B/R's College Football Weekly Awards: Week 13

College football, thank you for saving the best of the 2023 regular season for last.

Sure, the stakes of the weekend aided that perception. Still, three conference championship games—the AAC, Big 12 and Mountain West—didn't have a known team. Several others, including the Big Ten, awaited a second program to lock in a shot at a league title.

And the games were so, so good.

Rivalries tend to bring out the best of underdogs, which absolutely happened in Week 13. Somehow, nearly every favorite won anyway (sorry, Louisville). But a handful of Top 10 teams survived a scare, though none did it bigger than Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

Incredible weekend. Let's hand out some awards.

If you're new here, hi! B/R's Weekly Awards is an often-lighthearted review of what happened in college football over the weekend.

The reign continues.

For the third straight year, the winner of "The Game" would advance to the Big Ten Championship Game, where a victory would seal an invite to the College Football Playoff.

And for the third straight year, Michigan made it happen.

Ohio State put up a much greater fight, unlike the meetings in both 2021 and 2022 that the Buckeyes lost handily. But the Wolverines also never trailed in Saturday's 30-24 triumph, leaning on the running game and a stout defense to pull away down the stretch.

Next up for Michigan is a clash against a defense-driven and, um, offensively challenged Iowa squad.

Oh, and head coach Jim Harbaugh will be back.

Even if U-M stunningly falls to Iowa, the Wolverines could make the CFP anyway. But there's no question that a victory in Indianapolis will officially give Michigan another shot on the national stage.

First, the 'Cats sprung a shocker on No. 10 Louisville. Running back Ray Davis accounted for 127 yards and three touchdowns, propelling Kentucky to an exciting 38-31 victory that retained the Governor's Cup.

Louisville, which will play Florida State in the ACC Championship Game, had a chance at factoring into the College Football Playoff discussion if it beat FSU and finished 12-1 with an ACC crown. Kentucky's upset ruined those dreams for the in-state rival, though.

And it also might have kept Mark Stoops in town.

In what's certain to be a memorable (brief) saga, Stoops emerged as a top candidate for the vacant Texas A&M job. Rumors, and even one report, suggested he'd succeed Jimbo Fisher as the Aggies' coach.

As whispers lingered into the night, however, Stoops took to social media and said he'd be staying at Kentucky.

That's how to finish the regular season with drama.

Speaking of drama, it's safe to say we won't be forgetting the 2023 edition of the Iron Bowl anytime soon.

Alabama scored an absurdly improbable touchdown to stun Auburn and keep its College Football Playoff dreams alive.

Late in the fourth quarter, the Crimson Tide faced a 4th-and-goal while facing a 24-20 deficit. However, this wasn't an ordinary goal-to-go situation. One negative run, an errant snap for an 18-yard loss and a five-yard penalty had pushed Alabama back to the 31-yard line.

Run this scenario 10 times, and Auburn probably wins nine of them. But that outlier happened on Saturday.

Alabama's Jalen Milroe stood patiently, reared back and somehow connected with Isaiah Bond for a game-winning touchdown in the left corner of the end zone. On the 10th anniversary of the "Kick Six," the Crimson Tide found their own miracle in a 27-24 victory.

Oklahoma's win on Friday made the outlook simple for Oklahoma State: Win, and you're in the Big 12 Championship Game. Lose, and SEC-bound programs Texas and OU would play for the conference title.

For much of Saturday's early evening, it looked like the Red River Rivalry should be ready to have a rematch in Dallas.

BYU, which needed a win to secure bowl eligibility, played an inspired opening 30 minutes on the road at Oklahoma State. The visiting Cougars raced out to a 24-6 lead and put OSU's hopes on life support.

Ollie Gordon II, as he has since October, provided the jolt.

The breakout running back scampered for three touchdowns in the second half, even pushing the Pokes to a 27-24 lead. BYU ultimately forced overtime, but Gordon scored twice more before a fumble recovery by OSU's defense sealed the clutch 40-34 victory.

Oklahoma State is now aiming for its first-ever Big 12 title—while attempting to derail Texas' CFP hopes in the process.

Iowa State ran 35 plays on Saturday night.

For context, the Cyclones entered the game averaging 60.7 snaps this season. That massive differential can basically only mean one of two things for an offense: It's a really good day, or it's a really bad one.

On a snowy evening at Kansas State, however, Iowa State certainly ended on the positive side of those possibilities.

Abu Sama III handled just 16 carries...because his touchdowns covered 71, 77 and 60 yards. Jaylin Noel only caught three passes...because he scored touchdowns of 79 and 82 yards. Unsurprisingly, those explosive plays propelled the Cyclones to a wild win.

The final tally? An otherworldly 13.9 yards per snap for Iowa State during the 42-35 victory over K-State.

If you miss the Bowl Championship Series, good news: The Mountain West provided a bit of nostalgia this season.

Boise State rolled Air Force on Friday, then San Jose State upended UNLV on Saturday to create a three-way tie atop the conference. Because the league abandoned divisions in 2023, head-to-head results could not be used to determine the teams in the MWC title game.

So, the Mountain West broke out some technology.

Using the average from the Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix, Massey and Wolfe rankings, the MWC settled on UNLV (44.50) and Boise State (55.75) as the teams over San Jose State (58.50).

I, for one, welcome our computer overlords.

(But seriously, major bummer for SJSU. Missing out on a shot at a championship despite beating UNLV is a tough reality.)

Bowl Bid of the Week: Old Dominion Stuns Georgia State

Old Dominion opened the year with a 4-3 record, but a challenging schedule made a bowl appearance look unlikely. Sure enough, the Monarchs soon dropped to a 4-6 mark. In the last two weeks, however, they completed a sweep of Georgia Southern and Georgia State. Saturday afternoon, ODU scored a touchdown as time expired to win 25-24 and snatch that critical sixth victory.

Collapse of the Month: Air Force's Winless November

Time for the opposite story, really. Entering the month, Air Force boasted an 8-0 record with a fantastic shot at a trip to a New Year's Six bowl. The remaining slate didn't look particularly difficult. But the Falcons fell to two-win Army and three-win Hawaii before understandable—and still disappointing—losses to UNLV and Boise State.

Golf Clap of the Week: JMU, Jacksonville State Are Bowl-Bound

The football gods have smiled upon second-year FBS team James Madison and newcomer Jacksonville State. To fill the bowl slate, we needed 82 six-win teams—and there are only 79 (provided a spot is not held for Army or Navy, but that's a different story). Which means—drumroll please—that 11-1 JMU and 8-4 Jacksonville State should be the first choices to fill the open postseason spots. Well-deserved, on both counts.