Winners and losers from Week 12 in college football led by Georgia, Michigan, Alabama

Whether you believe Georgia can derail LSU's charge for the SEC championship depends on the answer to this question: Is the Georgia defense good enough to make you overlook the play of an offense that has spent most of the past two months stuck in neutral?

From an optimistic point of view, Saturday's win signaled the Bulldogs' formula for returning to the College Football Playoff, which centers on ball control, the opportunity to strike downfield in the passing game and the stingy play of a defense that may be the best in the Bowl Subdivision. 

This defense might be the antidote to LSU's suddenly potent offense, which scored 46 points in last Saturday's seismic victory against Alabama and features the odds-on favorite for the Heisman Trophy in quarterback Joe Burrow. 

Overall, however, more LSU opponents than not rank in the bottom half of the FBS in yards allowed per play. Georgia's defense entered the weekend ranked fifth nationally in yards per play and will climb higher after allowing Auburn to gain just 329 yards on 86 plays. The Bulldogs have allowed more than 17 points in a game only once.

The defense will give Georgia a shot in the SEC championship, now that the Bulldogs have officially punched their ticket for Atlanta. But the offense continues to be a concern. Though running back D'Andre Swift cracked the 100-yard mark and the running game as a whole gained 141 yards, the third-most Auburn has allowed in a game all season, quarterback Jake Fromm completed just 13 of his 28 attempts for 110 yards — with 51 of that total coming on a deep touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Fromm did throw for three touchdowns without an interception, continuing a trend dating to his freshman season: he has made 858 career attempts with just 16 interceptions, or one turnover for about every 53 pass attempts. Whether this offense can rally in the next three weeks to provide balance to a championship-worthy defense will determine whether Georgia can beat LSU and reach the semifinals. Here are the rest of Saturday's winners and losers:

Winners

Oklahoma

It was 28-3 four minutes into the second quarter. It was 31-10 at halftime. With the Sooners down 31-17 in the third quarter, quarterback Jalen Hurts was stripped and fumbled just before crossing the goal line in what would've made it a one-score game. There were a handful of moments on Saturday night in Waco where Oklahoma could've — and perhaps even should've — wilted against Baylor, which was looking to remain unbeaten and soar in next week's playoff rankings.

More:Oklahoma stages monumental comeback to knock off No. 10 Baylor

Slowly, the Sooners chipped away. In all, the defense played its best game of the season in conference play. The offense dominated the clock, controlling possession for more than 40 minutes. Oklahoma scored once in the fourth quarter to draw within a touchdown, again to even the score and took the lead for good with 1:45 left. The 34-31 final represents Oklahoma's best win on the year and keeps the Sooners right in the mix for a playoff berth.

Michigan

That's two wins in a row and three of four against Michigan State, the latest a 44-10 romp that stands as Michigan's largest margin of victory in the series since a 49-3 win in 2002. From the Wolverines' perspective, some semblance of order has been restored to a rivalry the program has historically dominated, though the series has been reasonably even since 1950. But if you want to take stock at the direction of each program, just trust your eyes: Michigan doubled MSU in total yardage and looked positively dynamic compared to the Spartans' tedious approach.

Virginia Tech

The Hokies were supposed to dominate Georgia Tech, so no surprise there — it was 31-0 at halftime, the eighth time Virginia Tech has scored 31 or more points in one half during ACC play, and 45-0 in the end. Overall, the win speaks to how the Hokies were prematurely written off as threats for the Coastal Division and the Top 25 after a 45-10 loss to Duke in September. Since then, the Hokies have won five of six with the one loss, to Notre Dame, by a single point.

Penn State

Penn State's 34-27 victory against Indiana qualifies as a quality win, given how the Hoosiers made a rare appearance in this week's Amway Coaches Poll and were seemingly in consideration for a spot along the back end of the recent playoff rankings. It's a rebound moment for the Nittany Lions, last seen losing by a possession at Minnesota, that will keep James Franklin's team in position to wrestle control of the Big Ten East with a win next week at Ohio State.

Clemson

According to the recent Amway Coaches Poll, Wake Forest was the closest thing Clemson would find to a legitimate threat in the ACC. That may still be true, even if the Tigers led 31-3 at halftime and had no issues posting another lopsided win in conference play. Trevor Lawrence continued his torrid play with 272 yards and four touchdowns while running back Travis Etienne added 121 yards on 16 carries.

Notre Dame

Aided by four Navy turnovers and strong play from quarterback Ian Book, who threw for five scores, the Fighting Irish moved closer to securing a New Year's Six bowl with a 52-20 win against the Midshipmen. Notre Dame closes the year at home against Boston College and on the road against Stanford.

Kentucky

Kentucky's 38-16 win against Vanderbilt featured more ridiculousness from do-everything junior Lynn Bowden, who threw for 104 yards, ran for 110 more and accounted for a pair of touchdowns. Thrust into action at quarterback due to injuries, Bowden has carried the Wildcats to the doorstep of bowl play and is due some postseason hardware to go with All-America status. And that Kentucky can reach a bowl game is another strong mark for coach Mark Stoops, who figures to be in the running as Willie Taggart's replacement at Florida State.

Losers

Alabama

The Crimson Tide's 38-7 win against Mississippi State was clouded by the hip injury suffered by quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who late in the first half fell awkwardly under the weight of two tacklers and was carted off the field. As Nick Saban said after the game, the coaching staff did not plan to play Tagovailoa in the second half and wanted only to see him run the two-minute offense before halftime. In his postgame press conference, Saban called it a "freak injury" and said it was unrelated to any previous injuries, such as the high-ankle sprain suffered last month.

By early evening on Saturday, the injury was revealed to be a dislocated hip with a posterior wall fracture, ending the junior's season. While it's too early to infer any meaning into Tagovailoa's NFL draft prospects — he's viewed as a potential franchise quarterback on the next level — the injury likely signals the end of a prolific and memorable college career. In his stead, the Crimson Tide will call on backup Mac Jones, who threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns when replacing a hobbled Tagovailoa against Arkansas. 

BLAME GAME:Nick Saban isn't at fault for Tua Tagovailoa's injury

Minnesota

Iowa's 23-19 win means more to the Hawkeyes than it does to the Golden Gophers, in the strange math that has been born out of the playoff. It's a marquee victory for Iowa to more than justify a leap in the Coaches Poll, and represents a nice rebound after last week's 24-22 loss to Wisconsin. But it's not a crippling blow for Minnesota, which still gets the Badgers to end November and potentially one of Ohio State and Penn State to decide the Big Ten. Given the reputation of the conference, the Gophers could be 12-1 and with a strong case for the top four.

HAWKEYES DAY:Iowa hands No. 7 Minnesota its first loss of season

Texas

After taking a step forward with last week's last-second win against Kansas State, the Longhorns took one step back with a 23-21 loss at Iowa State, which continues to look the part of a Top 25 team despite its 6-4 record. Down 20-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Longhorns put together two touchdown drives of 80-plus yards to take the lead before the Cyclones made a 36-yard field goal as time expired. Texas is itself 6-4 overall and 4-3 in Big 12 play, fourth in the conference, and will play in a second-tier bowl game after reaching the Sugar Bowl in Tom Herman's second season.

Kansas State

Kansas State was roughly a two-touchdown favorite against West Virginia, which entered the weekend having lost five in a row and with just two wins on the season against FBS competition. For the second week in a row, the Wildcats' running game sputtered. After rushing for just 51 yards against Texas, Kansas State ran for 122 yards on 38 carries despite getting back leading rusher James Gilbert. As the running game goes, so go the Wildcats. Kansas State's 24-20 loss is the most inexplicable result of the day this side of Duke's 49-6 loss to a Syracuse team that was winless in ACC play.

Akron

The Zips didn't play on Saturday — they lost 42-14 to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday — but still qualify for this section: Akron is now the only winless team in the FBS after New Mexico State and Rice put victories on the board. After a number of close losses, the Owls beat Middle Tennessee State 31-28. NMSU notched a 41-28 win against Incarnate Word.

Baylor

It's heartbreaking for the Bears, who built a series of commanding leads but struggled to do anything offensively in the second half. Baylor ran just 16 plays after halftime as the Oklahoma offense dominated the clock. Matt Rhule still has his third team in line for a New Year's Six bowl and likely headed for a rematch with the Sooners to decide the Big 12 championship.