Week 15 // 2025
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
We knew this game was going to be a bloodbath.
- Arizona Head Coach Brent Brennan after No. 18 Arizona’s 23-7 victory at then-No. 20 and rival Arizona State
TEAM TO WATCH TEAM oF THE WEEK
GEORGIA texas
No. 3 Georgia won its eighth straight game over rival Georgia Tech, 16-9, in Atlanta and clinched a spot in the SEC championship for the fifth consecutive season.
The Bulldogs trailed the Yellow Jackets 3-0 in the opening quarter before scoring 13 unanswered points to take the lead for good. Wide receiver Zachariah Branch scored the game’s only touchdown on a 7-yard reception. The Bulldogs rushed for 190 of their 260 total yards of offense, with Nate Frazier leading the running backs to the tune of 108 yards on 16 carries. Georgia’s defense held Georgia Tech to just 69 yards on the ground.
Georgia returns to Atlanta for the second week in a row, facing No. 9 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game with kickoff at 2 p.m. PHX on ABC.
No. 13 Texas took down rival and then-No. 3 Texas A&M, 27-17, to spoil the Aggies’ undefeated season and keep them out of the SEC Championship game. Quarterback
Arch Manning notched the game-clinching score for the Longhorns, running for a 35-yard touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter.
Manning also threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wideout Ryan Wingo in the third quarter to give Texas a 13-10 lead, breaking open scoring in what had otherwise been a strong defensive showing for both teams. Following the Manning rushing touchdown, the Longhorns’ defense secured interceptions on back-to-back Texas A&M drives to close out the game. It was Texas’ 13th victory in the last 18 meetings with the Aggies.
Texas finished the regular season at 10-3 and learns its Bowl Season fate on Sunday, December 7.
GAMES WATCH to
For a full CFP Top 25 Rankings, click
GAME OF THE WEEK
#2 INDIANA VS. #1 OHIO STATE
A battle between the final two undefeated FBS teams to determine the likely No. 1 seed in the upcoming College Football Playoff headlines conference championship week, as No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. PHX on Saturday on FOX.
Ohio State closed out its regular season with a 27-9 victory at archrival Michigan to snap a four-game losing streak against the Wolverines. The Buckeyes had 233 passing yards from sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin while Michigan had just 63 yards through the air.
For a full schedule of Week 15 games, click here. (All times in PHX)
2025 BOWL PREDICTIONS
Conversely, Indiana completed its first perfect regular season in school history with a 56-3 rout at rival Purdue. Running back Roman Hemby led the Hoosiers with 152 rushing yards on 12 carries, including an 82-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. The Hoosiers defense additionally had 10 tackles-for-loss in the win.
CFP SEMIFINAL at Vrbo FIESTA BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 1 Ohio State
ESPN Schlabach – No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 2 Indiana
College Football News – No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
Athlon Sports – No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Ohio State
Pro Football Network – No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Ohio State
RATE BOWL
ESPN Bonagura – Cincinnati vs. Northwestern
ESPN Schlabach – Cincinnati vs. Penn State
Sports Illustrated – TCU vs. Minnesota
Athlon Sports – TCU vs. Northwestern
Pro Football Network – Cincinnati vs. Northwestern
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
JOE BURROW
After being sidelined by a turf toe injury since Week 2 of the NFL season, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow delivered a poised performance in his first game back to lead a 32-14 victory at Baltimore on Thanksgiving night.
The Bengals were ahead 12-7 to begin the second half thanks to four first half field goals when Burrow connected with tight end Tanner Hudson for the Bengals’ first touchdown. To close out the third quarter, Burrow broke the game open with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas.
Burrow was named the Fiesta Bowl Offensive Player of the Game in 2019 after LSU’s 40-32 victory over UCF. In the Tigers’ first trip to the Fiesta Bowl, Burrow threw for 394 yards and four touchdowns.
notable performances
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele
California
True freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele led California on the most memorable drive of his young career, with 75 yards over seven plays including running back Kendrick Raphael’s game-clinching score in the Golden Bears’ upset over then-No. 21 SMU.
Sagapolutele went 31-for-40 with a career-high 330 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions. He posted the 10th season of 3,000 or more passing yards by a Cal quarterback, now ranking sixth in the Golden Bears’ all-time list with 3,117 passing yards, as Cal heads into Coca-Cola Bowl Season.
Caleb Hawkins North Texas
Freshman running back Caleb Hawkins had four rushing touchdowns in North Texas’s 52-25 victory over Temple, which punched the Mean Green’s ticket to the American Conference Championship Game. Hawkins became the first FBS player since 1995 to rush for a touchdown in four different games in a single season. Along with the four touchdowns, Hawkins finished the day with 25 carries for 186 yards and added two catches for 28 yards. He is the only player in the nation to have six games this season with three or more touchdowns and leads FBS with 23 rushing touchdowns this season.
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 15:
BIG TEN
• The Big Ten had six teams included in the College Football Playoff’s fifth rankings of the season on Dec. 2: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 Oregon, No. 16 USC, No. 19 Michigan and No. 23 Iowa
• The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven teams ranked within the top 25 in total defense. Ohio State leads the FBS with 203.0 yards allowed per game, followed by three other teams in the top 10: Oregon (3rd, 251.6), Indiana (4th, 251.8) and Iowa (8th, 270.6)
• This year marks the second time since 2019 that Ohio State’s defense held 11 consecutive opponents to under 300 yards of total offense, after holding Michigan’s offense to 163 yards in the 27-9 win for the Buckeyes
• Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti’s 23 victories in his first two seasons with the Hoosiers are the second most in Big Ten history by a coach in his first two seasons and tied for No. 6 in FBS history
• After a 26-14 road win at Washington, Oregon holds the nation’s longest road winning streak at 12 games and wrapped up their third straight 11-win season
• Minnesota finished 7-0 at Huntington Bank Stadium for the first time since 1967 with a 17-7 win over rival Wisconsin last weekend
BIG 12
• The Big 12 Conference placed five teams in the College Football Playoff’s Top 25 rankings this week. Arizona (18th) moved up seven spots while Houston is No. 22. Texas Tech (4th), BYU (11th) and Utah (15th) gave the Big 12 three programs in the top 15
• All 11 of Texas Tech’s wins have been decided by at least 20 points, the most in FBS this season. The Red Raiders’ 49-0 shutout at West Virginia on Saturday tied the Big 12’s record, set by Oklahoma in 2008
• BYU enters its first Big 12 Championship Game with five wins by 20 or more points, including three in a row, and has 11 wins for the third time under Head Coach Kalani Sitake
• The Big 12 had 12 different teams defeat an AP Top 25 opponent (at time of game) this season, most among all FBS conferences and most by the Big 12 in conference history
• Arizona has held eight straight opponents under 200 passing yards, the longest active streak in the nation and the Big 12’s longest streak since Missouri strung together eight such games in 2004
• Houston is the only unbeaten Power Four program on the road this season with six or more games played away from home
news in the foundation
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SELECTION COMMITTEE REVEALS
PENULTIMATE RANKINGS OF 2025
The College Football Playoff’s selection committee announced the fifth 2025 rankings ahead of the second year of the 12-team playoff. Ohio State was the No. 1 team ahead of No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech.
For the second year in a row, the top five conference champions in the rankings are guaranteed a spot in the Playoff, with the four highest ranked conference champions receiving a top four seed and a first-round bye. The remaining seven spots will be filled by the seven highest-ranked teams and seeded accordingly outside of the top four.
To view the rankings, click here. To learn more about the 12-team playoff format, click here.
Community spotlight
OPERATION SANTA GIFTS HOLIDAY SHOPPING SPREE TO 50 CHILDREN AT LUKE AIR FORCE BASE WITH A DEPLOYED PARENT
This holiday season, Fiesta Sports Foundation teamed up with DICK’S Sporting Goods and Fighter Country Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the Luke Air Force Base community, for its ninth annual Operation Santa event. Fifty children with a deployed parent received a $300 DICK’S Sporting Goods gift card to spend at the House of Sport location in Glendale on December 2. Fiesta Sports Foundation volunteers accompanied the children to assist them in their shopping spree, which also included dinner from Rudy’s BBQ and holiday activities and crafts.
