Week 15 Top Stories
1. Stanford clinches the Champions Division with win over Purdue.
2. Ohio State jumps to the top seed following win over USF.
3. Hawai'i keeps it exciting but loses 20-13 to Colorado State in MWC play.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Week 15 Champions Division Results 21 - 14 ----40 - 28 ----51 - 14 ----42 - 28 ----38 - 07
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions Division and College Football Playoffs Guidelines
- The top four teams from the Champions Division will be awarded an automatic bid into the College Football Playoffs. The remaining four spots are voted upon by the committee and can contain non ANAC members
- Once the teams are selected, the committee votes on the seeding as well
- ANAC members that are selected for the playoffs are automatically promoted or retain their place within the Champions Division for next season
- The bottom team in the Champions Division is automatically relegated and the top team in the Contenders Division is automatically promoted
- The remaining non-playoff teams in the Champions Division will compete in a play-in bowl with top seeded, non-playoff Contenders Division members for the right to play in the Champions Division the next season
- Bottom eight finishers in the Contenders Division are relegated and replaced with the top eight finishers in the Rising Division
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Champions Division Standings
1. Stanford, 11-1, 8-1 (clinched playoff spot)
2. Alabama, 10-2, 7-2 (clinched playoff spot)
3. Ohio State, 10-2, 7-2 (clinched playoff spot)
4. USF, 9-3, 6-3 (clinched playoff spot)
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5. Virginia Tech, 8-4, 5-4 (Promotional Bowl eligible -- retains Champions Division membership with playoff appearance)
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6. Georgia Tech, 6-6, 3-6 (Promotional Bowl)
7. Minnesota, 5-7, 3-6 (Promotional Bowl)
8. Purdue, 5-7, 2-6 (Promotional Bowl)
9. Michigan, 5-7, 2-7 (Promotional Bowl)
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10. LSU, 1-11, 1-8 (relegated)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contenders Division Standings
1. Georgia, 9-3, 7-2 (East Region Champion - promoted with win vs. BYU)
2. BYU, 9-2, 6-2 (West Region Champion - promoted with win vs. Ohio State)
3. Oklahoma, 8-4, 6-3 (Promotional Bowl Eligible)
4. Oregon, 9-3, 6-3 (Promotional Bowl Eligible)
5. Michigan State, 7-5, 6-3 (Promotional Bowl Eligible)
6. UCLA, 7-5, 5-4 (Promotional Bowl Eligible)
7. Wisconsin, 6-6, 5-4
8. Texas, 7-5, 5-4
9. Auburn, 6-6, 5-4 (relegated)
10. Arkansas, 5-6, 4-4 (relegated)
11. Florida, 6-6, 4-5 (relegated)
12. Missouri, 6-6, 4-5 (relegated)
13. Tennessee, 5-7, 4-5 (relegated)
14. Pittsburgh, 4-8, 3-6 (relegated)
15. Iowa, 2-10, 1-8 (relegated)
16. Colorado, 2-10, 0-9 (relegated)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rising Division Standings
1. Nebraska, 10-2, 7-2 (promoted - eligible for promotion to Champions Division with playoff selection)
2. Miami, 8-3, 7-2 (promoted)
3. Florida State, 7-5, 6-3 (promoted)
4. Kansas State, 6-6, 5-4 (promoted)
5. Ole Miss, 7-5, 5-4 (promoted)
6. Indiana, 7-5, 5-4 (promoted)
7. Penn State, 8-4, 5-4 (promoted)
8. USC, 7-5, 5-4 (promoted)
9. Oklahoma State, 5-7, 4-5
10. Washington, 6-6, 4-5
11. Texas A&M, 6-6, 4-5
12. Kansas, 7-5, 4-5
13. Notre Dame, 5-7, 4-5
14. Mississippi State, 6-6, 3-6
15. UCF, 3-9, 2-7
16. West Virginia, 4-8, 2-7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- College Football Playoff Rankings
1. Ohio State, 10-2
2. Stanford, 11-1
3. Alabama, 10-2
4. Fresno State, 11-1
5. Nebraska, 10-2
6. BYU, 9-2
7. Virginia Tech, 8-4
8. USF, 9-3
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9. Navy, 8-4
10. Army, 10-2
11. NC State, 10-2
12. Oregon, 9-3
13. Arizona State, 9-3
14. Oklahoma, 8-4
15. Georgia, 9-3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Championship Schedule ANAC Champions Division Winner
#2 Stanford (11-1, 8-1)
Notable Coaches on the Hot Seat
1. Jesse Galloway (1-11 Champions Division, 18-20 at LSU, 3rd year)
2. Mike Norvell (2-10 Contenders Division, 17-32 at Iowa, 4th year)
3. Jeff Ross (0-12 AAC, 12-36 at Duke, 4th year)
4. Major Applewhite (5-7 Champions Division, 47-32 at Michigan, 6th year)
5. Lane Kiffin (7-5 Rising Division, 313-153 at USC, 35th year)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notable Coaches on the Rise
1. Jonathan Pratt (8-4 at Maryland, 1st year)
2. Justin Daniels (7-5 at Kansas, 1st year)
3. Wendell Brooks (7-5 at Tulane, 1st year)
4. Alan Thomas (9-3 at Wyoming, 1st year)
5. Kenny Vickers (8-5 at North Texas, 1st year)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conference Championship Results ANAC Champions Division Winner #2 Stanford (11-1, 8-1)
*winners of promotional bowls will play the 2044 season in the Champions Division
2044 ANAC Membership Champions Division
Stanford
Alabama
Ohio State
USF
Virginia Tech
BYU
Nebraska
Winner of Georgia Tech vs. Oregon
Winner of Minnesota vs. Oklahoma
Winner of Purdue vs. Georgia
Contenders Division
Loser of Georgia Tech vs. Oregon
Loser of Minnesota vs. Oklahoma
Loser of Purdue vs. Georgia
Michigan
LSU
Miami
Florida State
Kansas State
Ole Miss
Indiana
Penn State
USC
Michigan State
UCLA
Wisconsin
Texas
Rising Division
Auburn
Arkansas
Florida
Missouri
Tennessee
Pittsburgh
Iowa
Colorado
Oklahoma State
Washington
Texas A&M
Kansas
Notre Dame
Mississippi State
UCF
West Virginia
Controversy ensues at Heisman Ceremony as NC State's Paul Davis loses to Stanford's Andrew Jones
Jessica West -- SI.com
In one of the most narrowly decided Heisman votes in recent years, Stanford's Andrew Jones took home the coveted award despite NC State quarterback Paul Davis finishing with more first place votes.
Davis had 242 first place votes compared to Jones' 239 but Jones had forty more second place votes to beat out Davis and the two other finalists, Oregon's Jeremy Joseph and Nebraska's Michael Butler who received 101 and 94 first place votes respectively.
Jones led Stanford to a Champions Division Championship in his second season as a starter and has them back in the playoffs where they lost to Alabama in the national championship game when Jones threw two interceptions. He'll get a chance to rebound from that poor performance against USF in a couple of weeks in the CFP Quarterfinals. The second-year starter averaging 236.8 passing yards per game with an additional 78.8 yards per game on the ground with 38 total touchdowns compared to Davis' 38 total touchdowns, 232.6 passing yards and 86.2 rushing yards per game.
NC State will play Florida State in the Cheez-It Bowl on December 28 in what could potentially be Davis' last game as a Wolfpack.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- CFB Awards Heisman: QB Andrew Jones (Stanford): 2842 passing yards, 177 carries, 945 rushing yards, 38 total touchdowns Maxwell: QB Garrett Doyle (New Mexico State): 2662 passing yards, 238 carries, 1354 rushing yards, 44 total touchdowns Walter Camp: QB Garrett Doyle (New Mexico State): 2662 passing yards, 238 carries, 1354 rushing yards, 44 total touchdowns Bednarik: S Jason Wilkerson (Clemson): 95 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions, touchdown Nagurski: LB Dwayne Harris (Georgia): 82 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, interception O'Brien: QB Lamar Castillo (Army): 2615 passing yards, 32 touchdowns Walker: HB Carlos Franklin (Navy): 170 carries, 1214 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns, 25 receptions, 284 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns Biletnikoff: WR Mike Thomas (Texas State): 93 receptions, 1377 yards, 19 total touchdowns Mackey: TE Brandon Walker (Georgia): 53 receptions, 815 yards, 12 touchdowns, 106 carries, 643 rushing yards Outland: T Brian Smith Jr. (Southern Miss): 32 pancakes, 2 sacks allowed Rimington: C Drew Pierce (Michigan State): 21 pancakes, 7 sacks allowed Lombardi: DE Dustin Johnson (Fresno State): 51 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, forced fumble Butkus: LB George Martin (Oregon State): 89 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, touchdown Thorpe: S Jason Wilkerson (Clemson): 95 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions, touchdown Groza: K Justin Gibson (Alabama): 22 of 22 FG, Long of 53, 39/39 XP Guy: P Pete Davis (Oregon): 37 punts, 39.1 Yd Net, Long of 66, 19 downed inside the 20 Jet: HB Jet Floyd (Michigan State): 1003 kick return yards, touchdown, 294 punt return yards, touchdown
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- AP First Team All-Americans
QB Kevin Parks, Southern Mississippi (Sr)
HB Carlos Franklin, Navy (Sr)
HB Antoine Herron, Rutgers (Jr)
WR Mike Thomas, Texas State (Sr)
WR Andy Matthews, Texas A&M (Sr)
TE Brandon Walker, Georgia (Sr)
T Brian Smith Jr, Southern Mississippi (Sr)
T Isaac Taylor, Alabama (Sr)
G Mike Rouse, Alabama (Sr)
G John Rankin, Ohio State (Sr)
C Dustin Estes, Fresno State (Sr)
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DE Joseph Smith, Southern Miss (Jr)
DE Dustin Johnson, Fresno State (Fr)
DT Jeremy Tyler, Purdue (So)
DT Brandon Smith, South Florida (Sr)
LB Dwayne Harris, Georgia (Sr)
LB Julian Harrell, South Florida (Jr)
LB Brandon Diggs, Ole Miss (Sr)
CB Adam Burton, Georgia (Jr)
CB Patrick Wiggins, Alabama (Sr)
S Nic Heffner, Nebraska (So)
S Jason Wilkerson, Clemson (Sr)
CFP Quarterfinals Preview: at #3 Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: 10-2, 7-2 Champions Division
Head Coach: Jonathan Henry (31-9 at Alabama, 3rd year, 44-10)
Offensive Coordinator: John Burns (Spread)
Defensive Coordinator: Charlton Warren (3-4 D)
Team Rankings
Points Per Game: 27th
Total Offense: 37th
Rushing Offense: 95th
Passing Offense: 14th
Total Defense: 27th
Rushing Defense: 25th
Passing Defense: 44th
Turnover Differential: 14th
Team Schedule
at Minnesota: W 29-18
at #8 Virginia Tech: L 35-18
vs. #6 USF: W 24-17
vs. #1 Ohio State: W 38-24
vs. Ole Miss: W 34-17
vs. Georgia Tech: W 38-21
at #2 Stanford: L 34-13
vs. Tennessee:: W 27-17
vs. Arkansas: W 42-14
vs. LSU: W 30-13
at Purdue: W 35-31
vs. Michigan: W 51-14
Injuries OLB Oliver Colvin, Freshman (out - season) C John Grigsby, Junior (out) OLB Melvin Carrington, Rs Junior (questionable) CB Patrick Wiggins, Rs Senior (questionable)
Bulls rally falls short at the goal line as Alabama hangs on to move onto the semi-finals
USF head coach Malcolm Francois Sr. never blinked as he kept sending his offense out there on fourth downs, twice failing to get it in the first half and once more in the fourth quarter. With a chance to tie the game with an extra point, Francois Sr. kept his offense on the field instead to go for the win and even after a defensive penalty on a tackle for loss gave the Bulls another chance to perhaps kick the extra point instead, Francois Sr. remained resolved.
His trust in his offense did not pay off as the screen pass to Justin Thomas was stopped well short of the end zone as the Crimson Tide hung on to beat the Bulls 42-41 in the College Football Playoffs Quarterfinal to keep their back-to-back dreams alive.
USF came roaring back after falling into an early 31-14 deficit in the third quarter, boosted by Scott Price's 146 yards receiving with Price scoring a 37-yard touchdown with 4:37 remaining in the third quarter. It would be the first of three consecutive touchdowns by the Bulls that went unanswered, aided by a Mike Mason interception which placed the ball inside the 10-yard line to take a 35-31 lead with a minute left in the third quarter.
Alabama's offense would once again find its footing behind quarterback Brandon Hoffman who ran for two touchdowns in the first quarter and threw for two more in the second quarter and in the fourth quarter found Parker Gibson in the end zone to retake the lead with 3:23 remaining.
Francois Sr. would opt go for it on 4th and four, deep in his own territory with a little over two minutes left instead of punting the ball away. After the game, Francois Sr. explained the decision by wanting to have two cracks at having the ball.
"If we punt it, we need to get a stop and we get once chance really. By keeping the ball, I felt like we had two chances to extend the game by either getting the fourth down conversion or getting a stop which we needed either way."
Woodard's pass would fall incomplete, leading to an Alabama field goal to make it a seven point game. Woodard would convert back to back third down plays, including a 3rd-and-19 to get the ball in Alabama territory with a minute remaining and then found freshman receiver Ryan Murray in the end zone with 40 seconds left to make it a one-point game.
Regarding the two play calls for the two-point conversion -- an option play and a screen pass -- Francois Sr. cited not wanting to put too much strain on the Bulls offensive line. Woodard was sacked five times in the game and USF had very little success in their non-option running game.
---------------------------------------------------------------- Scoring Summary
Quarter 1
[ALA] B. Hoffman, 13 Yd run (4:51)
[USF] D. Parker, 4 Yd run (3:34)
[ALA] B. Hoffman, 9 Yd run (1:26)
Quarter 2
[USF] J. Thomas, 2 Yd run (6:38)
[ALA] J. Langford, 39 Yd pass from B. Hoffman (4:24)
[ALA] W. Cutler, 20 Yd pass from B. Hoffman (0:14)
Quarter 3
[ALA] J. Gibson, 51 Yd FG (6:54)
[USF] S. Price, 37 Yd pass from R. Woodard (4:32)
[USF] R. Woodard, 5 Yd run (1:20)
[USF] J. Thomas, 6 Yd run (0:55)
Quarter 4
[ALA] P. Gibson, 5 Yd pass from B. Hoffman -- 2pt (3:23)
[ALA] J. Gibson, 40 Yd FG (2:08)
[USF] R. Murray, 19 Yd pass from R. Woodard -- 2pt failed (0:38)
---------------------------------------------------------------- #6 South Florida Bulls
QB Rashad Woodard: 23 of 37, 300 yards, 2 touchdowns, sacked 5 times, 15 carries, 67 yards, touchdown
HB Justin Thomas: 10 carries, 64 yards, 2 touchdowns
HB Dave Parker: 8 carries, 14 yards, touchdown
WR Scott Price: 7 receptions, 146 yards, touchdown
WR Eddie Shaw: 7 receptions, 72 yards
TE Jake Bryant: 3 receptions, 35 yards
WR Ryan Murray: 2 receptions, 29 yards, touchdown
LB Damon Hill: 8 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
S Clarence Sullivan: 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, sack
S Mike Mason: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, interception
LB Nate Jacobs: 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss
LB Richard Smith: 4 tackles, 3 tackles for loss
DE Marcellus Smith: 3 tackles, 3 tackles for loss
#3 Alabama Crimson Tide
QB Brandon Hoffman: 21 of 28, 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, interception, sacked twice, 14 carries, 45 yards, 2 touchdowns
HB Scott Allen: 18 carries, 48 yards
WR John Langford: 7 receptions, 91 yards, touchdown
WR Parker Gibson: 5 receptions, 72 yards, touchdown
TE William Cutler: 4 receptions, 54 yards, touchdown
WR Matt Faulk: 2 receptions, 68 yards
S Craig Young: 8 tackles
LB Frank Cole: 7 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks
DE Marcus West: 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks