Week 13 of the college football season has come and gone, and it was a doozy. A pair of matchups stood out among the rest. The 86th Iron Bowl was an instant classic, while Jim Harbaugh and Michigan finally got over the hump with a win over Ohio State. With all that went down, let’s take a minute to reflect on what transpired this week on the college football gridiron and what it means moving forward.
Michigan gets over the hump
Harbaugh went into Saturday with an 0-5 record against Ohio State. Harbaugh and the No. 5 Wolverines finally got the job done as they took down the No. 2 Buckeyes 42-27. Michigan dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and it out-rushed Ohio State 297-64. Running back Hassan Haskins tied a school record with 5 touchdowns and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson recorded 3 sacks and now has 13 on the season. His performance today broke a single-season program mark. Interestingly enough, Hutchinson now has the fourth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy on DraftKing at +1400.
It was a game the Wolverines desperately needed, as they had lost 8 consecutive games to the Buckeyes. With the win, Michigan figures to move into the top 4 teams in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm ET. The Wolverines were +4000 to win the National Championship before this weekend, but they are now +1000. Their opponent in next Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game will be the Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan will be looking to pickup another win in hopes of making an appearance in the College Football Playoff all but imminent.
Michigan fans have rushed the field
(via @Johnubacon) pic.twitter.com/HuP2kMRV0n
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 27, 2021
Iron Bowl instant classic
This year’s Iron Bowl was one to remember. No. 3 Alabama was favored by nearly 3 touchdowns, but Auburn gave the Tide all they could handle. Auburn (+775 ML) held Alabama scoreless until halfway through the fourth quarter and even had a 99.7% to win the game with 1:31 left on the clock. With 24 seconds to go, Alabama QB Bryce Young connected with Ja-Corey Brooks on a 28-yard strike to tie the game. After a couple of back-and-forth overtimes, Young won the game on a 2-point conversion pass to John Metchie III.
Pain for everyone with Auburn ML 😠pic.twitter.com/hULWh9UYe0
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 28, 2021
Young finished the game with 317 yards through the air and 2 touchdowns. That performance has now made him the Heisman frontrunner. Before today, Young was +150 to win the award; he has since moved to -175. C.J. Stroud follows at +380.
Young and the Tide will be in action next weekend in the SEC Championship game against No. 1 Georgia. The Bulldogs have the best defense in the country, as they are allowing just 236.3 total yards and 7.5 points per game to their opponents. It will be interesting to see how Young fares against such an elite defensive unit. The Bulldogs opened as -5.5 favorites.
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