Manning had been injured in Texas' overtime win over Mississippi State and spent the week in concussion protocol. By Friday night, he'd been removed from the team's injury report to the Southeastern Conference and started against the Commodores. Against Vanderbilt, Manning went 25 of 33. Quintrevion Wisner rushed 18 times for 75 yards and a score, and Wingo had two receptions for 89 yards for Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC).
Last year, in the inaugural season of the 12-team College Football Playoff, eight of the teams that qualified had two losses. Five of the seven at-large teams had two losses, and three of the five conference champions had at least two losses. Keep that in mind as more contenders fall each week and the playoff picture changes -- this system is more forgiving.
This is a sentence I never thought I'd type: Undefeated Vanderbilt is rolling into Tuscaloosa with playoff chatter starting to swirl. And yet, here we are. The Commodores are 5-0, playing with confidence and looking nothing like the program we've come to expect. Across the field is Alabama; 3-1 and fresh off a statement upset over Georgia that reminded everyone that it is still a heavyweight, even if it looks a little different these days.