Thomas Lafrance, Matthew Dion, and Oliver Drayton
In the Huddle: A Comprehensive Guide to the Current Landscape of College Football
We are currently in week 14 of the 2023-24 college football season also known as Championship Week. This is the week where the two best teams in each conference play each other for the conference title. Along with the championships, teams and fans have the playoffs and Bowl games in mind, this is one of the most important weeks in the college football season.
Here are the week 14 rankings so far (AP Top 25)
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Washington
- Florida State
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Alabama
- Missouri
- Penn State
- Ole Miss
- Oklahoma
- LSU
- Arizona
- Louisville
- Notre Dame
- Tulane
- Iowa
- Oklahoma State
- Liberty
- North Carolina State
- Oregon State
- Toledo
- James Madison
- SMU
Week 11:
There was a lot of action in week 11 of college football. One game to dive deeper into would be Michigan vs Penn State. The largely anticipated game did not disappoint taking place at Penn State. A very heavy-packed game consisting of over 100,000 people and Penn State all wearing white. Michigan was able to power through even with the loss of their head Coach Jim Harbaugh, this really fired up the Wolverines. Michigan’s player Blake Corum warmed up with a ski mask and ended the game with a banged-up bloody nose. More on Michigan’s head coach, he has been suspended for three games after stealing other teams’ signs. Michigan ended up powering through No.9 Penn State beating them 24-15
Another interesting game that rose from Week 11 would be Texas Tech vs Kansas this was a massive upset and a very close one at that. Many players showed up during this intense game for example Texas Tech Runningback Tahj Brooks ran for 133 yards and had a TD to help Texas Tech get their upset, another player that is credited with the dagger would be Texas Tech’s kicker Gino Garcia kicking a 30-yard winning field goal to lead to a big upset against Kansas
Week 12:
Week 12 had very few upsets. One game in particular was Appalachian State at James Madison. At the time, James Madison was 18th in the AP rankings. They were also undefeated until this game. James Madison is currently on a two-year transitioning period because they switched conferences. This means that they will not be able to make the playoffs. They submitted a request to the NCAA, but it was denied. The game ended in overtime with a win from App State. Joey Aguilar, quarterback for App State ended with three touchdown passes and threw for 318 yards.
Another exciting and close game was Washington at Oregon State. The final score was 22-20, with Washington taking the win. Washington ended up getting a safety in the first quarter which would help them in the end. The safety that they scored, earning the 2 points, helped them with their 22-20 final score. Michael Penix Jr. had a great game with 2 touchdown passes and 162 throwing yards. He is in contention for the Heisman Trophy and could win if he keeps his stats up for the rest of the season.
Week 13:
Week 13 had some spectacular games, two of which were Ohio State at Michigan and Alabama at Auburn. Ohio State at Michigan was one of if not the most anticipated match-ups of the season. This is probably the biggest rivalry in all of college football and is a must-see game every year. Michigan Stadium was packed, with over 110,000 people in attendance. Michigan and Ohio State were both highly ranked coming into the game, as Ohio State was ranked 2nd and Michigan was ranked 3rd. Michigan was still missing Head Coach Jim Harbaugh for this game. Ohio State and Michigan exchanged scores in the first half, but Michigan came out with a narrow lead of 14-10 at halftime. The teams continued to go back and forth scoring, at one point in the 3rd quarter it was tied 17-17 but ultimately Michigan came out with the win 30-24.
Another exciting game was Alabama at Auburn. This is another great rivalry, especially because they are in-state rivals. This rivalry has produced great moments over the years, most notably the ‘Kick-Six’ in 2013. Although Auburn is unranked and Alabama is 8th anything can happen in this rivalry. This was a very close game, by halftime Alabama was winning 17-14. In the second half, Auburn scored 10 unanswered points and were up 24-20 with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Auburn had a 99.9% chance of winning the game with 43 seconds left, but then Jalen Milroe found Isaiah Bond in the endzone for a 31-yard game-winning touchdown to give Alabama the lead with 32 seconds left. Alabama ended up winning 27-24.
Week 14 Predictions
Our predictions for three of the top games this week:
- Georgia at Alabama
- Matthew – Georgia
- Thomas – Alabama
- Oliver – Georgia
- Oregon at Washington
- Matthew – Washington
- Thomas – Washington
- Oliver – Oregon
- Louisville at Florida State
- Matthew – Florida State
- Thomas – Florida State
- Oliver – Florida State
