CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 13's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Ohio State's defense makes statement

Jim Knowles, take a bow. The well-compensated Ohio State coordinator sent his high-profile defensive line on a hunting mission Saturday, and it came back with a whole lot of Kurtis Rourke to mount on the wall. The entire Buckeyes defensive unit deserves to be highlighted, but the line's performance against Indiana was downright scary. Cody Simon led the way with 2.5 of Ohio State's five sacks on Rourke - well above the Hoosiers' average allowance of one per contest. Indiana entered the game ranked 15th in the country, averaging over 6.6 yards per play, but Ohio State held it to 2.6 Saturday.

The main critique of Indiana's 10-0 start to the season was the fact it hadn't played a team in the top half of the Big Ten until this week. Anybody parroting that talking point looked incredibly smart Saturday as the Hoosiers simply could not block Ohio State.

The Buckeyes' 38-15 win moves them past the Hoosiers in the conference standings and sets the table for Ohio State to clinch a spot in the Big Ten title game with a victory over Michigan next week.

Indiana's not-so-special teams

Indiana looked like a legit top-five team in Saturday's first quarter, going 70 yards for an opening touchdown and the early lead. Then Cinderella's slipper fell off on the next seven drives, in which the Hoosiers totaled 18 net yards. However, despite all their offensive struggles, it was two special teams plays that actually changed the game.

Indiana lined up to punt with the score at 7-7 and under two minutes left in the opening half. The Hoosiers were set to receive the opening kickoff of the second half, so flipping the field late in the first and keeping the score tied was a real possibility. And then this happened ...

That fumble set Ohio State up inside the 10 and essentially gifted it a free touchdown. Indiana's punting unit once again drew attention for the wrong reasons early in the second half - this time, thanks to the brilliance of Caleb Downs. The star safety raced 79 yards for a backbreaking return touchdown that pushed Ohio State's lead to 14 points and dampened the Hoosiers' remaining hopes of an upset.

Indiana closes the season against Big Ten basement-dweller Purdue next week and will likely finish with a 11-1 record. Whether or not the committee can overlook the Hoosiers' lack of signature wins will keep Curt Cignetti up at night until the final ranking show Dec. 8.

Alabama crushed by ... Oklahoma?

The debate over whether Indiana should still be in the playoff picture after losing to Ohio State lasted roughly six hours. Ole Miss falling at Florida is one thing, but Alabama's debacle at Oklahoma in the night slate essentially guaranteed the Hoosiers a spot. Consider the following:

• Oklahoma hadn't beaten an FBS opponent since September
• The Sooners' four straight FBS losses were by a 125-49 margin
• Alabama hadn't lost three games in a regular season since 2010

The jury is still deliberating when it comes to Brent Venables as a head coach, but the Oklahoma frontman is definitely one of the best defensive minds in the country. Venables' defense dared Jalen Milroe to beat the Sooners through the air, going all-out to limit the explosive Alabama quarterback as a runner. That scenario ended terribly for both Milroe and the Crimson Tide as Oklahoma registered a stunning 24-3 victory in Norman. Milroe was picked off three times and completed just 11 of 26 passes for 164 yards. The three-point total is Alabama's lowest in a game since the 2004 season.

The coming week will be spent debating whether Alabama should still be in the playoff, but it's not really debatable. Although there was nothing wrong with the loss at Tennessee, falling at Vanderbilt and this no-show at Oklahoma should be enough to keep Kalen DeBoer out of the playoff in his first year in Tuscaloosa.

Freeze gets signature win at Auburn

Wins haven't come quickly for Hugh Freeze at Auburn, but the veteran coach has built an incredibly talented roster in his short time with the program. That was on full display Saturday as he grabbed his first signature win with the Tigers after four overtimes versus No. 15 Texas A&M. When the extra frame devolves into a two-point conversion shootout, the result often comes down to which star player can deliver. This time, it was KeAndre Lambert-Smith for Auburn.

While the loss hurt the Aggies in the moment, it won't affect their chances of making the SEC title game or the playoff. Texas A&M hosts Texas in next week's season finale, which is also the first meeting between the local rivals since 2011. The winner heads to the SEC title game and likely into the playoff field.

Kansas keeps feasting on ranked teams

The list of guarantees in life has been updated. It now reads:

• Death
• Taxes
• Ranked teams losing to Kansas

The 5-6 Jayhawks made history Saturday, becoming the first team with a losing record to beat ranked opponents in three straight games. Red-hot Colorado was the latest victim, as Devin Neal shredded the Buffaloes' defense for 207 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in the 16-point victory. Neal added 80 yards and a score through the air to give him an absurd 287 yards on the night - just 21 behind Colorado's total for the game.

Deion Sanders' revamped defense has been one of the Big 12's stories of the season, but last year's problems reared their ugly heads in the loss. Neal had his way with the nation's 21st-ranked rush defense, helping the Jayhawks chew up over 40 minutes of clock as a result.

Kansas entered the season as one of the top-four favorites to win the new Big 12, but a rough start to the season swiftly ended that pursuit. However, the Jayhawks' torrid run to close the season gives them a huge role in deciding the most chaotic conference in the sport because ...

The Big 12 is drunk

Although conference realignment removed big-name programs Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12, the resulting mayhem might have actually improved the product on a week-to-week basis.

BYU and Iowa State entered November tied for first with perfect records. Three weeks later, each team has two losses ... but they remain atop the conference alongside Arizona State and Colorado. Oklahoma State and Utah, the two betting favorites to win the conference, are a combined 1-14 in Big 12 play.

We already covered Kansas' recent accomplishments, and now it's time to give the Sun Devils their flowers after handing BYU a second straight loss. Arizona State - which won three games last season - heads to the final weekend in that four-way tie for first and got there with one of the craziest endings we've ever seen.

Kenny Dillingham's team survived an absolutely wild clock-draining strategy, a premature field-storming by the fans, and a last-ditch Hail Mary effort to grab the win.

If Iowa State can beat Utah on Saturday night, the Big 12 will have the country's most dramatic conference race entering Thanksgiving weekend.

Notre Dame leaves no doubt

Notre Dame 100, Service Academies 28. The Fighting Irish made it clear that they are vastly superior to both Army and Navy this season with dominant displays in both contests. Saturday's 49-14 win over Army was the latest chapter in a redemption narrative for the Irish, who are doing a bang-up job of trying to distract the committee from their stunning Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. Since then, Notre Dame has ripped off nine straight wins, compiling an absurd 399-92 scoring margin. That gives Marcus Freeman's team an FBS-best point differential of plus-301. With Indiana, Ole Miss, and Alabama all losing Saturday, the Irish aren't just virtual locks for the playoff - they should host a first-round game.

Florida's different with Lagway

Florida fans chanted Billy Napier's name once again in The Swamp, but this time, they were celebrating the previously embattled head coach. In the span of a couple months, the fan base has gone from calling for Napier's job to praising him in the wake of a second straight home win over a ranked opponent. Saturday's victim was No. 9 Ole Miss, whose 24-17 loss effectively ended the Rebels' playoff hopes.

The turnaround has been remarkable for Napier and Florida, and much of it can be attributed to highly touted freshman quarterback DJ Lagway's development. Napier's job security is closely linked to the passer's success, and Lagway was influential again versus Ole Miss. He's now 4-1 as a starter, with that one loss coming against Georgia after he left due to injury with the game tied.

Defeating a dreadful Florida State squad next week would give the Gators a 7-5 record despite playing one of the toughest schedules in college football history. There were certainly lumps in 2024, but the future is bright in Gainesville.

Franklin's gamble keeps Penn State in CFP spot

Penn State entered the weekend with the No. 4 ranking in the country, two games as a heavy favorite remaining, and virtually no shot at the Big Ten championship. In other words, as long as the Nittany Lions didn't mess it up with a shocking loss, they'd likely host a playoff game in front of 100,000 rabid fans.

"Mess" described much of their visit to Minnesota on Saturday, but some timely, aggressive decision-making by James Franklin helped deliver a crucial one-point victory. The veteran coach dialed up a stunning fake punt on fourth-and-1 in his own territory in the dying minutes with that one-point edge. Failing to convert would have placed the Golden Gophers in winning field-goal territory - and likely resulted in the locks being changed on Franklin's office. Instead, the conversion kept the ball in Penn State's hands and the clock moving. On another fourth-down play later in the drive, Drew Allar found Tyler Warren for the game-ending first down.

Franklin's strategy stood in stark contrast to Minnesota's decision-making down the stretch: P.J. Fleck opted for a field goal from the 7-yard line to cut a four-point deficit to one in the fourth rather than attempting the go-ahead touchdown.