Millions of words have been written in the past 12 hours over the 2nd College Football Playoff rankings, extolling the virtues of the lucky dozen teams that find themselves in the coveted postseason spots entering Week 12 of the regular season.

And as we know, these things legitimately can be turned on their heads completely from week to week – as they are this week, based on Miami’s shocking loss to Georgia Tech and Ole Miss knocking Georgia back toward the rear of the pack.

That said, we provide the following public service: The fatal flaw within each of the teams in the CFP Top 12 rankings (along with Boise State, which gets a Top 12 seed despite being ranked 13th)!

1. Oregon Ducks

Fatal flaw: Lackluster pass rush

Why this is a problem: Oregon is legitimately strong, but far from perfect – as no team in college football can really lay claim to that in 2024. The Duck’ best pass rusher from 2023, Brandon Dorlus, is with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Oregon is tied with Miami for 26th in the country in sacks at 2.7 per game (defensive end Jordan Burch leads the way with 6 sacks), so they aren’t awful. But Oregon can be had in this facet, and it’s difficult to find a deficiency on the other side of the ball, where Heisman hopeful Dillon Gabriel (22 TDs/5 INTs) leads 1 of the nation’s better offenses.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Fatal flaw: Ryan Day

Why this is a problem: Day has been almost perfect so far in 2024, pushing all the right buttons – including on the Buckeyes’ trip to Oregon on Oct. 13. Losing by a single point at another national power is nothing to sneeze at. But Day’s pedigree against Top 10 teams has not exactly been sensational, going just 9-8 against them in his tenure. Ohio State is 1-1 against them so far (losing to Oregon, but edging Penn State 20-13 in Happy Valley), and No. 5 Indiana looms in Week 13.

3. Texas Longhorns

Fatal flaw: Running the football

Why this is a problem: Texas is good, no question about it. And to survive the SEC this season will take a superior collection of talent. And the Longhorns’ offense in total is strong, ranking 9th in the country. But that’s almost exclusively due to the passing game, with is 10th nationally. Where the Longhorns lack is in the running game, which ranks 61st in the nation in rushing offense at 164.1 yards per game. We know why; the Longhorns lost starter CJ Baxter and key backup Christian Clark to injury before the season began. Quintrevion Wisner leads Texas with just 409 rushing yards – which has to get better. Backup QB Arch Manning still has the Longhorns’ longest run of the season — 67 yards.

4. Penn State Nittany Lions

Fatal flaw: James Franklin

Why this is a problem: One doesn’t earn the moniker “Little Game James” for no reason, as Franklin is just 3-17 against Top 10 teams in his career – with the most recent win against such a team coming with Penn State in the 2022 Rose Bowl against Utah. Franklin had a golden shot to change that narrative Nov. 2 at home, only to lose to Ohio State in Happy Valley. Franklin’s inability to get the best out of his teams at the most critical times might not hurt the Nittany Lions again until the postseason. Penn State still has a very long shot of getting to the B1G title game but would need Oregon, OSU and Indiana to lose multiple games — but it will certainly be a factor at some point down the road.

5. Indiana Hoosiers

Fatal flaw: 138 years of history

Why this is a problem: Indiana has been playing college football since 1887 and has only won 42.3% of its games in that period. There were 2 conference titles sprinkled in there (1945 and 1967), but there has been a ton of mediocre-to-pitiful play in that time frame – the 713 lifetime losses are the most among any Division I program in history. Listen, Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers flying higher than they ever have (IU already has won 10 games for the first time), but the party almost certainly ends Nov. 23 at Ohio State. That’s when the Hoosiers’ other problem — a weak schedule — will be picked apart.

6. BYU Cougars

Fatal flaw: Offensive production

Why this is a problem: The 9-0 Cougars are the only unbeaten Big 12 team left, and that means their seeding would be inside the Top 4 if they run the table and win the conference title game – both big ifs from a team with only 1 Top-25 victory (38-9 against No. 13 Kansas State on Sept. 22). BYU isn’t among the Top 50 teams nationally in total offense, generating just a smidge over 400 yards per game, and is 62nd in rushing offense. That simply isn’t elite.

7. Tennessee Volunteers

Fatal flaw: Nico Iamaleava

Why this is a problem: The Volunteers are squeezing the most out of their redshirt freshman quarterback, but he has been a liability at times. Specifically, Iamaleava was a lackluster 17-of-29 for 158 yards in a 19-14 loss to Arkansas on Oct. 6 that knocked the Volunteers out of the land of the unbeatens. Iamaleava has passed for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns against 4 interceptions this season, but his 64.3 QBR is a pedestrian 55th nationally. To get to the CFP semifinals, Iamaleava will simply need to be more productive. Otherwise, life gets increasingly more difficult for star running back Dylan Sampson.

8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Fatal flaw: Losing focus

Why this is a problem: Any team that can lose at home to Northern Illinois, by definition, has a malfunctioning circuit somewhere deep in the wiring. And while the Irish rebounded with 7 consecutive wins (including Top-25 victories against No. 15 Louisville and No. 24 Navy), who knows when that bum electrode will rear its ugly head again. Could it be against unbeaten Army on Nov. 23? Or at USC on Nov. 30?

9. Miami Hurricanes

Fatal flaw: Cam Ward becoming human

Why this is a problem: Cam Ward has been the most electrifying player this side of the Rocky Mountains, throwing for 3,494 yards and 32 touchdowns to essentially earn a trip to New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Even when Miami lost last week in an upset at Georgia Tech, Ward was strong — throwing for 348 yards and 3 scores. But there were cracks in Ward’s otherworldly talent, as the Yellow Jackets defended Miami’s receivers well for long enough to get a decent pass rush in his face.

10. Alabama Crimson Tide

Fatal flaw: A one-dimensional Jalen Milroe

Why this is a problem: When Milroe, the one-time Heisman candidate, has looked great this season, he was strategically used in the Alabama rushing game. Case in point: LSU. The Tigers somehow didn’t account for Milroe’s legs, and he torched them for a career-high 185 yards and 4 touchdowns. Vanderbilt solved Alabama by keeping Milroe and the offense off the field, but Tennessee also got it done by forcing Milroe to beat them with his arm. It can certainly happen again.

11. Ole Miss Rebels

Fatal flaw: Lane Kiffin’s ego

Why this is a problem: It’s easy to be high on the Rebels, especially the way they put together a seemingly perfect game to dispatch Georgia last weekend in an instant classic. Jaxson Dart was a stud on a bum ankle, the defense confused Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck from opening kick to final gun, and Lane Kiffin called a stellar game. But Lane being Lane means that he is bound to throw out a dud every now and then (see: Wildcats, Kentucky) and is practically even money to outsmart himself somewhere here down the stretch.

12. Georgia Bulldogs

Fatal flaw: Matriculating the rock

Why this is a problem: For as good as Georgia is on offense, it sure doesn’t come from running the football. The Bulldogs are a woeful 104th nationally in rushing yards per game at 121.4, with Trevor Etienne leading the way via his 477 rushing yards. Teams like Ole Miss that can successfully scheme against Beck and the mediocre Georgia passing game, thus forcing Georgia to run the football, will find success.

13. Boise State Broncos

Fatal flaw: Scoring defense

Why this is a problem: The Mountain West’s finest are dominant on the ground – No. 2 nationally at 268.6 yards per game, and Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty is torching opponents to the tune of 1,734 rushing yards and 23 TDs. But the Broncos do give up a lot of points (72nd nationally at 25.1 per game), including 45 to Georgia Southern, 37 to Oregon (in a 37-34 road loss in which the Ducks could not stop Jeanty…) and 30 to Utah State. That is a bona fide problem.