College Football Scores 2014: Week 14 Results and Top Stars for Top 25 Teams
So far, "Rivalry Week" has more than lived up to the hype, serving as the one final regular-season blowout before the conference championships begin.
Saturday featured the whole narratives, between the major upsets, nail-biting finishes and one-sided blowouts. While it hasn't been the craziest weekend in an unpredictable 2014, few fans can be disappointed with how things have unfolded.
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Defeated No. 15 Auburn, 55-44 |
| 2 | Oregon Ducks | Defeated Oregon State, 47-19 |
| 3 | Florida State Seminoles | Defeated Florida, 24-19 |
| 4 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Lost to No. 19 Ole Miss, 31-17 |
| 5 | TCU Horned Frogs | Defeated Texas, 48-10 |
| 6 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Defeated Michigan, 42-28 |
| 7 | Baylor Bears | Defeated Texas Tech, 48-46 |
| 8 | UCLA Bruins | Lost to Stanford, 31-10 |
| 9 | Georgia Bulldogs | Lost to No. 16 Georgia Tech, 30-24(OT) |
| 10 | Michigan State Spartans | Defeated Penn State, 34-10 |
| 11 | Arizona Wildcats | Defeated No. 13 Arizona State, 42-35 |
| 12 | Kansas State Wildcats | Defeated Kansas, 51-13 |
| 13 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Lost to No. 11 Arizona, 42-35 |
| 14 | Wisconsin Badgers | Defeated No. 18 Minnesota, 34-24 |
| 15 | Auburn Tigers | Lost to No. 1 Alabama, 55-44 |
| 16 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Defeated No. 9 Georgia, 30-24(OT) |
| 17 | Missouri Tigers | Defeated Arkansas, 21-14 |
| 18 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Lost to No. 14 Wisconsin, 34-24 |
| 19 | Ole Miss Rebels | Defeated No. 4 Mississippi State, 31-17 |
| 20 | Oklahoma Sooners | Bye |
| 21 | Clemson Tigers | Defeated South Carolina, 35-17 |
| 22 | Louisville Cardinals | Defeated Kentucky, 44-40 |
| 23 | Boise State Broncos | Defeated Utah State, 50-19 |
| 24 | Marshall Thundering Herd | Lost to Western Kentucky, 67-66 |
| 25 | Utah Utes | Defeated Colorado, 38-34 |
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Major Storylines
Cardale Jones Came Here to Play Football
Ever since taking over for Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett has transformed from shaky replacement to fringe Heisman Trophy contender. His steady improvement throughout the year has been a lot of fun to watch.
Alas, Barrett fractured his right ankle in Ohio State's 42-28 win over Michigan, and he'll be out for the rest of the season, per Matt Barnes of NBC 4 in Columbus:
As a result, Cardale Jones will assume the starting role as the Buckeyes prepare for the Big Ten Championship Game and an eventual bowl game. After replacing Barrett against the Wolverines, Jones went 2-of-3 passing for seven yards.
The immediate concern is whether Ohio State can beat Wisconsin in the conference title game. Jones isn't the same player stylistically as Barrett, so head coach Urban Meyer might have to adjust his offense. The Buckeyes have only a week to prepare for the Badgers, so it will be difficult fully integrating Jones into his new role.
The larger question is whether the selection committee might hold Barrett's injury against the Buckeyes. On one side, some will argue that Ohio State sans Barrett is a demonstrably worse team and shouldn't go to the College Football Playoff. Others will contend that OSU shouldn't get punished twice for something beyond its control.
"I didn't think of it until you said it," Meyer said after the game about the playoff implications, per CBSSports.com's Jon Solomon. "We won the game. I think it's all going to be how we play next week. And I think we're going to have Cardale ready to go next week."
Solomon wrote that the CFP playoff committee tries to emulate the NCAA tournament selection committee, which does in fact project a team's ability following a major injury. He also made the parallel to Kenyon Martin's injury in 2000, which in effect caused the Cincinnati Bearcats to fall from a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance to a No. 2 seed.
Whatever the committee decides, some section of the country is bound to be upset.
Mississippi State's Playoff Dreams Die in Oxford
Mississippi State didn't necessarily control its own destiny in the SEC, but most expected that the Bulldogs would make the playoff as long as they beat Ole Miss on Saturday. Bleacher Report and sports analytics expert Ed Feng projected Mississippi State to be a slight favorite ahead of TCU and Ohio State entering Week 14.
The injury to Barrett arguably strengthened the Bulldogs' position.
Then Mississippi State lost the Egg Bowl, 31-17, to the Rebels, thus quashing any Top Four talk altogether. Solomon wondered how long this loss will linger among Bulldogs fans:
The defeat also means that Alabama will win the SEC West no matter what happens in the Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide beat the Bulldogs head to head, which gives them the tiebreaker advantage. All in all, Mississippi State had a pretty disappointing Saturday.
If anything, this makes things a little easier for the selection committee. Taking Mississippi State out of the equation means no more headaches over whether to send a team that failed to win its own division into the playoff.
Top Stars
Zach Laskey, RB, Georgia Tech
With Missouri securing the SEC East on Friday, Georgia didn't have much to play for on Saturday, and it showed. The Bulldogs came out flat against Georgia Tech, eventually falling in overtime, 30-24.
A big reason the Yellow Jackets continued to hang around throughout the day was running back Zach Laskey. The senior rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. He scored the go-ahead TD in the first overtime period, which proved the difference.
Chuck Oliver of 680 The Fan in Atlanta didn't think Laskey had a particularly pretty running style, but it was effective nonetheless:
It will be interesting to see how Florida State handles the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship Game. The Seminoles aren't particularly great when defending the run, which is of course Georgia Tech's bread and butter.
Combine that with FSU's sometimes sloppy play and you could see a massive upset next week.
Curry Sexton and Tyler Lockett, WR, Kansas State
Sure, it came against Kansas, but you have to praise the performances of Curry Sexton and Tyler Lockett. The two Kansas State wide receivers combined for 18 receptions, 260 yards and three touchdowns.
Lockett had a particularly monumental game, passing his father for career receptions in the Wildcats' record book while tying his dad's career touchdown mark, per ESPN Big 12:
While Sexton has often been overshadowed by Lockett for much of the season, he's on the precipice of 1,000 yards receiving after increasing his total to 940 after Saturday. Should he get there, Sexton and Lockett would be the first K-State receiving duo to each record 1,000 yards receiving, per D. Scott Fritchen of GoPowercat.com:
Kansas State doesn't have much of a chance to make the playoff, but the Wildcats can play spoiler for Baylor, thus paving the way for TCU. Whatever happens next Saturday, you can bet that Lockett and Sexton will have a large say on the outcome.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
