College Football Week Fourteen Recap: Winners and Losers - jmik58's Blog

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College Football Week Fourteen Recap: Winners and Losers Stuck

Posted on December 3, 2012 at 03:39 PM.

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The end of college football's regular season has come to a close (I didn't forget about you, Army and Navy) and the set up for bowl season has a little bit for everyone to love.

Traditionalists can revel in the BCS national championship matchup between No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Alabama. Proponents of the current BCS system point to the phenomenal SEC championship game and how it served as a natural semifinal matchup -- no need for playoffs. Yet, the BCS haters and contrarians among us will laugh our way into the new year as some pretty boring BCS matchups are in store -- and then there is Northern Illinois.

It's hard to sort out the chain reaction of winning and losing without running head-first into ourselves, but here is my best attempt at five winners and losers from week fourteen of the college football season.

FIVE ON THE RISE

#21 Northern Illinois (12-1)
Week 14: vs. #17 Kent State, won 44-37

This spot was supposed to be reserved for Kent State -- and when the Huskies won the MAC, the Oklahoma Sooners. But the BCS standings are kind and the Northern Illinois Huskies are set for an Orange Bowl matchup with #12 Florida State -- thanks to a clause that allows non-automatic qualifying conference champions to earn a BCS birth if they are in the top-16 while an "AQ" champion finishes below them. Woefully, Wisconsin and Rutgers obliged as did the BCS computers.

#2 Alabama (12-1)
Week 14: #3 Georgia, won 32-28

It almost seems like the Crimson Tide are playing with us. They always find a way to win when they need to and when they lose it doesn't have much of an impact. The only thing standing in their way is undefeated Notre Dame, who hasn't looked dominant but they also have just found a way to win.

#8 Stanford (11-2)
Week 14: #16 UCLA, won 27-24

One of the hardest things to do in sports is to beat the same twice -- especially in back-to-back weeks. The Cardinal did just that in taking down the Bruins and are destined for a bruising matchup with their Big Ten mirror-image, Wisconsin Badgers. Throw the records out the window, however, as the Badgers were a few points away from a ten-win season (or better) themselves.

#6 Kansas State (11-1)
Week 14: #18 Texas, won 42-24.

Not too long ago the Wildcats were the worst college football program in FBS but now they're champions of the Big Twelve. Bill Snyder has done phenomenal work and Collin Klein will get one more chance to showcase his talent against the No. 4 Oregon Ducks in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Wisconsin (8-5)
Week 14: #12 Nebraska, won 70-31

Most people have a hard time looking past win-loss records to see the big picture of how good a team is. The early-season loss by the Badgers to the Oregon State Beavers seems more respectable than it was made out to be at the time and the fact that Wisconsin lost all of their games by single digits shows how their season could have gone a completely different direction. Sure, they shouldn't have been here considering that Ohio State went undefeated but slid out of the way due to NCAA sanctions, but Wisconsin is here and they will compete with Stanford. A Rose Bowl win for the Badgers is a real possibility.

FIVE ON THE DECLINE

#3 Georgia (11-2)
Week 14: #2 Alabama, lost 32-28

The Bulldogs are a very talented squad but once again they are forced to play second fiddle to the Crimson Tide. To make matters worse, Georgia not only loses the SEC title and a chance at the national championship, but must also sit out of a BCS game as the Florida Gators slide in.

#11 Oklahoma (10-2)
Week 14: TCU, won 24-17

The Sooners did what they had to, but there is no magic wand to make the Big East a more formidable conference by BCS standards -- or to make Northern Illinois so beloved by the computers. Going into their game Saturday there was a chance that Oklahoma could come out as Big Twelve champs (if Kansas State lost). That didn't pan out and then their rug was pulled as the MAC champions took advantage of the "back door, little guy moves in when the big guys aren't good enough" BCS rule [see, Louisville and Northern Illinois].

#12 Nebraska (10-3)
Week 14: Wisconsin, lost 70-31

If the Cornhuskers could have eliminated just their horrible first quarter perhaps things would have gone differently. No, actually it wouldn't have mattered. The Badgers notched twenty-one points in each of the first three quarters en route to an embarrassing blowout. Barely anyone showed up to see the game in person, and it's probably a good thing, as most Big Ten fans would like to forget this season even existed.

Rutgers (9-3)
Week 14: Louisville, lost 20-17

All the Scarlett Knights had to do was win and they were Big East champs headed for a BCS bowl game. They had the Cardinals at home and on a Thursday night, including a 14-3 halftime lead. But of course it didn't finish as planned; few things have this year in one of the conferences responsible for letting Northern Illinois into the party.

#17 Kent State (11-2)
Week 14: #21 Northern Illinois, lost 44-37

What a furious fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime by the Golden Flashes. It was the type of effort that solidified their fairy-tale run in 2012 and they could only dream they might get a chance to face off in a BCS bowl after winning the night. Unfortunately they didn't earn the victory and -- even more painful -- they now know they would have qualified for the BCS as they must now sit and watch the MAC champion Huskies dance in Florida.

Sound Off: Who are your winners and losers from week fourteen of the college football season?

Justin Mikels is a staff writer for Operation Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @long_snapper