Oklahoma Can't Keep Getting Away With This: Week 12 CFB Recap

What a week. We had huge upsets, near misses, cops going rogue, you name it. They remember what you do in November and this month is setting up to give us an incredible finish to the season.

Here's your Week 12 recap:

- Oklahoma Somehow Might Be a Playoff Team and the Stakes of the Iron Bowl Just Changed Dramatically

What a result we had in Tuscaloosa today. I think I'm honestly more shocked at this game than I was when the Crimson Tide lost in Tallahassee to open the season.

Bama out-gained Oklahoma 406-212, gained 23 first downs to OU's 12 and committed just two penalties on the day. Unfortunately, they also turned the ball over three times. The game was about as close to a spitting image of OU's last win at Tennessee as you could have crafted and the Sooners have somehow won both to be back in position for a College Football Playoff spot. Oklahoma's offense has not been anything to write home about since John Mateer returned from hand surgery, but it is finding ways to win games at the most critical time of the season.

So OU has new life breathed into it while Alabama went from the penthouse to just outside the outhouse in the blink of an eye. Now the Tide will travel to Auburn in the final week of the season needing to win to make the Playoff, which seemed like a foregone conclusion coming into this weekend. Bama is just 3-3 in its last six trips to Jordan-Hare Stadium, with the last two wins coming by a combined five points — one in quadruple overtime. That game is going to be a war.

- Texas A&M Mounts Historic Comeback To Maintain Perfect Season

I don't recall ever seeing a team look as different in two halves as Texas A&M did on Saturday. In the first half, the Aggies' drives went FG, missed FG, fumble (returned for TD), punt, punt, punt, missed FG, INT, INT. They were down 30-3 at the break and had they been playing an opponent worth a shit, it probably would have been something like 56-0. They were horrific.

But whatever Mike Elko said in the locker room clearly struck a chord, because his team came out in the second half with its hair on fire and put four touchdowns on the board in addition to shutting out South Carolina to remain unbeaten. Every team is going to have a Saturday when it just doesn't have its A-game, but credit to the Aggies for figuring it out in the second half and finding a way to win that game.

- Georgia Flexes on Texas and Finally Looked Like Georgia

Saturday night was the first time this season I felt like I saw Georgia look like the program we're used to seeing under Kirby Smart. And obviously college football is very different now than it was even just a few years ago, but the Bulldogs had just looked a tick off from what we've come to expect for much of this year.

But a Top 10 Texas team went into Sanford Stadium on Saturday night and the Dawgs reminded the country they're still Georgia. Even though UGA didn't really pull away until the fourth quarter, the result of the game never felt in doubt. The Bulldogs got a lead, put their hands around the Longhorns' neck and just squeezed for four quarters. That's what I expect big games in Athens to look like.

- The ACC Wheel of Destiny Continues To Spin

The people who love to get into conference arguments — and seem to enjoy debating various leagues' merit rather than root for a single team — need to spend a Saturday watching exclusively ACC football, because small quibbles between the SEC and Big Ten will cease to really mean anything after that. This league is something to behold and I do not mean that as a compliment.

Georgia Tech came back to escape 1-9 Boston College by the skin of its teeth while Virginia went on the road and killed the dream of a four-loss ACC champion Duke. Let's also not forget Louisville's home loss to Clemson on Friday night, which gives us an ACC standings board that looks like this heading into the final two weeks:

The Yellow Jackets will be in the ACC Championship Game if they win their final conference game against Pitt next week, but beyond that, take a wild guess as to who their opponent will be and you have as good a shot of being right as any other method. And if Pitt goes into Atlanta and wins, who the hell knows what this thing will look like.

- Are People Aware USC Is 8-2 and Playing for a CFP Spot Next Week?

I have very rarely heard USC mentioned in conversations about Playoff contenders this season, but the Trojans are a win over Oregon away from likely being in the field. They added another ranked win to their résumé on Saturday by taking down Iowa and now have a chance to cement their CFP case with a road game against the Ducks next week.

Jayden Maiava has been fantastic under center all year and Makai Lemon has a very strong argument to be the best receiver in college football not named Carnell Tate. This is a very good football team that can absolutely crash the Playoff and win a game.

- This Flag Being Picked Up Was Horse Shit

If ever there was a time to be convinced the SEC league office made a call to an officiating crew, it would be after seeing this flag be picked up. It would have given 3-6 Florida a chunk of yards and a first down on a potential game-winning drive to taker down 9-1 Ole Miss and deal a devastating blow to the Rebels' CFP chances for a second consecutive year.

But after a brief discussion, the obvious penalty was allowed to go uncalled and the Gators turned the ball over on downs to lose the game. Weird.