A loaded Thanksgiving weekend saw most of the teams in contention for College Football Playoff bids hold serve. The two primary exceptions came in the SEC and ACC.
Off the field, Lane Kiffin's drawn-out saga culminated with him ultimately leaving Ole Miss for LSU, despite the Rebels finishing the regular season 11–1 and all but certain to make the playoff field. How the committee views Ole Miss in light of Kiffin's departure will be the biggest storyline to track during Tuesday's unveiling.
As far as the actual games went, the SEC saw previously unbeaten Texas A&M get bitten by longtime rival Texas, knocking the Aggies out of the conference title game and paving the way for a Georgia-Alabama rematch. The win led to immediate politicking from Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian, who believes his 9–3 squad deserves inclusion in the 12-team field.
In the ACC, Cal's upset win over SMU allowed 7–5 Duke—one of five ACC teams to go 6–2 in conference games—to backdoor its way into the title game against Virginia. A win for the Cavaliers all but assures Virginia will make the field. But, should the Blue Devils pull off an upset, it could mean two Group of Five champions qualify for the CFP.
Watch along as SI’s Bryan Fischer and Pat Forde provide live reactions and analysis ahead of a busy rivalry week.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Playoff Rankings: Live Reaction to Top 25 Following Week 14.
