College Football Week 14 Recap

Let's recap my bold predictions from championship week:

1. Favorites all win in SEC, ACC, Pac 12 championship games

Alabama and Clemson locked up spots in the top 4 with wins in their respective conference title games, while Stanford claimed a Pac 12 title and Rose Bowl berth with their victory over USC.  It didn't leave any room for Ohio State, or anyone else for that matter, to sneak into the playoffs.  You can draw conclusions from the rankings as to whether the Buckeyes had a real shot to make it in, even if there was chaos, but you'd be speculating either way.

2. Temple upsets Houston

I was right that Temple would hold Houston to just 24 points, but the Owls' offense couldn't muster enough firepower to turn it into a victory.  Cougars won 24 - 13, thereby earning an AAC title and the opportunity to play Florida State in the Peach Bowl.

3. I will be sad because there is no Buckeye football

:'(

4. Iowa topples MSU, wins Big Ten

It was indeed a close, defensive struggle, and even lower scoring than I anticipated.  But in the end, the Hawkeyes couldn't stop Michigan State when it mattered most, as the Spartans drove down the field to score the game-winning touchdown with seconds left on the clock.  As a result, MSU heads to the playoffs while Iowa gets a trip to the Rose Bowl.

5. Everybody agrees with the CFP committee's top 4

Believe it or not, pretty much everyone did agree with the committee's top 4.  And anyone who doesn't agree suffers from an a obvious bias.  There are plenty who might argue the order or whether 4 is the right number (it's not), but a lack of chaos in week 14 made it easy for the committee, as there is indeed a clear-cut top 4.

Week 14 record: 3 - 2
Overall record: 21.5 - 48.5

Other headlines from week 14:

Heisman finalists announced

It's down to just three players for the most prestigious individual award in college football.  The players heading to New York are: Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, Alabama running back Derrick Henry, and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.  McCaffrey is a do-it-all player with a ridiculous 3,496 all-purpose yards.  Henry is your typical workhorse back and is on the verge of 2,000 rushing yards.  Watson is a dangerous dual-threat QB who has accounted for more than 40 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards of offense while leading the Tigers to a perfect 13 - 0 season.  My money is on McCaffrey to come away with the hardware.

Other awards doled out

Speaking of hardware, here's a nice tracker on ESPN that shows which players have taken home the individual awards for different categories.  It's worth noting that conference awards are left off of here.  So I want to point out that even though Ezekiel Elliott didn't get an invite to New York for the Heisman trophy ceremony, he was given the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's best player in 2015.

Navy searches for first 10 win season since 2009

The Midshipmen have had a special year, led by senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds.  While most teams prepare for their bowl game (if they were fortunate enough to earn a bowl bid), Navy and Army get set to square off in their annual end-of-year rivalry game.  They boast mirror records of 9 - 2 and 2 - 9, but you can bet that neither team will be taking this game lightly.