By the time Wisconsin committed its fifth turnover in a 17-7 loss to Northwestern, college football s contending class looked a lot less convincing. Yes, the No. 10 Badgers are the only team we truly managed to cross off Saturday in what we ll call Week 12. But other supposed top-tier teams had their struggles.

No. 3 Ohio State got into a back-and-forth barnburner with No. 9 Indiana. The Hoosiers are good. But 491 yards passing against the modern-day DBU? Eh. The Buckeyes secondary has some real issues, which we ll address more in-depth below.

The No. 6 Florida Gators were tied with Vanderbilt deep into the second quarter. The final score, 38-17, looks convincing, but a defense that allowed 406 yards of offense to a unit that ranked 111th in yards per play entering the week doesn t inspire confidence. Florida ranks just 86th nationally in yards allowed per play.

The No. 11 Oregon Ducks played their third game, surviving by three points at home vs. UCLA, and for the third straight week there just wasn t anything that jumped off the page. Joe Morehead s new offense is clicking nicely, but an inexperienced defense surrendered 35 points to a UCLA team playing with its backup QB and other second stringers due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Injuries keep piling up for the Ducks, too.

Clemson? It didn t even get to play because of a last-minute COVID-19 cancellation with Florida State. The Tigers were far from alone. No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 12 Miami sat out this weekend as well.

OK, so not everyone struggled Alabama beat Kentucky by 60 but with the initial College Football Playoff rankings set to be released Tuesday, things are a lot less clear at the top than many expected. Alabama is going to be No. 1. Notre Dame, which is not without its questions, will be No. 2. Everyone else? It s a mystery. One thing is for sure: There isn t a clear-cut, slam-dunk favorite this year. 2020 wouldn t allow for that.

1. WELCOME BACK, JT DANIELS

Perhaps the most perplexing player-related question of the 2020 season went like this: Where is JT Daniels? My colleague Brandon Marcello tackled that exact question a few weeks ago, reporting that Daniels “believes he’s ready” following an extended injury recovery dating back to his time at USC. But weeks went by, and we didn’t see Daniels. Not when Stetson Bennett threw a trio of INTs against Alabama. Not when he managed 131 yards against Kentucky. And not when he threw for 78 against Florida.

Nope. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart waited until Week 12 for Daniels’ debut. Turns out the former five-star can throw a football: 28-for-38, 401 yards and four touchdowns in a 31-24 win over Mississippi State (2-4).

This stellar debut raises a few questions: What was Smart thinking? What’s changed? And again, just what was Smart thinking?

Rumors have been rampant about Daniels since the beginning of the Bulldogs’ fall camp. He did not start strong in that setting. That much is clear. What’s happened in-season, however, is a bit of a mystery. But given he was cleared medically in Week 2, I don’t know how to rationalize Smart waiting so long to play the quarterback who clearly gives his team the best chance to win.

Doesn't seem like Daniels does either with the redshirt sophomore QB saying: "I wasn't cleared for Arkansas. From then on, it was a coach's decision."

2. BIG 12 RACE TAKES SHAPE

The Big 12 championship race had serious chaos energy a few weeks ago when six teams had a legitimate shot to make it to Arlington. Not so much after a weekend that saw No. 24 Iowa State smack Kansas State, 45-0, and Oklahoma roll past Oklahoma State, 41-13, in Bedlam once again.

This leaves us with four teams with a realistic chance to reach the title game: Iowa State (6-1), Oklahoma (6-2), Texas (4-2) and Oklahoma State (5-2).

Among that group, the Cyclones, Longhorns and Sooners control their own destiny. The Cyclones are in if they win out. The same could be said of the Longhorns, which will host Iowa State next Friday. The winner of that matchup will likely reach the championship game.

Thanks to its Bedlam win, Oklahoma is also in if it wins out. But Oklahoma State, with head-to-head losses to Texas and Oklahoma, needs some help and should be rooting hard for Iowa State next week. That would keep the Cowboys alive, but then they'd need more help still, by way of Oklahoma or Iowa State stumbling once more.

For what it s worth, I d pick OU to win the Big 12 title at this point in the year. The Sooners are playing the best football by far of anyone in the league.

There are other concerns, too. The Buckeyes had a huge rushing day on the ground (307, 6.1 yards per rush). But the dropoff from J.K. Dobbins to Master Teague and Trey Sermon is obvious. You could say the same thing of the Buckeye pass rush without Chase Young; the group that managed only two sacks and little pressure against the Hoosiers. Combine that lack of pressure with a secondary expected to largely win one-on-one, and you have problems against teams with good QBs and good WRs.

Ohio State will be fine in the Big Ten. Its talent is overwhelming against its fellow conference foes. Once it gets out of the league? We ll see. These weaknesses could prove problematic.

THREE TEAMS FEELING BETTER

1. Northwestern Wildcats: No single unit played better this weekend than Northwestern s defense in a 17-7 win over No. 10 Wisconsin. After allowing a 49-yard first quarter touchdown, the Wildcats held the Badgers to just 276 yards of offense and forced five turnovers. The victory moves the Wildcats to 5-0 and puts them in position to walk into the Big Ten title game with remaining games with Michigan State, Minnesota and Illinois. There s a good chance Northwestern and Ohio State are both unbeaten come Dec. 18, which would be the 2018 rematch that nobody expected. This is also the first time since 1996 the Wildcats start Big Ten play 5-0. Northwestern and linebacker Pat Fitzgerald won the Big Ten that year.

2. Michigan Wolverines: The internet, including this writer, made all the jokes: Khakis and sleepovers. You made the jokes . Some just pointed and laughed. But Michigan survived in 3-OT to beat Rutgers, 48-42, thanks to a game-sealing interception by Dax Hill. This result will be dissected and picked at in the coming days, and much of it will be a painful reality check for the Michigan program. Tonight, though, the Wolverines and their fans should absolutely feel better. They avoided utter disaster and are a notch or two better than proud programs like Penn State (0-5) and Nebraska (1-4). Also, redshirt freshman QB Cade McNamara might be really good. He finished 27-for-36 with 260 yards and five total touchdowns. He s shown a much better feel than Joe Milton did during his brief tenure as Michigan s starter.

3. LSU Tigers: Last year, the Tigers played Arkansas as a 41-point favorite. This year, they entered Fayetteville as a one-point favorite. And in 2020, the Tigers are happy to escape with a 27-24 win over the Razorbacks (3-4) thanks largely to a blocked field goal in the final minutes. Time of possession, usually a really overrated stat, mattered in this one. The Tigers possessed the ball for 41:43, keeping a Razorbacks attack that averaged 8.3 yards per play off the field for the most part. LSU s defense is a major issue. But a win is a win and it was cool to see true freshman T.J. Finley led the Tigers on a game-winning drive in the rain.

Could Payne Durham have pushed off at the break of that route? Perhaps. But he seems pretty well socially-distanced from the defender. Purdue threw an interception on the next play. Rough way for the Boilermakers to fall to 2-2.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Vi Jones, LB, NC State: Liberty is no longer unbeaten, and NC State can thank the man formerly known as Levi (as USC fans would remember him) for that. The redshirt junior blocked the No. 21 Flames 39-yard game-winning field goal attempt, securing a 15-14 win for the Wolfpack (5-3). Jones finished the day with four tackles, one sack and a tackle for loss in addition to his key special teams effort. Jones transferred to NC State from USC ahead of the 2018 season.

OTHER NOTABLE SCORES

- Pittsburgh crushed Virginia Tech, 47-14, on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies entered 2020 as hopeful contenders. Now, they ve lost three straight, including a game to Liberty. That warmth you feel is Justin Fuente s seat. He went fishing for jobs last offseason. If this were a different, more financially stable year, I d tell you he d likely be fishing again this offseason it'd just be involuntary.
- Syracuse lost its sixth straight game Friday evening, falling 30-0 to Louisville (3-6). The Orange (1-8), devastated by injury, managed just 45 passing yards in the loss. With games ahead against NC State and Notre Dame, Syracuse seems primed to finish 1-10.
- Western Michigan made a claim as the MAC s best team with a 52-44 win over Central Michigan (2-1). Meanwhile, senior Broncos receiver D Wayne Eskridge made a claim as the nation s most explosive receiver with a four-catch, 212-yard, three-touchdown performance. He s averaging 32.6 yards a reception through three games.
- Army isn t built to come from behind. But the Black Knights did on Saturday, scaling a 21-7 halftime deficit against Georgia Southern to win, 28-27. A blocked extra point made the difference in this one.
- East Carolina s game with Temple started nearly 50 minutes late after an Owls player had to be taken back to campus for a COVID-19 test shortly before kickoff. His girlfriend tested positive just before the game, which eventually led to five Temple players, including three starters, being ruled out due to contact tracing protocols. Unsurprisingly, East Carolina won, 28-3.
- North Texas played its first game since Oct. 17, beating Rice, 27-17. The Mean Green had three straight games (UTEP, Louisiana Tech, UAB) postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
- UTEP running back Sincere McCormick became the second FBS player this year to cross the 1,000-yard barrier in a 23-20 win over Southern Miss. The sophomore finished with 173 yards and two touchdowns, helping UTSA to its sixth win of the year.