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Texas A&M invincible or in trouble? College football Week 12 overreactions

Published

2 months ago

November 17, 2025

Press Room

Texas A&M invincible or in trouble? College football Week 12 overreactions

Texas A&M’s comeback win against South Carolina shows both championship resolve and potential flaws.
Notre Dame appears to be a playoff lock, but a head-to-head loss to Miami could complicate their chances.
Several non-quarterbacks, like Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez, are making strong cases for the Heisman Trophy.

The capacity of college football to put fans through just about every emotion imaginable, sometimes in the course of just one single contest, is what makes it so beautiful and yet so maddening at the same time. Don’t believe us? Just ask the followers of a certain program from the Lone Star State.

It is with that team’s almost unfathomable result from Week 12 where we will begin our latest installment of overreactions of the week. Indeed, since it was a complete tale of two halves in the true ‘best of times, worst of times’ sense, we’ll approach it from both extremes.

Texas A&M is in deep trouble/invincible.

Depending on one’s perspective, the Aggies’ disaster of a first half followed by a nearly perfect performance after intermission to stage their epic comeback against South Carolina is open to multiple interpretations. At one end of the spectrum, the team’s unblemished record is merely a product of a favorable schedule, and the bevy of mistakes in the first two quarters showed the flaws that will eventually prove to be the team’s undoing. On the other hand, the comeback demonstrated the kind of resolve championship teams must have to overcome adversity, finding ways to win even when not everything is working.

As is often the case with the subjects we take up here at Overreaction HQ, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Even before Week 12, the Aggies had endured their share of close calls, some of which were against opponents with sub-.500 records. It’s true the Aggies have yet to face another team in the upper quadrant of the SEC standings and won’t until the title game, but it might also be that their experience with delivering in clutch situations will serve them well later. In short, we shouldn’t anoint them as national title favorites, but neither should we count them out.

Notre Dame is a playoff lock

It would appear that the Fighting Irish’s dominant win at Pittsburgh was their last true hurdle en route to a 10-2 finish that, given their position in the first two sets of rankings from the CFP committee, should all but guarantee their inclusion in the field. But if they find themselves in a pool of other at-large candidates with identical records, there might be a complication.

If shifts in the standings over the next couple of weeks move Miami closer to Notre Dame’s position, that small matter of the Hurricanes’ head-to-head win against the Irish way back in Week 1 will be harder to dismiss. This presupposes, of course, that the ‘Canes are able to win out, which is certainly not a guarantee given the team’s sometimes inexplicable lapses. So yes, it looks good for the Irish, but they are not quite at the finish line.

A non-quarterback will win the Heisman

Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire made a point this weekend of spotlighting his standout linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, lining him up in the offensive backfield to get him a rushing touchdown. It was in fact the second score of the season for Rodriguez, who earlier recorded a touchdown on a 69-yard fumble recovery. He has also recorded a team-high 100 total tackles, including 9½ behind the line of scrimmage, and has snagged four interceptions. That’s a pretty strong case as the most impactful player for a top-10 team to earn consideration.

There are convincing arguments for other non-QBs as well, like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love or Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith. To be sure, there are plenty of worthy passers this year, like Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin or Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia. Alabama’s Ty Simpson is still in the mix as well, though his rough outing in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Oklahoma damaged his case.

Recent history favors the signal callers, of course. Since 2000, there have only been five recipients of the sport’s most prestigious individual honor whose primary position was something other than quarterback. Voters do consider other positions. They did last year in fact. There isn’t a two-way player this year with Travis Hunter’s credentials, but sometimes enough electors think outside the QB box for someone else to bring home the statue.

The Big 12 race is over

Mathematically speaking, it’s still possible for the league to end in a six-way tie for first place at 7-2. That would be fun for fans of chaos and mayhem, but realistically the championship game will likely be a rematch between Texas Tech and Brigham Young. The full chaos scenario can only come to pass if the Cougars lose at Cincinnati this week – conceivable – and the Red Raiders drop their regular-season finale in two weeks at West Virginia – not out of the question but unlikely.

James Madison will make the College Football Playoff

JMU is ranked at No. 22 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, the highest position among non-power conference programs. We’re sorry to rain on your parade, Dukes’ fans, but the poll is not the same as the CFP committee rankings.

The American has considerably more depth than the Sun Belt, not to mention some actual positive results against the power leagues. Thus its champ is still going to have a stronger case than even a 12-1 winner of the SBC barring – here comes that word again – chaos. There is still time for that, of course, but we wouldn’t advise anyone to make travel plans just yet.

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Former Texas Longhorns Fan Favorite WR Commits to Oklahoma

Published

10 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Former Texas Longhorns Fan Favorite WR Commits to Oklahoma

Former Texas Longhorns fan favorite wide receiver Parker Livingstone committed to the Oklahoma Sooners on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Livingstone, who is transferring after his redshirt freshman season and will have three years of eligibility remaining, took visits to both Indiana and Oklahoma. He will now call Norman home and face his former school and new arch-rival annually in the Red River Rivalry.

The Lucas, Texas, native caught 29 passes for 516 yards and six touchdowns this season. He ranked third in yards, fourth in catches, and second in touchdowns amongst all Longhorns pass-catchers in 2025.

Livingstone’s goodbye message and transfer commitment

Nov 28, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns wide receiver Parker Livingstone (13) before warming up before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Livingstone, who grew up a Longhorns fan, became a fan favorite early on in the season, as he scored three touchdowns in Texas’ opening two games to lead the pass-catching corps. The known fact that he was quarterback Arch Manning’s roommate also contributed to the fan-favorite sentiment. To many, it likely seemed that Livingstone would be here to stay in Austin.

But in college football’s present landscape, there are no guarantees, and Livingstone announced his decision to enter the portal on Jan. 1. His commitment to Texas’ biggest rival now adds to the shock of his departure.

“Never in a million years did I think I would be going into the portal looking for a new home,” Livingstone wrote in his goodbye on X. “Some things are out of my control. Such is the reality of the ever-changing landscape of college football. Emptied my tank every day for this great university, my teammates & all of the good folks of Texas. Grateful.”

The message that Livingstone’s transfer portal decision was “out of (his) control” brought a whirlwind of speculation and interest in the details of his exit from the Texas Longhorns program. It’s difficult to put together exactly what occurred behind closed doors to shatter the Livingstone-Texas relationship. But after an article in The Athletic mentioned Livingstone’s “out of my control” wording in his note, On Texas Football’s Bobby Burton wrote on X:

“Livingstone was offered a mid-six-figure NIL/rev share deal and turned it down. The offer was never withdrawn. But yeah, he was forced out involuntarily. Whatever.”

Livingstone’s move from one side of the Red River to the other will certainly be a storyline heading into the 2026 edition of the rivalry matchup on Oct. 10.

With both Livingstone and DeAndre Moore Jr. exiting the Forty Acres to enter the transfer portal recently, Texas has been expected to pursue top portal names to add to its wide receiver room. One of those players is former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, who has taken a visit to Austin and is still in his decision-making process. Coleman, who will likely be a one-and-done at his next collegiate destination due to his NFL Draft status, ranks as the No. 1 player in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

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Boys high school basketball: Top 10 power rankings for Central Texas

Published

22 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Boys high school basketball: Top 10 power rankings for Central Texas

Nolan Barkley of St. Michael's powers his way up for a shot during the 2025-26 high school basketball season. — Nolan Barkley of St. Michael’s powers his way up for a shot during the 2025-26 high school basketball season.

Provided by Edgar Coll

Central Texas boys basketball teams are in the thick of district play as the calendar enters 2026.

Though teams finished tournament play last week, most schools are at least two games into district play, which is the most important time of the season. While teams have been in action since mid-November, these are the games that truly count, with the goal being to qualify for the state playoffs in the last week of February.