Georgia football bench Carson Beck with CFP in jeopardy? Not happening

The tentacles of Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss reach far, from Texas to Indiana.
Even if Carson Beck piles up the turnovers, it would be against Kirby Smart history to trigger a quarterback change with Georgia’s season on the line against Tennessee.
LSU’s season went south against Alabama, and now Brian Kelly is at a crossroads.

The tentacles of Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss range from Austin, Texas, to Bloomington, Indiana.

The College Football Playoff The committee probably would have had a fairly neat and tidy selection process in a few weeks if Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs had beaten the Rebels.

Ole ma’am crush Georgia 28-10 in Oxford and entering the play-off mix overcrowded the bubble.

This result increases the likelihood that the ACC and Big 12 will be single-bid leagues, and it also increases the possibility that a Big Ten or SEC team worthy of playoff consideration is left out left.

Here’s what still makes my brain tingle as we close the book on week 11:

Will Kirby Smart bench quarterback Carson Beck?

I highly doubt it. As much as I think Smart should consider trying blue-chip backup quarterback Gunner Stockton, few coaches would abhor a quarterback change like Smart.

This is what Slim said Monday on the possibility of a quarterback change:

“Absolutely not,” Smart said. “We have a quarterback who is completely competent and skilled and who understands our system that gives us the best chance to win.”

With Georgia’s season on the line against Tennessee, Smart will dance with whoever brought him, even if Carson Beck is responsible for 14 goals in the past six games.

‘He is the key that turns the contact on offense’ Volunteers coach Josh Heupel said Monday, attempting to compliment Beck.

The key won’t turn and the Lamborghini won’t start.

Stockton would provide more of the quarterback-run game in Georgia’s offense, but assuming Smart sticks with Beck (a reasonable assumption, given Smart’s history of dealing with quarterbacks), Georgia’s beefed-up offensive line should do a better job of protecting Beck then against Ole Miss, when the Rebels held Beck under duress.

Which teams are most affected by Georgia’s loss?

Start with the obvious. Georgia suffers a second loss and faces Georgia.

At 7-2, the Bulldogs can’t afford to lose to Tennessee. If Georgia picks up wins against the Vols, Massachusetts and Georgia Tech, it will secure a spot in the 12-team field. If Georgia drops a third game, a needle will be stuck in the bubble.

Georgia losing to Ole Miss also affected:

Tennessee: An Ole Miss loss would have taken the Rebels out of the bubble, kept Georgia at the top of the standings and given the Vols an under-matched crack against Georgia on Saturday. Now Tennessee’s own credentials will be called into question if it loses to Georgia, a week after the Rebels made Georgia look incompetent.

Texas: When you could convince yourself that Georgia was arguably the best team in the country, the Longhorns’30-15 loss to the Bulldogs in Austin didn’t sting so much. But if you take another look at Texas’ resume, you’ll see that the Longhorns have a weak schedule, no big wins and a home loss to a team that lost to Alabama and Ole Miss.

The Longhorns would be safe at 11-1. However, lose to Texas A&M and finish 10-2, and it becomes difficult to make a case for Texas. Georgia lost the margin of error to Texas, especially since the head-to-head result means the committee will likely have Longhorns behind the Bulldogs if both are at-large candidates with the same record.

Indiana: Consider this real possibility: Georgia beats Tennessee. Texas enters the SEC championship game at 11-1. Indiana loses to Ohio State.

You would have Oregon, plus Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana undefeated at one loss apiece and in the Big Ten championship. Within the SEC, Texas would be sitting pretty with one loss if we followed this list of 10-2 teams: Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee.

Oh, and don’t forget Notre Dame.

Even without considering the ACC or Big 12, I count eight overall candidates for seven spots.

Indiana would have the weakest strength of the schedule. Gulp. Want to bet that the basketball school will be the odd one out?

Is Brian Kelly a bust at LSU?

LSU’s season went bankrupt on Saturday night.

The Tigers masqueraded as a playoff team in brief periods, but LSU had too many weaknesses and not enough strengths to hold up as a playoff contender. Alabama has exposed every wart a 42-13 demolition of the Tigers.

This result became the low point of a Kelly tenure That had been quite encouraging over the last two years before the momentum stalled. In Year 3, LSU should expect more than this.

I’m not ready to declare the Kelly era a failure. He is assembling his top recruiting class, a group ranked fourth nationally and led by the nation’s number one quarterback, Bryce Underwood. However, a new quarterback won’t solve all of the Tigers’ problems.

LSU’s run game would benefit from more imagination, and Kelly needs to acquire and develop better defensive personnel. It would help to take a page from the Ole Miss playbook and add a few proven transfers this season.

LSU’s talent on defense simply isn’t good enough. That was evident throughout the season, just like last year.

Should Miami be concerned about its spot on the CFP list?

Absolutely, it should be a concern.

You might overlook Miami’s lack of a signature win when the Hurricanes were undefeated and piled up points, but a 28-23 loss to Georgia Tech calls for further examination of Miami’s credentials.

The entire Miami operation is based on quarterback Cam Ward impersonating Superman every week, and he does a damn good job of it. But Miami’s defense continually leaves it vulnerable, and Georgia Tech has exposed Miami’s offensive line.

Miami needed three second-half comebacks to remain undefeated before this loss to Georgia Tech.

The Hurricanes finish at Syracuse in November. The Dutch team is not having an easy time at home. A loss there could knock Miami out of the ACC Championship.

To ensure the playoff, the Hurricanes must win the ACC Championship, and that’s not a layup, with SMU playing as well as any ACC team.

Blake Toppmeyer is the national college football columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all his columns.