UK & Ireland College Football Media Top 25 Rankings: Week 14
By Simon Carroll
If the AP or CFP committe can’t get it right, then perhaps we can!
Since the start of the 2022 season, some of the UK & Ireland’s most talented writers, content creators and students of the college game have combined to deliver their own weekly set of college football rankings. The UK & Ireland CFB Media Top 25 is announced every Monday evening, and today we can bring you the standings after Week 14. Buckle up – there’s a surprise or two!
2024 - Week 14
- OREGON DUCKS (1-0, =)
- TEXAS LONGHORNS (1-0, ↑1)
- PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (1-0, ↑1)
- NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (1-0, ↑1)
- GEORGIA BULLDOGS (1-0, ↑1)
- SMU MUSTANGS (1-0, ↑1)
- OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (1-0, ↓5)
- TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (1-0, ↑1)
- INDIANA HOOSIERS (1-0, ↑2)
- BOISE STATE BRONCOS (1-0, =)
- ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (1-0, ↑1)
- MIAMI HURRICANES (1-0, ↓4)
- ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (1-0, ↑1)
- IOWA STATE CYCLONES (1-0, ↑2)
- SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS (1-0, ↑2)
- OLE MISS REBELS (1-0, ↑2)
- BYU COUGARS (1-0, ↓2)
- CLEMSON TIGERS (1-0, ↓5)
- ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (2-0, ↑1)
- UNLV REBELS (1-0, ↑2)
- COLORADO BUFFALOES (0-1, ↑4)
- ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI (1-0, ↑1)
- MISSOURI TIGERS (1-0, NE)
- SYRACUSE ORANGE (1-0, NE)
- MEMPHIS TIGERS (1-0, NE)
*NE – New Entrant. Teams dropping out: Kansas State, Tulane, Texas A&M. Others receiving votes: Texas A&M, Louisiana, Tulane, Ohio, Kansas State, Louisville
TAKEAWAYS
No Holds Barred As Rivalry Week Doesn't Disappoint
Week 14, if you’re a college football fan, is simply a weekend you cannot miss. Not only have you got the playoffs and bowl season on the line for a lot of programs, but traditionally the final weekend of the regular season is reserved for rivalry games. In-state foes fighting for some odd trophy or trinket result in very feisty games that can get easily out of hand – you can taste the bad blood through the TV screen.
The 2024 version of rivalry weekend didn’t just maintain the standard, it cranked it up to new heights. We had at least four flag planting attempts on enemy soil, brawls in the Egg Bowl, Iron Bowl and Territorial Cup, an all-out war in the middle of the field in ‘The Game’, a punch to the helmet in the battle for the ‘Jeweled Shillelagh’, and EIGHT overtimes in a matchup simply known as ‘clean, old fashioned hate’. What’s not to like?
At this time of year, when competitiveness goes too far and turns a little nasty, we often here phrases like ‘classless’, ‘unbecoming’, and my favourite, ‘not what we want to see’. OF COURSE IT’S WHAT WE WANT TO SEE. Inject it right into my boiling veins.
The 'Bid Thief' Phenomena
Okay. Let’s assume the UK & Ireland media pull the strings when it comes to voting, which they definitely should. Let’s also assume that their Week 14 rankings are the final standings, i.e. no movement after conference championship weekend. And, just for kicks, let’s make one FINAL assumption – that the higher-ranked team in those title games win. Here is how the first ever 12-team playoff bracket would look:
9 SEED: #8 Tennessee Volunteers @ 8 SEED: #7 Ohio State Buckeyes
Winner will face the 1 SEED: #1 Oregon Ducks
10 SEED: #9 Indiana Hoosiers @ 7 SEED: #5 Georgia Bulldogs
Winner will face the 2 SEED: #2 Texas Longhorns
11 SEED: #11 Arizona State Sun Devils @ 6 SEED: #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Winner will face the 3 SEED: #6 SMU Mustangs
12 SEED: #12 Miami Hurricanes @ 5 SEED: #3 Penn State Nittany Lions
Winner will face the 4 SEED: #10 Boise State Broncos
In this scenario, things are pretty straight forward; the top 12 teams are all in the playoffs, and only some modest adjustment for conference champion seedings is required. But as we know, football is a fickle sport, and there’s no guarantee that Oregon, Texas, SMU, Boise State and Arizona State win their respective title games. That opens up the possibility of a scenario that, until this year, was solely the indulgence of the expanded college BASKETBALL tournament – the ‘bid thief’ phenomena…
Forget the SEC and Big Ten for this exercise – little changes other than the pecking order if Penn State or Georgia won their conferences. But despite not being in the top 12, a path to the playoff still exists for #14 Iowa State, #18 Clemson and #20 UNLV – win their respective title games, and they are IN – no ifs or buts. And they would replace the lowest ranked teams ahead of them in the top 12, meaning programs like Miami are in a very precarious situation. These potential bid thieves add another dynamic to the playoffs, not to mention a dose of drama too.
