Saturday in Review: Week 14

The Frogs probably won't stop winning until they're beaten in
the playoffs. Chris Covatta/Getty Images

Another difficult weekend for Gator fans, another Saturday the Seminoles scrape by with a win. How typical of this season. The ACC did well against the SEC (a historical rarity), two playoff-favorites impressed, and one dropped out of the picture. Most teams have now finished their regular seasons as we now look forward to the conference championships, bowl games, and coaching carousel.

Let's go back to Thanksgiving. TCU crushed Texas in Austin. A win against Iowa State is likely the only thing separating the Horned Frogs from a playoff berth. Things weren't much happier over in College Station, where LSU topped the Aggies. LSU won by only six but it probably shouldn't have been that close. Still, the Tigers held onto the win, sealing it with a controversial interception when an offsides probably should have been called.

Nebraska won against the Hawkeyes in Iowa City, pushing their win total to nine. Yet, it wasn't enough to save Bo Pellini's job. The now-former Cornhuskers head coach won at least nine games in each of the seven seasons in which he led the team. But he never won a championship, something Nebraska fans expect from their program. Nebraska joins Florida as one of two high-profile schools with vacant head coaching positions (Michigan is expected to join them).

In one of the highest-scoring games of the year, Western Kentucky upset the undefeated Marshall Thundering Herd. This 67-66 overtime shootout left Florida State the only unbeaten team in the nation by the time it was over. UCF shut out South Florida in Tampa, though struggled scoring themselves.

Missouri keeps winning but their toughest test is still ahead of
them. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Yet again, the Missouri Tigers bested the odds and beat a good SEC team. The Tigers had to score 15 in the fourth quarter, but came away with a seven-point win over Arkansas. The win clinched the SEC East title for Mizzou. To nearly everyone's surprise, Stanford blew away UCLA in the Rose Bowl, eliminating the Bruins from Pac-12 championship contention. Shortly afterwards, Arizona completed a 42-35 victory over Arizona State, securing a spot in the conference championship game against Oregon. Colorado State dropped their regular season finale to Air Force, handing Boise State their golden opportunity to win the Mountain West.

For the first time in six years, Clemson conquered their rival South Carolina. Not only did the Tigers best the Gamecocks convincingly, they did it while playing freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson with a torn ACL. The Clemson defense, who have played well virtually all year, held one of the SEC's best offenses to only 17 points. Just 80 miles west, Georgia Tech found a way to beat Georgia. The Bulldogs went up 24-21 with only 18 seconds left. Somehow, the Yellow Jackets got into field goal range, where Harrison Butker nailed a 53-yarder. In overtime, Georgia Tech got the ball first and scored an easy touchdown. After the PAT was blocked, GT led by only six. A touchdown and a PAT would have given Georgia the win, but Hutson Mason threw a pick and the Ramblin' Wreck earned their second win over Georgia since 2001. Kentucky hung around, but Louisville came out tops in the Commonwealth.

We saw that home field matters when Ole Miss knocked off Mississippi State in Oxford. The Rebels have effectively killed the Bulldogs' hopes of sliding into the playoffs. Halfback Jaylen Walton and tight end Evan Engram stepped up for the Rebels, both recording career days in their victorious effort.

The Gators, like so many teams this year, had their shot at
downing the Seminoles. But, like all the others, their effort
came short of victory. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Once again, Florida State found a way not to lose. It's like they don't know how. Florida, meanwhile, played a game that perfectly epitomizes the Gators under Muschamp. The defense played spectacular. The offense, for the most part, played well enough to actually win. Even the special teams were good. But a handful of offensive miscues turned what should have been a win into a frustrating defeat.

As mentioned before, the Gator defense was inspired. They reduced one of the country's most effective passing offenses to 125 yards. As a compromise, the Seminoles (mostly Dalvin Cook) rushed for more yards than they usually do and the Gator defense yielded more than usual. Still, the FSU offense was limited to just 17 points (the Gator offense, with help, scored 19). The Gator defense forced four interceptions, a career high for Jameis Winston. Brian Poole picked off two of those balls. Austin Hardin did well enough, kicking four field goals and keeping the Gators in the game (even though he missed two long ones). Treon Harris didn't have a great game but played well enough to win and better than his Heisman-winning counterpart. The Noles did a good job containing the Gator rushing attack; Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones only combined for 3.0 yards per carry.

Through interceptions, long pass completions, and Austin Hardin, Florida jumped to a 9-0 lead. Poole then intercepted a ball with the Seminoles deep in their own territory. With first and goal from the nine, Treon Harris rolled out and tossed a ball to Tevin Westbrook. Westbrook, notorious for dropping a go-ahead touchdown pass late in the game against LSU, let the ball bounce off his fingers again and into the hands of Seminole linebacker Terrance Smith. Smith returned it all the way for a touchdown. The Gators should have gone up 16-0 or at least 12-0. Instead, the lead was only 9-7.

The second quarter was the only one in which the Seminoles found any sort of offensive success. Winston found Nick O'Leary only four times on the day, but two of those receptions were good for touchdowns. With about a minute left in the second, FSU was up 21-9, looking to pull away for good. But the Gator defense made a stop, forcing the Noles to punt with little time left in the half. Florida's punt return team brought the rush, forcing Cason Beatty to fumble on his own 15-yard-line. Clay Burton caught a perfect pass in the end-zone and both teams went into halftime with the Noles up 21-16.

In a script that has been repeated across his head coaching
career, Muschamp's team played excellent defense, made
plays on offense and special teams, but made one too many
errors to win the big game. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Gators got the ball first to start the third and put together their longest drive of the game (only 44 yards). It ended in a field goal and the Gators cut the lead to 21-19. A few more drives by both teams stuttered before the Noles started to get things rolling again. Suddenly, Winston threw a terrible pass which was intercepted again by Poole. Poole could probably have returned it for a touchdown by running to the right side of the field; instead, he ran through the middle, where Winston tackled him. The Gator offense stalled but gave Hardin a chance to give his team the lead on a long field-goal. The kicker missed, barely wide right.

The Seminoles clung to their two-point lead entering the fourth. After another long field-goal was missed by Hardin, the Noles got the ball. The ensuing drive ended with a Roberto Aguayo field goal, and FSU went up 24-19 with only 3:23 remaining. The Gator offense would get the ball back, and with a couple timeouts left, had plenty of time to put together a game-winning drive. Inexplicably, the following drive consisted only of pass plays. The Gator receivers never got open enough for Harris until a final fourth and ten play at midfield. Demarcus Robinson got wide open down by the Seminole's 30, but Harris's pass was just behind him. The Seminoles got the ball back and ran out the clock.

Wisconsin won the Axe, beating Minnesota in a game that decided the Big Ten West. Melvin Gordon completed his regular season with 2,260 rushing yards. That figure is surpassed only by Barry Sanders, Kevin Smith, and Marcus Allen. Vanderbilt fell to Tennessee, granting the Volunteers bowl eligibility. Tennessee was the 12th and final SEC team to earn its sixth win. Georgia Southern finished their first-ever FBS season with a perfect 8-0 conference record and Sun Belt Championship. The Eagles forwent a divisional transition year, something they obviously did not require.

The Iron Bowl once again lived up to expectations, proving to be entertaining for at least the first three quarters. The Tide pulled away at the end, but ended up yielding 44 points to the Tigers. Combined with Alabama's 55, those 99 points were the most ever in an Iron Bowl. With Mississippi State's loss, Alabama clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game. They will be heavy favorites over Mizzou. Oregon scored quite a few points against their in-state rivals too. The Ducks flew past the Beavers and look for revenge against an Arizona team that beat them earlier this year.

State of Florida:

• UCF (8-3) over South Florida (4-8), 27-17 16-0
• Old Dominion (6-6) over Florida Atlantic (3-9), 32-29 31-28
• Florida (6-5) over #1 Florida State (12-0), 31-27 24-19
• Miami (6-6) over Pittsburgh (6-6), 33-30 35-23
• FIU (4-8), END OF SEASON

Southeastern Conference:

• LSU (8-4) over Texas A&M (7-5), 34-31 23-17
• Arkansas (6-6) over #17 Missouri (10-2), 23-20 21-14
• South Carolina (6-6) over #23 Clemson (9-3), 35-28 35-17
• #8 Georgia (9-3) over #16 Georgia Tech (10-2), 38-31 30-24 (OT)
• #24 Louisville (9-3) over Kentucky (5-7), 38-24 44-40
• #4 Mississippi State (10-2) over #18 Mississippi (9-3), 21-13 31-17
• Tennessee (6-6) over Vanderbilt (3-9), 35-14 24-17
• #2 Alabama (11-1) over #15 Auburn (8-4), 24-17 55-44

Top 25:

• Texas (6-6) over #6 TCU (10-1), 25-23 48-10
• #19 Marshall (11-1) over Western Kentucky (7-5), 35-13 67-66 (OT)
• #12 Arizona (10-2) over #13 Arizona State (9-3), 38-34 42-35
• #9 UCLA (9-3) over Stanford (7-5), 34-17 31-10
• #21 Colorado State (10-2) over Air Force (9-3), 34-20 27-24
• #7 Ohio State (11-1) over Michigan (5-7), 42-13 42-28
• #5 Baylor (10-1) over Texas Tech (4-8), 52-28 48-46
• #10 Michigan State (10-2) over Penn State (6-6), 34-13 34-10
• #14 Wisconsin (10-2) over #22 Minnesota (8-4), 31-24 34-24
• #11 Kansas State (9-2) over Kansas (3-9), 45-20 51-13
• #3 Oregon (11-1) over Oregon State (5-7), 45-24 47-19
• #25 Boise State (10-2) over Utah State (9-4), 34-27 50-19
• #20 Oklahoma (8-3), BYE

Week 14 Record: 14-10 (58%)

Season Record: 193-83 (70%)