 with under a minute left in regulation. But the Blue Devils would score on a fourth and goal in overtime, before intercepting the Cavaliers on their first possession of the extra session in a 27-20 loss for Virginia. And just like they came from out of nowhere to play for an ACC Championship, their once far-fetched dreams of a first ever outright conference title remained just that — dreams.
Cavalier Congrats: The defense held the ACC’s most productive passing game to under 200 yards. Sixth year senior Harrison Waylee and J’Mari Taylor provided a nice one-two punch on the ground by combining for 131 yards and 26 carries.
Cavalier Concerns: Chandler Morris completed just 50.3% of his passes with 5.4 yards per attempt and two interceptions, including one in overtime. The defense took a while to find its legs in the first half, allowing two long drives for scores. And although Daniel Sparks averaged 50.5 yards per punt, his two touchbacks knocked the net down to 30.5 per kick.
Next: Dec. 27 against 8-4 Missouri in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on ABC at 7:30 p.m.
Navy (9-2): did not play this past weekend and faces Army this Saturday in Baltimore. The Midshipmen meet Cincinnati (7-5) Jan. 2 in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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