CFB WEEK 12 SB POLL COLUMN

Stroud and Young separate from the pack with dominant performances; Clemson embarrasses Wake Forest; Utah shakes up the CFP picture with impressive win over Oregon

The Buckeyes put the CFB world on notice on Saturday. When they are clicking like that, nobody will beat them. They put together the most complete performance I have seen from a team since the OSU-Wisconsin B1G Championship Game in 2014 (LSU against Oklahoma in the CFP is up there as well)

The Updated SB Top 25 Poll:

1. Ohio State

2. Georgia

3. Alabama

4. Michigan

5. Cincinnati

6. Notre Dame

7. Oklahoma

8. Oregon

9. Ole Miss

10. Oklahoma State

11. Baylor

12. Utah

13. Texas A&M

14. Wake Forest

15. Pittsburgh

16. Michigan State

17. Wisconsin

18. Iowa

19. BYU

20. San Diego State

21. Louisiana

22. Houston

23. Arkansas

24. UTSA

25. Penn State

Next Up: Clemson, NC State

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TEAM ANALYSIS:

— The Utes looked so good against Oregon and there’s now a really good chance they win the Pac-12. Cam Rising is a star. They are so well coached. I’m not surprised that the Ducks lost with the way they played the last few weeks, but for them to lose in that fashion was kind of unfathomable. The loss totally shook up the CFP picture and has opened the door for Cincinnati or a potential 2-loss team making the playoff

— The Bama defense looked horrible against Arkansas. They got shredded through the air. Treylon Burks looked insanely good. I was impressed by the Razorbacks offense. If not for Bryce Young throwing for 550 yards, they might have lost. I’m not sure Bama would be a top 5 team without Jameson Williams

— Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen is unreal, he doesn’t even run like a RB but he gets his yards. They are one of the hottest teams in the country. I don’t think they stand a chance against the Buckeyes in 2 weeks, but they are playing great ball at the right time

— The Buckeye offense truly has an embarrassment of riches. Seeing Julian Fleming get his first TD was lovely. It was so satisfying seeing Olave break the OSU WR touchdown record. GW5 and JSN were both spectacular. TreVeyon didn’t have to do much because we just aired it out. Who didn’t play well against the worst pass defense I’ve seen at the college level in years? I’ve known for weeks that Sparty was fraudulent and so did the CFP committee, there’s a reason they were behind Michigan even after beating them. Sparty played so bad that Quinn Ewers even got two snaps. Payton Thorne was 14-for-36. I loved what I saw from the Buckeye defense, but I would still like to see them force more turnovers and get more pressure.

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Heisman Watch:

1. Coleridge Bernard Stroud IV

2. Bryce Young

— The stats are virtually identical even with CJ missing a game, so the race will come down to who plays better the next two weeks (I think it will be CJ)

— Kenneth Walker III will probably still win the Doak Walker award, but his 25-yard game against the Buckeyes has dropped him out of the race