Week 14 provided much-needed clarity to the national picture in college football, and simplified the job of selecting the Final Four teams for the College Football Playoff Committee. Florida State extended its unbeaten streak to 28, and is in with a win over Georgia Tech in Charlotte next weekend. Alabama clinched the SEC West, and gains another spot with a win over Missouri in the SEC Championship Game. Oregon is a payback win against Arizona away from claiming the third spot. The mystery surrounds the fourth and final spot. Ohio State took a step forward by beating Michigan, but perhaps also took a half-step back by losing quarterback J.T. Barrett for the season because of a broken ankle. TCU maintains a superior resume-based edge over Baylor in the Big-12, but the Bears may be able to move ahead of the Horned Frogs with a solid win over Kansas State next weekend at home. This week’s LWOS rankings are closer than ever, even yielding a tie near the top of the standings.
LWOS Week 14 College Football Rankings
| 1 | Florida State (6) | A hard-fought win during rivalry week over Florida means that Florida State will go into the ACC Championship Game against Georgia Tech as the only undefeated team in the country. A win brings them to the CFP. – Matthew Atkinson | |
| 2 (tie) | Alabama (3) | Boy, Alabama sure looked vulnerable in the Iron Bowl this weekend, especially the secondary. But a win’s a win, especially during Rivalry Week. Can surprising SEC East champ Mizzou take advantage of the Tide’s weakness with Maty Mauk at the helm? – Michael Gray | |
| 2 (tie) | Oregon (3) | After an impressive showing in the annual “Civil War” rivalry game against Oregon State, the Ducks are one win away from a spot in the first College football Playoff. If they can beat Arizona in the Pac-12 title game, they will be on their way to the playoff. – Elijah Klein | |
| 4 | TCU (1) | With Mississippi State losing and Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett missing the rest of the season, the Horned Frogs are knocking on the playoffs’ doors. A big win against Iowa State could cement their place as one of the final four. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 5 | Baylor | The Bears have College Gameday coming to town next week. Rightfully so, this is a proving game for Baylor. Baylor will need to thump Kansas State the same way TCU did to make the four-team playoff. – Connor Ferguson | |
| 6 | Ohio State | The Buckeyes got a stern test from fierce rival Michigan but pulled away in the end en route to another undefeated regular season in the Big Ten. Unfortunately, it was revealed afterwards that the injury J.T. Barrett suffered in the 4th quarter was a season-ending fractured ankle which could put a major damper on OSU’s CFP hopes. – John Bava | |
| 7 | Arizona | Arizona has made it to the Pac-12 Championship Game. A convincing win over rival ASU and a UCLA loss sent Arizona to fight Oregon in Santa Clara this Friday. The Wildcats are playing for a shot to be in the inaugural College Football Playoff. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 8 | Michigan State | A strong showing at Penn State completed a ten-win season and a berth in one of the big bowl games for Michigan State. However, the season will still be remembered for the Ohio State loss. – Matthew Atkinson | |
| 9 | Kansas State | Kansas State’s Big 12 title hopes are slim, but alive. The Wildcats will have a big say in the CFP Committee’s Final Four deliberations, though, as they travel to Waco to take on Baylor in the season’s final week. – Donald King | |
| 10 | Wisconsin | The Badgers crack the Top 10 and are looking at Ohio State’s third-string quarterback as their only impediment to a Big Ten title and a major bowl. They’ve gotten over their shocking loss to Northwestern very well. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 11 | Mississippi State | Mississippi State had their SEC West fate decided when they lost the Egg Bowl 31-17 to Ole Miss on Saturday. For a moment it looked like it would cost them a trip to Atlanta, but Alabama pulled out the win over Auburn anyway. Mississippi State must now bounce back in their bowl game, even with rumors swirling around their head coach. A 10-2 season is already cause for celebration in Starksville, but they want #11. – Charlie Taylor | |
| 12 | Georgia Tech | The Yellow Jackets keep winning and winning, with their latest victim being the rival Georgia Bulldogs. Next up is an ACC Championship date against Florida State, who has continually kept games close to the chest. – Anthony Murphy | |
| 13 | Mississippi | The Rebels pulled off an amazing win over rival Mississippi State this weekend. As the season comes to a close, all Ole Miss can do is sit back and wait to see which bowl game they will play in. – Elijah Klein | |
| 14 | UCLA | UCLA came up short on Friday after a 31-10 beating at home against Stanford. The Bruins, once containing an outside shot at the playoffs, finished the regular season at 9-3 with hopes for a Holiday/Alamo Bowl matchup. – Kaden Kotinek | |
| 15 | Georgia | The Georgia Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaker in OT to their rival Georgia Tech. Missouri had already clinched the SEC East before the game. At 9-3, Coach Richt must pull his team together and motivate them to be ready to play in whatever bowl game they receive an invitation to. – Charlie Taylor | |
| 16 | Missouri | Props to Mizzou for winning out after a disheartening and brutal beat down at the hands of UGA. Mizzou will look to put a major wrench in the College Football Playoff picture next week in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. – Michael Gray | |
| 17 | Oklahoma | The Sooners take an 8-3 record into the last week of the regular season, trying to prevent their rivals in Stillwater from making a bowl game. – Connor Ferguson | |
| 18 | Clemson | It must feel good to break a 5-game losing streak and send your bitter rival to a 6-6 record all at the same time. Clemson had its ups and downs this season, but they certainly ended it on the right foot. – Michael Gray | |
| 19 | Louisville | Louisville managed to hold on against Kentucky and they finished the regular season at 9-3. They finished third in the ACC Atlantic division and will be ranked nationally heading into bowl season. – Al Preziosi | |
| 20 | Auburn | The slide continues for Auburn, as they played their best half of the season but let Alabama slip away in the second half. While they hang in the Top 25, the Malzahn magic is officially gone. – Mike Loveall | |
| 21 | Arizona State | The loss to Arizona was disastrous for Arizona State, as they missed out on the chance to win the Pac-12 South and allowed their rival to achieve the feat in the process. They finished third in the Pac-12 South at 9-3 and they will remain in the committee’s national rankings as they head into bowl season. – Al Preziosi | |
| 22 | Boise State | This is not quite the Boise State team of a few years ago, but they are just one win away from getting a shot at a top team in a major bowl. The Broncos are still the cream of the non-AQ, er… Group of 5 crop. – Yesh Ginsburg | |
| 23 | Nebraska | You witnessed a lot of fight from the Cornhuskers Friday against Iowa, erasing a 24-7 deficit and eventually winning in overtime 37-34. It wasn’t enough, however, to save the job of their embattled coach Bo Pelini, who was fired Sunday for too many nine-win seasons, I guess. Oh, those poor Husker fans. – John Bava | |
| 24 | Minnesota | Jerry Kill’s squad finished a solid season at 8-4, but must still feel disappointed at not having a chance to play for a B1G title after losing a tough game to Wisconsin. The Golden Gophers have earned a decent bowl as this season’s reward. – Donald King | |
| 25 | LSU | As one of the youngest teams in the league, LSU has gone largely unnoticed since losing two games early in the season. This team will a tough bowl match-up and will be much better for the ’15 campaign. – Mike Loveall | |
| Others receiving votes: USC (6), Utah (4), Duke (1) | |||
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