College Football Week 14 Winners And Losers: Do You Know Where Your Coach Is Today?

3 jam yang lalu

Since nan ink dried connected his statement pinch Tennessee successful Dec. 2008, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has lent his uniquely outsized characteristic to a athletics built by and for specified characters.

Sometimes his antics were harmless; sometimes they were uncomfortable aliases crass. Either way, he fulfilled a fascinating archetype seen much successful show business than football: nan child of a genius seemingly attempting to perform nan activity of self-discovery successful existent time, each while successful nan nationalist eye.

This is nan worldly of literate fiction—Oxford's bevy of awesome writers would approve—and it is nan logic some nan South and nan sports world astatine ample are glued to Kiffin's adjacent move. The coach's impending determination betwixt staying pinch nan Rebels aliases bolting for LSU didn't rather overshadow rivalry week, but nan destiny of galore coaching-search dominoes looks limited connected nan eternal maestro of nan sport's attraction economy.

Enough off-field intrigue—here's hoping your academically, aesthetically and morally superior squad dominated its academically, aesthetically and morally inferior rival connected a snowy time passim overmuch of nan Midwest. Welcome to Week 14's winners and losers.

It's fascinating to look backmost astatine Ohio State's 2019 triumph complete Michigan—a 56–27 beatdown successful coach Ryan Day's first year—and see that nan winner of that crippled would walk nan early 2020s arsenic a November punchline. The gulf betwixt Day's continuous nonaccomplishment against nan Wolverines and all-conquering occurrence against nan Not-Wolverines has disappeared; connected Saturday, nan Buckeyes yet hit Michigan astatine their ain game. Much was made of Ohio State outrushing nan Wolverines 186–100, but its walk defense was genuinely thing to behold—Michigan backmost Bryce Underwood mustered conscionable 63(!) passing yards to adjacent an acquisition first collegiate season. Next up: nan biggest crippled successful nan Buckeyes' 124-year-old bid pinch Indiana.

Losers: The proposers of 1 of assemblage football's worst-ever ideas

Story time: successful 1989 Bill Frieder, Michigan's successful men's hoops coach of 9 years, took nan Arizona State occupation earlier nan NCAA tourney pinch nan intent of seeing retired nan Wolverines' season. Michigan diversion head Bo Schembechler dismissed him pinch contiguous effect, and nan Wolverines went connected to triumph their only hoops nationalist title. Non-idea ideas are a portion of life successful assemblage football—as Sean Keeley of Awful Announcing wrote successful August, it's portion of what makes nan athletics truthful "weird"—but aggregate ESPN personalities spent their Saturdays inflicting a genuinely bonkers 1 connected nan world. Kirk Herbstreit, Booger McFarland and others suggested Kiffin beryllium allowed to coach Ole Miss for nan remainder of nan play if he leaves for nan Tigers. It feels for illustration a favour to Kiffin's camp to moreover bring this ridiculous conception up, but arsenic alluded to successful nan introduction, that's portion of nan Rebels boss's double-edged clasp connected nan assemblage shot world.

Texas could make nan College Football Playoff—the Longhorns ain a group of wins (over Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt) conscionable delectable capable to dilute a bad nonaccomplishment to Florida. The Longhorns could besides miss nan College Football Playoff; 1 look astatine nan CFP rankings demonstrates they person a batch of postulation successful beforehand of them. Either way, successful a vacuum, Texas's triumph complete nan Aggies Friday was an outstanding measurement to adjacent retired a play riddled pinch bad vibes. Most awesome was nan defense, which shook disconnected 4 consecutive games allowing 30 aliases much points to unit Texas A&M backmost Marcel Reed into a brace of interceptions. The Aggies haven't beaten nan Longhorns since 2010.

Loser: Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech won't show up connected galore lists of FBS's astir disappointing teams this season, because nan Yellow Jackets person improved importantly arsenic a programme successful coach Brent Key's three-year stint. Still, Georgia Tech vanished nan astir unpleasant November successful nan athletics Friday: a 12-point nonaccomplishment astatine NC State connected Nov. 1, a two-point triumph complete a mediocre Boston College squad connected Nov. 15, a location nonaccomplishment to Pitt past Saturday, and a seven-point nonaccomplishment to No. 4 Georgia connected Friday that will apt driblet nan once-No. 7 Yellow Jackets from nan AP Poll. If Key is successful it for nan agelong haul, Georgia Tech apt has a agleam early arsenic an ACC player—but this period is going to sting successful Atlanta for galore falls to come.

Miami is impervious affirmative that assemblage shot is half timing—if nan Hurricanes traded their precocious October and early November pinch nan Yellow Jackets' November, really would we talk astir these 2 ACC squads? Since losing to SMU connected Nov. 1, Miami has been untouchable, picking disconnected Syracuse, nan Wolfpack and Virginia Tech successful a mode befitting a CFP contender. That streak allowed nan Hurricanes to lurk successful nan mediate of nan Top 25 and make a connection against a bully Panthers squad Saturday, crushing Pitt 38–7 connected nan road. The DNA of nan squad that hit Notre Dame connected Aug. 31 is still successful there, and ESPN expert Nick Saban and others are correct to judge successful this team.

Loser: Jacob Rodriguez's Heisman campaign

Back connected Nov. 15, this file praised Texas Tech for its in-your-face bid to build Heisman Trophy buzz for linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Alas, each personage worthy their brackish must yet look nan dangers of overexposure. As nan Red Raiders annihilated West Virginia 49–0 Saturday—tying a programme grounds pinch their 11th win—Texas Tech erstwhile again inserted Rodriguez astatine quarterback, only to watch successful scary arsenic nan ex-gunslinger threw an interception. One last plea to nan Red Raiders: propulsion immoderate much trading musculus down linebacker David Bailey! He entered Saturday arsenic FBS's sack leader and recorded 4 tackles against nan Mountaineers.

The 2025 play will beryllium remembered by Commodores fans successful nan aforesaid measurement nan 1995 play is remembered by Northwestern fans—a perennial punching container opinionated up, ignoring its history of futility, and embarking connected nan thrust of a lifetime. Vanderbilt, nan proprietor of erstwhile wins complete LSU and Auburn, demolished Tennessee Saturday contempt a brace of first-half picks from backmost Diego Pavia. The Commodores' 10-2 grounds is their champion by winning percent since 1926, erstwhile they went 8-1 nether legendary coach Dan McGugin. They're an improbable CFP team, but nary fanbase will person much nosy astatine their vessel game. Hopefully comedian Nate Bargatze will show up connected clip to this one.

Loser: Florida State

Florida has nary coach, is said to beryllium retired of nan moving for Kiffin, mislaid 38–7 to an atrocious Kentucky squad connected Nov. 8, and still found nan intestinal fortitude to hit Florida State 40–21 Saturday. The Seminoles, up and down connected defense each year, randomly allowed Gators moving backmost Jadan Baugh to transportation nan shot 38 times for 266 yards. Coach Mike Norvell has led Florida State for six years now, a tenure that includes 4 bowl-less seasons, a 10-win season, and 2023's ACC title and Orange Bowl trip. His Seminoles whitethorn beryllium a mystery, but his request to triumph successful 2026 is not—a return travel to Alabama, who Florida State knocked disconnected this past September, looms Sept. 19.

New Mexico has (by College Football Reference's measurements) played assemblage shot for 94 years, and it has won 10 games conscionable once—in 1982, nether early South Carolina coach Joe Morrison. That whitethorn not beryllium nan lawsuit for overmuch longer, arsenic coach Jason Eck has led nan Lobos to a terrific play successful twelvemonth one. Beating San Diego State 23–17 successful double overtime put a front connected a 9-3 regular play for New Mexico, which tin still make nan Mountain West championship pending really definite machine rankings look Sunday morning. Eck, who took Idaho to its first FCS postseasons successful decades astatine his erstwhile stops, deserves nickname successful a fertile property for turnaround artists.

Loser: Harvard

College football's real-head circles were amped erstwhile nan Ivy League ended its longstanding argumentation blocking its teams from playing successful nan FCS postseason earlier nan '25 season—now, aft decades of sitting connected nan sidelines, nan Penns and Princetons of nan world could trial themselves against nan Northern Arizonas and Western Carolinas. This statement worked retired splendidly for Yale, which came backmost to hit Youngstown State 43–42 successful nan playoffs Saturday, but Harvard fell connected its look pinch a 52–7 nonaccomplishment to Villanova. What a sour ending for nan Crimson, who fell 45–28 to nan Bulldogs connected Nov. 22, and frankincense sewage a sensation of nan sadistic rivalry-loss/bowl-loss double whammy unlucky FBS fans cognize well. Welcome to nan gridiron proletariat.