Brock’s 2023 College Football Top 25 – Week 14
1. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (12-0) (LW: 1)
It was an uncomfortable game for a considerable chunk of time, as Georgia Tech hung around Georgia for a good chunk of the game, but the Dawgs came out with an 8-point win. Now they will look forward to turning a 3-peat in the College Football Playoff – and that starts with beating Alabama for the SEC crown.
2. MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (12-0) (LW: 2)
Michigan defeated Ohio State to cap off a perfect regular season. They have more than a 12-0 record in mind, however. They want to finish the season 15-0. That starts with beating Iowa in the Big Ten Championship, a game in which the Wolverines are 23.5-point favorites. Even if they drop that game, I don’t see Michigan being left out of the CFP.
3. WASHINGTON HUSKIES (12-0) (LW: 4)
Washington barely scraped by Washington State, 24-21. Now they will prepare for their rematch against Oregon, a game which is basically a playoff game, as the winner will almost certainly go to the College Football Playoff.
4. FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES (12-0) (LW: 5)
Florida State was able to survive their first game without Jordan Travis. His replacement, Tate Rodemaker, looked shaky and had trouble pushing the ball down the field. I really thought that Travis’ absence would mean the ‘Noles would come out motivated and start strong for a change… that wasn’t the case. They fell behind in the first half by as many as 12 points. They entered the locker room down 12-7, and as usual came out strong in the 2nd half, winning the final 30 minutes of the contest 17-3 despite Rodemaker struggling to make consistent throws. The reason they were able to win this game was Trey Benson. The standout RB had 3 TD’s, including an electric run in the 2nd quarter before halftime, and then a powerful TD run with under 3 minutes remaining in the game, which sealed the Seminoles’ 9-point victory. Florida State will now face Louisville for the ACC title. With a win in that game the ‘Noles should find themselves in the College Football Playoff, just a couple years after the program was in shambles, with the low point being a home loss against Jacksonville State. The turnaround that Mike Norvell has conducted for this program has been nothing short of phenomenal, as he is rising in the ranks of college football’s standout coaches.
5. TEXAS LONGHORNS (11-1) (LW: 6)
Texas closed out their regular season on Friday night by playing superb football in all 3 phases of the game, with the offense, defense, and special teams all finding the end zone. Keilan Robinson had a standout game by scoring on a 10-yard TD run in the 1st quarter and then returning the 2nd half kickoff for a 95-yard TD. The Longhorns finished the regular season with 11 wins. They are right on the cusp of the College Football Playoff, but they should need some help to get a berth. They will also need to hold up on their own end in the Big 12 Championship Game.
6. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (11-1) (LW: 3)
We knew someone was going to be sick after “The Game”. Both teams were undefeated, and the only thing worse than getting handed your 1st loss in the final week of the season is getting handed your first loss in the final week of the season by your arch rivals. That loss pretty much destroyed Ohio State’s playoff hopes unless the conference championship games are filled with craziness and the Selection Committee surprises us with an Ohio State playoff berth.
7. OREGON DUCKS (11-1) (LW: 7)
Ever since their road loss to Washington back in October the Ducks have been on a campaign to avenge that loss, and possibly earn a CFP berth, by defeating the Huskies in the PAC-12 title game. The easy part is done. The Ducks defeated their heated in-state rival Oregon State on Friday night to secure a date with the Huskies in Las Vegas. The hard part will be paying Washington back. This game is certainly a “must-win” for both teams if they want a shot at a playoff spot. This scenario has been anticipated for weeks now. What wasn’t anticipated was that this game could also have major Heisman implications. Bo Nix has been on a rampage since that loss. In the 6 subsequent games, Nix has thrown 20 touchdowns to just 1 interception. Nix has the 2nd best odds at the moment, with LSU QB Jayden Daniels being the favorite, and his counterpart in the PAC-12 title game, Michael Penix Jr, has the 3rd best odds. Since LSU won’t be playing for a conference title, and with the possibility of the winner of Oregon vs Washington going to the Playoff, there’s a chance that the QB who wins the PAC-12 will in-turn become the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy.
8. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (11-1) (LW: 8)
The Tide kept their playoff hopes alive with the most unlikely of wins on Saturday. Down by 4, Alabama had a 4th & goal from the 31-yard-line (yes, you read that right), and Jalen Milroe proceeded to chuck up a ball that found Isaiah Bond in the end zone for the game-winning TD. They only found themselves in that position after Auburn fumbled a punt, which if it had been fielded cleanly, would have given Auburn a chance to close out the game. After winning that game, in which Alabama had only a 0.1% chance to win before the miraculous touchdown reception, they will now look to defeat Georgia and hopefully receive a berth in the College Football Playoff.
9. OKLAHOMA SOONERS (10-2) (LW: 10)
Oklahoma closed out their regular season with a huge win over TCU. The Sooners won a barn burner against the Frogs 65-49. Oklahoma jumped all over TCU, scoring 14 points on their first 6 offensive plays. This closed out a big bounce back season for Oklahoma. While they won’t play for a conference title, they took down a Texas team who was ranked 3rd at the time, so the Sooners should be able to enter the SEC as a confident bunch under head coach Brent Venables, who will be entering his 3rd season in Norman next season.
10. LSU TIGERS (9-3) (LW: 11)
A win over Texas A&M, a matchup which has given us some very entertaining contests over the past few years, was a feel-good moment for an LSU team who ultimately had a disappointing season considering where they began the year and what their goals were. It’s not all bad, though. Tigers QB Jayden Daniels is the Heisman front-runner, so LSU fans have something big to root for entering bowl season.
11. MISSOURI TIGERS (10-2) (LW: 12)
Mizzou capped off a successful season by thumping Arkansas 48-14 on Friday night. The Tigers finished the regular season with double-digit wins for the first time since 2014. Out of those 10 wins, 3 of them came against Top 25 opponents.
12. PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (10-2) (LW: 13)
Penn State rolled to 10 wins on Friday night by thrashing Michigan State, 42-0. Earning 10 victories is a major accomplishment for most college football teams. For Penn State, however, this season feels somewhat disappointing. This team was considered a College Football Playoff contender, yet they failed to make a Big Ten Championship appearance, they failed to beat either Ohio State or Michigan, and their only ranked win came against Iowa, who was #24 at the time. This season has culminated in some fans calling for head coach James Franklin’s job, as he has garnered the reputation of not being able to win “big games”. It’s highly unlikely that Penn State takes any action in regard to Franklin’s job, so he should have yet another chance to get Penn State over the hump next year, as Penn State should once again be a contender. He will have much better odds next year when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams.
13. MISSISSIPPI REBELS (10-2) (LW: 14)
Mississippi capped off their regular season on Thanksgiving in a meaningful way. No, they wont be playing for the SEC title, but they got a win over Mississippi State, which is a very important game for both fanbases, as the winner gets bragging rights… and they don’t let them go to waste. Just check out twitter if you don’t believe me. Winning the “Egg Bowl” also got Ole Miss to the 10-win milestone.
14. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (10-2) (LW: 9)
Ouch. That one stung. Louisville dropped their final regular season game, 38-31, against Kentucky. It didn’t change the fact that they will still be playing FSU for the ACC title, but Louisville surely would have wanted to enter that game with only 1 loss on their record.
15. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (9-3) (LW: 15)
Notre Dame concluded their season by roughing up Stanford, 56-23. The Irish certainly wanted more than 9 wins, but they had some ranked wins, and went down to the wire against Ohio State, so it wasn’t necessarily a season to look down on.
16. ARIZONA WILDCATS (9-3) (LW: 16)
These Wildcats really have a fire set under them. They demolished Arizona State on Saturday, 59-23, and if the season started over today, it wouldn’t be crazy if Arizona ended up playing for a PAC-12 title. Nevertheless, the Wildcats capped off an excellent season in which they went 4-2 against ranked opponents.
17. TULANE GREEN WAVE (11-1) (LW: 18)
Tulane concluded their regular season with a victory over UTSA, 29-16. This got the Green Wave to 11 wins, with their only loss coming to Mississippi in Week 2. They will now host the AAC Championship Game, where a win should get them a 2nd consecutive “New Year’s 6” bowl appearance.
18. IOWA HAWKEYES (10-2) (LW: 19)
Iowa won yet another game where points were at a premium. What else is new? This concluded a commendable regular season for the Hawkeyes, who reached double-digit victories with their 13-10 win over Nebraska on Friday. Iowa’s brand of football is as recognizable as any other team’s, as the Hawkeyes managed 10 wins while scoring only 18 points per game – which is quite a feat. But they will be hungry for something more, as they will face Michigan in the Big Ten title game.
19. OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (9-3) (LW: 21)
It looked like nerves may have gotten to Oklahoma State early. The Cowboys entered their home game against BYU as a 17-point favorite who just needed a win to secure a shot at the Big 12 title. They would fall behind big in this game. When the 2nd half started, the Cowboys found themselves in an 18-point hole. They would clamp down and come storming back to take the lead in the 4th quarter, but BYU would tie the game with a FG as time expired to force OT. In overtime, the Cowboys fell behind once again, with BYU scoring on the first possession. Oklahoma State would answer back, however, and then an Ollie Gordon TD and a BYU turnover would send the Pokes to Arlington to play Texas for the Big 12 championship.
20. NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK (9-3) (LW: 22)
The Wolfpack concluded a quietly solid season by defeating North Carolina 39-20. They won’t be playing for the ACC title, but this was a successful season for NC State, and they will hope to build on it next year.
21. CLEMSON TIGERS (8-4) (LW: 23)
Clemson capped off their disappointing season with a 16-7 win over South Carolina. The Tigers will now focus on their bowl game, as well as next season, where they will hope to once again be among college football’s elite teams.
22. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (8-4) (LW: 17)
The Beavers fell victim to an Oregon team that has just been humming lately. Oregon QB Bo Nix has been playing at a level where you can only hope to limit the damage. The Beavers did a better job than some of the other teams Nix has faced recently, “holding” him to 367 yards and 2 TD’s, but that was more than enough. Oregon State only put up 7 points, as they fell to Oregon by 24.
23. UTAH UTES (8-4) (LW: 24)
The Utes rounded out their year with a 6-point win over Colorado. That’s about as good of an ending as they could have hoped for considering the loss of Cameron Rising really tanked this team’s chances of repeating as PAC-12 champs, and hopefully earning a CFP slot – which was certainly their goal entering the year.
24. LIBERTY FLAMES (12-0) (LW: 25)
Liberty won their meeting against UTEP, 42-28, and now will face New Mexico State in the Conference USA title game. They will try to go 13-0 there, and then hope for some help in order to play in an “NY6 Bowl”.
25. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (8-4) (LW: NR)
Tennessee capped off an okay season with a win against Vanderbilt. They didn’t make any statement wins, but things could have gone worse.
