College Football's All-Week 14 Team: Top Performers at Every Position
Rivalry Week 2014 did not disappoint, twisting the fabric of the College Football Playoff discussion one final time before the conference championship games.
Alabama came back to win the Iron Bowl. Florida State survived the Farewell-Will-Muschamp Bowl. Arizona, Missouri, Wisconsin and Boise State all won their respective divisions.
But not all the news from Rivalry Week was peachy.
Mississippi State saw its playoff dreams go up in smoke in the Egg Bowl. Ohio State might have done the same—despite winning—when quarterback J.T. Barrett fractured his ankle in The Game. UCLA no-showed against Stanford, Georgia lost at home to Georgia Tech and Notre Dame…I mean…what else is there to say of Notre Dame?
As always, the All-Week team was put together weighing statistical performance against how a player looked on film and whom he was opposing. It was not as simple as honoring the player with the most yards, touchdowns, tackles, sacks, interceptions and so forth.
Sound off below and let us know what you think.
Note: Unless cited otherwise, all stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
First-Team Quarterback
1 of 22Cody Kessler, USC
32-of-40, 372 yards, 6 TD, 0 INT
Cody Kessler is no stranger to this list. He's no stranger to the first team of this list either. In that regard, Saturday's performance against Notre Dame was a fitting end to his 2014 season.
He's been beating up on teams with regularity.
Kessler's six touchdowns are the most a quarterback has ever thrown against a Notre Dame defense, per Arash Markazi of ESPN.com, and it took him less than 35 minutes to throw them.
"His efficiency is outstanding," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters after the game. "On merit, 36 [touchdowns] and 4 [interceptions this season], I think those numbers stand up with all the quarterbacks in the country."
Second-Team Quarterback
2 of 22
Marcus Mariota, Oregon
19-of-25, 367 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT; 10 carries, 39 yards, 2 TD
Marcus Mariota entered Week 14 a heavy Heisman Trophy favorite. According to Odds Shark, he was 1-5 to win the award. The next closest player (Dak Prescott) was all the way down at 13-2. Mariota would have had to mess up badly to fall into peril.
He did not fall into peril.
If anything, Mariota further clinched the award in the Civil War, scoring as many touchdowns as he threw incompletions (six). For the season, he's scored 41 touchdowns to two interceptions. He has reached the end zone more than 20 times for each interception.
"Everything goes to [my teammates]," Mariota told reporters after the game. "This is a team sport and without those guys we would not be where we are at today. We have so many dynamic players, and so many players up-front that are solid. Hats off to those guys; they really define the offense, and how we play is really up to them."
Swoon.
Give this guy the Heisman right now.
First-Team Running Back
3 of 22
Jay Ajayi, Boise State
27 carries, 229 yards, 5 TD
Jay Ajayi is the best running back in Boise State history. He just is. He's better than Ian Johnson. He's better than Doug Martin. He's better than 1980s star Cedric Minter. He is truly one of a kind.
It's a shame not enough people know about him.
That might not be the case for long, however, now that Boise State is one game away from making a New Year's Day bowl. Ajayi is the biggest reason for that, having just helped the Broncos clinch their division by scoring five touchdowns against Utah State.
Utah State is not a cupcake against the run, either. The Aggies entered Week 14 allowing 3.05 yards per rush, No. 10 in the country. In 2013, they finished No. 2. In 2012, they finished No. 7.
Ajayi made them look like just another Mountain West team.
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Second-Team Running Back
4 of 22
Nick Wilson, Arizona
24 carries, 178 yards, 3 TD
Nick Wilson did his best Ka'Deem Carey impression against Arizona State, leading Arizona to the Pac-12 South title with a 42-35 win.
The true freshman running back scored the only two touchdowns of the third quarter, ballooning a 21-21 tie into a 35-21 Wildcats lead. The first of those touchdowns was a one-yarder (to cap a drive in which he rushed for 24 yards), but the second was a game-breaker from 72 yards (his second 70-plus-yard touchdown in as many games).
Wilson started his career with three straight 100-yard games but didn't crack the century mark in any of the next five games. Against Washington State and UCLA, he had 19 carries for 36 yards.
Since then, though, he has posted four more consecutive 100-yard rushing games (including a 200-yarder against Utah), giving him seven on the season. It's easy to forget him behind names like Nick Chubb, Royce Freeman, Leonard Fournette and Samaje Perine, but Wilson has been as solid as any true freshman tailback in the country.
First-Team Wide Receiver
5 of 22
Amari Cooper, Alabama
13 receptions, 224 yards, 3 TD
Amari Cooper wrapped a bow atop a Heisman-worthy regular season, playing the best game of his career in the Iron Bowl against Auburn.
He played his best with his team against the ropes, too. Auburn led Alabama 33-21 when he caught his second touchdown, a 39-yarder on a pretty double move. After an Auburn field goal made the score 36-27, Cooper scored a 75-yard touchdown on the next offensive play.
Quarterback Blake Sims completed 81 percent of his targets to Cooper for an average of 14 yards per attempt, per ESPN.
We'll see him in New York on December 13.
Second-Team Wide Receiver
6 of 22
DeVante Parker, Louisville
6 receptions, 180 yards, 3 TD
It's hard not to imagine what might have been.
DeVante Parker has been so good since returning to the lineup that Louisville might have been a true national contender had he not missed the first seven games of the season with a foot injury.
Parker, who had already caught two touchdowns in a game six times during his career, posted his first three-touchdown day in a 44-40 win over Kentucky, pacing the Cardinals with five catches of 20-plus yards. Despite playing just five full games and dealing with a carousel of quarterbacks, he ranks No. 15 in the country with 17 catches of 20-plus yards this season.
Extrapolated over 12 full games, he would be leading the country with 41 catches of 20-plus yards. The actual leader in that category, Colorado State's Rashard Higgins, only has 28. Since the start of 2010—when cfbstats.com began recording this data—no player has ever finished with more than 34 catches of 20-plus yards in a season.
"I'm glad they [covered me one-on-one]," Parker said after the game, per Steve Jones of the Courier-Journal. "They had no chance."
Not many secondaries do.
First-Team Tight End
7 of 22
Evan Engram, Ole Miss
5 receptions, 176 yards
Evan Engram proved (for the umpteenth time) that he's one of the best tight ends in the country during Ole Miss' Egg Bowl victory.
Even though he didn't reach the end zone, the true sophomore was directly responsible for two Ole Miss touchdowns. He was tackled at the goal line on a 46-yard reception in the first quarter and an 83-yard reception in the third quarter, setting up the Rebels' first 14 points.
Engram was a 3-star recruit in high school, per the 247Sports composite rankings. Ole Miss' lauded 2013 class had 18 players with better grades, but almost none (if any) have made a bigger impact.
He's a matchup problem waiting to happen.
Second-Team Tight End
8 of 22
Nick O'Leary, Florida State
4 receptions, 52 yards, 2 TD
The biggest difference between Florida State and Florida on Saturday was drive-finishing. The Gators had to settle for field goals; the Seminoles turned scoring opportunities into touchdowns.
And Nick O'Leary was the biggest reason why.
The barehanded tight end caught two touchdowns in the first half, the first on a 3rd-and-goal from the 10-yard line and the second on a 2nd-and-goal from the 6-yard line. The latter was set up by a 19-yard reception to get the Seminoles into the red zone three plays earlier.
"When they try to take away [receiver Rashad Greene], Nick O'Leary, boom, huge game," quarterback Jameis Winston told reporters after the game. "Like I said, we're a family. If you try to take away somebody, somebody else is always going to step up."
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
First-Team Offensive Line
9 of 22
Stanford
Stanford dominated a UCLA defense with a strong front seven that was playing its best football of the season before Week 14.
The Cardinal rushed for 202 yards and averaged 6.81 yards per offensive play, a full yard better than their season average.
More than that, though, their offensive line did not allow a single sack against a team that had 12 sacks in its previous three games. And even though UCLA did have seven tackles for loss, those seven TFLs only cost Stanford 10 total yards.
Second-Team Offensive Line
10 of 22
Clemson
Clemson owned the line of scrimmage against South Carolina, winning the (newly coined) Palmetto Bowl for the first time since 2008.
A stagnant running game came to life with 225 yards on 40 carries, led by freshman running back Wayne Gallman, who had 191 yards. The team average of 5.63 yards per carry was a season-best and the Tigers' highest total since November 2012 against NC State.
South Carolina also failed to register a sack after logging five against Clemson in 2013, six in 2012 and five in 2011.
First-Team Defensive End
11 of 22
Dadi Nicolas, Virginia Tech
9 tackles (2 TFL), 1 sack, 5 QB hurries
Dadi Nicolas refused to let Virginia Tech miss a bowl game for the first time in 22 years, willing the Hokies to a win over Virginia on Friday.
The freaky 6'4" end was everywhere against the Wahoos, especially in the biggest moments. Three of his five quarterback hurries came on third downs, two of his nine tackles came inside the VT 5-yard line and another came on a 4th-and-1 stop inside the red zone.
Most importantly, though, Nicolas was in on the game-clinching sack on 4th-and-5 with Virginia driving to win in the final minute.
It was a fitting coda to a memorable performance.
Second-Team Defensive End
12 of 22
Vic Beasley, Clemson
5 tackles (3 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 QB hurry
Vic Beasley stood on the sideline and watched JaDeveon Clowney abuse his offensive line (4.5 sacks) in 2012. He stood there and watched as Clowney logged another 10-yard sack last season.
He knows what sort of platform this rivalry can be.
And he knows how to take advantage of it.
The All-American end sacked and stripped Dylan Thompson on the Gamecocks' first drive of the second quarter, giving the ball back to his offense on South Carolina's 36-yard line. The Tigers scored three plays later to take a 14-7 lead (that they would never relinquish).
"It was definitely a big play," Beasley told reporters of his strip-sack after the game. "It was a big boost because the offense scored. It gave us a lot of momentum."
And how important is momentum? Momentum is huge.
First-Team Defensive Tackle
13 of 22
Carl Davis, Iowa
3 tackles (2 TFL), 1 sack, 3 QB hurries, 1 blocked FG
Carl Davis had a memorable senior day for Iowa, owning the trenches in an overtime loss to Nebraska.
His sack came on a 3rd-and-6 and forced a Nebraska punt. His first QB hurry led to a pick-six by John Lowdermilk. His tackle for loss set up a 3rd-and-15 and forced another Nebraska punt. His second QB hurry set up a 27-yard field goal that he blocked.
Davis started the year slow but has lived up to his hype—that of a potential Day 1 NFL draft pick—during the last month of the season.
Never was that more true than Saturday, even if it ended in a loss.
Second-Team Defensive Tackle
14 of 22
Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
7 tackles (1 TFL)
Robert Nkemdiche posted a career-high seven tackles against Mississippi State, which is remarkable because his numbers—even on a career day—still failed to demonstrate the enormity of his impact.
He was his usual, can't-be-blocked self.
Of Nkemdiche's seven total tackles (three solo, four assisted), two resulted in a loss, one resulted in no gain and three resulted in a gain of one yard. Almost all of them were at the line of scrimmage.
The difference between a short tackle for loss and a tackle for no gain or one yard is negligible, but it makes Nkemdiche's stats look worse than they should be. Do not, however, let the numbers fool you.
He is as dominant as any defensive player in the country.
First-Team Outside Linebacker
15 of 22
J.R. Tavai, USC
5 tackles (4.5 TFL), 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble
J.R. Tavai said goodbye to The Coliseum in memorable fashion, leading USC to a thorough demolition of Notre Dame.
The senior rush linebacker had 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in the first 22 minutes of the game, capping off his run by forcing an Everett Golson fumble on Notre Dame's second possession of the second quarter. USC recovered and promptly took a 35-0 lead.
"Seeing my mom crying out there really put some pressure on me to make some plays," Tavai said of his final home game with the Trojans, per Greg Beacham of The Associated Press.
He made everybody in the crowd—Mom included—proud with his performance Saturday.
Second-Team Outside Linebacker
16 of 22
Paul Dawson, TCU
10 tackles (2 TFL), 1 INT, 1 QB hurry
Is Paul Dawson an All-American?
If he's not, he's pretty darn close.
No defensive player has frequented this list as often as Dawson in 2014, and he saved one of his best performances for last. He had eight tackles in the first half before grabbing his fourth interception of the season in the third quarter of TCU's 48-10 win at Texas.
"How many LB combos in the country are better than Marcus Mallet and Paul Dawson?" asked Jake Trotter of ESPN.com during the game.
The correct answer might be zero.
First-Team Inside Linebacker
17 of 22
Scooby Wright, Arizona
13 tackles (5 TFL), 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Scooby Wright has had a season filled with standout performances—a season that will, or should, be capped with a spot on the All-America team—but never played better than he did against Arizona State.
His five tackles for loss were a career high.
With 28 tackles for loss through 12 games, Wright is now on pace to finish with some truly historic numbers. Not just for Pac-12 defenders, and not just for true sophomores—but for anybody.
Pittsburgh lineman Aaron Donald, for example, led the country with 28.5 tackles for loss in 13 games last season. But now that Arizona has made the Pac-12 Championship Game, Wright will play 14 games. That puts him on pace to finish the year with 32.5 tackles for loss.
The FBS record, you ask?
Jason Babin with 32.0.
Second-Team Inside Linebacker
18 of 22
Marcus Trotter, Wisconsin
13 tackles (1 TFL)
Marcus Trotter played cleanup for a Wisconsin defense that missed an uncharacteristically high number of tackles against Minnesota.
Ten of Trotter's 13 tackles came on gains of three yards or less, and a fourth came on a gain of four. All 11 of those tackles came against the run, and nine of his tackles came against bruising tailback David Cobb.
"When [Cobb] was running the ball, it was like, 'Man, this guy's a beast,'" Trotter admitted after the game, per Tyler Mason of Fox Sports North.
Fortunately, so too is Trotter.
First-Team Cornerback
19 of 22
Brian Poole, Florida
4 tackles, 2 INT
We're cheating—but only a little bit—by listing Florida nickelback Brian Poole as a cornerback. The role he plays is a hybrid between cornerback and safety, but with more standout safety performances in Week 14, this was the best way to get him on the list.
Poole, though, was good enough to earn our "manipulation." He had two of the Gators' four interceptions against Jameis Winston, and both put their offense into scoring position. That Florida failed to capitalize on those chances does not diminish what he did.
And spare me, Gator fans who think he should have busted that second interception for a touchdown. Even if he could have, scoring after a pick is almost always supererogatory. Complaining because he went down at the FSU 33-yard line is spoiled, like complaining that the car Santa brought you doesn't have hot-enough seat warmers.
The pick itself was worth being grateful.
Second-Team Cornerback
20 of 22
Jalen Collins, LSU
2 tackles (1 TFL), 1 interception, 2 pass breakups
Jalen Collins will make his living as a run defender at the next level, but he showed that he could also play the pass during LSU's Thanksgiving Night win at Texas A&M.
After the Tigers tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter, Collins broke up a 3rd-and-6 pass to Ricky Seals-Jones to force a punt. LSU then drove down the field to take its first lead of the game, 14-7.
But Collins saved his best for last, recording a second pass breakup and an interception on the Aggies' potential game-winning drive at the end of the fourth quarter.
That more than made up for a failed fumble-recovery attempt and an iffy pass-interference call earlier in the game.
First-Team Safety
21 of 22
Isaiah Johnson, Georgia Tech
10 tackles (2 TFL), 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Georgia Tech played bend-but-don't-break defense in its overtime win at Georgia, and Isaiah Johnson was squarely in the middle of all of it.
The Bulldogs, leading 7-0, had a 1st-and-goal at the Georgia Tech goal line at the end of the first quarter, but Johnson helped stop Nick Chubb on first down and forced a fumble on him on second down. The Yellow Jackets recovered and dodged a bullet.
On their next drive, the Bulldogs' other true freshman running back, Sony Michel, was stripped by Quayshawn Nealy at the goal line, and Johnson recovered in the end zone for a touchback. The Yellow Jackets dodged yet another bullet.
In the end, every bullet they dodged proved (massively) important.
Georgia Tech beat UGA for just the second time since 2000.
Second-Team Safety
22 of 22
Nick Perry, Alabama
13 tackles (2 TFL), 1 INT, 1 pass breakup
Nick Perry made his presence felt the entire Iron Bowl, cleaning up some early front-seven lapses with solid tackles.
He makes this list, however, on the strength of his biggest play: a narrative-shifting interception of Nick Marshall in the final two minutes of the third quarter. Prior to the pick, Auburn was leading 36-34 and had scored eight of its previous nine possessions.
After (and including) the pick, it went scoreless on its next three.
Follow Brian Leigh on Twitter: @BLeighDAT
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