David HaleNov 30, 2025, 01:05 AM ETCloseCollege football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012.Graduate of the University of Delaware.Follow on X
play1:05LSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Full HighlightsLSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Full Highlights
play0:41Diego Pavia hits the Heisman celly after Vanderbilt TDDiego Pavia celebrates a rushing touchdown for Vanderbilt by doing the Heisman pose vs. Tennessee.
play0:21’What a catch!’ KJ Duff with an unbelievable catch with one handAthan Kaliakmanis makes a 42-yard pass to KJ Duff who grabs it out of the air for a one-handed catch vs. Penn State.
play0:17Chase Mason throws 42-yard touchdown pass vs. New HampshireChase Mason throws 42-yard touchdown pass vs. New Hampshire
play0:31Keith’s one-handed catch-and-run TD wins it for Lobos in 2OTJack Layne finds Cade Keith for a 25-yard touchdown to win it for New Mexico in double overtime.
Alabama comes up with late fumble recovery in Iron Bowl (0:38)Deontae Lawson recovers the fumble to secure a 27-20 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl. (0:38)
Diego Pavia hits the Heisman celly after Vanderbilt TDDiego Pavia celebrates a rushing touchdown for Vanderbilt by doing the Heisman pose vs. Tennessee.
‘What a catch!’ KJ Duff with an unbelievable catch with one handAthan Kaliakmanis makes a 42-yard pass to KJ Duff who grabs it out of the air for a one-handed catch vs. Penn State.
Athan Kaliakmanis makes a 42-yard pass to KJ Duff who grabs it out of the air for a one-handed catch vs. Penn State.
Chase Mason throws 42-yard touchdown pass vs. New HampshireChase Mason throws 42-yard touchdown pass vs. New Hampshire
Keith’s one-handed catch-and-run TD wins it for Lobos in 2OTJack Layne finds Cade Keith for a 25-yard touchdown to win it for New Mexico in double overtime.
It was just a little more than 10 months ago that Ohio State won a national championship. In the time since, the Buckeyes have only offered further assurance of their greatness, marching through the 2025 season with one emphatic win after another, a convincing No. 1 team in the country entering Rivalry Week.
For every genuinely astounding new note on Ohio State’s résumé, there was always the simple retort: “Yeah, but … Michigan.”
For every big win the Buckeyes enjoyed, there was the reminder, like one of those signs that keeps tabs on how many days have passed since the last time someone needed medical treatment after getting their hair caught in the industrial sandblaster. By Saturday, Ohio State’s sign read: 2,191 days.
For all the superstars, high-priced transfers and NFL draft picks who have come and gone over the past six years, none of them could claim a victory over the most hated rival.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin followed an early interception with a brilliant performance. Wideouts Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate were dominant. Bo Jackson powered his way through the Wolverines’ defensive front. The Buckeyes’ defense was stifling, holding Michigan to a mere 163 total yards.
When it was over, Ohio State had exorcised its greatest demon, toppling Michigan 27-9 and, to paraphrase the great statesman Hans Gruber, coach Ryan Day could stare out across the vastness of the Big House and weep, for he had no more worlds to conquer.
LSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Full HighlightsLSU Tigers vs. Oklahoma Sooners: Full Highlights
The first half was a slog for Alabama’s offense, but its defense was virtually impenetrable, like a quarter-inch of snow on I-20 through Talladega. After the break, however, the script flipped, and suddenly a 17-6 Tide lead disappeared, as Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb rumbled into the end zone to tie the game at 20.
Alas, all the dark magic that resides within the storied history of this rivalry wasn’t enough to cover up what Auburn has been all year. A series of Tigers penalties kept an Alabama drive alive, and Kalen DeBoer opted to go for it on a fourth-and-2 from the Auburn 6. Ty Simpson hit Isaiah Horton in the end zone for the score, assuring DeBoer would be allowed to return to Tuscaloosa without full-time security.
Auburn still had a shot to tie it, driving into Tide territory, but a Cam Coleman fumble effectively ended the comeback bid.
Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma and Alabama all now look like locks for the playoff. The same can’t be said for others.
Was Saturday a relief for Vanderbilt, BYU and Miami? All three won Saturday, remaining alive for the playoff. But the lack of chaos around them only made the margin thinner. BYU controls its destiny at least, getting a shot at the Big 12 title against Texas Tech. Vandy and Miami can do nothing more than wait and hope the committee reevaluates assumptions it has already clarified again and again.
The last bits of stress before the College Football Playoff remain, but Saturday’s results offered a healthy dose of certainty, effectively stacking the deck and leaving championship week as a final chance to shuffle the cards.
In January, there’s a good chance we’ll look back at what happened in Week 14 and see that the foundation for a national title was built among the chaos held at bay by teams who refused to loosen their grasp on a championship.
Rivalry Week never disappoints, and the 2025 installment was another chance for hated rivals to add fuel to their longstanding hatred.
Texas’ playoff hopes were on life support, but the Longhorns did what they had to do Friday to warrant continued consideration, knocking off previously undefeated Texas A&M 27-17.
Arch Manning recovered from a miserable first half to finish with 232 total yards and two touchdowns, including a 35-yard run that proved the dagger.
After the win, Texas rubbed a little salt in the wound, reminding Aggies coach Mike Elko of his statement that A&M was “the flagship program” in the state.
This, of course, forced A&M to retort with a brutal “I’m rubber, you’re glue” followed by Texas trumping the Aggies once again with a jumbled “alosersayswhat,” baffling Elko who was forced to ask for clarification, after which officials declared the battle over and Texas the victor.
Unlike Lane Kiffin’s job search, Ole Miss had no trouble putting Mississippi State to bed Friday, as Trinidad Chambliss threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-19 win.
The final score was of little consequence. There were bigger questions to be answered. Who stole Chambliss’s jersey from the Ole Miss locker room before the game? Would Kiffin leave for another job? Would he be allowed to coach in the playoffs? Would Marty Smith’s perfectly manicured beard survive another day in Oxford?
All those questions were left to simmer throughout Saturday’s action, with answers likely sometime Sunday. Our preference remains that Kiffin announces his retirement, then buys a house right next door to Nick Saban in a “Dennis the Menace” situation where Kiffin routinely sets Saban’s lawn on fire while trying to turn his skateboard into a rocket ship, but that’s admittedly a longshot.
Six days after Florida State announced Mike Norvell would return for the 2026 season, Norvell offered a clear response: “Seriously? Can’t we ‘Old Yeller’ this situation? I’m dying here!”
DJ Lagway threw for three touchdowns, Florida ran for 272 yards, and the Gators torched Florida State 40-21.
The loss means FSU won’t play in a bowl game, which is probably for the best given that Norvell had already printed out most of the Amazon return labels for the bulk of his roster and arranged a UPS pickup on Monday.
For Florida, it was a small consolation after a lost season that ends with a 4-8 record, a 2-6 mark in SEC play and a large floral display that reads “Welcome Lane” that it now has no use for.
A year after LaNorris Sellers bulldozed the Clemson defense in an upset win in Death Valley, the Tigers got revenge, sacking the South Carolina QB five times, forcing two fumbles and picking off Sellers twice en route to a 28-14 win.
Clemson finished the regular season with four straight wins, allowing Dabo Swinney to celebrate afterward by gleefully tearing up a piece of paper labeled “Guys I guess I have to go get in the portal for 2026,” then opening an envelope labeled “Christopher Vizzina Heisman campaign materials.”
For just the second time in 21 years, Virginia upended rival Virginia Tech, 27-7, securing the Cavaliers’ spot in the ACC championship game.
J’Mari Taylor, once a walk-on at North Carolina Central, led the way with 80 yards on the ground, 34 receiving and a touchdown run and pass in the win.
It’s a watershed moment for Virginia’s program. Just three months ago, a Virginia team capable of making the College Football Playoff after knocking off the Hokies in emphatic fashion would’ve seemed like some sort of mythical creature, like a unicorn or a leprechaun or a narwhal. Instead, the Cavaliers are playing their best football of the year behind a dominant defense and a ground game that has blossomed down the stretch.
Now all that’s left for the Hoos is to keep the ACC from massive embarrassment. It may be their greatest challenge of all.
Jayden Maiava threw for 257 yards and two touchdowns, King Miller ran for 124 and a pair of scores, and USC Trojans mercifully ended UCLA Bruins ‘s season with a 29-10 win Saturday.
UNC ends Belichick’s first season 4-8, including an 0-8 mark against teams that finished 5-7 or better.
The regular season has drawn to a close, and it has been a wild ride. Some stories were impossible to miss — Lane Kiffin’s job search, Penn State and Clemson falling from the top five, shirtless men everywhere — but others were so subtle we might not fully grasp their impact for years to come. We’ve tried to capture those smaller vibe shifts here.
Texas Tech and BYU clinched their spots in the Big 12 title game, setting up a rematch of the Red Raiders’ emphatic win from Nov. 8.
Texas Tech finished the regular season with a dominant 48-0 victory over West Virginia, the Red Raiders’ 11th win of the season by at least 20 points. In the playoff era, only 2018 Alabama (12 such wins) and 2019 Ohio State had done that — though both fell to Clemson in the College Football Playoff and did not win a title.
