It might have been ‘Cupcake Week’ in college football, but there was still plenty for Simon Clancy to talk about as the playoff race nears its end…

LEAD OFF
The end of the regular season is approaching and matters on and off the field are being resolved.

Since the weekend we’ve had hirings – Les Miles in Kansas – and firings – Mike McCartney in Colorado. Title races have sorted themselves out: Pittsburgh will play Clemson for the ACC Championship which is something nobody envisaged at the start of the season and The Citadel may have got themselves a deal with ESPN’s 30 for 30 series after holding the mighty Alabama to 10 points in the first half in Tuscaloosa. Ohio State survived – somehow. West Virginia didn’t. UCF made a legitimate claim to at least be in the top eight come Tuesday night, and are Oklahoma really all they’re cracked up to when they give up 40 points to 3-8 Kansas? Oh, and Florida State finally won a game against a ranked side in Cupcake Week.

Perhaps the biggest story, however, was 3rd-ranked Notre Dame smashing number 12 Syracuse in the mouth, giving themselves just one more hurdle to overcome before securing a place in the playoff – a trip to the LA Coliseum to play the dumpster fire that is USC. There could still be mayhem afoot in the playoff rankings, but one thing seems certain – an unbeaten Irish team will make it to the final four.

Ian Book’s return was critical, as was the injury to Orangemen QB Eric Dungey that knocked him out of the game. But, in truth, the Irish never looked threatened in a game that we saw as a potential upset special. Regardless of their awful uniforms, they have a team that is now set to challenge Clemson and Alabama at the highest echelons of college football, and a defense that could rattle freshman sensation Trevor Lawrence in the semi-final. “Notre Dame are a lot better than people think,” said Syracuse coach Dino Babers after the 36-3 blowout. “They’re really, really good.”

BEST OF THE REST
Wofford, Chattanooga, Towson, East Tennessee State and Furman. Those are the teams that The Citadel have lost to this season. But, on a 10-10 tie at the half with number one Alabama, anything was possible.

How did they do it? They kept the ball out of Tua Tagovailoa’s hands by running a triple option that controlled the clock and confused the Tide defence. They threw the ball twice all day, both times incomplete. What it should be more than anything is a lesson for a bright coach in the SEC. Want to beat Nick Saban? Do what the Miami Dolphins did to the New England Patriots in the infamous 2008 Wildcat game. Be surprising. If you’re Mississippi State or Georgia, then do something unique. Practice it once a week and then bring it out in the biggest game…

Speaking of biggest games, this weekend is full of them…

Elsewhere, Trevor Lawrence may have been off target a little on Saturday night against Duke, but he wasn’t helped be a slew of dropped passes from his young receivers. They’ll need to fix up if they’re to win it all…. Duke QB Daniel Jones showed more flashes of his NFL talent and the junior will have a decision to make come the end of the season. Be a potential first rounder in April’s draft or wait a year and potentially be behind Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Justin Herbert, Dwayne Haskins et al, meaning he likely drops into round two or beyond…

Speaking of Haskins, he carried Ohio State over the line against Maryland in a game the Terps deserved to win. After being up two scores in the fourth quarter, they conceded back-to-back Buckeye touchdown drives to send the game to OT. Then, after Maryland scored in the extra period, head coach Matt Canada went for two and the win, only to see QB Tyrelle Pigrome miss a wide open receiver and keep the Buckeyes slim hopes alive… But perhaps the biggest concern for Buckeye nation was the state of head coach Urban Meyer, who looked pained at times on the sideline, bent over double and holding his head. It was difficult viewing, especially given his well-documented brain surgery. Realistically, this could be the final season for Meyer given everything that’s happened – mainly off the field – this year…

If Ohio State stay ahead of UCF in the rankings then something is really wrong. Their domination of 24th-ranked Cincinnati on national television should have sent a strong message to the voters: I think the Knights would give both Oklahoma and Notre Dame a serious game and they shouldn’t be the elite laughing stock of the nation that they are in some quarters. This team is legit…

Perhaps the best ending of the weekend came in Fort Collins, where the Colorado State Rams looked to have won the game on a walk-off Hail Mary against 23rd-ranked Utah State. As pandemonium ensued, referees determined that Preston Williams had stepped out of bounds before making the catch and the pass was ruled incomplete. The 10-1 Aggies survive…

Willie Taggart finally got a decent win, coming from behind to beat Boston College in Tallahassee. Deondre Francois’s 74-yard touchdown bomb to Tamorrion Terry was the difference. It may not salvage the season, but it does give Seminole fans the tiniest piece of hope for the future – and victory over Florida will make them bowl eligible…

It may have been a disappointing season for Wisconsin, but that didn’t stop Johnathan Taylor having a career day against Purdue. He ran 33 times for 321 yards and three scores in the thrilling 47-44 win…

And a word, too, for Heisman hopeful Gardner Minshew, who threw for 473 yards and seven touchdowns in Washington State’s blowout win over Arizona.

GRIDIRON TOP 10
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Michigan
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame
6. UCF
7. Washington State
8. LSU
9. Oklahoma
10. Ohio State

GAME OF THE WEEK
There’s so many great games this weekend – rivalry week. There’s a pair of crackers on Friday night as Washington State host Washington and West Virginia host Oklahoma in a game that could finish 70-apiece. But Ohio State/Michigan seems the premier match-up.

OSU have fallen off a cliff in recent weeks and Michigan needs this statement win to fill out its resume. Playoff voters will argue that they beat up on a Penn State team with nothing to play for and, similarly, the same could be said for the Buckeyes. That may play against the Wolverines in the final reckoning because, if one loss Georgia beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game, then it’s hard not to put the Bulldogs into the top four at the expense of Michigan. Dwayne Haskins will need to re-locate the sort of dead-eye accuracy he showed against TCU, especially in the face of Rashan Gary and Devin Bush. It is critical for Don Brown’s defense that Chase Winovich is cleared to play after leaving the game at the weekend against Indiana. Expect a Michigan win here – a defeat throws another cog into the playoff race.

BACK-UP GAME OF THE WEEK
Best of the rest is on the West Coast on Friday night as two of the best coaches in college football do battle: Mike Leach’s Washington State against Chris Peterson’s Washington. For Wazzu, this will be the final chance to really impress voters with the reality being that they’re hoping for snookers to get into the playoff, especially as the defeat to USC – however disgraceful the officiating – looks worse and worse each week. Washington have struggled all season with consistency and defeats to Auburn and Oregon look similarly suspicious as both those teams have flattered to deceive elsewhere. I’d love to see Leach in a college football playoff and, in graduate Gardner Minshew, he has one of the stories of the season.

HEISMAN FIVE
Did The Citadel throw a chink of light on the Tua Tagovailoa train? I don’t think so. But perhaps Kyler Murray and Minshew closed the gap. Defeat for Will Grier was a knockout blow, while Jonathan Taylor re-ignited his claims. The injury to D’Eriq King at Houston robbed him of a chance of getting to New York, whilst the best player in college football this season has actually been Alabama’s Quinnen Williams, although he won’t win. Josh Allen of Kentucky is also another defender deserving of praise and of a place in the top five.

1. Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama
2. Gardner Minshew – Washington State
3. Kyler Murray – Oklahoma
4. Quinnen Williams – Alabama
5. Jonathan Taylor – Wisconsin