Week 14 // 2023
Week 14
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
QUOTE OF THE WEEK “It was shocking. I had the ball, I was trying to bat it down, it just slid into my hand and I realized I caught it. I was so excited.” – Kansas cornerback Cobee Bryant said of his highlight reel one-handed interception against Cincinnati
TEAM OF THE WEEK
KENTUCKY Unranked Kentucky stunned then-No. 9 Louisville, 38-31, to win the Governor’s Cup for the fifth consecutive year.
T E A M T O W AT C H
MICHIGAN With 25 seconds left, Rod Moore intercepted Kyle McCord’s pass to clinch Michigan’s 30-24 victory over rival Ohio State and take the Big Ten East Division crown, punching its ticket to the Big Ten Championship Game for the third consecutive year. Running back Blake Corum recorded 22 carries for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns, one of which pushed the Wolverines ahead by two scores in the final minutes of the third quarter. Corum is the sole FBS player with a touchdown in every game this season. J.J. McCarthy led his squad to its third consecutive win over Ohio State with 16-for-20 passing for 148 yards and a score.
The Wildcats rallied from a 10-point deficit and played a complete game against the Cardinals, with impressive performances from all three phases. Devin Leary passed for 206 yards and three touchdowns, while Re’Mahn Davis had 127 yards of total offense and three scores, including the game-winning touchdown. Defensively, Kentucky forced three Louisville turnovers with D’Eryk Jackson and Trevin Wallace leading the way with 11 tackles. On special teams, Barion Brown returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. It was a signature win for Kentucky (7-5, 3-5 SEC) to close out the 2023 regular season and earn Cheez-It National Team of the Week. The Wildcats await their program-record eighth straight bowl destination which will be revealed on Sunday, December 3.
The No. 2 Wolverines (12-0, 9-0) battle No. 16 Iowa (10-2, 7-2) for their third straight Big Ten Championship on Saturday, December 2, at 6 p.m. PHX on FOX, one day ahead of Selection Sunday.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
Week 14
GAMES OF THE WEEK #18 OKLAHOMA STATE VS #7 TEXAS 12.2 // 10 AM // ABC
#1 GEORGIA VS #8 ALABAMA
CFP WEEK 14 RANKINGS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Georgia Michigan Washington Florida State Oregon
6. Ohio State 7. Texas 8. Alabama 9. Missouri 10. Penn State
For the full CFP Top 25 Rankings, click here.
12.2 // 2 PM // CBS
SMU AT #22 TULANE 12.2 // 2 PM // ABC
#2 MICHIGAN VS #16 IOWA 12.2 // 6 PM // FOX
#14 LOUISVILLE VS #4 FLORIDA STATE 12.2 // 6 PM // ABC For a full schedule of Week 14 games, click here. (All times in PHX)
2023 BOWL PREDICTIONS Vrbo FIESTA BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – Alabama vs. Oregon ESPN Schlabach – Washington vs. Penn State Action Network – Washington vs. Alabama College Football News – Washington vs. Penn State On3 – Washington vs. Oklahoma Sporting News – Alabama vs. Oregon Week 14
GAME OF THE WEEK #3 WASHINGTON VS #5 OREGON The Pac-12’s top two teams go head-to-head in the conference championship on Friday, December 1, at 6 p.m. PHX on ABC. Washington (12-0, 9-0) holds the advantage 62-48-5 in the all-time series, and edged Oregon (11-1, 8-1), 36-33, in their last meeting to give the Ducks their only loss of the season. Oregon is the nation’s leader in passing offense with 351.4 yards per game, followed closely by Washington (345.5). Two of college football’s top quarterbacks, Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) and Bo Nix (Oregon), who are both in contention for the 2023 Heisman Trophy. Nix leads the country in passing yards with 3,906, followed closely by Penix Jr. short at 3,899. In this CFP Top 5 rivalry rematch and their final meeting as Pac-12 opponents before both teams move to the Big Ten in 2024, Oregon will look to capture its 14th Pac-12 title, while Washington aims to take it back for its 18th conference championship. With one of four slots in the College Football Playoffs on the line, this title game means everything.
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ESPN Bonagura – Iowa State vs. Minnesota ESPN Schlabach – West Virginia vs. Northwestern Action Network – Kansas vs. Maryland College Football Network – Kansas vs. Minnesota 247 Sports – Kansas vs. Northwestern Sporting News – Iowa State vs. Rutgers COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
ALUMNI HIGHLIGHT
TREVOR LAWRENCE Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence led the Jaguars to a 24-21 victory over the Houston Texans and kept the team’s perfect road record (5-0) and first place in the AFC South standing intact. Lawrence attacked in the passing game, completing 23-of-38 passing for 364 yards and a score, plus a rushing touchdown. It was similar to his performance in the 2019 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl between Clemson and Ohio State, when through the air Lawrence went 18-for-33 for 259 yards, had two touchdowns and added one rushing score. The Tigers defeated the Buckeyes, 29-23, and Lawrence earned Offensive Player of the Game. The Jaguars host the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday, December 4, at 6:15 p.m. PHX on ABC and ESPN.
BIG NEWS The Guaranteed Rate Bowl will once again feature Bowl Season’s only Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchup. As we eagerly await the Dec. 26 kickoff, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news from Week 14:
BIG TEN
BIG 12
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Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the penultimate CFP Top 25 Rankings: No. 2 Michigan, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State and No. 16 Iowa. All four teams have been ranked in the top 25 since Week 11. The Wolverines will battle the Hawkeyes in the 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover. Reigning conference champion Michigan has won back-to-back titles (2021, 2022) while Iowa aims for its first-ever Big Ten Championship. At the end of regular season play, four Big Ten teams lead the nation in scoring defense: Michigan (#1, 10.25), Ohio State (#2, 11.0), Penn State (#3, 11.42) and Iowa (#4, 12.17). In Big Ten postseason awards, Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton won the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. was named Offensive Player of the Year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
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In the final batch of CFP Rankings before Selection Sunday, four Big 12 teams sit in the Top 25: No. 7 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 18 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Kansas State. Texas clinched the No. 1 seed in the Dr. Pepper 2023 Big 12 Football Championship game and will face off against No. 2 seed Oklahoma State. The Longhorns will go for their fourth conference championship title and the Cowboys aim for their first. The Big 12 is one of two leagues home to six teams with eight or more wins: Texas (11-1), Oklahoma (10-2), Oklahoma State (9-3), West Virginia (8-4), Kansas State (8-4) and Kansas (8-4). Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II won Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the third Cowboys player in history to earn the award, and Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat became the sixth Longhorns player to win Defensive Player of the Year.
Week 14
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT ARIZONA SCIENCE CENTER The Fiesta Bowl Organization is dedicated to enhancing the lives Arizona’s youth by providing millions of dollars in funding to nonprofits across the state. Through the 2023-24 Fiesta Bowl Charities grant cycle, Arizona Science Center was one of 20 nonprofit organizations positively impacted. Continuously working to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, mathematicians and educators by making STEM education accessible to every student through its programs, Arizona Science Center achieves this through support from partners like Fiesta Bowl Charities. This year’s grant will help Arizona Science Center fully fund the cost of materials and planning for its Hands-On Discovery programs. Read the full story here.
FOOTBALL FEATURE: 1974 FIESTA BOWL BYU and Oklahoma State met last week in their first meeting as Big 12 opponents, with the Cowboys coming out on top, 40-34, in double overtime in Stillwater. In addition to it being their first meeting as Big 12 opponents, it was just the third all-time meeting between the two programs, who met for the first time in the 1974 Fiesta Bowl. The 4th Annual Fiesta Bowl was the first bowl bid ever for the Cougars, and the Cowboys’ first bowl berth as a member of the then-Big 8 Conference. BYU entered the game as the favorite, but the outcome was a familiar one to the modern-day matchup. Read the full feature here.
Week 14
COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
JA NUA RY 1, 2024
D E C EM B E R 26, 2023
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL INSIDER // 2023
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Week 14