College football winners and losers: It’s not just about making the playoff

About the only two programs with playoff hopes in action Saturday are No. 1 Alabama and No. 6 Florida, both of whom have already clinched spots in the SEC title game. And Alabama could probably afford to lose to Arkansas in its regular season finale and still make the playoff if it handles business next week.

So, given how the playoff-or-bust mentality permeates the sport, what is the best way to size up this weekend? Well, how about appreciating some programs that won’t be earning a semifinal berth but nonetheless warrant attention for how their seasons have unfolded despite the trying circumstances.

Try these seven teams:

Coastal Carolina. The story of the season is playing in the midst of a pandemic. Whatever comes next — and it will be whoever emerges with a national title — will be a distant second.

But the third-most riveting college football story of 2020? There’s a good case to be made for the No. 13 Chanticleers, who won a total of 13 games in their first three FBS seasons and sit at 10-0. They created awareness of teal turf. They played a part in Mormons vs. Mullets — and the fantastic finish to last week’s game against Brigham Young.

They’ve wrested the Sun Belt’s East Division title away from Appalachian State. They have a cornerstone in redshirt quarterback Grayson McCall (1,832 yards, 20 TDs, 1 INT passing). If it’s a flash in the pan, it will be remembered for bringing some joy to a dark year. And if the Chants have staying power, this team will be looked back on as the one that got things going.

Colorado. While it’s fair to be reluctant to make too much of a team with only four games to its credit, the No. 21 Buffaloes have won all four of those games after posting three consecutive 5-7 seasons. That qualifies as at least a little progress in coach Karl Dorrell’s first season.

Colorado has had some adventures, including a 48-42 defeat of UCLA to open the season, but it has to feel like things have stabilized after bringing on its third coach in three seasons after Mel Tucker took off for Michigan State after a one-year stopover. It also isn’t a mirage; the Buffaloes are 35th nationally in total offense and 41st in total defense.

Indiana. The No. 12 Hoosiers (6-1) won’t win the Big Ten East, and covid issues this week will prevent them from winning the Old Oaken Bucket for the second year in a row. But just about everything else has come up in favor of Tom Allen’s team over the last seven weekends.

Michael Penix Jr. became a household name when he desperately stretched out to convert an all-or-nothing two-point conversion in overtime against Penn State. Then he and Indiana manhandled Michigan and Michigan State, rallied to make things interesting at Ohio State and out-toughed Wisconsin on the road. Presuming a healthy Penix, the Hoosiers will not be underrated heading into 2021.

Liberty may not have a place to go for the postseason as an independent, but quarterback Malik Willis (2,040 yards, 20 TDs, 4 INTs passing; 807 yards, 10 TDs rushing) more than made a name for himself after starting his career at Auburn.

Missouri. The Tigers shrugged off an 0-2 start and have shown the adaptability required to thrive in 2020. Need to win a shootout? They did it against LSU (45-41) and Arkansas (50-48). Need to endure a slog to get a W? Victories over Kentucky (20-10) and South Carolina (17-10) showed it was possible.

Perhaps the good feelings get spoiled when No. 9 Georgia comes to town this weekend, but the No. 25 Tigers (5-3) appear to have made progress in Coach Eli Drinkwitz’s first season.

N.C. State. The No. 23 Wolfpack was an utterly underwhelming 4-8 last season and looked like a good candidate to sputter through a weird season. But it got off to a 4-1 start, only for starting quarterback Devin Leary to get hurt.

N.C. State got bludgeoned at North Carolina and lost a wild Friday night game to Miami, and it seemed the Wolfpack would slide into oblivion. Instead, it swept through Florida State, Liberty, Syracuse and Georgia Tech to get into the barn at 8-3. A 7-3 ACC record ensures no worse than a tie for fourth in the league.

It’s not a flashy 8-3 by any means, and as the only ACC team not to play either Clemson or Notre Dame, there was some schedule luck at work. But Dave Doeren’s team just about maxed out with everything considered, and that always is worth acknowledging.

Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane won five conference games over the last three seasons, and no one outside of Oklahoma would have been stunned if the thing Tulsa did to generate most of its attention in 2020 was a coaching change.

Instead, Philip Montgomery has dealt with a spate of postponements and cancellations, cycled through multiple quarterbacks and overseen a defense featuring arguably the nation’s top linebacker in Zaven Collins. Tulsa (6-1, 6-0 American) has repeatedly found itself in wild games when it does get to play, and earned a spot in the AAC championship opposite Cincinnati.

The conference title games in the ACC (Clemson-Notre Dame in Charlotte), Big 12 (Iowa State-Oklahoma in Arlington, Texas), SEC (Alabama-Florida in Atlanta) and Sun Belt (Louisiana-Lafayette at Coastal Carolina) were entirely set after last weekend.

The American was going to have back-to-back Cincinnati-Tulsa games, at least until this week’s game was canceled. Those two teams will play next week at Cincinnati. And the Big Ten went ahead and tweaked the rules it made up only a few months ago to allow Ohio State to face Northwestern in Indianapolis on Dec. 19.

That leaves four leagues with something to sort out this weekend.

Conference USA: Marshall (7-1, 4-1 Conference USA) clinched the East Division when its game this week against Charlotte was canceled. In the West, UAB (4-3, 2-1) will claim the division with a victory over Rice. A Blazers loss hands the division to Texas-San Antonio (7-4, 5-2).

Mid-American: It’s pretty clear-cut entering the last weekend of #MACtion’s abbreviated regular season. Buffalo (4-0) already has the East Division clinched, while Ball State (4-1) and Western Michigan (4-1) will play a de facto division title game on Friday to determine who faces Jaret Patterson and the Bulls in Detroit.

Mountain West: Assuming no cancellations, San Jose State (5-0, 5-0) and Boise State (4-1, 4-0) simply need victories to lock up title game spots. Nevada (6-1, 6-1) needs a victory over San Jose State and a Boise State loss to advance to the championship.

Pac-12: Southern California (4-0, 4-0 Pac-12) will claim the South Division with a victory over UCLA or if Colorado (4-0, 3-0) loses to Utah. The Buffaloes would lock up the South with a win and a Southern Cal loss. And yes, it’s possible an undefeated team gets left out of the Pac-12 title game, a scenario made possible by the cancellation of Colorado’s Nov. 28 trip to Southern Cal coupled with an earlier canceled league game against Arizona State. One less division win — through no fault of the Buffaloes — would prevent them from playing for a conference title. Only in 2020.

As for the North, Washington (3-1) will finish with the best record in that division after its cancellation with Oregon. The Huskies and Ducks were set to decide the division title this weekend before Thursday’s announcement. Washington will not be able to field the minimum required 53 scholarship players to play because of positive cases of coronavirus and related contact tracing.

1a and 1b. Army and Navy. Thank heavens for something, well, normal about the 2020 season. Even if this game will be played in West Point rather than the rivalry’s usual neutral field, it’s only right for Army (7-2) and Navy (3-6) to maintain one of the sport’s best traditions — with the winner claiming bragging rights in the process.

2. Florida. The Gators (8-1) must take advantage of their shot to earn a playoff berth next week in the SEC championship against Alabama. Of course, that won’t do them much good if they lose to LSU (3-5) at home.

3. Alabama. The Crimson Tide (9-0) doesn’t have to worry about style points, and after obliterating LSU it should be in fine shape to close out the regular season without a loss. Nonetheless, Alabama does have something at stake as it heads to Arkansas: A de facto pass into the playoff so long as it isn’t crushed by Florida in the SEC title game.

4. Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers (10-0, 7-0 Sun Belt) already have a place in the Sun Belt title game, and they’re coming off a riveting defeat of Brigham Young. But there’s still a perfect season to protect, and Coastal will do so at Troy (5-5).

5. Southern California. The Trojans (4-0) aren’t going to make the playoff, but at least they’re unbeaten heading into their rivalry game with UCLA. Maintaining an unblemished record, reaching the Pac-12 title game and claiming the Victory Bell for the fifth time in six years would salvage something from an abbreviated season.

1. QB Kyle Trask, Florida; 3,243 yards, 38 TDs, 3 INTs passing. The Gator star is on track to pass former Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel’s school record of 39 touchdown passes in a season. (Last week: 1)

2. QB Mac Jones, Alabama; 3,113 yards, 27 TDs, 3 INTs passing. It sure looks like an SEC title game duel between Jones and Trask could decide the Heisman, though they’re hardly the only options in contention. (LW: 3)

3. QB Trevor Lawrence, Clemson; 2,431 yards, 20 TDs, 3 INTs passing; 121 yards, 6 TDs rushing. Wasn’t at his sharpest as the Tigers thumped Virginia Tech, but he could very well author a Heisman moment in the ACC championship game against Notre Dame. (LW: 2)

4. RB Najee Harris, Alabama; 1,038 yards, 20 TDs rushing; 26 receptions for 247 yards. Arguably underrated because of his own team’s dominance, Harris’ 21 carries last week tied for his third most this season. He still surpassed the 1,000-yard plateau in just nine games, all against SEC foes. (LW: 4)

5. QB Justin Fields, Ohio State; 1,407 yards, 15 TDs, 3 INTs passing; 239 yards, 5 TDs rushing. He could have — and probably would have — put up some silly numbers on Michigan were it not for the Wolverines’ virus issues. (LW: 5)

T-6. RB Breece Hall, Iowa State; 1,357 yards, 17 TDs rushing; 18 receptions for 144 yards and 2 TDs. Maybe the Cyclone sophomore can get some traction next week against Oklahoma. Chances are, he will; he’s topped 90 yards in each of his 10 games this year. (LW: Not ranked).

T-6. WR DeVonta Smith, Alabama; 80 receptions, 1,305 yards, 15 TDs. Probably disappointed he won’t face LSU again, he had 15 catches for 444 yards and five TDs against the Tigers over the last two seasons. (LW: Not ranked)