CFB Blitz: Week 14 takeaways

College Football Blitz recaps the most important developments from the weekend's top games and examines their significance moving forward.

DeBoer gambles for Iron Bowl win

Kalen DeBoer has demonstrated time and again that he's a gambling man, but even that qualifier didn't prepare us for the end of Saturday's Iron Bowl. Alabama seemed destined to kick a short field goal to break a 20-20 tie and then rely on the defense to hold for the final 3:50.

DeBoer may not have been in Tuscaloosa long. Still, even he knows that weird stuff happens at the end of the Iron Bowl. Armed with that knowledge, the second-year coach opted to go for it on fourth-and-2, a decision that proved genius when Ty Simpson found Isaiah Horton for the eventual game-winning score.

That wasn't the only time DeBoer gambled on the game-winning drive, as Simpson converted a weaving fourth-and-1 run on the Auburn 48 earlier. Had that failed, the Tigers would have needed just 20 yards to be in field goal range.

The Crimson Tide raced out to a 17-0 lead before allowing Auburn to come back thanks to a couple explosive plays. Simpson and the passing attack looked lost for a large portion of the second half but rose to the occasion when needed down the stretch. That was enough to book a SEC title game matchup with Georgia - a contest the Tide won earlier in the year.

Wait, 7-5 Duke is playing for the ACC title?

We've called the ACC the All Chaos Conference this season, and the title-game matchup is the perfect example of how absurd the league has been in 2025. The following teams won't play for the conference title next week in Charlotte:

• 10-2 Miami
• 9-3 Georgia Tech
• 8-4 Pitt
• 8-4 SMU
• 8-4 Wake Forest
• 8-4 Louisville

Virginia clinched its spot in next week's game by finishing off a 10-2 season with a win over Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers' opponent will somehow be 7-5 Duke thanks to its win over Wake Forest earlier in the day and an incredible number of tiebreakers that went in the Blue Devils' favor. While Manny Diaz's outfit has five losses on the season, only two came in conference play. That rendered setbacks to Illinois, UConn, and Tulane meaningless, and Miami's earlier win over Pitt meant Duke was in if Cal knocked off SMU late Saturday.

That looked very likely as the Golden Bears raced out to a 31-14 lead - until the Mustangs roared back to take a 35-31 advantage in the dying minutes. It wouldn't be the All Chaos Conference if that's how things ended, so Cal promptly stormed down the field and scored the game-winning touchdown to punch the Blue Devils' ticket.

Duke's inclusion means there is now a very real chance that the ACC champion is left out of the CFP field altogether. The format takes the top-five conference champions as automatic bids. Should the Blue Devils beat Virginia next week, the committee would likely opt for the winner of the American title game between North Texas and Tulane and 12-1 James Madison if it wins the Sun Belt.

It's ugly, it's close, it's Oklahoma

Seven days ago, this is how we described Oklahoma after a narrow win over Missouri:

It's clear that Oklahoma's defense can keep the team in any game regardless of the opponent. Unfortunately, its offensive struggles make it damn near impossible to pull away.

Rinse and repeat as the Sooners barely escaped at home against LSU. For almost 56 minutes of action Saturday, it looked like the Tigers would pull off the upset and oust Oklahoma from the playoff. Instead, Isaiah Sategna III played the role of savior to lock up a postseason spot.

While that pass was one of two touchdown tosses for John Mateer, the Washington State transfer also threw three interceptions. A turnover-prone quarterback plus a nonexistent running game is not the recipe for a successful offense, as was on full display. Once again, the defense bailed the Sooners out by holding LSU to just 198 yards of total offense.

The playoff awaits. Regardless of opponent, two things are guaranteed for the Sooners game: It will be ugly, and it will be close. That's quickly becoming the Oklahoma Way under Brent Venables.

Ohio State flexes full power in emphatic win

Admit it: For a brief moment Saturday, we were all thinking, "Is Michigan going to do this again?" After a field goal on the opening drive put the Wolverines up 3-0, Julian Sayin's second pass of the game was picked and set the hosts up in great position to take an immediate 10-0 lead in The Game. However, this is 2025 - not even the ghost of rivalry games past can scare the Ohio State juggernaut.

First, it was the dominant defense's time to shine, with Matt Patricia's standout group immediately standing tall to hold Michigan to another field goal from the 7-yard line. That's as close as the Wolverines would get to the end zone the rest of the way. The final numbers: nine points, 163 total yards allowed, and just nine first downs. Ohio State completes the regular season with zero opponents scoring more than 16 points. It's tough to pick a better offseason hire than Ryan Day naming Patricia the defensive coordinator following Jim Knowles' exit.

Interceptions have been a major issue for the Buckeyes versus Michigan the last three years, with three different quarterbacks throwing two each. Despite the early pick, Sayin kept himself off the list with a brilliant performance. The first-year starter went 19-for-24 after the interception for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Yes, it helps to have future NFL first-rounders Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate embarrassing defenders, but Sayin was outstanding throughout.

The main criticism of Day versus Michigan over the last four years has been the Buckeyes' inability to match the Wolverines' physicality. Given that history, you could almost feel Day's sense of relief on the second-last drive of the game through the television screen. Ohio State launched an outrageous 20-play, 81-yard drive that took 11:56 off the clock and extended the lead to its final 18-point margin. In total, the Buckeyes outgained Michigan 198 to 39 in the second half and held the ball for 23:40 of a possible 30 minutes. That's how a physical team closes out a road win.

Oregon's scary receiver depth

With receiver injuries decimating Oregon in recent weeks, the Ducks have leaned heavily into their power running game to score huge wins over Iowa and USC. Washington clearly watched that film - the Huskies repeatedly stacked the box Saturday, daring Dante Moore to beat them through the air. Turns out, the Ducks' backup receivers ain't exactly dudes off the street.

Moore shredded the Washington secondary for 286 yards, including 64 on this ridiculous display of speed by Malik Benson.

The dominant Oregons defense piled up four sacks and six tackles for loss on the day, and the Ducks will cruise into the CFP for the second straight season.

While Dan Lanning would love to be playing in the Big Ten title game next weekend, the break should actually help Oregon in its quest for the national title. If Dakorien Moore and Gary Bryant Jr. are able to return for the first-round playoff matchup, the Ducks would easily run out one of the deepest receiver units in the nation.

Miami solves its Notre Dame CFP problem

Miami's 38-7 pantsing of Pitt on Saturday makes the CFP committee's decision easy: If Notre Dame is going to be in the playoff, the Hurricanes also need to be in the field of 12.

Provided the Fighting Irish win late Saturday night at Stanford, Miami and Notre Dame will finish with identical 10-2 records. Sure, Marcus Freeman's outfit has boatraced everyone since Week 2's one-point loss to Texas A&M, but the Hurricanes haven't exactly been squeezing past opponents. Since the committee cited Miami's struggles to put away opponents earlier this year, the team has won four straight games by at least 17 points.

Toss in any metric you like, but if only one of these programs is making the CFP, the determining factor should be Miami defeating Notre Dame in Week 1. The importance of the head-to-head matchup must be upheld in this scenario to justify playing games in the first place.

Miami did everything it needed to do this week and got some help from Louisville and Texas. The Cardinals' blowout win over Kentucky took some of the stink off the Hurricanes' loss at home to Louisville earlier this year. The Longhorns handling Texas A&M, meanwhile, makes Notre Dame's home loss to the Aggies look worse.

Our solution to this is simple: Put both teams in the field and take out the fifth- or sixth-best SEC team.

Florida State's really running this back?

Nobody would blame Florida State if it claimed this week's announcement that Mike Norvell would be back for 2026 was a joke. It's the only logical reaction to the Seminoles' effort Saturday in the annual rivalry game against lowly Florida. For as bad as Florida State has been this year - and it's been bad - the Gators' season has been even worse. You'd never know it from the result in The Swamp, with Jadan Baugh running all over the Seminoles for 266 yards in a 40-21 blowout win. The loss not only guaranteed Florida State wouldn't go to a bowl game, it also marked a new low for the program.

The game result isn't the only difference between the two teams, as the Gators saw things were going poorly and fired Billy Napier midseason. The Seminoles went the other way and decided to retain Norvell. You tell me which decision was the right one.

Vanderbilt's dreamy new reality

We learned an important lesson Saturday in Knoxville: Nobody can prevent Vanderbilt from winning 10 games for 122 years in a row. The Commodores had never reached double-digit wins in 121 years of football, but they finally accomplished the feat with an eye-popping blowout of Tennessee on the road. Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Diego Pavia was borderline unstoppable and should be considered a real threat to win the Heisman Trophy.

Pavia has unquestionably been the best player in the nation since the calendar flipped to November. The senior quarterback is on an immense four-game tear.

At the very least, Pavia has likely locked up an invite to the Heisman ceremony in New York, but the talented passer would likely trade that for a playoff berth. The Commodores probably need some favorable results Saturday night to aid them in that quest. Still, just the fact that Vanderbilt has 10 wins and a Heisman candidate is strange to read.

Texas Tech: King of the blowout

Pop quiz: What's your favorite Texas Tech win by less than 22 points this year?

If you're struggling with the answer, it's because there isn't one - all 11 wins this season have been by at least that margin. We might need to start putting parental advisory warnings on Red Raiders games. Saturday's 49-0 win at West Virginia didn't just emphatically clinch Texas Tech's spot in the Big 12 title game, it also handed the Mountaineers their first shutout since 2001.

The only loss for Texas Tech this season came on the road at Arizona State without starting quarterback Behren Morton. He was an efficient 25-for-32 for 310 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, but the story was once again the defense. The Red Raiders added nine more tackles for loss Saturday, which is outrageous considering the Mountaineers only ran 54 plays in the contest.

A rematch with BYU awaits in the Big 12 title game - the second time Texas Tech will meet the Cougars in the last month. The first was a dominant 29-7 victory where the score somehow still flattered BYU. Regardless of who hoists the trophy next Saturday, Texas Tech's body of work is more than deserving of a playoff spot.

Arch has his moment

How you feel about Arch Manning's stat line versus Texas A&M shows whether you watched the game or just checked the box score and fired off a take.

Manning completed 14-of-29 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown on the Aggies. That doesn't scream superstar, but if you watched closely, you saw the Houdini act he had to pull off on almost every dropback.

Although the Aggies posted five quarterback hurries and sacked Manning twice, he was largely able to extend plays and avoid the pressure. His elite athleticism wasn't only on display when he got himself out of trouble - his 35-yard touchdown run in the second half was a backbreaker for Texas A&M.

We'll tackle the Texas playoff question later this week, but if Arch is going to play at this level, the Longhorns could be a nightmare in the 12-team field.

We probably overrated Texas A&M

Somebody out there is going to drop the take that Texas A&M is a fraud after its loss at Texas on Friday. It won't be us. However, it's probably fair to say the Aggies were among the more overrated teams in the top 25 this season.

Texas A&M's best win came at Notre Dame in Week 2, when a missed extra point by the Irish accounted for the difference in a 41-40 thriller. That's about the only quality win on the Aggies' schedule. The rest of it fell apart through no fault of their own.

In Texas A&M's eight conference games, the team played seven of the bottom eight teams in the SEC standings. Four of the Aggies' opponents had either fired their coach or would fire their coach shortly after their meeting. Missouri was down to a third-string true freshman quarterback for their matchup, and the Aggies needed the biggest comeback in program history to beat South Carolina. The one SEC opponent that Texas A&M played from the top half of the league standings was Texas - the only team that beat the Aggies.

Ole Miss unfazed by Lane circus

Egg Bowl Friday started with Lane Kiffin telling the SEC Network that someone broke into the Ole Miss locker room at 3:00 a.m. to steal Trinidad Chambliss' jersey. It ended with Kiffin going after a reporter for comments he'd made earlier in the week. In between, there was essentially a three-hour discussion about where Kiffin would coach next season and multiple on-field interviews with college football's most popular man.

Oh, and there was also a football game - one that the Rebels dominated to essentially clinch a CFP spot for the first time in school history. Somehow, despite living with a circus in the middle of the program, Ole Miss continues to perform on the field, leaving little doubt it's deserving of an at-large playoff bid.

Yes, Kiffin's job nonsense has been a sideshow, but the team once again showed why every athletic director is swiping right on the Rebels coach. Ole Miss dominated its local rival, putting up over 540 total yards of offense led by Chambliss and Kewan Lacy once again.

Now we wait to see who will coach the Rebels next time they take the field, whether it's in the SEC title game or the playoff. Regardless of who leads them out of the tunnel, expect them to be ready and deliver a quality performance.

Nebraska probably regrets Rhule extension

News broke Oct. 30 that Nebraska had signed Matt Rhule to an extension through the 2032 season. A month later, the Cornhuskers have cratered and will finish the campaign 7-5 after getting blown out at home by Iowa.

Friday's embarrassing setback sinks Rhule's record to 0-3 versus Iowa and makes Nebraska 1-3 since he signed his extension. While that timeline runs parallel to the loss of Dylan Raiola, the starting quarterback's absence shouldn't cause the defense to essentially quit. Nebraska allowed 77 points in its last two games and let the opposition score at least 27 in five Big Ten games this season.

Two things can be true of Rhule in Lincoln: He's been a vast improvement for a program that won five games or less for six straight years before he took over, and he's woefully underperformed for a coach making the 15th-highest salary in the sport, according to USA Today.

On the surface, a 7-5 record may not be a huge cause for concern, but the Cornhuskers avoided the Big Ten's top three teams and got to host both Michigan and USC.