Week 14 Review
Written by David
Rivalry Week delivered high drama and major playoff implications across the country. The biggest headline came from Ann Arbor, where Ohio State snapped its four-game skid against Michigan with a commanding 27-9 victory, keeping the Buckeyes unbeaten and firmly in control of the Big Ten race. I also saved you about 10-minutes of your time because if Wendi would have written this column, it would be dedicated to the Michigan loss. You’re welcome.
Alabama survived a late Auburn rally to win the Iron Bowl 27-20, securing a spot in the conference championship against Georgia. At one point, most thought the Tide would run away with it after going up 17-0. Thanks to a few timely turnovers by the Tide defense, the Auburn comeback was thwarted.
Meanwhile, Texas stunned Texas A&M 27-17, shaking up the playoff picture and knocking the Aggies out of the SEC title game. Now Texas is making its case to join the playoff conversation as a three-loss team. Will it happen? Highly unlikely. I’m just glad this game wasn’t on the picks.
Vanderbilt got their historic 10th win after beating rival Tennessee 45-24. In the second half, Vanderbilt was unstoppable and was slicing through the Tennessee defense like a hot knife through butter.
Miami closed the regular season with a statement win, crushing No. 24 Pittsburgh 38-7 on the road to finish 10-2 and keep its slim ACC title and playoff hopes alive. Quarterback Carson Beck was sharp, completing 23 of 29 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. After trailing 7-3 early in the second quarter, the Hurricanes dominated, scoring 35 unanswered points and shutting down Pitt’s high-powered offense.
Clemson wrapped up the regular season with a gritty 28-14 victory over South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl, pushing its win streak to four. The Tigers relied on a balanced offense, as Cade Klubnik threw for 268 yards and added a crucial rushing score, while Adam Randall chipped in 102 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The real difference came on defense, where Clemson forced four turnovers, including two picks by Ricardo Jones—one returned for a game-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Louisville apparently decided to play football this week, and Kentucky… well, let’s just say they showed up in uniform. The Cardinals, missing half their offense, still managed to humiliate the Wildcats 41-0, their largest win ever in the Governor’s Cup.
On to Pick’ems…
There won’t be any drama for the top spot unless Sean forgets to make his picks this week. He’s in for a big payday barring a major catastrophe.
After wetting the bed again for the second straight week, Samuel’s grip on second place looks less sturdy. Adam sits only 10-points away and has been gaining on him for the past four weeks. All Samuel has to do is take the victory formation snap, take a knee, and celebrate by getting some money for the second year in a row. After taking the top spot last year, finishing in second place and winning some more money is better than what many of us are doing.
Cindie may be out of reach of second place, but she only sits 2-points away from Adam. If he’s not careful, Cindie is in a good position to sneak her way into that third-place spot and win some big money.
Did anyone else see the 10-points Rick stuck on Florida State? I about fell out of my chair seeing that! I’m not so sure what he was thinking on that one, but I could think of nine other games to stick those 10-points on. Outside of Marc sticking 10-points on Florida to win, nobody else wanted to touch that game with high points on the line.
Wendi’s been rocked for two strait weeks and has fallen to 6th place. Kim said, "thank you very much.” It appears 5th place has been the ceiling for Kim all year. It might be tough to break that glass ceiling in the last week of the contest though.
Most Points for the week: Sean continues to dominate by racking up 47 points and the $10 weekly prize. The dude is on fire with his picks and is reportedly making more money playing Pick’ems than he is at his regular job.
Least Points for the week: For the second strait week, Mike M makes another cameo appearance in this spot after his 20-point week. I’m willing to bet he can’t wait for this contest to finish up. For the record, Mike M is the only person that hasn’t hit 40-plus points in a week. His highest score was 37 points in Week 11. Even then, he finished third from the bottom that week.
Best Pick of the week: Anyone that put high points on Ohio State beating Michigan. A whopping nine of us did… and it paid off.
Worst Pick of the week: Mike H believed for a brief minute that Auburn was going to pull off the upset win over Alabama. They didn’t… Now his 10-point pick on Auburn looks terrible. Of course, he would have looked like a genius if they had won.
Here’s how we rank heading into the final week:
Sean M – 549 points
Samuel – 520 points
Adam – 510 points
Cindie – 508 points
Kim – 493 points
Wendi – 492 points
Mike H – 481 points
Rick M – 481 points
David – 477 points
Noah – 465 points
Evelyn – 449 points
Marc – 430 points
Mike M – 412 points
Chris D – 381 points
