Breaking news:5 wr decommit and flip to Ole Miss over Alabama Tennessee gators, welcome to Ole Miss…

Breaking news:5 wr decommit and flip to Ole Miss over Alabama Tennessee gators, welcome to Ole Miss…

That’s a press conference cliché you’ll hear from every coach, but it’s true, especially for coaches dealing with college athletes. How else can you explain what happened on Saturday?

For two weeks, SEC fans beat the narrative drum that Indiana hadn’t played anyone. On Saturday, Indiana played Ohio State and got manhandled 38-15. Vindication! Well, until a few minutes later when Ole Miss lost to a previously 5-5 Florida team. Then Alabama lost to a 5-5 Oklahoma team (by a 24-3 score). Then Texas A&M lost to a 4-6 Auburn team. Suddenly, three SEC teams that entered the day with two losses and a clear path to the College Football

It turns out, winning is hard. That’s not to say all 10-1 records are created equally, or that more wins should equal a higher ranking. They don’t. Beating good teams matters. But there has to be an appreciation for winning games, even against average or above-average teams.

At one point Friday, the SEC appeared to have a path to send five teams into the 12-team College Football Playoff. By the end of the weekend, three SEC teams are in the CFP field based on this week’s Athletic 134 rankings.

Every week this season has given us an upset that has upended the CFP. I wouldn’t pencil anything in heading into the final weekend either. It’s why we love college football.

But college football is more than strength of schedule rankings, betting lines and hypotheticals. You have to play games. That’s what sports are about. You never know what can happen. So when you get a win, no matter what kind of win it is, make sure you enjoy it.

Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.