Week 14 college football rankings: South Carolina and Arizona State soar as Alabama, Ole Miss drop

The stakes are even higher now for next Thursday’s AAC duel against Tulane. The Memphis Tigers put their 44-36 loss to UTSA in the rearview mirror, responding with wins over Rice and UAB. Neither Tulane nor Memphis has beaten a ranked opponent this season, but the Green Wave are favorites at home. Don’t sleep on Memphis, especially with running back Mario Anderson Jr. coming off five consecutive games with either 100-plus scrimmage yards or two touchdowns.

The Illinois Fighting Illini found themselves in a deep fourth-quarter hole, trailing Rutgers 24-15 with 14 minutes remaining. That’s when the Illini’s offense woke up, led by Luke Almtyer’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns including the game-winner with seconds remaining. Illinois receiver Pat Bryant 197 yards and a game-winning TD) was the star of Saturday, but Rutgers’ inability to tackle Bryant on his game-winning play was one of the ugliest things in college football this week.

When starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced in late September that he was sitting out the rest of the season, it would’ve been easy for the UNLV Revels season to unravel. Instead, head coach Barry Odom, senior quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams and running back Jai’Den Thomas stepped up. Thomas, only a sophomore, is why UNLV went into San Jose State and won on Friday night. Without his 135-yard performance, the Rebels would be left with regrets over a wasted season. Instead, UNLV is one game away from its first 10-win season since 1984 and only the second in program history.

A few years ago, an eight-win season would’ve been excellent results for Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers. After going 11-2 last year, though, the 2024 campaign feels like a letdown. Mizzou beat the cakewalk teams, just as it did on Saturday against Mississippi State. Unfortunately, the Tigers also went 1-3 against ranked opponents this season, with that one win coming over Boston College (6-5). In a year with a lot of up-and-down play in the SEC, the Tigers were even worse.

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The Tulane Green Wave won’t be making the College Football Playoff this year, but this program deserves credit for turning things around after a rough start. At the tail end of the Green Wave’s seven-game win streak, they beat their last three opponents (Charlotte, Temple and Navy) by a combined 112 points. Up next is a fantastic battle against Memphis, with the winner at least finishing the season in the top 25 college football rankings and heading to a marquee bowl game.

Matt Campell and the Iowa State Cyclones have recovered nicely from that two-game slide, first dismantling Cincinnati 34-17 and then delivering a similar effort in Saturday night’s victory over Utah. Plus, with BYU and Colorado losing in Week 13 and picking up Big 12 losses, the door opens even wider for Iowa State.

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The Texas A&M Aggies had plenty of opportunities to beat Auburn before that dropped two-point conversion in the fourth OT. Alternatively, the Aggies could’ve not put themselves into a 21-0 hole in the first half. Either way, Texas A&M’s slim playoff hopes are over and now the program’s lone mission is to ruin the Texas Longhorns’ season next week at Kyle Field.

Ole Miss is always going to Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart had multiple opportunities. in the fourth quarter to get the Rebels back in the game, instead, he threw two interceptions and killed both drives. Mississippi’s playoff hopes are ashed and for Lane Kiffin, it’s time to find a quarterback who can come through in the biggest games. Ole Miss will make it into a decent bowl game, but this three-loss season has to be viewed as a letdown.

The Colorado Buffaloes simply ran into the buzzsaw that is the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday. Travis Hunter (125 yards, 2 TDs) and Shedeur Sanders (292 total yards, 3 TDs) kept the Buffaloes in this one for as long as possible. Unfortunately for Deion Sanders, the Buffaloes had no answer for Kansas running back Devin Neal (287 scrimmage yards, 4 TDs). The loss and 8-3 record erase Colorado’s CFP hopes, but Sanders and this roster deserve a ton of credit for success that very few predicted.

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The dream season unraveled so quickly for the BYU Cougars. There were legitimate hopes for a College Football Playoff spot after the 9-0 start, then the wheels came off. Coming off a tough loss at home against Kansas, BYU went to Arizona State and put itself in a 21-3 hole at halftime. The Cougars rallied, making it a five-point game with just under 9 minutes to go, but the first-half offensive woes and the lack of consistency on that side of the ball in the last two weeks ended the dream season.

With the win over Citadel, Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers have delivered their 13th consecutive season with at least 9 victories. Unfortunately for Swinney, it still feels like this program is slowly regressing. Clemson’s coach still takes an archaic view of the transfer portal and the Tigers’ 225 recruiting class is currently 29th in the nation. With the season drawing to a close and Clemson’s playoff hopes slim, it might be time for national media to reset its expectations for this team in the years to come.

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Entering Week 13, the Oklahoma Sooners had just one win in the SEC (Auburn) with a majority of their in-conference defeats by double digits. Somehow, Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide found a way to utterly botch a game against one of the conference’s worst teams. It seemed like Alabama turned a corner with the dominant wins over Missouri and LSU. It turns out, those games said a lot more about the Tigers. The Crimson Tide don’t deserve a playoff spot.

The South Carolina Gamecocks experienced growing pains early in the season, losing to LSU and Alabama by a combined five points. Since that 3-3 start, this has been one of the best college football teams since mid-October. South Carolina proved itself against ranked opponents with wins over Missouri and Texas A&M. Based on the way this team is playing, the Gamecocks can absolutely go into Clemson next week and knock out Clemson.

When you’re already working against a talent disadvantage in a matchup against Ohio State, you can’t commit self-inflicted wounds. The Indiana Hoosiers’ special-teams gaffes gifted the Buckeyes 14 points on Saturday. Eliminating those blunders certainly would’ve made it a closer game, but the fact that Ohio State’s defense held the Hoosiers offense to 151 total yards speaks volumes about how far away Indiana is from competing with the best college football teams. Still, a 10-1 record is incredible work by Curt Cignetti.

Arizona State Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham is just doing incredible work with this football program. He took over for Herm Edwards, who left this team to deal with recruiting violations and a bottom-shelf roster. By year two, Dillingham has tripled his win total (nine from his first season at the helm. Plus, that statement Week 13 win over BYU might’ve just cracked the door open for the Sun Devils to challenge for a playoff spot. Even if they don’t make it, this is a season to remember.

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The Tennessee Volunteers came out lifeless in the first quarter against a two-win UTEP Miners team, raising even more concerns after the loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. Then, running back Dylan Sampson provided a second-quarter spark and quarterback Nico Iamaleava went off to lead Tennessee to 29 points in the second quarter. There’s not much to take away from this game and there’s a much better test for the Vols’ playoff case when this inconsistent team faces Vanderbilt next week.

The SMU Mustangs controlled their fate in Week 13, needing a victory over Virginia on the road to secure a spot in the ACC Championship Game. Mustangs quarterback Kevin Jennings delivered once more, accounting for 3 total touchdowns on a day when the Mustangs defense (173 total yards and 20% third-down conversion rate allowed) needed just two. A College Football Playoff berth for SMU seemed implausible back in September, but the Mustangs have earned this position.

Ashton Jeanty won’t break the single-season rushing record and Heisman Trophy voters don’t seem inclined to pick him over Travis Hunter. However, the Boise State Broncos running back is responsible for carrying this program to one of its best seasons in years. Boise State narrowly survived a trip to Wyoming in Week 13, but Jeanty came through again to deliver the win. With a short week ahead of the Oregon State game, Boise State gets to control its playoff future.

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Quarterback Carson Beck came through in Week 13 with 297 passing yards and 4 touchdowns before the Georgia Bulldogs gave sophomore Gunner Stockton some playing time. The real standout on Saturday, though, was freshman running back Nate Frazier. The 5-foot-10 running back came through with his first 100-yard game and he found the end zone three times. With six touchdowns in November, the former four-star running back is emerging as a key part of this Bulldogs offense at the right time. Just don’t sleep on Georgia Tech’s upset chance next Saturday night in Athens.

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The Wake Forest Demon Deacons made it a competitive game early, pulling it to 17-14 midway through the second quarter and only trailing by six heading into the fourth. Finally, the Miami Hurricanes came alive with three consecutive scoring drives, putting the game on ice. Miami still doesn’t have a ranked win this season, but at least the Hurricanes have put themselves in a position to make the ACC title game assuming they can win at Syracuse next week.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ran through Army just like they have every opponent since the loss to Northern Illinois. A run game centered around Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Riley Leonard is doing the heavy lifting on offense, plus it’s created more open throwing lanes for Leonard. Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman faced plenty of criticism and skepticism after the NIU loss. Since then, he’s led one of the hottest teams in college football.

James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions nearly imploded approaching the finish line of the regular season. The Nittany Lions offense was abysmal on third down (9 percent, 1-for-11) against a five-loss Golden Gophers team. Thankfully for Penn State, its defense didn’t allow a second-half touchdown and that helped this team escape with a 26-25 victory. It won’t ding PSU’s playoff odds, but a game that close does cost them a spot in the Week 14 college football rankings.

Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns avoided falling victim to the trap game at home, with 2 interceptions and an outstanding pass rush paving the way to victory over Kentucky. The Longhorns also have to feel good about how their run game (260 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns) and Quinn Ewers looked in this one. Of course, the 10-1 season and a shoo-in playoff spot can all be undone if the Longhorns aren’t ready for the raucous environment at Kyle Field next week.

The Ohio State Buckeyes found themselves in an early hole, trailing 7-0 after the first quarter against Indiana and then turning it over on downs near the goal line. From that point on, the Buckeyes had firm control of this matchup. Ohio State certainly benefited (14 points) from awful Hoosiers’ special teams play, but there’s little doubt who looked like the better team on Saturday. Up next, the Michigan Wolverines. Ryan Day has control over his destiny, but rivalry games can be unpredictable.

The Oregon Ducks are on the doorstep of a perfect regular season but this year has proven quite unpredictable. Fortunately for Dillon Gabriel and the Ducks, they do get to host the Border War against Washington. As long as we don’t see a repeat of the issues that popped up against Wisconsin (16-13 win), the Ducks should finish 12-0 and all but guarantee a bye week in the CFP.