"It took a while for college football to orient itself this season. Three of the top four teams in the preseason AP Top 25 poll started poorly, and only one really recovered. Nine of the preseason top 17 went 8-4 or worse. Meanwhile, some teams that were expected to be good -- preseason No. 20 Indiana, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 23 Texas Tech -- turned out to be playoff-caliber dynamite."
"This weekend is basically setting up like college football's version of one of those "We can do this the easy way or the hard way" moments in a mob movie. If Texas Tech and Virginia win as favorites in the Big 12 and ACC championship games, respectively, and if Alabama beats Georgia as it almost always does -- since 2017, Kirby Smart's Bulldogs are 1-7 against the Crimson Tide and 107-8 against everyone else -- then college football will have chosen the easy way."
College football experienced early-season upheaval as several preseason top teams underperformed while unexpected teams rose. Multiple preseason top-25 squads finished with disappointing records, and under-the-radar teams became playoff-caliber threats. Recent weeks have shown dominance from teams ranked 14th or higher, posting a combined 35-3 record with losses only to similarly ranked opponents. The ACC and a volatile coaching carousel contributed to ongoing chaos, yet the balance of power appears more defined heading into Championship Week. If conference favorites win, the playoff picture becomes predictable; upsets in championship games could still create major postseason turmoil.
Read at ESPN.com
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