NCAAF · 11 months ago

College Football Week 13 Biggest Winners

TJ Inman

Host · Writer

Lehigh's Big Season
We dive deep for the final winner of the weekend and take a trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks beat rival Lafayette and secured their first winning season since 2016. In the aftermath, Lehigh students stormed the field and tore down a goalpost. That’s not necessarily abnormal, but the students went above and beyond, carrying the post four miles and tossing it over a bridge and into a river. That game has nothing to do with the College Football Playoff or NIL, but it’s another fantastic example of how fun this sport can be at any level.

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Tennessee's Playoff Hopes
Perhaps no team benefitted more from the Week 13 chaos than the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols entered the weekend at 8-2 and possibly on the outside of the 12-team playoff bracket. The Vols took care of business and drubbed UTEP in a glorified exhibition contest. Still, the real fireworks came elsewhere as IU fell to Ohio State, Ole Miss lost to Florida, Alabama was hammered by Oklahoma, and Texas A&M lost in four overtimes to Auburn. Those two-loss SEC teams becoming three-loss teams vaulted the Vols from a murky playoff picture to a near lock. If they can win at Vanderbilt as 11.5-point favorites, Tennessee will be in the field.

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Georgia's SEC Title Chances
When the season began, the Georgia Bulldogs were a favorite to win the 2025 National Championship. They lost to Alabama and meandered through a couple of other contests. Then they hit the acceleration, winning at Texas. A few weeks ago, the Bulldogs lost emphatically at Ole Miss. Their SEC title hopes were nearly dead, their playoff hopes were in danger, and fans wondered if Kirby Smart was out of answers. The Bulldogs handled Tennessee two weeks ago, took care of business against overmatched UMass, and clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game as other teams fell by the wayside. UGA must beat Georgia Tech to clinch a place in the field and will probably host a first-round game (or get a first-round bye).

Week 14: Georgia Tech at Georgia (-19.5)
Ohio State Leaves No Doubt
The Ohio State Buckeyes wanted to “leave no doubt” as they took on Indiana in a top-five matchup. Ryan Day’s squad relentlessly pressured Indiana’s offense and got a pair of scores handed to them on special teams. To make an emphatic point at the end of the game, Day chose to have Will Howard stuff in a quarterback sneak to push the lead from 16 to 23, and the Buckeyes celebrated as they improved to 10-1. Ohio State now gets a chance to smash archrival Michigan and rematch with the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Week 14: Michigan at Ohio State (-20.5)
Travis Hunter Heisman
There is little doubt left in the race for the Heisman Trophy race. Colorado corner and wide receiver extraordinaire Travis Hunter has nearly locked up the award. Hunter had another two touchdowns and, despite the Buffaloes losing, is now listed at -750 to win the Heisman, well ahead of second-place Ashton Jeanty at +600.
Bowl Tickets Punched!
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have not been to a bowl game in nearly a decade. After starting 5-1, they dropped four straight games, including a confounding home loss to UCLA, and it looked like they might entirely collapse and miss the postseason in year two under Matt Rhule. The Huskers responded to the stress by pounding Wisconsin and reaching win six. The fans stormed the field in a moment that felt like relief as much as joy. Nebraska was not the only big-name team to secure bowl eligibility. Michigan pounded Northwestern to ensure they don’t go from a title to missing a bowl game. Oklahoma manhandled Alabama for their sixth win. Florida shocked Ole Miss to reach the postseason, validating the decision to keep Billy Napier. Cal and USC beat their rivals to reach six wins.
PAC-12 Champs
The one-game “PAC-12” season began on Saturday when the Oregon State Beavers surprised the Washington State Cougars 41-38 in Corvallis. After losing five games in a row, the Beavers still prevailed as 1-0 PAC-12 Champions.
4-Bid Big Ten
By mid-afternoon, it appeared Ohio State had vanquished IU’s playoff hopes with a relatively emphatic defensive performance. By the night's end on Saturday, the Big Ten looked like a near-lock to get four teams in the field. The trio of two-loss SEC teams that fell to unranked teams and are now three-loss SEC teams, plus the chaos in the Big 12, combine to make it likely (as long as Indiana and Penn State take care of business) that the Big Ten sends four teams to the field and places three teams in the top six seeds. Unless the SEC gets a three-loss team in, the Big Ten will have the most teams in the bracket.
Sun Devils Rise
Kenny Dillingham left Oregon to be the head coach at his alma mater, Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ program was in shambles after Herm Edwards’s disastrous tenure, and ASU migrated to the Big 12. Two seasons after arriving in Tempe, Arizona State is in the driver’s seat for the Big 12 Championship. After beating BYU in chaotic fashion, the Sun Devils can clinch a spot in the title game with a win over rival Arizona. Dillingham is a rising star and has raised the ASU program from the dead.

Week 14: Arizona State (-8.5) at Arizona
ACC's Hopes For Two Are Alive
One of the beneficiaries of the chaos in the SEC and Big 12 has been the ACC. The SMU Mustangs are ranked ninth in the AP and Coaches Polls, and Miami is well inside the top ten despite the loss to Georgia Tech. If Miami wins at Syracuse, the Hurricanes and Mustangs will play in the ACC Championship Game. Clemson hosts South Carolina and could get an at-large spot if there are a couple of upsets on Saturday. Notre Dame losing to USC would help. Would the loser of the ACC Championship Game squeak into the field? Three teams getting in seems like a stretch, but two from the ACC is a real possibility.
Lehigh's Big Season
We dive deep for the final winner of the weekend and take a trip to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The Lehigh Mountain Hawks beat rival Lafayette and secured their first winning season since 2016. In the aftermath, Lehigh students stormed the field and tore down a goalpost. That’s not necessarily abnormal, but the students went above and beyond, carrying the post four miles and tossing it over a bridge and into a river. That game has nothing to do with the College Football Playoff or NIL, but it’s another fantastic example of how fun this sport can be at any level.

Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.
Tennessee's Playoff Hopes
Perhaps no team benefitted more from the Week 13 chaos than the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols entered the weekend at 8-2 and possibly on the outside of the 12-team playoff bracket. The Vols took care of business and drubbed UTEP in a glorified exhibition contest. Still, the real fireworks came elsewhere as IU fell to Ohio State, Ole Miss lost to Florida, Alabama was hammered by Oklahoma, and Texas A&M lost in four overtimes to Auburn. Those two-loss SEC teams becoming three-loss teams vaulted the Vols from a murky playoff picture to a near lock. If they can win at Vanderbilt as 11.5-point favorites, Tennessee will be in the field.

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College Football Week 13 Biggest Winners

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