Florida, Colorado headline college football Week 12 winners and losers

Florida pitched the decision to bring back coach Billy Napier as one focused on the program’s future. The reality of the situation is that paying Napier’s $27 million buyout made less sense at a time when a fraction of that total can be used to develop a roster that can compete on a weekly basis with the best teams in the SEC.

This decision may end up being one of the smarter economic allocations in recent Bowl Subdivision history. In a dream scenario, Napier’s program turns a corner over the next year. If not, the Gators fire him next November or December and pay a smaller buyout number.

The future is uncertain, basically. But the present isn’t all that bad: Florida beat No. 22 LSU 27-16 for what may be the hallmark win of Napier’s tenure. And with freshman quarterback DJ Lagway back in the lineup after missing last week’s loss to Texas, the Gators seem poised to earn a bowl berth and potentially post a winning season for the first time since 2020.

Lagway largely outplayed LSU junior Garrett Nussmeier in completing 13 of 26 passes for 226 yards and a score. Nussmeier threw for 260 yards but averaged a season-low 5.5 yards per attempt.

Crucially, Lagway avoided any turnovers in a game that went back and forth until freshman running back Jadan Baugh’s 55-yard touchdown pushed Florida ahead by two possessions with just under four minutes to go.

The Gators will be heavy underdogs in next week’s game against No. 11 Mississippi but are poised to capture bowl eligibility in the season finale against rival Florida State. Given the drama of this season — from Napier’s job security through quarterback Graham Mertz’s season-ending injury through the nastiest schedule imaginable in the SEC — that this team could reach a bowl game should be applauded.

Hold your applause for LSU, which as a specific team and program is clearly trending downwards after a nice run through the start of SEC play. In the past three games, the Tigers have been blown away in the fourth quarter by No. 15 Texas A&M, blown out from the start by No. 9 Alabama and then lost to the Gators.

That’s not good news for coach Brian Kelly, who missed the chance to capitalize on some early success and might be better off packing up his Foghorn Leghorn-style accent and doing a reverse carpetbagger back to the friendlier confines of somewhere in the upper Midwest.

Florida, LSU and Colorado lead Saturday’s winners and losers:

Winners

Colorado

Beating Utah 49-24 brings No. 20 Colorado one step closer to the Big 12 championship game. This one was never in any real doubt but got a little out of hand late, with two Colorado touchdowns in the final five minutes after the Utes had cut the score to 35-24 midway through the fourth quarter. As has been the case through this streak of seven wins in eight games, the Buffaloes were driven by sheer star power: Shedeur Sanders had 340 yards and three scores, senior receiver LaJohntay Wester had a season-high 10 receptions for 77 yards and Travis Hunter had 55 receiving yards, a rushing touchdown and an interception.

Tulane

Tulane will play for the American Athletic crown for the third year in a row after smashing Navy 35-0. Defensively, the Green Wave held the Midshipmen to just 113 yards, the program’s worst total since a loss to Air Force in 2021. This continues a trend: Tulane has given up just one touchdown in three November games, on a long Temple touchdown run last weekend with the Green Wave already ahead 52-0 in the fourth quarter. For one, it’s clear that Tulane is extremely overdue to be ranked in the US LBM Coaches Poll, though that should change on Sunday. For another, the Green Wave are angling into position to reach the playoff should Boise State not take home the Mountain West title with their matchup against No. 17 Army in the AAC title game set.

Ohio State

Held scoreless by Northwestern until midway through the second quarter, the No. 2 Buckeyes scored three times before halftime and won 31-7 to avoid a faceplant in advance of next Saturday’s matchup with No. 6 Indiana. Will Howard stayed hot with 247 yards and two touchdowns on just 24 passes, giving him multiple scores in every Big Ten game, and running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson combined for 150 yards on 5.7 yards per carry. Northwestern’s touchdown in the second quarter was just the second offensive score the Buckeyes have allowed since last month’s loss to No. 1 Oregon.

Losers

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh trailed No. 16 Clemson 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter, led 20-17 with 90 seconds left but lost 24-20 after allowing Cade Klubnik to race 50 yards nearly untouched for the go-ahead score with 1:16 to play. The win keeps the Tigers alive in the ACC race, hoping for another Miami loss, while the Panthers have now lost three in a row and are dumped from ACC contention. Looking back, think about how different this year would be had Pittsburgh not pulled out borderline miraculous wins in September against Cincinnati and West Virginia; this team could be 5-5 or worse after winning just three games last season.

Nebraska

Twenty-nine days ago, Nebraska was 5-1 with an overtime loss to Illinois and ranked No. 25 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. After losing 28-20 to Southern California, the Cornhuskers are limping into the final two games of the regular season at 5-5, facing the very distinct possibility of a second late-season collapse in as many years under coach Matt Rhule. A year ago, Nebraska went into November at 5-3 but lost four in a row to continue the longest bowl-less streak in the Power Four. To get into a bowl game, the Cornhuskers will have to win one of two against Wisconsin and Iowa.

Miami and SMU

No. 12 Miami was off this week, giving the Hurricanes more time to stew over a recent loss to Georgia Tech, and No. 13 SMU pulled away late for a 31-28 win against upset-minded Boston College. But the news isn’t good: No. 24 Louisville blew a 35-21 lead in the fourth quarter and lost 38-35 to Stanford, giving away the game late with a crucial offsides penalty that set up Emmet Kenney’s 52-yard field goal as time expired. This loss impacts both ACC frontrunners by removing the one win each team had against an opponent in the playoff rankings, increasing the odds the ACC ends up a one-bid league.

Oregon State

These are some dark days for the Beavers. Oregon State has dropped five in a row and is teetering on the brink of missing the postseason after getting blanked 28-0 by Air Force, the program’s first shutout loss since 2015. This stretch comes after a 4-1 start, with the lone loss coming to rival Oregon — and by the way, that the Ducks are the best in the FBS makes this stretch of play under new coach Trent Bray all the worse. Remember that Oregon State is no longer in the Power Four, so these five losses aren’t coming to world-beating competition: Nevada, UNLV, California, San Jose State and the Falcons.

Hawaii

The Warriors had seemed to turn a corner the last three times out, beating Nevada and Fresno State and then giving UNLV a major scare before losing 29-27. That momentum and the chance to make a bowl game were erased with a 55-10 loss at Utah State, which went into Saturday having allowed at least 38 points in all but one of eight games against FBS competition. This marks the fourth year in a row Hawaii will miss the postseason after making a bowl in four of five seasons from 2016-20.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football Week 12 winners, losers: Florida, Colorado lead way