Amway College Football Poll 2014: Complete Week 15 Rankings Released
The wild on-field action this week in college football has led to a few changes in the Week 15 Amway Coaches Top 25 poll.
Alabama, Oregon and Florida State were able to win crucial conference matchups, yet the Mississippi State Bulldogs were defeated by Ole Miss. The turnover created by this loss has given many programs a new lease on their College Football Playoff lives.
Here are the Week 15 Amway Coaches and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls and a review of the action.
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Breaking Down Week 14
The Ducks dominated the Oregon State Beavers, 47-19, but the Crimson Tide and the Seminoles were involved in much closer battles. Alabama beat Auburn in a thrilling 55-44 win and Florida State managed to hold off Florida, 24-19.
Meanwhile, Mississippi State wasn’t so lucky.
With a playoff berth on the line, the Bulldogs cracked under the pressure and succumbed to Ole Miss. Conference championships will throw a wrench in the rankings once again, but Mississippi State currently finds itself on the outside of the CFP looking in.
Now the discussion begins regarding which team truly deserves the honor of being No. 4 overall.
There were no shortage of programs that made a case to climb the rankings in Week 14, including huge wins for TCU, Ohio State and Baylor (all with just one loss). For the Buckeyes, it remains to be seen how J.T. Barrett's devastating injury will affect their outlook. ESPN.com's Austin Ward reported Barrett suffered a fractured ankle in the team's win over Michigan. They'll now turn to Cardale Jones under center for next week's showdown with Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship.
The Horned Frogs destroyed Texas on Thursday, while Baylor managed to beat Texas Tech in a 48-46 thriller, but a win is a win at this crucial part of the season.
Two teams that failed to shine were UCLA and Georgia. The Bruins lost to Stanford on Friday night, and the Bulldogs were defeated by in-state rival Georgia Tech in a thrilling overtime matchup.
UCLA linebacker Myles Jack spoke to reporters about the devastating loss, saying, “The reward we would have got for winning this game, it hurts. We were aware of what was to come if we handled our business, but it didn't happen that way.”
Other programs like Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas State and Wisconsin pulled out much-needed wins late in the season, but there were other teams who clearly faltered under the pressure.
If you are a supporter of ranked programs like Arizona State, Minnesota and Marshall, watching the aforementioned teams take losses on the holiday weekend had to be devastating.
With plenty of turnover in the latest Amway Coaches poll, the excitement for the conference championships and the eventual College Football Playoff is higher than ever. It’s a good time to be a fan of the sport.
*Stats via ESPN.com.
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