There weren’t many changes towards the top of the new College Football Playoff Rankings, but there’s still plenty to review from a relatively wild Week 11 slate, as eight ranked teams suffered defeat—four to unranked teams and three to teams with a losing record.
The SEC clearly remains the dominant conference, representing four of the top eight teams in the country. Here’s a breakdown of the week’s winners and losers.
Winner: LSU phenom Harold Perkins puts himself in the record books
The Tigers’ offense has been prone to notoriously stagnant starts under first-year coach Brian Kelly, who nearly appeared on the loser’s list this week from a few egregious fourth-down decisions, including going for it inside the Tigers’ own 20-yard line early in the second quarter.
It wasn’t a pretty, but LSU came away with a gritty, hard-fought 13-10 victory over Arkansas and punched its ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game against top-ranked Georgia, thanks in large part to the heroics from true freshman phenom Harold Perkins.
“Harold Perkins was outstanding today. He was all over the field,” coach Kelly said after the game. “His athletic ability, his ability to consistently make plays and getting him in a position to make plays a true freshman” has been key.
One of the biggest breakout stars in all of college football, Perkins is still learning how to play the position. But you wouldn’t know it based off his impact on Saturday.
The true freshman became just the fourth FBS player in the last 15 years to rack up four sacks (tied the all-time school record) and two forced fumbles in the same game, all while fighting off the flu in 34-degree weather. Perkins was also named the Walter Camp national defensive player of the week for his spectacular performance.
Winner: Reigning Heisman winner Bryce Young
Eighth-ranked Alabama is a massive long-shot to get back to the national title game and Bryce Young’s Heisman odds aren’t any better (+8000; tied for ninth-best), but he lit a fire on the sideline, put the team on his back and put together a show with another phenomenally clutch performance with a come-from-behind 30-24 win in a hostile environment at Ole Miss.
“Bryce Young put on that Superman cape and made plays at the end,” said Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, who made a concerted effort to offer congratulations with the reigning Heisman winner. “He’s a special player.”
CBS Sports’ Brian Jones said during the halftime show that Alabama would be a four or five-loss team without Bryce Young.
Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud may be a slight betting favorite (+185) over Young (+250) at the moment but Bryce clearly solidified himself as the current front-runner—at least in my eyes—to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft. Those sentiments are shared by TexansWire’s John Crumpler and ESPN 97.5’s Cody Stoots.
CFB and Draft analyst Thor Nystrom also had a compelling take on their supporting casts.
The Tide will cap off the season against Austin Peay and Auburn before a likely New Year’s Six bowl.
Loser: Kentucky
The recent struggles for standout quarterback and potential first round pick Will Levis continued in Saturday’s stunning 24-21 loss to Vanderbilt, completing 11 of 23 passes for just 109 yards and a touchdown with a horrendous 15.5 QB rating.
The Wildcats were massive 17-point favorites. There were quite a few culprits for the remarkable upset but an ability to defend the Commodores’ ground game and stalling out three times in the red zone in the first half and having to settle for field goals played a major role.
“You give them credit,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said after the loss, via ESPN. “I have been there. I know how hard they’ve worked. It’s a good moment for them. It’s hard for me to put my finger on (one) thing. Disappointed with the way things have gone. I think everyone is. For whatever reason I’m not getting it done with this team.”
Star RB Chris Rodriguez was the main bright spot for the Wildcats, rushing for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 18 carries. But the team is in a rough spot after starting off last month ranked seventh in the nation with playoff aspirations.
Winner: Tennessee speedster Jalin Hyatt
At this point, it seems like just another day at the office for one of the big breakout stars of the 2022 season, who has been a key part of Tennessee’s potential playoff push.
On the heels of a rough loss to top-ranked Georgia, the Vols got off to a sluggish start against Missouri and were only up by four midway through the third quarter.
That’s when Heisman contender Hendon Hooker and his favorite target Hyatt made a house call and turned on the jets, setting school records with 66 points and 724 yards of offense.
Hyatt now has 58 receptions for 1,116 yards (2nd-most in the country) and a whopping 15 touchdowns, which leads the nation.
In just the last five weeks, Hyatt has hauled in 31 receptions for 728 yards and 10 TDs—which includes pivotal matchups under the national spotlight against Georgia, Alabama and LSU.
Hooker and Hyatt are both shaping up as strong Day 2 options in the 2023 NFL Draft at the very least and could hear their names called in the first round. They’ll cap off the regular season on the road against South Carolina and Vanderbilt and may need to continue to pile up style points to improve their odds of making it to the College Football Playoff.
Loser: Texas A&M hits new low under coach Jimbo Fisher
Decimated with illnesses, injuries and losses to the transfer portal, the Aggies hit a new low with their sixth consecutive loss on Saturday, falling 13-10 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“We could not get in rhythm,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Whether we dropped the ball, whether we got a sack, whether we had a penalty, whether we had a negative run…”
Losing star running back Devon Achane to injury and not having standout WR Moose Muhammad for “internal issues” certainly contributed to the abysmal showing from Texas A&M’s offense.
It’s the program’s first losing season since 2009 and their first year without a bowl game bid since 2008. The Aggies kicked off the season ranked sixth in the nation with playoff aspirations.
Winner: Vanderbilt ends losing streak
The Commodores won their first conference matchup in over three years, ending a 26-game losing streak as a 17-point underdog on the road against 24th-ranked Kentucky.
“You got a bunch of guys that are righting,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said, via CBS Sports. “We’re building a program and building a program’s hard. It takes people that are aligned, doing the right things the right way. And that’s what these guys are doing. I’m glad they got rewarded today.”
Quarterback Mike Wright has fought through plenty of adversity and put together a nice performance Saturday, hitting on 12 of 23 passes for 184 yards with a touchdown and interception. Wright also played a pivotal role in the ground game, rushing for 126 yards and a score on 11 carries.
Vanderbilt’s defense also was up to the task, racking up four sacks and six tackles for loss, along with a game-winning interception on the final play on potential 2023 first round QB Will Levis.
Winner: Ole Miss RB Quinshon Judkins
We highlighted him two weeks ago with his birthday bash but we have to mention him again after his stellar showing against Alabama. The freshman phenom gave the Rebels a real chance to pull the upset, rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
“It’s a shame. We had the ball in our hands at the end of the game and the crowd was in it, but we didn’t get it done,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said, via CBS Sports. “They’ve got great players and great coaches, too, but it’s just a shame.”
Judkins has already rushed for a whopping 15 touchdowns (fifth-most in the country) and 1,179 yards, which ranks ninth in the nation (just ahead of Bijan Robinson) and the most ever by a freshman in school history.
“Q is special,” Ole Miss wide receiver Jonathan Mingo said after their win over Texas A&M. “He’s probably like a once-in-a-lifetime-type player. It’s crazy that he’s a freshman because we get to have him for at least another two more years.”
The Rebels will clash with Arkansas and arch rival Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl before a potential New Year’s Six berth.
Loser: South Carolina
After bouncing back from a rough loss to Missouri with a win at Vanderbilt, the Gamecocks suffered an excruciating 38-6 loss at The Swamp. From start to finish, they were completely dominated on both sides of the ball.
Their low point came in the third quarter, when the Gamecocks somehow fumbled the ball away in three of their first four snaps to start the second half.
“I’ve never seen that,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “That’s just completely unacceptable.”
At least they can hang their hat on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Kai Kroeger on a fake punt.
Loser: Alabama RB Jahmyr Gibbs
While Alabama star quarterback Bryce Young and Ole Miss freshman phenom RB Quinshon Judkins shined under the spotlight, Gibbs—a star transfer from Georgia Tech and projected second round prospect—quietly struggled and was seen standing on the sideline with his helmet on for the entire second half without a reported injury.
Gibbs finished the game with just three yards on six carries and added a five-yard reception, as Jase McClellan took over the lead back role and finished with an efficient, hard-earned 84 yards on 19 carries.
“Jase stepped up tonight and took advantage of it,” coach Nick Saban said.
Saban later said Gibbs is day-to-day with an ankle injury, so we can chalk up his second-half absence to precautionary injury concerns.
Winner: Gators chomping at the bit in Napier era
Gibbs really impressed as of late with strong showings against Arkansas, Texas A&M, Tennessee and LSU, compiling 703 and six touchdowns combined in those four games. While McClellan has likely earned some more opportunities, Gibbs should have an opportunity to end the regular season on the right foot against Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
It remains to be seen whether standout quarterback Anthony Richardson will return next year or declare for the draft but the third-year sophomore put on a show in Saturday’s 38-6 drubbing of South Carolina. Richardson connected on 11 of 23 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 96 yards and another score.
At one point in the fourth quarter, the Gators had three players (Richardson and running backs Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne) each reach 100 yards on the ground—a milestone last accomplished by the program in 1984, per CBS Sports.
There have been plenty of obstacles this year for the Gators, who boast a 1-3 record against opponent currently ranked in the Top 10. But overall, it’s been a positive first season for head coach Billy Napier.
Honorable Mention: Auburn interim coach Cadillac Williams
We had to make room for the former Auburn star and NFL running back, who was “scared as a puppy” last week in his coaching debut, which resulted in a tough overtime loss against Mississippi State.
But Williams and his scrappy Tigers bounced back with a hard-fought 13-10 win against Texas A&M.
“When coach (Williams) got the job, the building changed,” running back Tank Bigsby said, alluding to the interim coach bringing an energy that had been lacking.
Bigsby and fellow running back Jarquez Hunter each rushed for 121 yards in the victory.
Michael Gartman is a contributor to TheInscriberMag.com. Follow him on Twitter and follow us on Facebook.