Ten Takeaways: Week 12

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For my Ohio State subscribers: Check out my full thoughts on Ohio State's 48-10 win over UCLA in Bulletpoints:

Bulletpoints: UCLA

Thoughts on the Buckeyes’ 48-10 win over the Bruins.

Two Stripes with Colton DenningColton Denning

Before I even get to the takeaways, I just want to say sorry for not dropping a new Hot Seat Rankings last week. I caught whatever bug's going around, and it really knocked me on my ass. We're back to regularly scheduled programming this week.

1. A comeback for the SEC record books in College Station

I spent a full section in last week's takeaways telling you that Texas A&M has earned the benefit of the doubt from you in a way that no Aggies team has in the past 25 years - no matter how their season finishes. Naturally, they responded by falling behind 30-3 in the first half at home to 3-6 South Carolina - mere hours after reportedly closing in on a massive extension with Head Coach Mike Elko. 30 (game) minutes later, the Aggies pulled off the most unlikely SEC comeback in at least 21 years:

The role reversal between how Texas A&M and South Carolina played in the first and second halves of the Aggies' 31-30 win is as stark as any I've seen in a college football comeback. A&M's first half was an unmitigated disaster in almost every single facet. They gave up two 50-plus yard touchdowns, turned the ball over three times, missed two field goals, and scored no points on two drives that had first downs inside South Carolina's 15. For a program whose whole identity has been tripping over themselves in the spotlight, this somehow was on pace to be the most embarrassing stumble yet. Even if you weren't on board with me giving them grace compared to previous A&M teams, it was a stunning first half for any top-five team to put on:

In retrospect, it's almost like they were challenging themselves to see if they could come back. I know that's not reality, but I have no other explanation for how (nearly) flawless their second half was in comparison to their first.

By the end of the third quarter, they'd cut the Gamecocks' lead to 30-24. QB Marcel Reed went 9-12 passing for 203 yards and three TD in the quarter alone, while the Aggies defense forced two punts and made a crucial fourth-and one stop. With a chance to take their first lead of the game to open the fourth quarter, A&M coolly went 98 yards in ten plays to take a one-point lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The funniest part of it all is that when it finally looked like A&M had this incredible comeback in the bag, they still pulled what would've gone down as the most Aggie moment of all-time if South Carolina would've won:

I'm not saying this win means you should finally believe in A&M if you didn't before. South Carolina didn't play lights out in the first half, despite the lead they amassed. A&M having to dig themselves out of a four-score deficit to a team as unorganized as Shane Beamer's group (more on him later this week) is cause for concern. The fact that they at least pulled it off still makes me feel better about the idea that they aren't the same A&M of old, though.

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2. We need to have a discussion about "Heisman moments™"

A&M's win gave us consecutive Saturdays where the most dramatic moment of the week was a Heisman-contending QB leading a comeback against an opponent with a sub-.500 record. Just like Fernando Mendoza-Penn State, the aftermath of Marcel Reed-South Carolina was (unsurprisingly) online mud-slinging over whether comebacks against bad teams qualify as true Heisman moments™. Here's my opinion:

• The majority of people whining about it are conveniently forgetting that Mendoza and Reed already have two huge road wins against CFP teams (Oregon, Notre Dame) working in their favor. The comebacks aren't even at the top of either's list.
• They both also have potential conference championship appearances against heavyweights like Alabama/Georgia/Ole Miss (for Reed) and Ohio State/Oregon (for Mendoza) on the table, too. You want them to have that classic big-game Heisman moment before you count it? There you go. You can say the same thing about Ohio State's Julian Sayin, too.
• A Heisman Moment isn't limited to dramatic finishes. It can be a full game performance - like when Jayden Daniels went 350/200 on a 5-5 Florida team to put himself over the top in 2023.
• That said, the average voter absolutely values a dramatic finish or something in the clutch - no matter the opponent. Reggie Bush's iconic run against Fresno State holds weight even 20 years later because USC needed that play. And before you tell me, "Colton, at least Fresno was ranked!" Fresno lost their final two games of 2005 before voting finished.
• No player –at least in the last 30 years– has had just one moment win them the award. Charles Woodson had the punt return against Ohio State. He also had the interception at Michigan State. Auburn's incredible comeback at Alabama sealed it for Cam Newton in 2010. The legendary run vs. LSU is the singular moment/play everyone remembers.
• Some guys have a mixture of everything. Joe Burrow had the moment(s) (The game-winning TD pass to Justin Jefferson at Texas, the whole Alabama game) and a record-breaking season to go with them in 2019. Last year, Travis Hunter did something no player in the history of the sport has ever done at the level he did. He also had individual moments like being directly responsible for winning Colorado a game that put a rocket on the rest of their season.

I could go on forever - I love the Heisman. My point is that there isn't one way to win it, nor is there one play that wins it. Remember that over the next few weeks.

3. I'm begging whichever G5 team makes the playoff to at least put up a fight, for the sake of all of us

Here's what I said last week about the Group of Five/whatever we're calling it now's representation in the playoff:

I feel pretty confident about this take: Whichever G5 team earns a spot in the playoff will be public enemy No. 1 to the handful of SEC/Big Ten teams who narrowly miss out. People could stomach Boise getting in last year because of their resume, a close loss at Oregon, and Ashton Jeanty's historic season. I can guarantee you the G5 representative this year will not receive the same treatment.