The Scarlet and Gray

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CFP Rankings Hold at the Top as Oregon Rises; Mendoza Still the Heisman Pace-Setter

Marissa Bleday
November 25, 2025


The College Football Playoff committee didn’t rewrite the script at the top in its Week 14 rankings, but it did sharpen the picture in the middle, where Oregon’s double-overtime win over USC created just enough movement to rearrange the contenders without upsetting the heavyweights.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas A&M both handled business to keep their positions, while No. 3 Indiana stayed put during an idle week, a quiet Saturday that still felt like a win with chaos limited elsewhere. The most notable shakeup came just below them: Georgia climbed to No. 4, Oregon moved up to No. 5 after its 37-34 win over USC, and Ole Miss slid down to No. 6 after being idle.

The rest of the top 11 stayed frozen in place: No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 BYU all held their spots, setting up a final-week slate that will decide conference title paths and, for several teams, playoff security.

Behind them, the committee made room for winners and penalized the week’s few losers. Miami and Alabama each moved up two spots to Nos. 12 and 13, benefiting from USC’s drop and Georgia Tech’s stumble. Vanderbilt made one of the week’s biggest jumps, up three places to No. 14 after a 28-26 win over Kentucky, while Utah inched to No. 15 following a 45-14 victory over Kansas State.

USC fell from No. 12 to No. 16 after the loss at Oregon, and Arizona State slid in right behind at No. 17. Tennessee climbed three spots to No. 18 after a 42-35 win over Florida, Texas rose to No. 19 with a 38-31 win over Arkansas, and idle Virginia moved up to No. 20 ahead of a Georgia Tech team that fell from No. 13 to No. 21 after a 24-22 loss to Pitt. Formerly ranked Illinois and Missouri dropped out of the rankings with losses, the only two ranked teams to do so this week.

Tulane and SMU both won and rose to Nos. 22 and 23. North Texas (10-1) jumped into the rankings for the first time at No. 24, and Arizona (8-3) entered at No. 25 after beating Baylor.

Heisman Watch

In the Heisman race, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza didn’t play, but his résumé still towers over the field: 3,750 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns (tied for third nationally), 0 interceptions on 442 attempts, plus four rushing scores. Barring a dramatic late-season swing, the award remains his to lose.

One name worth monitoring as a late-stage mover: Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who has averaged 398 passing yards over his last two games and now faces a top-10 showdown with Michigan, and potentially a direct postseason stage against Mendoza if the Big Ten title game becomes the collision course it appears to be.

Rank	Team	Record	Last Week	Up Next
1	Ohio State	11-0	61-3 Win vs Rutgers	at #10 Michigan
2	Texas A&M	11-0	58-0 Win vs Samford	at #19 Texas
3	Georgia	10-1	38-0 Win vs Charlotte	vs #21 Georgia Tech
4	Indiana	11-0	Bye	at Purdue
5	Oregon	10-1	37-34 Win vs #16 USC	at Washington
6	Ole Miss	10-1	Bye	at Mississippi State
7	Oklahoma	9-2	41-9 Win vs Missouri	vs LSU
8	Texas Tech	10-1	Bye	at West Virginia
9	Notre Dame	9-2	47-20 Win vs Syracuse	at Stanford
10	Michigan	9-2	56-21 Win at Maryland	vs #1 Ohio State
11	BYU	10-1	42-7 Win at Cincinnati	vs UCF
12	Miami (FL)	9-2	34-27 Win at Virginia Tech	at Pittsburgh
13	Alabama	9-2	45-0 Win vs Eastern Illinois	at Auburn
14	Vanderbilt	9-2	28-26 Win vs Kentucky	at #18 Tennessee
15	Utah	9-2	45-14 Win vs Kansas State	at Kansas
16	USC	8-3	37-34 Loss at #5 Oregon	vs UCLA
17	Arizona State	8-3	42-7 Win at Colorado	vs #25 Arizona
18	Tennessee	8-3	42-35 Win at Florida	vs #14 Vanderbilt
19	Texas	8-3	38-31 Win vs Arkansas	vs #2 Texas A&M
20	Virginia	9-2	Bye	vs Virginia Tech
21	Georgia Tech	9-2	24-22 Loss vs Pittsburgh	vs #3 Georgia
22	Tulane	9-2	48-10 Win at Temple	vs Charlotte
23	SMU	8-3	37-13 Win vs Louisville	at California
24	North Texas	10-1	24-23 Win at Rice	vs Temple
25	Arizona	8-3	17-7 Win vs Baylor	at #17 Arizona State

[toysoldier00]

Week 14 Preview: Ohio State-Michigan, Elko’s Test in Austin, and a CFP Bubble Ready to Burst

Marissa Bleday
November 27, 2025


If college football’s regular season is a long argument about identity, Rivalry Week is the closing statement, loud, personal and unforgiving. This year, the marquee games aren’t just dripping with history. They’re loaded with playoff consequences, from Ann Arbor to Austin to Atlanta, where the final weekend will decide who earns a seat at the championship tables and who gets squeezed out by one bad Saturday.

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) at #10 Michigan Wolverines (9-2)
The sport’s gravitational center is Michigan Stadium, where No. 1 Ohio State (11-0) walks into the most familiar pressure point of the Ryan Day era: a four-year losing streak to No. 10 Michigan (9-2). Day has the country’s top-ranked team behind him, the nation’s best defense, and an offense that has detonated through November, but none of that matters if the Buckeyes leave Ann Arbor with another scarlet-and-gray gut punch.

“We’ve talked all year about being the toughest team in the fourth quarter,” Day said earlier this week. “This one requires your best football, your best composure, and your best response when it gets uncomfortable, because it will.”

Michigan is comfortable making it uncomfortable. The Wolverines are perfect at home, winners of five straight, and built around a punishing run game that’s propelled the nation’s fourth-best offense by yardage (474.7 YPG). True freshman Bryce Underwood has been more than a caretaker (2,820 passing yards, 19 TDs; plus 427 rushing yards and six scores), but the engine is the two-headed backfield: Alabama transfer Justice Hayne (over 1,000 yards, 16 rushing TDs) and Ohio native Jordan Marshall (732 yards, 13 TDs). Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore kept his message simple.

“We’re at our best when we dictate terms,” Moore said. “That means finishing runs, protecting the football, and making them play in tight spaces.”

That last part is the whole puzzle: Michigan’s ground game versus Ohio State’s historically stingy rush defense (41 rushing yards allowed per game), the backbone of an FBS-best unit giving up 264.6 yards and 10.9 points per game.

The counterpunch is equally clear: Ohio State’s passing game, with Julian Sayin (3,050 yards, 29 TDs, six INTs) throwing to an arsenal led by All-American Jeremiah Smith (now over 1,000 yards, 12 TDs), plus Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and tight end Max Klare. Michigan’s edge duo, TJ Guy (12 sacks) and Derrick Moore (10.5), gives the Wolverines a way to disrupt that rhythm without blitzing recklessly. If they can win first-and-second down and unleash the rush on third, the Big House gets loud enough to bend games.



#2 Texas A&M Aggies (11-0) at #19 Texas Longhorns (8-3)
Down south, the SEC’s flagship rivalry finally carries top-of-the-board weight: No. 2 Texas A&M (11-0) at No. 19 Texas (8-3). Mike Elko’s Aggies have been the league’s steadiest team, but rivalry week doesn’t care about steadiness.

“This game exposes you if you’re not connected,” Elko said this week. “Every snap is contested. Every decision is magnified. You either lean into it, or it leans on you.”

The matchup suggests a defensive slugfest, these are the third- and fourth-best defenses nationally by yards per game, and it puts a spotlight on Arch Manning’s continued growth for Texas. The Longhorns have the talent that made them a preseason No. 1, and they’re at home, which makes the nightmare scenario for A&M very real: lose in Austin, and the SEC title game picture gets rewritten in an instant.

#3 Georgia Bulldogs (10-1) at #21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2)
In Atlanta, No. 3 Georgia (10-1) visits No. 21 Georgia Tech (9-2) with the Yellow Jackets trying to reverse a November slide into a season-defining statement.

Tech started 8-0, and the energy will spike with Haynes King expected back after missing time. But Georgia’s offense is the kind that doesn’t negotiate: third nationally in yards per game, with Gunner Stockton putting up video-game numbers (3,355 yards, 31 TDs) and both Zachariah Branch and Dillon Bell over 1,000 receiving yards. Kirby Smart framed it like a road exam, not a rivalry showcase.

“You don’t get style points this weekend,” Smart said. “You get stops, you get finishes, and you get out of there alive.”



Other Games to Watch

The rest of the weekend is a minefield of “win-and-in” or “win-and-sweat” scenarios. No. 14 Vanderbilt (9-2) goes to No. 18 Tennessee (8-3) with Clark Lea’s best season needing one more signature stamp, and with Diego Pavia’s toughness always capable of dragging a game into the mud.

No. 12 Miami (9-2) travels to Pitt (8-3) with the Hurricanes chasing an at-large lifeline and the Panthers eyeing an ACC title berth with a home win.

And don’t blink elsewhere: No. 5 Oregon at Washington, LSU at No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 6 Ole Miss at Mississippi State, No. 13 Alabama at Auburn, plus Arizona-Arizona State in the desert.

It’s rivalry week, the last weekend where the sport still feels like a neighborhood argument and a national referendum at the same time. The playoff race doesn’t just tighten here. It snaps.






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Game Preview: Ohio State, Michigan and the Weight of Everything
By Zachary Anderson on November 28, 2025





Ann Arbor has a way of shrinking the calendar until only one day matters. Noon. Big House. The Game. And this year, it comes with the kind of stakes that turn even routine plays into referendum.

No. 1 Ohio State (11-0) travels to No. 10 Michigan (9-2) on Saturday with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff bringing the country along and the betting market essentially calling it a coin flip with a scarlet lean: Buckeyes -3, over/under 46.5. It’ll be cold, the kind of crisp that makes breath visible and mistakes louder, but the weather isn’t the story.

The story is that Ohio State has built the most complete team in college football, won a national championship, and still walks into this stadium carrying a four-year rivalry losing streak like a weight vest.

“We know what it is,” Ryan Day said this week. “It’s not just another game. It’s a standard around here, and it’s a standard we haven’t met enough. Our guys understand what’s at stake, for the Big Ten, for the playoff, for everyone who wears the jersey.”

Ohio State has looked like a machine most of the fall. The Buckeyes have not allowed more than 22 points all season, and they’ve given up more than 14 only three times. They’re 4-0 on the road, and over the last month they’ve treated overmatched opponents the way title contenders are supposed to, suffocating early, piling on late, and walking off with a clean box score and a cleaner injury report.

They’re No. 2 nationally in scoring at 41.5 points per game, even with a run game that’s been more “efficient” than “dominant,” and a red-zone offense that has left points on the field (34 touchdowns, 13 field goals on 72 trips). They win anyway because Julian Sayin has grown into the season and because the defense, led by an all-star cast, rarely lets games breathe.

Michigan, though, has been the best version of itself at home, and that’s why this feels different than a typical 10 vs. 1 matchup. The Wolverines’ season includes two losses, a Week 2 reality check at Oklahoma (27-6) and a shootout at USC (52-42), but it’s also been a steady build toward this moment, capped by a ruthless November run that includes 55-3 at Purdue and 56-21 at Maryland.

Sherrone Moore has watched his team develop a personality: run the ball, hit explosives, rush the passer, and let the stadium do the rest.

“You don’t get to hide in this game,” Moore said. “You find out who you are, how you handle adversity, and whether you can play your best football when everything’s on the line.”

The matchup is compelling because it pits two national-title-caliber identities against each other instead of a contender against a spoiler. Michigan is fourth in the country in total offense (474.7 yards per game) and fifth in scoring (39.5). Ohio State is second in scoring and sits at 419.7 yards per game, but the real divider is balance. Michigan averages 208.9 rushing yards per game and wants to make every possession feel like a grind. Ohio State averages just 124.8 on the ground and is built to win with efficiency, spacing and a quarterback who can distribute to NFL bodies.

Sayin enters this game at 3,050 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions, and the trendline is obvious: 392 yards last week, 405 the week before, a passing game that has begun to look inevitable. The nit is equally obvious: he’s thrown an interception in four of the last five games, the kind of small leak that becomes a flood in a rivalry game where possessions are precious.

If Ohio State’s offense is going to look like the nation’s best, it has to finish drives against a Michigan defense that is top-five by yardage allowed (313.6) and top-six in scoring defense (17.9). The Wolverines are also the rare opponent that can rush the passer without compromising structure, with TJ Guy (12 sacks) and Derrick Moore (20 TFLs, 10.5 sacks) creating chaos off the edge and defensive tackle Rayshaun Benny collapsing pockets from the middle.

For Ohio State, the answers are obvious on paper and brutal in practice: Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Max Klare, Brandon Inniss, and a passing game that can force Michigan out of its comfort. Smith feels like a Biletnikoff winner in waiting (1,064 yards, 12 touchdowns on 79 catches), and he’s the kind of player who can turn a perfect coverage call into a shrug. Tate (50-646-1) stretches the field. Klare (49-442-6) punishes linebackers. Inniss (34-379-5) becomes a problem when defenses tilt toward Smith.

And then there’s James Peoples, the quiet glue: 727 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 24 receptions for 171 yards and three receiving scores, a reminder that Ohio State’s backs are as much route runners as they are ball carriers.

Michigan’s offense is built to make you tackle until you don’t want to. Bryce Underwood has lived up to the hype (2,820 passing yards; 19 passing TDs, six rushing TDs; 427 rushing yards; just five turnovers), but the Wolverines’ identity is the two-headed backfield.

Justice Haynes (1,009 yards, 16 TDs), the Alabama transfer who once chose the Tide over the Buckeyes, runs with the kind of downhill certainty that turns four-yard carries into eight. Jordan Marshall (732 yards, 13 TDs) is the Ohio native who’s leaned into the rivalry this week, and he’s the kind of No. 2 back who would be a No. 1 almost anywhere else. In the passing game, Andrew Simpson has become the big-play threat (19.2 yards per catch, six TDs), while 6-foot-5 Donovan McCulley is a weekly matchup problem (61 catches, 637 yards, eight TDs) when the field tightens.

And then there’s the part that never fits cleanly in a preview: the emotional math. Moore is 2-0 against Ohio State. Day is 1-4 against Michigan, a record that once put his job under a microscope until he responded by winning a national championship. That ring changed the résumé, not the reality of this weekend.

If Ohio State wins, it likely clinches a Big Ten title game spot, most likely against Indiana. If Michigan wins, the Wolverines stay alive for Indianapolis depending on what happens in Oregon-Washington and Indiana-Purdue, and they likely punch a playoff ticket in Moore’s second season. That’s not just a rivalry swing; that’s a program arc.

There are injury notes, but they don’t change the core of the game. Ohio State’s right tackle Phillip Daniels is questionable after missing last week, though sophomore Ian Moore filled in comfortably. Michigan remains without star safety Rod Moore (broken tailbone), plus freshman receiver Nathan Efobi and a starting right guard who have been out since October. The bigger variables are the ones no report can measure: ball security, red-zone finishing, and which team handles the moment when the crowd swells and the game gets tight.

Ohio State has the nation’s best defense and the best rush defense of this generation, allowing just 41 rushing yards per game, a number so extreme it evokes the last time anyone lived in that neighborhood, the 2006 Michigan defense that allowed roughly 43 per game. Michigan is second nationally against the run at 69 per game, meaning neither offense is likely to win by simply doing what it does best.

Someone will have to be uncomfortable. Someone will have to hit a shot downfield. Someone will have to take points when they’re there. Someone will have to avoid the kind of short-field mistake that turns a rivalry game into a nightmare.

That’s why, for all the scheme talk and all the stat talk, this one comes down to the oldest truth in the sport: rivalry games don’t ask what you’ve been. They ask what you are, right now, in the cold, with everything watching.

Date	Opponent	Stadium	TV	Result
Aug. 30	Texas Longhorns	Ohio Stadium		W, 31-13
Sept. 6	Grambling State Tigers	Ohio Stadium		W, 46-6
Sept. 13	Ohio Bobcats	Ohio Stadium		W, 40-10
Sept. 20	BYE
Sept. 27	Washington Huskies	Husky Stadium		W, 37-16
Oct. 4	Minnesota Golden Gophers	Ohio Stadium		W, 53-22
Oct. 11	Illinois Fighting Illini	Memorial Stadium		W, 38-6
Oct. 18	Wisconsin Badgers	Camp Randall		W, 38-7
Oct. 25	BYE
Nov. 1	Penn State Nittany Lions	Ohio Stadium		W, 31-13
Nov. 8	Purdue Boilermakers	Ross-Ade Stadium		W, 41-7
Nov. 15	UCLA Bruins	Ohio Stadium		W, 41-17
Nov. 22	Rutgers Scarlet Knights	Ohio Stadium		W, 61-3
Nov. 29	Michigan Wolverines	Michigan Stadium		12:00 PM

[djp73]

[toysoldier00]

Ohio State 45, Michigan 22: Buckeyes End the Streak in Ann Arbor, Punch Ticket to Indianapolis With Win
By Zachary Anderson on November 29, 2025


Jeremiah Smith's big day put him up to 88 Receptions, 1,192 Yards, and 14 Touchdowns on the Season



For four years, Ohio State walked into The Game with the same question hanging over everything else it did. Different rosters, different quarterbacks, different seasons, the answer kept coming back the same. Michigan found a way, and the Buckeyes left with the kind of quiet that lingers long after the crowd stops yelling.

On Saturday in Ann Arbor, Ohio State finally changed that script with something it hadn’t brought to this rivalry in a long time: a fast start that didn’t just set a tone, but set a ceiling. The No. 1 Buckeyes jumped out to a 31-3 halftime lead, absorbed Michigan’s one real punch coming out of the locker room, and closed the door with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to win 45-22 at Michigan Stadium, a cathartic, emphatic victory that sends Ohio State to the Big Ten Championship Game against Indiana and, perhaps just as important, gives Ryan Day a rivalry win that can’t be nitpicked.

“This one matters,” Day said. “It matters to our players, it matters to our fans, it matters to everyone who has been part of Ohio State football. We’ve talked about it. We’ve owned it. And today, the guys went out and earned it. That’s what I’m proud of, the response, the resilience, the edge.”

Ohio State didn’t just play with edge. It played like it had been waiting 365 days for permission to unload all of it.

The Buckeyes opened as aggressively as a team possibly can in the Big House. On the first play from scrimmage, defensive tackle Eddrick Houston shot through the interior and sacked Bryce Underwood, a jolt that immediately made Michigan’s five-star freshman look like what he still is in Start No. 12: a young quarterback learning what a rivalry game feels like when it’s going wrong.


Early turnovers that help capture momentum have been a huge calling card of this Buckeye defense.

Underwood’s next throw sailed high, and Davison Igbinosun made him pay. The interception set Ohio State up with the kind of short field that has become a recurring theme for the Buckeyes in 2025, and it took just six plays for them to cash it in. Bo Jackson, running like he’d been saving up this burst for one afternoon, punched in the opening touchdown to make it 7-0 with 9:42 left in the first quarter.

Even that didn’t fully capture how it felt early. Ohio State’s defense was hitting, its line was winning, and Michigan looked like it was still trying to find the right rhythm before it realized there wouldn’t be one.

After the Buckeyes forced a turnover on downs on Michigan’s next possession, Ohio State delivered the first gut punch of the afternoon, the kind that changes the texture of The Game. Starting at its own 43, Ohio State dialed up a post for Jeremiah Smith. Julian Sayin hit him in stride, Smith broke a tackle from Zeke Berry, and suddenly there was nothing but green grass and disbelief ahead of him. Fifty-seven yards later, the Buckeyes had a 14-0 lead with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

It was, quietly, a landmark moment. Ohio State hadn’t held a two-touchdown lead over Michigan since 2019. For a fan base that has lived the last four Novembers bracing for the worst, the sight of scarlet celebrating in the Big House with that kind of cushion felt like seeing something you almost forgot was possible.


James Peoples first half touchdown gave the Buckeyes a three score lead and it suddenly felt like they could not lose.

And Ohio State wasn’t done. Early in the second quarter, James Peoples ripped off a 16-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0, the kind of score that forces Michigan out of its favorite version of itself. The Wolverines are built to lean on their running game, dictate tempo, and make opponents tackle Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall until the clock bleeds out. Ohio State’s early avalanche flipped the equation: now Michigan had to chase points, and the Buckeyes could sit in the pocket of the game they wanted.

Michigan finally got on the board with a 53-yard Dominic Zvada field goal, but even that felt like an acknowledgement rather than a response. Ohio State immediately stepped back on the gas. Brandon Inniss capped the next drive with a 5-yard touchdown reception to make it 28-3 with 3:11 left in the half, and the Buckeyes added another field goal before the break to take a stunning 31-3 lead into halftime.

“You can’t dig a hole like that against that team,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said. “We didn’t execute early, we didn’t handle the moment the way we needed to, and they made us pay. I’m proud of how we fought back, but the first half put us in a position where you’re chasing perfection.”

Moore was right about one thing: Michigan is better than the first half it played. And for a few minutes after halftime, the Wolverines looked determined to prove it.

On Ohio State’s first drive of the third quarter, Michigan forced a fumble from Bo Jackson, the exact kind of turnover that can flip a rivalry game in a hurry. The Wolverines turned it into points, a 6-yard touchdown run by Jordan Marshall, and then forced a three-and-out on Ohio State’s next possession. Michigan’s offense, quiet for two quarters, finally found traction. Two field goals in the third quarter brought the score to 31-16, and for the first time all afternoon, the Big House sounded like it believed.


Michigan found their momentum in the second half, but were never quite in striking distance.

If you felt nerves creeping in, it wasn’t necessarily because the game was slipping, it was because the last four years taught Ohio State fans to expect the ground to move under their feet in this rivalry. The Buckeyes had been here before, emotionally: ahead, then uneasy, then wondering what bad turn was coming next.

But this team didn’t wobble. It answered.

Ohio State’s response wasn’t complicated. It was simply the version of the Buckeyes that has made them the No. 1 team in the country, a quarterback who stays calm, an offense that knows where its stars are, and a defense that refuses to let momentum turn into points.

On the Buckeyes’ first drive of the fourth quarter, Sayin found Smith for a 4-yard touchdown to push the lead to 38-16 with 10:40 remaining. It felt like the dagger not because it made the deficit insurmountable, but because it snapped Michigan’s surge in half and reminded everyone which team had been controlling the day.


Jeremiah Smith delivered when the Buckeyes needed him, punching in two touchdowns against the Wolverines.

Michigan did manage one more haymaker. Justice Haynes broke free for a 72-yard run, the kind of explosive play the Wolverines needed earlier, finally arriving when it almost didn’t matter. Jordan Marshall scored on the next play to make it 38-22, but Michigan missed the two-point try, leaving the margin still two scores.

Ohio State’s answer to that, though, was the most telling sequence of the afternoon. No panic. No sloppy play. No trying to be the hero. Just a methodical, comfortable drive that ended with a statement play from one of the Buckeyes’ most important pieces. With 4:17 left, Sayin floated a pass to Carnell Tate in the end zone, and Tate responded with an outstanding one-handed catch for a 7-yard touchdown that made it 45-22 and effectively ended the game.

And then the defense delivered the punctuation. On Michigan’s final possession, Houston beat his man inside again, got a free shot at Underwood, and forced a fumble on a sack that Kayden McDonald recovered. Ohio State ran out the clock from there, finally able to exhale in Ann Arbor.

The numbers matched the feeling. Ohio State outgained Michigan 522-299, won first downs 30-14, and held the ball for 35:32. The Buckeyes leaned heavily on Sayin’s arm, 47 attempts, and still outgained Michigan on the ground, 138-104, a detail that matters in a rivalry where rushing yardage has felt like fate for decades.

Sayin finished 37-of-47 for 384 yards, four touchdowns and an interception, continuing a two-week stretch where he has looked like a quarterback ready for any stage. Peoples added 78 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Jackson had 59 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries but also the fumble that briefly gave Michigan life.


Jeremiah Smith was the gravity in this game, unlocking everything for his teammates.

Smith was, once again, the gravitational force: nine catches, 127 yards, two touchdowns, including the early 57-yard score that broke the game open. Max Klare hauled in eight receptions for 80 yards. Inniss had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Tate finished with five catches for 71 yards and the late touchdown that sealed it.

Defensively, Houston led the charge with two sacks and a forced fumble, while Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson each chipped in 1.5 sacks. Arvell Reese joined Igbinosun with an interception, and Ohio State’s front consistently kept Underwood uncomfortable.

For Michigan, the hope was that Underwood would look less like a freshman in his 12th start than he did early in the year. Instead, Ohio State forced him into his roughest afternoon. Underwood finished 15-of-28 for 195 yards with no touchdowns, two interceptions and a fumble, plus -13 rushing yards when sacks were accounted for.

Michigan’s run game, the backbone of its identity, never truly got to dictate terms because the Wolverines were trailing almost immediately. Marshall finished with two touchdowns but just 26 yards on eight carries. Haynes had 95 yards on eight carries, inflated heavily by the 72-yard burst. Zvada was a bright spot, drilling three field goals including a 56-yarder and the earlier 53-yarder, while edge rushers TJ Guy and Derrick Moore each recorded a sack but never took over the way Michigan needed them to against an offense that was in rhythm.

“This rivalry is about toughness and execution,” Moore said. “They executed early. We didn’t. In the second half we fought, but you can’t spot a team like that 28 points and expect to live on the edge.”


Carnell Tate's fourth quarter one handed touchdown catch put the final emphasis on Ohio State's first win over Michigan this decade.

For Ohio State, this win is both immediate and symbolic. It punches a ticket to Indianapolis for a Big Ten Championship Game showdown with Indiana. It strengthens a playoff résumé that was already sitting at the top of the sport. And it finally, emphatically, answers the question that has shadowed Day through every accomplishment since 2020.

Day didn’t sound like a man who believes one win erases everything. He sounded like a coach who knows what it took to get this one back.

“We’ve had to wear it,” Day said. “And we should’ve. But I told the guys all week: this is about playing our brand of football with discipline, toughness, and urgency. They did that. They didn’t flinch when momentum tried to swing. That’s growth.”

Ohio State fans will remember the score. They’ll remember the early sack, the interception, the Smith post route that turned into a sprint through silence. They’ll remember the moment Michigan pushed back, and the way Ohio State didn’t collapse, didn’t even really bend, before slamming the door shut with a fourth-quarter touchdown drive and a one-handed catch that felt like a signature.

Most of all, they’ll remember this: in Ann Arbor, in the cold, with all of the baggage and all of the pressure, Ohio State finally played like the team it has been all season, and for the first time in years, The Game ended with the Buckeyes walking off the field as the ones who looked inevitable.

Qtr	Time	Team	Result	Play	OHST	MICH
1st	9:39		TD	Bo Jackson, 1 Yd run	7	0
1st	4:35		TD	Jeremiah Smith, 57 Yd pass from Julian Sayin	14	0
2nd	12:20		TD	James Peoples, 16 Yd run	21	0
2nd	12:20		FG	Dominic Zvada, 53 Yd FG	21	3
2nd	12:20		TD	Brandon Inniss, 5 Yd pass from Julian Sayin	28	3
2nd	0:34		FG	Jayden Fielding, 40 Yd FG	31	3
3rd	11:11		TD	Jordan Marshall, 6 Yd run	31	10
3rd	7:09		FG	Dominic Zvada, 56 Yd FG	31	13
3rd	2:26		FG	Dominic Zvada, 29 Yd FG	31	16
4th	10:36		TD	Jeremiah Smith, 54 Yd pass from Julian Sayin	38	16
4th	9:17		TD	Jordan Marshall, 1 Yd run	38	22
4th	4:13		TD	Carnell Tate, 7 Yd pass from Julian Sayin	45	22

[toysoldier00]

Week 14 Recap: Ohio State Rolls, Texas Breaks A&M, and the Playoff Picture Tilts Hard

Marissa Bleday
November 30, 2025


Rivalry week always feels like college football’s annual truth serum, the moment when playoff math collides with grudges, and the season’s loudest résumés are forced to stand still while the sport swings a hammer. Week 14 delivered that in full: a No. 1 team finally exorcising its biggest demon, a dream season in College Station collapsing in Austin, and a handful of contenders either punching their ticket or watching the door close.

#1 Ohio State Buckeyes 45 at #10 Michigan Wolverines 22
In Ann Arbor, Ohio State didn’t just beat Michigan. The Buckeyes detonated the game before it had a chance to become what it has been for four years. They poured it on early, storming to a 31-3 halftime lead and finishing off the No. 10 Wolverines 45-22 in the matchup that carried the most emotional weight of the weekend.

Michigan’s five-star true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood looked every bit like a freshman under a relentless scarlet wave, finishing with three turnovers and zero touchdowns. On the other sideline, Julian Sayin looked like the quarterback of a national title favorite, throwing for 384 yards and four touchdowns while Jeremiah Smith carved up Michigan’s secondary for 127 yards and two scores on nine catches.

Ohio State outgained Michigan 522-299 and finally gave Ryan Day a rivalry win that felt like it belonged to his résumé, not just his record.

“We wanted to play fast and violent,” Day said. “When you do that in this game, it changes everything, the crowd, the sideline, the way the game has to be played.”

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore didn’t flinch from the obvious: “You can’t spot a team like that points and possessions. They earned it early, and we spent the rest of the day trying to climb out of a hole.”



#2 Texas A&M Aggies 10 at #19 Texas Longhorns 16
The shockwave of Saturday, though, hit hardest in Austin, where No. 19 Texas upset No. 2 Texas A&M 16-10 and effectively hijacked the SEC race.

The Longhorns leaned on a suffocating defense, a single lightning bolt, and the kind of clock-killing drive that turns a rivalry game into a slow, controlled exhale. Late in the first half, Arch Manning found Ryan Wingo on a 79-yard touchdown that flipped the stadium and flipped the script. Then, in the fourth quarter, Texas strapped the game to its shoulder pads with an 18-play, 10:37 drive that bled A&M’s last real hope into the turf.

Manning finished 24-of-33 for 235 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while Quintrevion Wisner hammered out 121 yards on 26 carries. A&M quarterback Marcel Reed was efficient on paper, 27-of-37 for 192 yards with 20 rushing yards and a touchdown, but the Aggies were a brutal 3-for-13 on third down and never found the crease against Texas’ front.

“That’s what rivalry games look like when the margin is thin,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “You have to finish drives, you have to win situational football, and you have to make one or two plays that matter more than the rest.”

For A&M, it was devastating: a dream season, one win from a title game path, snapped at the hands of the only opponent that can make it hurt like this.



#3 Georgia Bulldogs 15 at #21 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3
In Atlanta, Georgia won a game that felt more like a fistfight than a shootout, beating Georgia Tech 15-3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium behind a defense that never allowed the Yellow Jackets to breathe.

Tech welcomed senior quarterback Haynes King back, but the offense never found traction, finishing with 196 total yards as Georgia’s front smothered the run and compressed the pocket. The decisive moment finally arrived with 6:39 left, when Gunner Stockton hit Zachariah Branch deep for 68 yards, and Nate Frazier punched in a 7-yard touchdown on the next play to turn a 9-3 grind into a 15-3 clincher.

“We stayed patient,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “That’s rivalry football, sometimes it’s ugly, sometimes it’s field position, but if you keep swinging, the crack shows up.”



#14 Vanderbilt Commodores 21 at #18 Tennessee Volunteers 19
Vanderbilt provided the weekend’s most surreal punctuation in Knoxville, completing a 10-win season, the first in program history, by beating No. 18 Tennessee 21-19.

The Commodores rode Diego Pavia’s premier performance, with the senior throwing for 364 yards on 32-of-51 passing with two touchdowns and an interception, then sealing the game with a pair of gutsy fourth-down conversions late.

Tennessee rallied in the second half and had a chance to tie when Joey Aguilar scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 10 seconds left, but the two-point attempt failed, and the Vols couldn’t manufacture another miracle.

“We didn’t blink,” Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea said. “This group believes it belongs in games like this, and now they’ve proven it.”



#12 Miami Hurricanes 27 at Pitt Panthers 19
In Pittsburgh, the ACC’s hinge game swung Miami’s way. Pitt carried the lead deep into the second half and entered the fourth quarter up 16-13, but Miami answered with two touchdown drives to win 27-19 and book its spot in the ACC title game.

Carson Beck threw 55 passes, completing 41 for 386 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Mark Fletcher Jr. added 108 rushing yards. The defining performance came from Reuben Bain Jr., who turned the fourth quarter into a personal highlight reel: five sacks, eight tackles for loss, and the Miami single-game sack record in a game that felt like a program-level statement.

“That’s why you come to Miami,” Bain said. “In November, you either take it or you watch somebody else take it.”

Other Games of Note:

Elsewhere, Cal’s 48-28 win over SMU eliminated the Mustangs from the ACC title race, and Virginia’s 28-19 win over Virginia Tech pushed the Cavaliers into the championship game as well. Clemson beat South Carolina 41-20, Notre Dame survived Stanford 35-23, and Oregon handled Washington 38-19 to clinch a playoff spot. Indiana beat Purdue 35-17 to lock up its Big Ten title game berth, Ole Miss rolled Mississippi State 52-35 to clinch its own CFP spot, and USC finished 9-3 with a 24-23 win over UCLA.

By the end of it, Week 14 didn’t just shuffle rankings, it clarified identities. Ohio State looked like the sport’s most complete team when it mattered most. Texas reminded everyone that talent still bites, even in a two-loss season. And the playoff field? It’s no longer a puzzle. It’s a fight, and the contenders who survived rivalry week did it by proving, in the sport’s loudest moments, that they can close.

[Caesar]

Michigan didn't show up at all for that game. Too easy against a rival.

Looks like the CFP is shaping up to be close to real life.

[Soapy]

12
Miami (FL)
9-2
34-27 Win at Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh

omar coming

[toysoldier00]

Michigan didn't show up at all for that game. Too easy against a rival.

Looks like the CFP is shaping up to be close to real life.

yeah, a couple big plays early and that's all I needed.

12
Miami (FL)
9-2
34-27 Win at Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh

omar coming

yeah, stay tuned

[six7]

wow... not expecting that type of win