CFB Wrap-Up: Takeaways from Week 12's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines the significance of them moving forward.

Rattler, South Carolina detonate on Tennessee

There might be a new clubhouse leader for the most shocking result of the college football season. South Carolina, a 21-point underdog, turned out an absolutely stunning offensive performance, hanging a whopping 63 points on No. 5 Tennessee in a 25-point blowout on Saturday night. The 63 points are the most the Volunteers have allowed to an unranked opponent in program history.

Spencer Rattler turned back the clock to his early Oklahoma days with a six-touchdown performance - an equally stunning display given his struggles in his first season as an SEC quarterback.

Tennessee's pass defense entered the contest ranked 63rd in the country, allowing 7.1 yards per attempt, while South Carolina's passing attack lacked significant pop with 7.7 yards per attempt. However, that wasn't the case on Saturday, as Rattler averaged an outrageous 11.9 yards per attempt en route to a total of 438 passing yards. The Gamecocks found the end zone so often that the in-stadium operations ran out of fireworks to celebrate each score.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just the loss on the field that will leave Tennessee reeling - star quarterback Hendon Hooker departed in the fourth quarter after suffering a non-contact leg injury.

Give Caleb Williams the Heisman

It was a wide-open race just a week ago, but Caleb Williams essentially wrapped up the Heisman Trophy with an incredible performance on Saturday against UCLA. The Oklahoma transfer supplied a career-high 502 yards of total offense in a game for the ages that saw USC edge the Bruins 48-45 and bolster its hopes for the CFP.

Williams led four straight touchdown drives in the second half to propel USC from a four-point deficit to a 10-point lead before the eventual victory. The star sophomore is now averaging 378 yards passing per game over his last five, with 19 touchdowns against just two interceptions.

Drake Maye struggled versus Georgia Tech, and both Hendon Hooker and Blake Corum left due to injury, meaning the Heisman will likely come down to either Williams or Ohio State's C.J. Stroud.

As for the bigger picture at USC, the Trojans added to their outrageous haul of turnovers on the season, grabbing three interceptions and a fumble recovery in the win to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 title game. USC improved its national-best plus-17 turnover margin to plus-20 with its defensive performance against the Bruins.

With Tennessee losing and Michigan facing Ohio State next weekend, the Trojans are in excellent shape to backdoor their way into the CFP semis if they win out.

Michigan escapes but faces Corum worry

With Blake Corum in the fold, Michigan is undoubtedly one of the top football teams in the country. Without the star rusher, the Wolverines are a very beatable outfit - something Illinois proved despite losing in dramatic fashion at the Big House on Saturday. Jake Moody's last-minute field goal maintained Michigan's perfect season, but there are plenty of questions Jim Harbaugh's outfit must answer heading into next week's rivalry game versus Ohio State.

Corum put up another strong performance early versus a stout Illini defense, piling up 147 scrimmage yards and a touchdown by the final couple minutes of the opening half. Unfortunately, the junior standout later injured his knee and was forced to the locker room. After briefly returning in the second half, he spent the rest of the contest on the sidelines, virtually benching the Michigan offense in the process.

J.J. McCarthy showed flashes of his top-shelf talent in battling the wind, but the Michigan passing attack underwhelmed. The sophomore passer has now completed just 52% of his passes over the last 4 games. He glaringly missed wide-open receivers on back-to-back plays in the red zone that would've sealed the victory on the second-to-last drive of the contest.

Michigan deserves credit for storming back to avoid a crushing loss at home, though, and Moody made his case for being the best kicker in the country. The Wolverines and their fanbase now play the waiting game for a positive update on Corum's health in the week ahead.

TCU comeback train ups the ante

TCU appears incapable of doing two things this season: losing a game and playing a normal, stress-free contest. The Horned Frogs' magical comeback train went for another ride Saturday with nine points in the final 2:07 to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Baylor.

The scenes down the stretch were incredible - the Horned Frogs raced their field-goal unit on to kick the game-winning points. The win keeps Sonny Dykes' crew on track for a berth in the College Football Playoff should it win out.

The latest comeback was of perhaps the highest degree of difficulty after star offensive players Kendre Miller and Quentin Johnston left early due to injury. Max Duggan and the defense were up for the challenge down the stretch, recording a virtually perfect finish on the final four drives:

• Baylor: 3 plays, 7 total yards - punt
• TCU: 11 plays, 90 yards - touchdown
• Baylor: 3 plays, 8 yards - punt
• TCU: 9 plays, 45 yards - game-winning field goal

The CFP committee previously pointed to TCU's inability to pull away from opponents as a concern, but the Horned Frogs have played the toughest schedule in the country in terms of strength of record. They're easily the most battle-tested team, consistently answering the bell no matter the circumstances.

TCU hosts Iowa State next Saturday as it attempts to finish the regular season with a perfect record. A likely date with Kansas State in the Big 12 title game would then be the final obstacle between the Horned Frogs and an unlikely place in the CFP semis.

More Gundy struggles vs. Oklahoma

It's probably a safe bet that Mike Gundy won't miss the Bedlam Series rivalry with Oklahoma when the Sooners move to the SEC. The long-time Oklahoma State head coach dropped to 3-15 against the in-state rival with Saturday's setback in Norman. Brent Venables' outfit exploded to a 28-0 first-quarter lead and didn't look back, securing the 15-point victory.

Spencer Sanders' individual struggles against Oklahoma also cropped up again, with the veteran quarterback throwing four interceptions in the loss. Sanders has just two touchdowns and seven picks in his career against the Sooners.

The game wasn't exactly the most thrilling of the Bedlam Series, perhaps an indication of the quality of both teams this season. Oklahoma State, which entered having lost two of its last three games, barely cracked the 100-yard rushing marker and turned the ball over four times. Oklahoma had lost two straight and sat at 5-5 on the season coming into play. The Sooners were a shocking 1-of-14 on third down and didn't score after the opening quarter.

Despite its struggles after the opening 15 minutes, Oklahoma managed to pull off the victory and become bowl eligible in Venables' debut season in Norman.

Ohio State flashes elite depth

Like Michigan earlier in the day, Ohio State experienced health issues at the running back position. TreVeyon Henderson was back after missing two games but departed early in the contest and didn't return, while Miyan Williams didn't dress for the game. Enter Dallan Hayden to keep the ground game rolling and help the Buckeyes avoid an upset at plucky Maryland.

The freshman exploded for 146 yards and three touchdowns in the victory, giving the Buckeyes a strong rushing attack - something they've struggled with at times this season. With 42 total points, Ohio State is now 89-0 when scoring at least 30 since 2014.

The stage is now set for one of the biggest games in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry next week in Columbus. The winner will likely secure a CFP berth, while the loser will be forced to sit at home and hope the committee thinks enough of its resume to include it in the semis.

Clemson stays in the CFP conversation

While it looked like Clemson was done in the debate for a CFP slot after its loss at Notre Dame, the Tigers can still make things interesting. With 16 of 19 one-loss conference champions having made the CFP since its inception, Clemson needs to win out - and look good doing it - to impress the committee. The scoreline Dabo Swinney's outfit produced Saturday will do both of those things.

Clemson absolutely throttled a down Miami outfit 40-10, with the final margin actually flattering the Hurricanes. Three straight turnovers in the second half kept the Tigers from putting up 50 points, as the Miami offense could do virtually nothing on the road. The Tigers held the Hurricanes to just 98 total yards - the third-lowest single-game output in the program's history.

A rivalry contest with South Carolina - which will give Clemson a common opponent to both Tennessee and Georgia - awaits before the ACC title game against North Carolina.

Georgia must overcome red-zone issues

The 16-6 scoreline might suggest a close contest in Georgia's win over Kentucky on Saturday, but the Bulldogs were comfortably in control throughout the entirety of the game. The biggest issue that kept things close was their red-zone offense's struggles.

Apart from an end-of-half field-goal scenario, the Bulldogs brought the ball inside Kentucky's 20-yard line on four occasions but only walked away with a touchdown once. That conversion rate is well below Georgia's season average of 69%.

While Georgia lacks a large outside receiver who can be a matchup issue in the end zone, the tight end duo of Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington should feast in that area of the field.

It didn't hurt them Saturday, and it likely won't against Georgia Tech next week, but the Bulldogs need to improve in the red zone if they are to repeat as national champions.

North Carolina slips up

At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, North Carolina still had an outside shot at the CFP with a 9-1 record and an ACC title game against Clemson looming. Three hours later, that shot was gone thanks to its stunning home loss to Georgia Tech.

The 94th-ranked scoring defense in the country absolutely snuffed out North Carolina freshman Drake Maye in the second half, holding the nation's ninth-ranked offense scoreless over the final 30 minutes of play. That helped Georgia Tech erase a 17-0 deficit with its third- and fourth-string quarterbacks rotating to secure the 21-17 victory.

It's the latest impressive result in the tenure of Yellow Jackets interim coach Brent Key, who's making a very strong case to get the job permanently.

The Tar Heels can still play spoiler to Clemson's CFP hopes in two weeks, but Mack Brown's outfit won't be heading to the semifinals after Saturday's result.