Ohio State, Oklahoma lead college football winners and losers in Week 14

Ohio State, Oklahoma lead college football winners and losers in Week 14Story byPaul Myerberg, USA TODAYSun, November 30, 2025 at 1:38 AM UTC·6 min read

The College Football Playoff picture got much clearer in Week 14.

No. 1 Ohio State survived a wobbly start and beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 to snap a four-game losing streak in the rivalry and book a spot opposite No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten championship game.

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On Friday, the Hoosiers swamped Purdue 56-3 to remain unbeaten heading into next Saturday’s clash at Lucas Oil Stadium.

The matchup for the Big 12 championship is also set after No. 7 Texas Tech blew away West Virginia 49-0 and No. 11 Brigham Young dug out of a 14-0 deficit in a 41-21 win against Central Florida.

The ACC and SEC won’t be decided until later on Saturday night. The deciding games in the ACC are No. 17 Virginia against Virginia Tech and No. 25 SMU against California. No. 13 Miami is looming after a 38-7 win against No. 24 Pittsburgh. Duke could also get in.

Over in the SEC, No. 10 Alabama can book a spot opposite No. 4 Georgia by winning the Iron Bowl against Auburn. In the case of a loss, the Bulldogs would face No. 6 Mississippi .

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Half of the most important Group of Five race was settled on Friday after No. 22 North Texas won 52-25 against Temple. With a win against Charlotte, No. 23 Tulane would meet the Green Wave with a College Football Playoff berth on the line.

Elsewhere, Jacksonville State will face Kennesaw State in the Conference USA championship game, Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio) in the MAC and No. 21 James Madison and Troy in the Sun Belt.

Computer rankings will be used to break a multiple-team tie atop the Mountain West.

As expected, rivalry weekend has brought the playoff race into focus. The Buckeyes, No. 8 Oklahoma and the Wolverines lead Saturday’s biggest winners and losers:

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Winners

Ohio State

There’s the obvious boost a win against Michigan will give the defending national champions heading into the Big Ten championship. There’s also the Heisman Trophy boost for quarterback Julian Sayin, who stumbled out of the gate but finished with 233 yards and three touchdowns. There’s also a big-time safety net: Ohio State can lose to Indiana and still draw a top four seed and an opening-round bye. Most of all, though, pushing around Michigan in Ann Arbor is the biggest statement to date from a team that has nearly gone wire to wire atop the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Ohio State players celebrate after their win against Michigan on the field at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025.

Oklahoma

Not the biggest win in program history, and certainly not the prettiest. But you can’t overstate the importance and beauty of a 17-13 win against LSU, which sends Oklahoma into the playoff as an at-large pick after being essentially written off as a contender heading into November. To do so, the Sooners had to overcome a sputtering offense that turned the ball over three times and ran for just 77 yards. They can credit a defense that time and again this season has carried the load, putting this team on their back to bounce back from a disappointing SEC debut. Look for Oklahoma to be a host in the opening round.

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Texas Tech and Brigham Young

Texas Tech completed a dominant run through conference play by destroying the Mountaineers. BYU fell behind early but eventually pulled away from feisty UCF, which was looking to secure bowl eligibility. The stage is set for a rematch of the Red Raiders’ 29-7 win earlier this month. The best-case scenario for the Big 12 has BYU winning a close game to land the automatic bid while Tech lands gently in an at-large spot.

Oregon

No. 5 Oregon muscled out a 26-14 win against Washington and will be the third Big Ten team in the playoff field, potentially as high as the No. 6 seed. After the committee raised some questions about a weaker strength of schedule in early November, the Ducks closed things out with wins against Iowa, No. 20 Southern California and the Huskies to put together a solid postseason résumé. While not as dominant as last year’s team, which went unbeaten and was the tournament’s top seed, Oregon looks capable of playing for and winning the national championship.

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Vanderbilt

No. 14 Vanderbilt emptied Neyland Stadium ahead of schedule and beat No. 18 Tennessee 45-24 to keep alive the dream of making the playoff as an at-large pick. While that will take some help, one thing is sure: Diego Pavia should be a Heisman finalist after throwing for 268 yards, running for 165 yards and willing the Commodores to double-digit wins for the first time. Regardless of the postseason destination, this has been the best year in program history.

Miami

Losses to Louisville and SMU could keep Miami out of the ACC championship. But the Hurricanes have done their part to be under heavy consideration for an at-large berth after beating the Panthers for a fourth win this year against a team that was ranked in the Coaches Poll at the time of the game. Another factor to keep in mind: Miami is rolling right now, winning four in a row by a combined score of 151-41 to end the year. That still might not be enough. But the Hurricanes deserve to play a big role in the how the committee approaches the tournament’s seven at-large bids.

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At-the-wire bowl teams

Eight teams secured a sixth win and postseason eligibility on Saturday, though conference tie-ins mean not every team is guaranteed a bowl bid. Those who came in just under the wire: Kansas State, Penn State, Delaware, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Texas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Army. Falling short, however, were Florida State, Central Florida, Kentucky and Baylor.

Losers

Michigan

The Wolverines were unable to match the Buckeyes’ physicality and had no chance of finding another avenue to a fifth series win in a row given the utter failures of the passing game. Quarterback Bryce Underwood finished just 8 of 18 for 63 yards with an interception and never pushed the ball downfield, let alone to the first-downs sticks. Meanwhile, Ohio State was able to combat the weather and Michigan’s early surge to perform a much-needed exorcism before facing high-powered Indiana. While a win would’ve given the Wolverines a shot at the Big Ten championship game and an at-large berth, they are now eliminated from playoff contention.

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Josh Heupel

Not every team is going to make the playoff every season. And it’s not like this has been an absolutely awful year: Tennessee still won eight games and spent a good chunk of the year in the playoff mix. But the Volunteers also beat nobody of consequence and dropped their four biggest games of the year, to Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. That won’t cost Josh Heupel his job, but he will be under increased scrutiny and pressure heading into next season.

Just thankful it’s over

Many teams are just happy to close the book on the 2025 season. That includes Colorado, which dropped to 3-9 with a loss to Kansas State, and Arkansas, which finished winless in the SEC after losing to Missouri. Also happy to be moving on: Wisconsin closed things out with a loss to Minnesota, Rutgers finished a very disappointing year by losing at home to Penn State, Liberty lost to Kennesaw State in double overtime and Syracuse dropped an eighth game in a row to Boston College and finished last in the ACC.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College football winners, losers of Week 14 led by Ohio State

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