CFB Wrap-up: Takeaways from Week 14's biggest games

College Football Wrap-Up recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.

Another awful 'Game' Day for Ryan

Ryan Day made the stakes very clear for Ohio State before 'The Game' on Saturday.

"Our No. 1 goal every year is to win this game," Day told the crowd at St. John Arena. "We put absolutely everything we have into our process every single day toward this game."

It was supposed to be different this year. Jim Harbaugh - and his plethora of NFL players - are in the pros, with Sherrone Moore and a lifeless Michigan offense left in their place. The Buckeyes looked the part of a national title contender, with the only blemish a one-point loss at No. 1 Oregon. Ohio State entered the game Saturday as a 20.5-point favorite. Most people envisioned the Buckeyes running up the score as revenge for losses the past three years.

And then Will Howard threw two red-zone interceptions, Jayden Fielding missed two field goals under 40 yards, and the offense barely hit 3 yards a rush. Add Day drawing a crucial penalty after trying to call two timeouts in a row, and you have the Wolverines celebrating at midfield of Ohio Stadium following a shocking 13-10 upset.

Day told his team in 2020 that OSU would "hang 100" on the Wolverines. Five years later, and the Buckeyes still haven't hit that number ... combined. Day clearly has a Michigan problem with a 1-4 mark versus the Wolverines compared to a 47-1 record against all other Big Ten opposition.

The embarrassing loss probably won't affect the Buckeyes' playoff chances, but it'll impact their ranking. Ohio State went from a first-round bye or hosting a game to likely being on the road to start things off. That presents the awkward scenario in Columbus where plenty of people want Day fired for his record versus the Wolverines, all while the Buckeyes are still very much alive in the national title race!

Michigan physically dominates again

The Wolverines have flipped their rivalry with Ohio State mainly due to their physical dominance. That was extremely evident in the fourth quarter as Michigan closed out the victory.

The stout Wolverines defense allowed a total of 10 yards in the quarter on just seven total plays. Ohio State's running game was virtually non-existent in the second half, and Will Howard rarely had enough time to take advantage of a banged-up Michigan secondary. However, the Wolverines most impressed offensively.

Michigan is one of the country's worst passing teams, allowing defensive coordinators to stack the box and try to slow down the running game. Yet Ohio State couldn't get off the field in the final 15 minutes. The Wolverines held the ball for 13:03 of game action in the quarter, converting eight first downs to keep the ball and move into game-winning field-goal range.

Nobody wants to face Notre Dame

Perhaps nothing sums up the craziness of the 2024 college football season better than the fact that the hottest team in the country entering December is the same one that lost at home to Northern Illinois in Week 2. Nobody's going to want Notre Dame beside their name when the official CFP bracket is released next Sunday.

The Fighting Irish continued their torrid run on Saturday by hanging 49 points on USC in Los Angeles. It's the program's seventh straight victory by at least 14 points and further strengthens its quest to make the committee forget about the loss to the Huskies.

As an independent, Notre Dame will now stand on business during conference championship weekend before learning who it will host in the opening round of the playoffs.

As for USC, the Trojans continue to regress under Lincoln Riley's leadership with a 6-6 record on the season. Riley is now 8-12 in his last 20 games with the team - surely not the type of success the administration expected when signing him to a nine-figure deal three years ago.

Milroe delivers more Iron Bowl magic

It wasn't nearly as dramatic as last year's game-winning touchdown in the dying seconds, but Jalen Milroe again delivered for Alabama in the Iron Bowl. The star passer rebounded from his worst performance in a Crimson Tide uniform last week at Oklahoma to hound Auburn's defense for the second consecutive year. Milroe totaled 366 yards of offense and three scores on Saturday to bring his two-game total versus the Tigers to 726 yards and five touchdowns.

That was more than enough to secure Kalen DeBoer's first win in the rivalry series, which should cool his seat ever so slightly after his team suffered a third loss last week. However, that reprieve may not last long if the Crimson Tide aren't in the playoff bracket during Tuesday's release.

Georgia needs 8 OTs to escape mess

The Georgia Tech-Georgia rivalry may be called "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate," but Friday's insane contest was anything but clean. The Bulldogs pushed things to overtime with a furious comeback, along with a couple of controversial calls. Both teams then struggled mightily with two-point conversions from the third overtime on before the Bulldogs finally ended things in the eighth extra frame - breaking the ESPN win probability machine in the process.

The dramatic win kept Georgia's FBS-leading 31-game home winning streak alive but poured further gasoline on the "SEC is overrated" fire that's been burning the past few weeks. The Bulldogs were thought to be the conference's best program. They've shown their top gear is good enough to beat anybody in the country, but we've seen that speed with such rarity this season that it's fair to ask if Georgia can make a playoff run.

The Bulldogs have now scored 10 or fewer points in the opening half of six games this season. Even though they made the SEC title game, it's hard to see them getting away with that in the playoffs.

Miami falls on its face

The mission was simple for Miami on Saturday: beat Syracuse on the road and lock in both a spot in the ACC title game and likely a berth in the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the two-faced Hurricanes we've seen all season were once again on full display in a shocking loss to the Orange.

The electric offense once again did its thing, piling up 503 yards and 38 points on the day. But the porous defense showed up again, allowing 479 yards and 42 points.

It's the fifth time in eight ACC games that Miami's defense has allowed at least 30 points to the opposition. Kyle McCord torched the secondary for 380 yards and three scores to give the Hurricanes next weekend off while Clemson backed into the ACC title game.

Miami entered Week 11 undefeated with three games remaining to lock in a playoff spot. The Hurricanes were double-digit favorites in each but lost outright in two of the three. While that may seem like a surprise, it's the latest in a concerning trend for coach Mario Cristobal.

Now the debate will rage as to whether a two-loss Miami team that didn't make the conference title game deserves an at-large bid for the 12-team playoff.

Buy all the LaNorris Sellers stock

The 2024 Heisman hasn't been awarded yet, but we might already have the favorite to claim the honor in 2025. The name is LaNorris Sellers from South Carolina, and the on-field performance is jaw-dropping. He'd already piled up 310 yards of total offense on Clemson before he did this to score the eventual game-winning touchdown in the final minutes.

Sellers is now averaging a gaudy 342.8 yards of total offense over his last five games - all wins for the surging Gamecocks. Frank Beamer's outfit ranked 15th in the latest CFP list heading into the game, but they could very easily find themselves with an at-large bid to the postseason tournament after a road win over the 12th-ranked Tigers.