Columbia, South Carolina - If there was a theme for the college football madness we all witnessed over the weekend, it would be a collective ride on the struggle bus.

Just when we thought this season couldn't get any messier, Week 12 proved us wrong.

In shocking shake-ups, each of the top five ranked teams struggled severely on the field and just barely surpassed their opponents, while the fifth-best Tennessee did in-fact lose against unranked South Carolina – dashing some serious dreams.

No. 4 TCU and No. 3 Michigan both saved their College Football Playoff hopes in similar slippery fashion, inching past Baylor and Illinois, respectively.

Trailing by 2 points with 5 seconds on the clock, the Horned Frogs nailed a 40-yard field goal for a miraculous Disney movie-ending win.

And in Ann Arbor, Michigan trailed the Illini late in the fourth quarter after missing out on scoring chances, with leading running back Blake Corum suffering an injury. Luckily, the Wolverines just narrowly managed a win with nine seconds left of the final quarter, as Jake Moody nailed a 35-yard kick to win the game 19-17.

No. 2 Ohio State also found themselves trailing during their game against Maryland. A blocked punt in the third quarter and a scoop-and-score in the final 10 seconds of the matchup flipped the score just enough for a Buckeye win, 43-30.

Georgia, unlike their top 4 ranked peers, never trailed against Kentucky but struggled to score against the Wildcats defense, still finishing on top 16-6.

It was surely an unpredictable week of college football, but above all, the Tennessee Volunteers take the cake for the biggest shock of them all.

Any hope Tennessee football had of making the playoff as a one-loss, non-conference champion team has come to a very sad and hard-to-believe end.

In Saturday's 63–38 loss to unranked South Carolina, the Gamecocks absolutely destroyed the Vols, scoring a massive 63 points - the most the Gamecocks have scored against an SEC team since 1995.

Although many fans of Neyland land would never admit it, the Vols defense has been pretty mediocre most of the season, and hid behind their offense, the nation's best.

Tennessee's night on the field marked a historically low performance defensively that allowed South Carolina to score touchdowns on every trip to the red zone.

Gamecock passer Spencer Rattler had the best night of his career, finishing 30 of 37 passes for 438 yards and scoring a huge six touchdowns.

Tennessee was a favorite entering the final playoff selection as the highest-ranked one-loss team, but will certainly drop in the rankings and fall well out of playoff contention following Saturday's loss.

Adding insult to injury, the Vols' record-breaking quarterback Hendon Hooker suffered a season-ending injury against South Carolina and will forgo the remainder of the season.

In good news for the Big Ten, the Vols' loss leaves one-less team, and the door wide open for the loser of the highly anticipated upcoming matchup between Ohio State and Michigan to likely snag the final spot in the playoffs.

The big Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry showdown is set for Saturday at noon EST.