CFP Madness: Georgia Ends Texas Playoff Hopes, Oklahoma Breaks Alabama, ACC Is Wild, A Lane Kiffin Sidestep

ATHENS —  Kirby Smart was on a mission Saturday night against the Texas Longhorns. In the process, Georgia made another statement that should put an end to any conversation about whether the Bulldogs are capable of winning a title. 

There's been plenty of discussion around what type of team we are seeing this season from the team out of Athens. But, when Kirby Smart decided he would go for it twice on fourth down in a third quarter drive, you could tell this was a Georgia coach who was ready to put a dagger into the Longhorns' hopes of making the playoff. 

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On Saturday night, it felt different in Athens. There was only one moment in this game where I thought Texas had a fighting chance, and that quickly evaporated when the Bulldogs drove down the field with Gunner Stockton hitting Landon Humphreys for a 30-yard touchdown to extend the lead once again. 

What happened next? Kirby seemingly put all of his chips into the middle of the table and said ‘I’m ending this now', with an onside kick that left Texas stunned along the visitor sidelines. 

"Every one of y’all would have thought I was an idiot if it didn’t work," Smart said postgame. It made the decision for us. There were a couple things working there. We were 21-10, we just took the lead to an eleven-point game. I’m looking at it since we’ve got the best returner in the country. 

"If you kick it to him there's a chance he houses it, there's a chance he gets it to the 50-yard line. We felt like we had about an 80% chance on the onside based on our rate. We thought it was there, we worked it, we prepared for it."

Yea, that took intestinal fortitude, putting it politely. 

Even with Texas heading into the tunnel with the ‘Horns Up' while dancing around to music, with Steve Sarkisian following his team into the locker room, there was an overwhelming feeling once the lights went out pregame that Georgia was in a different place mentally. 

Maybe it was the Dawgs defense not allowing Arch Manning to get into a rhythm on offense. Maybe it was the fact that Texas could not find a rushing attack against this Kirby Smart team. 

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All I know is I've covered plenty of games inside Stanford Stadium, and Saturday night felt different. It looked as though everything Kirby Smart had been saying about the unity of this football team had finally come to fruition. 

This was Smart's 23rd win versus an AP Top 10 team, since accepting the Georgia job in 2016. That should not go unnoticed, no matter what you thought about Texas heading into this game, with a lot of chatter around Arch Manning finally coming out of his shell. But, with his uncle Peyton looking on, Manning found himself running around the backfield without much time to find a receiver down the field. 

For that, we have to stop wavering on Georgia, and move past some of the close wins this season, and call them a championship contender without hesitation. 

Lane Kiffin Still Has People Talking About Florida

Even though he wasn't going to address the situation, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin did nothing to quiet the rumors about potentially taking the Florida job, following the win over the Gators. 

And lost in all of this nonsense is the fact that the Rebels have a legitimate shot at winning a national title if things play out in their favor. If anything, Ole Miss should have clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night, thanks to a late run that put the Gators away. 

But, is Kiffin going to be the coach when Ole Miss starts their playoff prep? Heck, there is speculation about whether he will be leading this team when they play Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. 

Oklahoma Comes Up Big Alabama, Creates CFP Chaos

How many of you all thought the Sooners had a real shot at rolling into Tuscaloosa and coming out with a win? I know I didn’t, and I watched this Oklahoma team fight through turnovers against Tennessee to win convincingly in Knoxville. 

On Saturday, with their playoff hopes on the line, Brent Venables stood across from the ‘Black Hoodie’ that Kalen DeBoer was wearing and didn't flinch. 

Forcing three turnovers and making life miserable for Ty Simpson was the biggest talking point of the day, as the Alabama quarterback ran from Sooner defenders while coughing up the ball twice. 

Oh, and the pick-six in the first quarter was essentially a tone-setter for what was to come, as the Sooners took a 10-0 lead. 

If there was a statement to be made, it was Oklahoma winning back-to-back games against Top-25 teams on the road. But if you looked at the boxscore, one would've thought this was a game the Sooners lost. Out-gained 406-212, with John Mateer only passing for 138 yards on the day, this was the type of SEC game that creates madness down the stretch. 

We don't know who will play in the conference title game, even with Texas A&M rising from the dead in the second half to defeat South Carolina. But for Oklahoma, they will host Missouri and LSU to close out the season. If they get through those two, the Sooners might not be playing in Atlanta, but they’ll be in the playoff. 

As for Alabama, I know Auburn has looked putrid this season, but there's something about the Iron Bowl that creates madness. If the Tide' lose that one, their chances of making the playoff will come to an end on the plains. 

Texas A&M Shocked Everyone, While Notre Dame And USC Stay Alive

I don't know what Mike Elko said to his team at halftime, but Texas A&M arose from the dead over the final thirty minutes to shock the college football world. If you missed it, the Aggies trailed 30-3 at the break against South Carolina, looking like a team that ‘F’ed Around And Was About To Find Out'. 

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That was until we witnessed one of the craziest comebacks in recent history, as Texas A&M scored 28 unanswered points to leave Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer in a state of shock postgame. 

Hell, the first half was so bad that even a State of Texas police officer took a cheap shot at a South Carolina player. 

Honestly, I have no idea what I witnessed, besides Marcel Reed looking human in the first half, then somehow turning into Superman at halftime. Not only did Mike Elko create a monster in the final half, but he also signed his contract extension following the historic comeback win. 

I See You, USC And Notre Dame. Trojans 

I think Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi would enjoy a mulligan over his ridiculous comments last week about the importance of their game against Notre Dame. Judging by the final score of 37–15, Marcus Freeman chose violence on Saturday in this non-ACC game that won't hurt the Panthers conference title run. 

But let's be honest, Pitt looked like a team who was just standing on the tracks, as the Fighting Irish train came running through. Now, Marcus Freemena will need just two more wins to clinch a playoff spot, and luckily for the Irish, those games come against Syracuse and Stanford. 

As for USC, there was a moment against Iowa where it looked as though the Trojans postseason hopes were coming to an end. Trailing by eleven points at halftime, USC scored 19 straight points to keep their playoff hopes alive, thanks in large part to WR Makai Lemon's touchdown in the second half. 

And while the win against Iowa was nice, their next opponent could end this all. A trip to Oregon awaits next weekend, with the Ducks looking to avoid their second loss of the season. 

What Else Did We Learn? G-5 CFP Is A Mess, But JMU Alive

• After just five days in the CFP's Top-25, South Florida lost to Navy, leaving us all wondering which tram from the G-5 will snatch a playoff bid.
• Yes, this means James Madison is still alive for a CFP bid from the Sun Belt conference after beating App State
• The ACC is a cluster, but so much fun. Thanks to Georgia Tech's comeback win over Boston College, we are witnessing pure madness in the conference. Also, with Virginia defeating Duke, we now have four teams sitting at 5-1 in the ACC.
• Michigan did keep its playoff hopes alive, thanks to a last-second FG win against Northwestern.

We were waiting to see what type of chaos this weekend would bring, and college football fans weren't disappointed. Now, with two weeks remaining in the regular season, the CFP rankings will be telling on Tuesday night. 

Get ready, this is going to be a wild run towards conference championship weekend.