The marathon has now become a sprint. Three weeks remain in the regular season and the chaos that has made this one of the more intriguing college football seasons in recent memory is set to deliver a thrilling, potentially chaotic final stretch.
Only three undefeated teams remain — Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M have all proven to be not just the cream of the crop but likely College Football Playoff shoo-ins, while behind them, a slew of teams are teetering on a thin line between being in or out.
This week features four ranked matchups that could shift the playoff picture dramatically. No. 9 Notre Dame’s margin for error is zero as it faces a 7-2 Pittsburgh team that is also eyeing a playoff spot — or according to Pat Narduzzi, the ACC championship. Iowa had its dreams dashed by Oregon last week, but now it’ll be USC which faces the No. 21 Hawkeyes in Los Angeles, knowing that if it wins out, USC will likely punch its ticket to its first CFP.
Meanwhile, two-loss, No. 10 Texas has surged back into the playoff picture, only to be faced with having to beat No. 5 Georgia in Athens this week. You can say the same thing about the two-loss, 11th-ranked Sooners; Oklahoma’s own outside shot at a playoff will require a win against No. 4 Alabama in Tuscaloosa this week.
Buckle up. — Paolo Uggetti
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Texas-Georgia | Key matchups
ACC title race | Quotes of the week
What have Texas, Georgia done well in conference play?
Arch Manning appeared to have found a groove in the play-action game, completing 86% of such throws, on 12.1 yards per attempt with three TDs and no interceptions against Vanderbilt versus 64% completion and 7.2 yards per play in the season’s first eight games, according to ESPN Analytics. Manning has eclipsed 300 yards with three touchdowns in each of the past two games, becoming the first Texas QB to do that since Sam Ehlinger in 2018.
Behind an improved offensive line, the Texas offense is much more efficient, and coach Steve Sarkisian praised the growth and maturity of Manning running the offense. But the defense, meanwhile, has struggled as of late. After allowing just 11.3 points per game in the first seven games, they’ve allowed 30 points in back-to-back games. The pass defense has been particularly leaky, allowing 382 yards to Mississippi State and 365 to Vanderbilt. — Dave Wilson
Georgia: Georgia’s defense was its shortcoming earlier this season, but the Bulldogs have played better lately on that side of the ball. After struggling to get off the field on third downs, Florida went only 2-for-11 on third down in Georgia’s 24-20 victory on Nov. 1. Last week, after giving up a touchdown to Mississippi State on its opening possession, the Bulldogs settled down and had three sacks in a 41-21 win. Last season, Georgia defeated Texas twice: 30-15 in Austin in the regular season and 22-19 in overtime in the SEC championship game.
Defense was the primary reason the Bulldogs won both of those games: They had 13 sacks combined and allowed the Longhorns to rush for fewer than 35 yards in each game. The Longhorns were only 2-for-15 on third down in the first loss. Georgia needs to continue to be disruptive on defense, shut down the running game again and get pressure on Manning to get him out of rhythm. — Mark Schlabach
What’s at stake in each matchup?
Iowa-USC: Despite getting dominated on the ground by Notre Dame to the tune of 306 yards in Week 8, USC has not gone away. It only has one conference loss — a two-point heartbreaker against Illinois earlier in the season — and now find itself with a very clear mandate: Win out and the Trojans can all but guarantee the program’s first ever College Football Playoff appearance.
The first obstacle in front of them is Iowa, which comes to Los Angeles after watching its own Big Ten and playoff chances evaporate in a close loss to Oregon. The Hawkeyes could not be more stylistically different than the Trojans and, like they did against Oregon, will try to slow down and muddy the game to their liking. If USC can’t establish a good rhythm on offense, it will have to try and beat Iowa at its own game.
Lincoln Riley’s team has one of the most effective offenses in the nation, leading to at least 30 points scored in all but one game this season. That happened against Nebraska a few weeks ago, but USC was still able to pull out a very Big Ten win with its defense. Chances are, the Trojans will be forced to do the same this Saturday if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive. — Uggetti
West Virginia and prop up an ACC desperately in need of something positive to cling to.
For Notre Dame, however, the stakes are far clearer: Its past two games of the season are against awful Syracuse and Stanford teams, making this matchup against Pitt all but a win-and-you’re-in contest for the Irish. The committee has Notre Dame safely in the field now, and it’s hard to envision how a 10-2 Irish team could fall down the playoff ladder, so this is probably the only serious hurdle remaining. It is a hurdle, however, particularly given Pitt’s exceptional pass rush, and if the Panthers can pull off the upset, it would have the opposite effect on Notre Dame, likely ending the Irish’s playoff hopes. — David Hale
Oklahoma-Alabama: Championships and CFP stakes are on the line when the Sooners travel to take on the Crimson Tide. But nobody has to tell either team that, particularly Alabama — which cost itself an at-large berth in the CFP last season after a disappointing 24-3 loss in Norman. During his news conference this week, Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he wants the players who played in that game to remember it because «our experiences help us be better the next time around.»
That certainly was the case earlier this year when Alabama beat Vanderbilt and Tennessee — two teams it also lost to a season ago. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said he has gotten some advice on this Sooners defense from a good friend — Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Texas beat Oklahoma last month, 23-6, and Manning threw for 166 yards and a touchdown and ran for 34 more. Alabama can clinch a spot in the SEC championship game with a win and losses by Georgia and Texas A&M.
As for Oklahoma, a win over Alabama for a second straight year would only serve to bolster its CFP résumé, particularly because the Sooners remain on the outside looking in for an at-large berth as of now. Though they rank in the top 12, two conference champions — presumably the ACC and the top Group of 5 team — would take the final two spots in the 12-team playoff. Oklahoma had an open date after its win over Tennessee to prepare for Alabama, though coach Brent Venables said there is little carry-over from its result against the Tide last year.
«The season for both of us is impacted by the result at the end of the night,» he said. «Who wouldn’t be excited to play Oklahoma-Alabama? Two of the most iconic programs in college football.» — Andrea Adelson
Why the road to the ACC title game is up for grabs
Duke wins the conference championship and they give the playoff berth to James Madison instead?» sort of way.
In other words, these are dark times for the conference.
Set aside that two of the biggest brands in the league — Clemson and Florida State — are floundering through lost seasons.
Set aside that its four highest-ranked teams have all lost to unranked foes in the past two weeks.
Set aside the very real possibility that the eventual league champion might have a loss to UConn, West Virginia or Baylor.
Any one of those items would be bad enough. But it’s the fact that they’re all happening concurrently, that Miami is sabotaging itself again and injuries upended Louisville and Virginia runs, and Pat Narduzzi is waxing poetic about Notre Dame scoring 100 against Pitt — it’s a perfect storm of bad results, bad press and bad options remaining for the ACC.
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Look at NC State, a team that’s stuck navigating a disappointing 5-4 campaign in which it lost to woeful Virginia Tech, but also has delivered brutal blows to both Virginia’s and Georgia Tech’s playoff hopes and could add Miami to that list this weekend. There are no winners here!
There’s an argument that much of this is just a narrative issue, that when the SEC beats up on itself, it’s a testament to the conference’s depth, but when the ACC does it, it means everyone stinks. There’s some truth in that argument. But the results still tell a bleak story. Coming off a 2-11 bowl season in 2024, the ACC now has six losses outside of the Power 4 and a worse record in Power 4 nonconference wins than the American Conference. No wonder the ACC doesn’t get the benefit of the doubt.
So now we peer into the future and wonder what comes next. Georgia Tech has the best odds of winning the league, according to FPI, at 35%. But next up is Duke at 20%. The Blue Devils have losses to Illinois, Tulane and UConn, and if they were to win it all, there’s a good chance the ACC gets passed by a second Group of 5 champion — something the Allstate Playoff Predictor gives a 26% chance of happening. The same might be true if SMU wins it. The Mustangs have the third-best odds at 19.5%, followed by Virginia (13.6%) and Pitt (4%). The highest-ranked ACC team, Miami, has the lowest title odds of teams with a chance to still win it, and has a better chance of making the playoff than the ACC title game.
In other words, the ACC Wheel of Destiny is back in action, Coastal Chaos has spread throughout the entire conference, and the next few weeks will either see a true favorite emerge or ensure the ACC is the most derided power league in recent memory. — Hale
Quotes of the week
«Absolutely not,» Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said when asked if Saturday’s visit from Notre Dame is a «must-win» game for the Panthers. «It’s not an ACC game. Glad you brought that up. I’d gladly get beat 103 … or 110-10 in that game. They can put 100 up on us as long as we win the next two. Again, our focus is on Notre Dame and getting as many wins as we can.»
«This team didn’t beat Texas,» Georgia’s Kirby Smart said of his Bulldogs, who swept Texas across two meetings in 2024. «And Texas hasn’t played this team of ours. So, two completely different teams in my opinion. I think it has zero effect on it.»
Texas A&M’s Mike Elko on South Carolina’s 2025 schedule, which ranks fourth in strength of schedule nationally, per ESPN’s College Football Power Index: «I don’t know what they did to the scheduling gods to get the schedule that they’ve got.»
«I was told about it. I haven’t heard it,» Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said of Clemson’s Dabo Swinney mimicking his voice over the weekend after Venables visited the program in Week 11. «He’s got me down. He’s got about everybody down. He’s good at the impressions.»
Dabo Swinney channeling his inner Brent Venables is pure gold pic.twitter.com/LwRQtAc4Nh
— Jordan Woodson (@Jordan_Woodson) November 9, 2025
«I’ve actually won a championship and we’re going to do it again,» Florida State’s Mike Norvell said in a passionate defense of his track record and the Seminoles’ trajectory. «We’re going to do it here. That might piss people off. So be it. They’ll be celebrating when we’re hoisting a trophy, and it will be the belief that I see from our players, the belief that I see from our coaches, the talent that I know that our players have, and the guys that are coming to be a part of this.»
«Getting ready for Wake Forest, that’s all I got this week,» said North Carolina’s Bill Belichick following questions about potential interest in the New York Giants head coaching job.
«Look I’ve been down this road before,» Belichick continued. «I’m focused on Wake Forest, that’s it. That’s my commitment to this team. This week it’s Wake Forest, next week it’s that opponent and so forth. I’m here to do the best for this team.»
