With its season essentially hanging in the balance Saturday night, No. 11 Notre Dame could not afford to waste its only remaining shot at a marquee win. The Fighting Irish passed the test, holding off No. 1 Miami 31-24 to earn an 'A' on this week's report card grading college football's national championship hopefuls.
The grades cover every team that started or ended the day with title odds of +3000 or better, per FanDuel Sportsbook, listed in order of the AP Top 25. No. 4 Indiana, at +850, had a bye.
Notre Dame built a 24-3 lead over the nation's top-ranked team before Miami clawed back, forcing Marcus Freeman's squad to come up with a pair of late defensive stops. A second-quarter goal-line stand, turning a Hurricanes first-and-goal from the 1-yard line into a chip-shot field goal, summed up the first half. Quarterback CJ Carr surpassed 300 passing yards for the first time this season while exploiting Miami's shaky secondary, arguably his best performance of the year after some recent inefficient outings.
Miami drew a 'C' after its offense predictably sputtered without star receiver Malachi Toney, stumbling through the entire first half and digging a hole too deep to escape. The Hurricanes are +800 to win the national title, while the Fighting Irish moved to +380 after their borderline must-win game ended in victory.
No. 2 Georgia earned the week's top mark, an 'A+', for a 42-7 rout of No. 10 Ole Miss on the road. The Bulldogs, now +240, piled up 221 yards in the first quarter alone and led 21-0 one minute into the second, never letting the Rebels rally the way Texas had weeks earlier. The win avenged last season's CFP quarterfinal loss to Ole Miss and handed first-year Rebels coach Pete Golding a humbling defeat. Not even the great Trinidad Chambliss could dig Ole Miss out of this one, and the Rebels, at +2700, received an 'F' after being outclassed in every facet in one of the most stunningly lopsided outcomes of the year.
No. 3 Utah (+2200) took a 'B+' for a 28-20 win over BYU. The Utes coughed up an early 14-0 lead as BYU reeled off 20 straight points to close the first half, but Utah's defense turned ruthless after the break, intercepting quarterback Bear Bachmeier three times in the second half. Quarterback Devon Dampier survived a shaky stretch and broke loose with his legs late in the third quarter to help Utah retake the lead for good.
No. 5 Alabama (+650) earned an 'A' for a 31-13 road win at LSU despite entering as an underdog. The Crimson Tide bent without breaking, limiting the Tigers to one touchdown on four red-zone trips and 5 of 19 on third- and fourth-down plays. Alabama ran only 53 offensive plays, but Keelon Russell threw three touchdown passes, and star receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams made an impact in his first game back from injury with a rushing touchdown and a huge fourth-quarter punt return.
LSU (+1800) was handed a 'C-' after its good vibes from convincing wins over Mississippi State and Auburn vanished in a sea of missed opportunities. The Tigers ventured into Alabama territory eight times and reached the red zone four times, yet came away with 13 points while going 0 for 4 on fourth down in a rare loss as a home favorite, a result that all but extinguished their CFP hopes.
No. 7 Texas (+1100) received an 'A-' as Arch Manning played turnover-free football, throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns to rally the Longhorns from a 20-13 deficit in a 34-20 win at Missouri. Manning was sacked three times behind a struggling offensive line, but with top receiver Cam Coleman out injured, it was a good day, and the defense's only sack, a huge fourth-quarter play, flipped the field ahead of the go-ahead touchdown.
No. 12 Ohio State got an 'F' for a 41-28 loss to Oregon. The absence of starting quarterback Julian Sayin remains an obvious hindrance, but the vulnerability of the Buckeyes' defense was the more stunning revelation. The preseason No. 1 team has now allowed 30-plus points in back-to-back regular-season losses for the first time since 1990, as Oregon strung together three straight long touchdown drives across the second and third quarters. Two late Ohio State scores, with a freshman quarterback at the helm, made the final margin look more respectable than the game actually was.
