Week 14 // 2025
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
It means a lot just to wear the uniform. Those guys know what it means to be a Ute and I am proud to be a part of that group.
- Utah quarterback Devon Dampier after leading the Utes to a 51-47 comeback win over Kansas State
TEAM TO WATCH TEAM oF THE WEEK
BYU PITTSBURGH
No. 11 BYU never trailed in its 26-14 road victory at Cincinnati, putting the Cougars just one win away from punching their ticket to their first-ever Big 12 Championship Game. Star running back LJ Martin dominated on the ground, racking up a career-high 222 rushing yards on 32 carries, with an additional 44 receiving yards.
True freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier passed Steve Young, Taysom Hill and Zach Wilson for the most rushing touchdowns by a BYU quarterback in a single season with his 11th rushing touchdown scored in the first quarter. BYU had 265 rushing yards to Cincinnati’s 87, with the Bearcats capitalizing on only one of their three trips to the red zone. BYU closes out its regular season hosting UCF at home on Saturday at 11 a.m. PHX time on ESPN2.
In a 42-28 road victory at then-No. 15 Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh kept its ACC Championship Game hopes alive going into the final week of the regular season.
Georgia Tech entered the night fifth in the nation in total offense, but the Panthers defense held quarterback Haynes King to 27-of-41 passing for 257 yards and just 76 rushing yards. Panthers running back Ja’Kyrian Turner led the ground attack running for 201 yards and a touchdown, while Braylan Lovelace came up massively on defense with a 100-yard interception return. The Yellowjackets came within one score in the fourth quarter, but Turner broke away for a 56-yard touchdown to give Pittsburgh the comfortable victory.
No. 22 Pitt closes out its regular season hosting No. 12 Miami at 10 a.m. PHX on Friday on ABC.
GAMES WATCH to
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GAME OF THE WEEK
#1 OHIO STATE AT #15 MICHIGAN
No. 1 Ohio State enters The Game against No. 15 Michigan undefeated for the third time in the past four seasons, with both teams eyeing a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State is coming off a 42-9 home victory over Rutgers, during which Julian Sayin threw two touchdown passes and Bo Jackson rushed for a pair of touchdowns. The win marked 15-straight victories for Ohio State, with the Buckeyes holding the longest winning streak in the country. It is the fourth 10-plus game winning streak for Head Coach Ryan Day.
For a full schedule of Week 14 games, click here. (All times in PHX)
2025 BOWL PREDICTIONS
Michigan picked up a 45-20 road victory at Maryland on Saturday, holding the Terrapins to just 71 rushing yards. The Wolverines produced 443 yards of offense, with no turnovers or punts in the win, and converted 12-of-14 times on third down.
The Game will kick off in Ann Arbor at 10 a.m. PHX on FOX.
CFP SEMIFINAL at Vrbo FIESTA BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State
ESPN Schlabach – No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State
College Football News – No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Georgia
Athlon Sports – No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Pro Football Network – No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 1 Ohio State
RATE BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – Cincinnati vs. Northwestern
ESPN Schlabach – Kansas State vs. Minnesota
Pro Football Network – Baylor vs. Northwestern
CBS – TCU vs. Northwestern
Athlon Sports – Iowa State vs. Northwestern
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
JAYLEN REED
The NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense came up big on Thursday Night Football, as the Houston Texans upset the Buffalo Bills 23-19. Led by rookie defensive back Jaylen Reed’s 12 tackles, including nine solo, the Texans’ defense had reigning MVP Josh Allen under near-constant pressure in prime time.
In addition to leading the Houston defense in tackles, Reed recovered a fumble and returned the ball nine yards to set up a Houston field goal, giving the Texans a 23-16 lead in the third quarter.
Reed is no stranger to leading his team’s defense, including the 2024 College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in Penn State’s 31-16 victory over Boise State. Reed led the Nittany Lions’ defense with eight tackles and a key sack.
notable performances
RALEEK BROWN ARIZONA STATE
Running back Raleek Brown recorded 255 rushing yards, an ASU road game record, in the Sun Devils’ 42-17 win at Colorado. He notched 108 rushing yards in the first half, contributing to his 141 first-half all-purpose yards.
Brown kicked off his scoring with a 33-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter from quarterback Jeff Sims. Colorado took the lead on a 28-yard field goal to close out the third quarter, but Brown spearheaded an electric final frame for the Sun Devils, taking it 88 yards to the house to claim the lead for ASU.
Joe Fagnano Connecticut
In his team’s 48-45 win at Florida Atlantic, quarterback Joe Fagnano had a career-high 446 yards passing and three touchdowns while completing 33-of-46 passes for the Huskies in their regular season finale.
The victory marked Connecticut’s second time totaling 600 yards of total offense this season, helped by Fagnano’s three-straight first quarter touchdown passes. In those three scoring drives, Fagnano connected with three different receivers.
Florida Atlantic led 45-41 late in the fourth quarter, but Fagnano and the Huskies’ offense lead their third successful two-minute drill of the season to score and seal the win.
BIG NEWS
The Rate Bowl will once again feature Bowl Season’s only Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchup at a new time of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, December 26. As we eagerly await kickoff in downtown Phoenix, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news for Week 14:
BIG TEN
• The Big Ten had six teams included in the College Football Playoff’s fourth rankings of the season on Nov. 25: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon, No. 15 Michigan and No. 17 USC
• 11 Big Ten programs are bowl eligible (including eight for the Rate Bowl) with two sitting one win away
• Going into its final game of the regular season at rival Purdue, Indiana is 11-0 for the first time in program history
• The Big Ten leads all other conferences for teams ranked within the top 25 in total defense, claiming eight. Ohio State leads the FBS with 206.6 yards per game, followed by three other teams within the top 10: Oregon (3rd, 248.7), Indiana (4th, 249.0) and Iowa (8th, 267.9)
• Four Big Ten quarterbacks rank in the top 10 in passing efficiency, with Julian Sayin leading the nation at 185.38. Sayin is closely followed by Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza (184.84) with Oregon’s Dante Moore in sixth (167.76) and Washington’s Demond Williams Jr in seventh (165.09)
BIG 12
• The Big 12 Conference placed five teams in the College Football Playoff’s Top 25 rankings this week, which included a pair of programs in the top 12. Arizona (25th) made its CFP rankings season debut, with Texas Tech (5th), BYU (11th), Utah (13th) and Arizona State (20th) in the rankings.
• Entering Week 14, four Big 12 teams are still eligible for a berth in in the 2025 Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship at AT&T Stadium. Arizona State, BYU, Texas Tech and Utah are still in the mix, with BYU and the Red Raiders one win away
• Through Week 13 of the season, nine Big 12 programs are bowl eligible (including six for the Rate Bowl) with four more that are one win away
• Texas Tech has the nation’s leader in sacks in defensive end David Bailey (12.5 sacks) and forced fumbles in linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (seven)
• Cincinnati has only allowed four sacks this season, tied with Army for the fewest in the FBS
• Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson is tied for most in the country with 30 passing touchdowns. Arizona’s Noah Fifita is ranked eighth with 25 scoring passes
news in the foundation
ARIZONA EDUCATORS RECEIVE RECORD $1.5 MILLION IN CLASSROOM GRANTS DURING PALO VERDE FIESTA SPORTS FOUNDATION WISHES FOR TEACHERS DRAFT DAY PRESENTED BY SRP
The Palo Verde Fiesta Sports Foundation Wishes for Teachers program – Arizona’s largest direct support initiative for teachers – has awarded a record 540 teachers statewide with $2,500 classroom grants, marking the program’s milestone 10th anniversary and its largest single-year investment in Arizona teachers to date with $1.5 million in total funding.
For the third consecutive year, the Wishes for Teachers program experienced its highest application submissions to date for the third consecutive year, drawing 5,324 applications from teachers, coaches and staff across 149 cities, 1,409 schools and 175 school districts.
Community spotlight
FIESTA SPORTS FOUNDATION REFRESHES COMMUNITY RESOURCE ROOM AT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF CENTRAL ARIZONA’S PRESCOTT CLUBHOUSE
As part of Fiesta Sports Foundation’s mission to provide statewide economic impact and charitable resources, the Foundation partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (AZ Blue) to refresh its Community Resource Room at Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona (BGCCAZ)’s Prescott Clubhouse on October 30.
Located in Prescott, BGCCAZ was the recipient of the Foundation’s first-ever community resource room in 2019. Due for a refresh after years of daily use, the Club received $20,000 worth of necessary technology, furniture and supplies to revitalize the existing space. These assets enhance the Club’s services for more than 100 local youth who rely daily on the facility and allow BGCCAZ to strengthen community connections while supporting its activities and educational programming.
