Brian’s College Football Top 5: Week 13

Photo by Amanda Loman of the Associated Press

Saturday was a sad day.

It was the last Saturday with all day college football until next season.

Sure, we still have the conference championship games next weekend, and I’ll obviously be watching those, but it’s just not the same as staying up till 2 A.M. watching the Apple Cup.

Regardless, it was still an incredible weekend.

Here is this week’s top 5.

5. Purdue Boilermakers

Was Purdue’s game impressive? Eh, not really.

Was their season impressive? Eh, not really.

But they did win the Big 10 West and now face 12-0 Michigan for a Big 10 championship opportunity.

Here come the Spoilermakers…

4. Texas A&M Aggies

This season did not exactly go as people expected for the Aggies.

Unless you’re me, who expected them to not be very good considering their team was a bunch of freshmen.

But still, it’s always nice to play spoiler, and with “rival” (it is not a real rivalry do not let anyone tell you otherwise) LSU having an outside chance at the playoff, it had to leave a good taste in the mouth of Aggies’ fans to ruin those chances with a dominating victory at home.

Still, a lot of people will be wondering where this team was all year.

3. South Carolina Gamecocks

Speaking of “where has this been all year?”…

What the hell, South Carolina?

This was supposed to be a huge step forward for South Carolina, and the season just didn’t materialize that way.

That is, until the last two weeks of the season, when they spoiled Tennessee AND Clemson’s playoff chances, and broke a losing streak to their in state rivals.

Overall, the season very well might be remembered by outsiders as a “what could have been” season, but Gamecocks fans for sure don’t care.

They ended the year on the sweetest possible note.

2. Oregon State Beavers

It’s one thing to come back from a double digit deficit against your rival.

It’s another thing to do it the way you know how and not worry about time or the game state.

The Beavs were down 34-17 in the 4th quarter, but they forced Oregon’s offense into mistakes and ran the ball down their throats to come back and win 38-34.

And I’m not kidding when I say that.

Oregon State, down 17 in the 4th quarter, came back and won the game without throwing a single pass on 3 consecutive scoring drives.

16 plays. 16 runs.

THAT, is imposing your will on your opponent.

1. Michigan Wolverines

Last year when Michigan beat Ohio State, it was important for the program and Harbaugh, but it never felt like a “changing of the guard” moment in the Big 10.

Michigan is a run first team and Ohio State is a pass first team, the game was in Ann Arbor and it was snowing. It was a perfect storm for a Michigan victory.

This year, the game was in Columbus. It was perfect weather. Ohio State had a clear quarterback advantage.

The result? The same as a year ago.

Michigan dominated offensively, mainly through the passing game, and blew the doors off Ohio State in Columbus.

2021 may not have been a changing of the guard, but 2022 sure feels like one.

Michigan may be heading their way toward being bonafide championship contenders.