Looking Ahead: Irish Opponents in Week 13

Irish Opponent Week 13 Record: 5-7      Irish Opponent Season Record: 77-65

The Irish loss to Stanford made pretty much any resume discussion moot, but rivalry week was not kind to the Irish playoff cause. Thanksgiving night, Texas lost a shootout to Texas Tech after the Red Raiders had two highlight reel TDs. The Texas ground game was fantastic rushing for over 400 yards. This was led by Chris Warren III who rushed for 276 yards and four TDs on 25 carries. Horns QBs Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard threw for just 64 yards, but the defense had more to do with the loss than the passing game. The loss drops Texas to 4-7 with one game remaining against Baylor next week. Virginia ended the season with a loss to Virginia Tech and will be looking to replace Mike London in the offseason. The loss is the 12th straight in the series for the Hoos. Virginia's passing game struggled throughout the afternoon with QB Matt Johns averaging just 4.5 YPA with two INTs. They did run the ball effectively, but couldn't find the end zone enough. The win for Frank Beamer means his retirement will come after a bowl game while Virginia will look for a new coach along with what feels like half of college football. Georgia Tech also lost a rivalry game to cap off a disappointing season. Three turnovers doomed the Jackets against Georiga as they lost 13-7. QB Justin Thomas completed just a third of his 18 passes and threw two picks. Another one of his completions was fumbled downfield by the receiver. Despite the win and 9-3 record, Georgia still fired Mark Richt with Kirby Smart or Tom Herman expected to take the job in Athens. UMass ended their season with a win over Buffalo. Marquise Young will have all offseason to recover from his huge day on the ground. He rushed for 240 yards and 3 TDs on a crazy 35 carries. Tajae Sharpe had a nice day at receiver catching six passes for 138 yards. The UMass win denied Buffalo bowl eligibility and gave the Minutemen their second MAC win of the season.

Clemson overcame three lost fumbles to hang on to beat South Carolina by a much closer margin than expected. Deshaun Watson might have punched his ticket to the Heisman ceremony with 393 total yards and four total TDs on the afternoon. The win will keep the Tigers in the top spot of the college football playoff rankings, and a win over UNC in the ACC Championship game next week will give them the top seed in the bracket. Navy's loss to Houston was the first ever conference loss for the Middies and will keep them from facing Temple for the AAC Championship. The Navy defense struggled to get off the field allowing the Cougars to convert 16/19 3rd downs. Houston also shut down the triple option attack quite well, but Navy did pass for over 300 yards. Navy still has a shot to reach ten regular season wins if they knock of Army in two weeks. Southern Cal clinched the PAC 12 South with a win over LA rival UCLA. The Bruin defense struggled to slow down Justin Davis who rushed for 130 yards on 25 carries. Cody Kessler threw for two TDs, ran for one, and Trojan defense also added a score on a fumble return. The Trojans also picked off two Josh Rosen passes. Southern Cal will face Stanford in the PAC 12 Championship game at Levi Stadium next week. Temple defeated Bob Diaco's UConn Huskies to reach the AAC Championship. The Owls defense held the Huskies to just 138 total yards and nine rushing yards. On offense, Jahad Thomas ran for 119 yards and two scores on 20 attempts while PJ Walker threw for 160 yards and one TD. The win was Temple's tenth of the season, and the Owls could potentially reach a New Year's Six Bowl with a win over Houston next week.

Pittsburgh struggled early and their late rally fell short against Miami dropping to 8-4. The Panthers fell behind 20-0 early in the second quarter, and despite some late heroics by Nathan Peterman and Darrin Hall, Pitt couldn't make up the deficit. Miami QB Brad Kaaya threw for 261 yards and a TD, and he ran for one score as well. Miami will also need to hire a coach in the coming weeks. Pitt finishes the season at 8-4 in Pat Narduzzi's first season, and will wait to find out where they'll be bowling. Wake Forest's three turnovers doomed their comeback attempt against Duke. John Wolford threw for 338 yards and two TDs, but he was picked off twice. For Duke, the other McCaffery brother, Max, had two receiving TDs and 93 yards. The Deacons loss dropped them to 3-9 for the second straight season with Dave Clawson at the helm. Boston College also picked up another loss to fall to 3-9. The Eagles continued their attack against offense by throwing for just nine yards on the afternoon. Jeff Smith completed just one pass to an Eagles WR and was intercepted twice. BC did effectively run the ball with Smith and Tyler Rouse both breaking the century mark on the ground. The Eagles defense played well, especially against the pass, but they allowed a late FG drive that gave the Orange the victory. Lastly, Notre Dame was leading Stanford 36-35 with 30 seconds, but all footage of the final moments of the game have been lost forever.