College Football 2024: Winners and Losers from Week 14

After two dramatic weeks, it was only logical the 2024 regular season ended with yet another wild Saturday.

Michigan pulled off a near-unthinkable upset at Ohio State. Syracuse ended Miami's dreams of winning an ACC title and probably kept the Hurricanes out of the College Football Playoff.

And those upsets followed Georgia's huge scare in a Friday night victory that required eight overtimes.

The spotlight then shifted to the prime-time showdown in College Station between Texas and Texas A&M. The return of the classic rivalry had massive stakes: Winner gets a shot at the SEC championship.

And, finally, the Big 12 found some clarity.

Likely overshadowed by Thanksgiving festivities and NFL games, Memphis did the Big 12 a huge favor on Thursday night.

Entering the week, Tulane sat a single spot behind Arizona State in the latest CFP rankings. Meanwhile, the Big 12 standings were an absolute mess. With the right sequence of results, it was still possible for Baylor, TCU, Texas Tech or West Virginia to make the conference title game.

If that chaos had arrived, a surprise team may have won the Big 12. Since only the five highest-ranked league champions are guaranteed a Playoff spot, the Big 12 could have missed the CFP entirely with the Mountain West and AAC joining the ACC, Big Ten and SEC.

Memphis, though, just about eliminated that hypothetical concern, taking down Tulane in a convincing 34-24 result.

Colorado then steamrolled Oklahoma State, left a single scenario for Baylor and essentially locked up the Big 12's Playoff bid.

Two years ago, I hardly could've loved Wisconsin's direction any more. The program hired Luke Fickell—the architect behind Cincinnati making the CFP—with a proven Air Raid coordinator in Phil Longo.

Well, it hasn't progressed as hoped.

After finishing 7-6 last season, the Badgers needed to beat rival Minnesota on Friday to extend a 22-year streak of playing in a bowl. However, they mustered just 166 yards in an ugly 24-7 loss at home. The result dropped Wisconsin to 5-7, painfully short of bowl eligibility.

Fickell heads into the offseason on a warming hot seat. While his job is safe today, Fickell's third season will demand more scrutiny—especially after he fired Longo a couple weeks ago.

Wisconsin doesn't have inflated expectations of itself as an elite contender, but missing a bowl is simply unacceptable in Madison.

As long as Georgia won, it would be difficult to envision the Dawgs falling out of the Playoff field. Even if they lose in the SEC Championship Game, that shouldn't mean UGA plummets down the rankings.

But if the Bulldogs fell twice? That could be uncomfy.

For much of Friday night, the disaster scenario was dangerously close to reality. Georgia Tech built a 17-0 halftime lead and held a 14-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. Georgia clawed back to force overtime, which turned into a nerve-destroying affair.

It took eight OT sessions—six with dueling two-point conversion attempts—to decide UGA's 44-42 escape.

For many reasons, the victory was a sigh of relief in Athens. And while I don't technically have the authority to lock in Georgia, there's no way we're not seeing the Dawgs in the College Football Playoff.

The biggest hot-seat story of the day undoubtedly belongs to Ryan Day at Ohio State. If you're interested in that discussion, my guy Adam Kramer has you covered.

Neal Brown may have coached his last game at West Virginia.

Though the 6-6 Mountaineers are headed to a bowl again, it was just another mediocre year and ended on a miserable note. Texas Tech jumped on the 'Eers quickly and absolutely wrecked them 52-15.

This was Brown's sixth campaign at WVU, and five of them have now produced no more than six victories in the regular season.

With his buyout near $10 million, financial considerations won't necessarily prevent the school from making a change. It's safe to say we'll be watching closely for news about Brown in the coming days.

Ohio State is 10-2 and likely going to the College Football Playoff. Michigan is 7-5 and headed to a minor bowl.

Despite that gap in 2024, the U-M program is feeling good.

Recently, the Wolverines flipped 5-star quarterback Bryce Underwood—the nation's top-rated prospect. And on Saturday, the defense propelled Michigan to a shocking 13-10 upset of Ohio State in Columbus.

Land an elite recruit, stun a rival? Good two weeks, I'd say. No matter what happens in Michigan's bowl game, it'll enter the offseason with the indisputable fact of four straight wins against Ohio State—something that might be mentioned on the recruiting trail once or twice.

Another five-loss campaign won't be tolerated in 2025, but Michigan won't be fighting much of a perception battle in the winter.

Just win. That was it.

Right away, Miami matched that requirement. Cam Ward, a likely Heisman Trophy finalist, diced the Syracuse defense and sent the Hurricanes storming out to a 21-0 lead.

Knowing how poorly Miami's defense has played all season, however—and knowing that Syracuse has a dominant passing game—the advantage never felt comfortable. Steadily, the Orange trimmed the deficit. Kyle McCord and a talented pass-catching group overpowered Miami's weak secondary, and Cuse pulled off a 42-38 upset.

The loss, in short, is crushing for Miami.

Clemson will head to the ACC Championship Game against SMU. Unless the CFP selection committee keeps the 'Canes ahead of Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina in the next Playoff rankings—and SMU beats Clemson next week—their hope of a CFP bid is gone.

Win, and they were likely in.

But they lost. Miami's exciting, dramatic season may instead end in a bowl agonizingly shy of the Playoff spotlight.

Heading into Saturday's slate, a few programs were Playoff locks: Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and Georgia. I would've put Notre Dame in that group, but the opposite argument could at least be entertained.

Notre Dame punched its ticket with a 49-35 win at rival USC, and the Fighting Irish weren't alone.

Early in the afternoon, No. 8 Tennessee improved to 10-2 after defeating Vanderbilt 36-23. The mid-afternoon window featured Notre Dame's victory to hit 11-1, along with Penn State matching that record with a comfortable 44-7 rout of Maryland.

All three programs—ND, Tennessee and Penn State—are expected to host a first-round CFP matchup. Notre Dame and PSU are virtual certainties, while Miami's loss pushed Tennessee into a very favorable place.

Seven spots down, five to go.

Nevermind, make it four spots remaining.

After a poor showing in a loss at Ohio State last weekend, Indiana responded with a dominant day against Purdue. Also, I believe dominant is not a strong enough word.

I mean, sweet mercy, the Hoosiers clobbered Purdue.

Nathan Rourke threw for 349 yards and six touchdowns in the 66-0 demolition. Additionally, IU collected 237 rushing yards as the defense held the Boilers to 67 yards and forced five turnovers. Purdue hit midfield on exactly one drive. Nothing about this rivalry game was competitive.

The blowout moved IU to 11-1 for the season. Grab the permanent marker and write the Hoosiers into the Playoff.

Texas A&M capitalized on a favorable SEC slate—one that didn't include Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee—to put itself on the brink of playing in the conference title.

The last obstacle: Texas.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, the resumption of the rivalry did not go well. Texas won 17-7 to make the SEC Championship Game.

Texas A&M could not solve the Longhorns' suffocating defense. The unit yielded only 246 yards and forced three turnovers on downs—including two inside the 10-yard line—and sealed the victory with a fumble recovery. Worse yet, Texas A&M scored its lone touchdown on defense.

New coach Mike Elko elevated the program in his debut season, but A&M will remember this moment as a missed opportunity.

In the first year of the expanded Big 12, the championship matchup wasn't settled until the bitter end.

Nine programs opened Week 14 with a scenario to play for the conference title. Five of them—Baylor, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia—needed a ton of breaks, but they weren't mathematically eliminated.

Slowly, steadily, the list dwindled.

The first dagger arrived when Arizona State destroyed rival Arizona and secured one spot in the Big 12 championship. That result trimmed the contending group to three: BYU, Colorado and Iowa State.

Colorado had beaten Oklahoma State on Friday, so Deion Sanders' team could only watch—and root for Houston after Iowa State defeated Kansas State. Interestingly enough, ISU's victory eliminated BYU—yet Iowa State needed BYU to win, or else CU would've slid into the game.

Houston made it interesting for a while, but BYU notched a 30-18 triumph to selflessly assist Iowa State at precisely 1:45 a.m. ET.

Arizona State or Iowa State will represent the Big 12 in the Playoff.