Rivalry week gets most of the attention, but the penultimate Saturday of the regular season always seems to pack some surprises. Nowhere was that more clear than the SEC, which saw top contenders No. 7 Alabama, No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 15 Texas A&M all lose in shockers to shape up the league’s championship race. 

However, the Big 12 remains the most chaotic conference in the sport. Both Big 12 favorites Colorado and BYU dropped stunners to alter the conference standings. The Buffs lost against a Kansas team fighting for bowl eligibility, while Arizona State wrestled the Big 12-favorite mantle from the Cougars. 

After all the chaos, finding serious locks in the College Football Playoff is a daunting task. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State should be good. No. 3 Texas is close, while No. 6 Notre Dame only needs a win over USC next week. After that? Everyone is on the bubble. The good news is the bubble has plenty of space to maneuver. Here are the biggest winners and losers in college football’s Week 13. 

Winner: Notre Dame

Since losing to Northern Illinois in Week 2, Notre Dame has turned into a buzz saw. The No. 6 Fighting Irish throttled No. 19 Army 49-14. The Fighting Irish held the Black Knights to only 233 yards and 3.6 yards per carry. Notre Dame’s rushing offense has come along to the tune of 273 yards and a third 100-yard performance in four games for Jeremiyah Love. With all of the chaos around, Notre Dame is suddenly in a tremendous position in the CFP race and will even contend to be the No. 5 seed. A home CFP game is all but assured if they can handle USC next week.  

Loser: Alabama

The CFP Committee has forgiven some real warts on Alabama’s schedule, but Week 13 should finally end their curiosity with the Tide. Alabama fell 24-3 on the road against 6-5 Oklahoma in one of the worst losses of the 21st Century for the Tide. The loss was the biggest against an unranked opponent since 1998 and three was the fewest points since 2004. Alabama now has three losses for the first time since 2010. 

But even more than that game itself, the loss is devastating for its impact on Alabama’s season. The Crimson Tide now have no pathway to the SEC Championship Game and likely are eliminated from the College Football Playoff. Losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee weren’t great, but Oklahoma is unforgivable. 

Coach Kalen DeBoer is now set to participate in his first Iron Bowl when the Tide host Auburn next week. After shocking Texas A&M in quadruple-overtime, the Tigers suddenly have something to play for — bowl eligibility. 

Since starting the year 0-3, the Gamecocks have become the hottest team in college football. Jacksonville State has won eight consecutive games and clinched a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game after beating Sam Houston 21-11 in a heavyweight matchup. JSU rushed for 278 yards, including 177 and three touchdowns from quarterback Tyler Huff. Sam Houston’s Hunter Watson rushed for 105 yards of his own, but Jacksonville State held the Bearkats under control. JSU coach Rich Rodriguez has won everywhere and is now 17-7 in two seasons of bringing the program up to FBS. 

News broke earlier this week that UNC coach Mack Brown expects to be back in 2025 for another season at age 74. Unfortunately, the Tar Heels didn’t exactly respond. Boston College obliterated North Carolina 41-21 in a game that somehow was not as close as the final score. The Eagles led 17-0 and 41-7 before UNC scored two meaningless touchdowns in the final 2:09. 

The Tar Heels overcame some early injuries to with three straight games and make a bowl game, but the failure against Boston College will stick as UNC heads into a rivalry game against NC State. If North Carolina loses and lets the Wolfpack get to a bowl game, the chattering could quickly get unpleasant in Chapel Hill. 

Nebraska is a blue-blood program. It has five claimed national championships and 46 conference titles. The ‘Huskers also had the longest bowl drought in power conference football… until Saturday. 

After beating Wisconsin 44-25, Nebraska finally reached its elusive sixth win. The Cornhuskers had gone 0-8 with a chance to reach bowl eligibility under coach Matt Rhule. Amazingly, it was the midseason addition of offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen that proved the difference. Nebraska exploded for 473 yards of offense to return to the postseason. 

Loser: Ole Miss

The Rebels invested a tremendous amount of money into their roster in hopes of competing with the best. After beating Georgia by three scores, Ole Miss had a red carpet to the College Football Playoff if it could simply avoid tripping over its own feet. Unfortunately, that proved to be too tall an order. 

Florida shocked Ole Miss 24-17 to hand the Rebels their third loss and essentially eliminate them from College Football Playoff contention. Ole Miss turned the ball over three times, including a game-sealing interception from quarterback Jaxson Dart. 

With the logjam of two-loss teams across college football, it’s highly unlikely Ole Miss’s resume will warrant an at-large CFP bid. Ole Miss had a manageable schedule and one of the most compelling playoff cases in America coming into the year. After dropping against both Florida and Kentucky, it’s hard to view this season as anything but a failure. 

Despite boasting some of the best talent in the country, the Buckeyes’ pass rush has been maligned this season for inconsistent play. In a 38-15 win over No. 5 Indiana, the Buckeyes’ defense proved its championship mettle. And specifically, the OSU pass rush took over. 

Ohio State sacked Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke five times and were credited with another QB hurry. Linebacker Cody Simon generated 2.5 sacks from the second level and both Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau each created opportunities with stunts. Even without the stats, Ohio State made Rourke’s life miserable, holding him to only 68 yards on 18 attempts. 

The Buckeyes have the No. 2 defense in the nation, but adding another layer of disruption is the difference between a serious national championship team. 

Loser: Big 12 contenders

BYU and Colorado were on a collision course into the Big 12 Championship Game after entering the day as the only one-loss teams in conference play. Instead, they both lost key games that suddenly throw their Big 12 case into question. 

The Cougars were underdogs on the road against Arizona State and the Sun Devils played like it. ASU took a 21-0 lead before BYU could even get on the board in a 28-23 decision where the Cougs landed only three yards short. Similarly, Kansas jumped out to a 17-0 start in a 37-21 win over the Buffs. The Jayhawks rushed for 331 yards and got 287 yards and four touchdowns from running back Devin Neal. 

As of publication, four teams are tied with two in the loss column in the Big 12 race: Colorado, BYU, Iowa State and Arizona State. Because of the number of potential outcomes, there’s no clarity on the tiebreaker at this point. Regardless, both teams cost themselves control of their own destiny. 

Winner: SMU

SMU made one of the biggest gambles in college football when it opted to join the ACC with no promise of media rights payouts for seven years. The Dallas private school has plenty of money, but that’s a $200 million hole compared to its rivals. And yet, the Mustangs shocked college football by becoming the first team to ever reach a conference championship game in its first season of Power Four competition.

The Mustangs decimated Virginia 33-7 to reach 10 wins and become the first ACC team to clinch a spot in the title game. Quarterback Kevin Jennings had another sensational performance with 323 yards and three touchdowns, which should only bolster his All-ACC case. 

SMU won its first conference championship since receiving the death penalty last season on its way out of the AAC. Now, the Mustangs are two wins away from the College Football Playoff. 

Winner: Florida coach Billy Napier

There were moments this season that Florida looked like one of the worst teams in the entire country. With quarterback DJ Lagway out, the Gators lost 49-17 against Texas only one game after announcing Napier would return. But after shocking No. 9 Ole Miss, the Gators are riding high. 

With the win, Florida has won consecutive games against ranked opponents for the first time since 2018. UF beat then-No. 22 LSU one week ago. Additionally, Lagway is emerging as one of the young, exciting quarterbacks in college football. Napier’s tenure has juice for the first time in years and could conceivably finish with eight wins.