Week 14’s top 10 college football games: Texas-Texas A&M tops rivalry games with Playoff stakes

Thanksgiving Week has blessed us with rivalry games — old and renewed — featuring endless conference tiebreaker and College Football Playoff scenarios, including Michigan at Ohio State, a top-15 Palmetto Bowl and the return of Texas versus Texas A&M.

Let’s rank the top 10 games of Week 14, starting with honorable mentions and counting down.

Honorable mention: Oregon State at No. 11 Boise State (Fri.), Minnesota at Wisconsin (Fri.), Miami-OH at Bowling Green (Fri.), Mississippi State at No. 14 Ole Miss (Fri.), Liberty at Sam Houston (Fri.), Georgia Tech at No. 7 Georgia (Fri.), Nebraska at Iowa (Fri.), Louisville at Kentucky, Maryland at No. 4 Penn State, Purdue at No. 10 Indiana, Washington at No. 1 Oregon

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and on Saturday unless otherwise noted.)

10. Cal (6-5) at No. 9 SMU (10-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN2

SMU has already clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game, but the Mustangs still need to win to keep their at-large Playoff hopes alive, hovering just above Clemson and the throng of three-loss SEC teams in the latest rankings. A victory would also complete an undefeated inaugural season in ACC play, an impressive feat considering how Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have done since making a similar jump from the AAC to the power-conference level. It would also match last season’s total of 11 wins, with a chance for head coach Rhett Lashlee to then tie SMU’s all-time single-season mark of 12 victories set in 1935.

Line: SMU -13.5

9. Auburn (5-6) at No. 13 Alabama (8-3), 3:30 p.m., ABC

Not dead yet. Alabama, despite suffering its third loss, is still on the bubble. If the selection committee does end up looking for an excuse to keep the Tide in the field, it will require them getting a win in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, coming off their most lopsided regular-season loss in two decades. Bama faithful are still reeling after the stunning 24-3 loss to Oklahoma, and regardless of whether their CFP hopes are completely sunk, first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer is desperate to avoid losing to a middling but dangerous Auburn team that just knocked off Texas A&M in quadruple overtime.

Line: Alabama -11.5

8. No. 8 Tennessee (9-2) at Vanderbilt (6-5), noon, ABC

This could be a Playoff elimination game for the Vols. Tennessee has no chance of reaching the SEC Championship Game, and a loss would likely drop the program out of the 12-team field, but win and the Vols should be in. That’s no gimme on the road against a decent Vanderbilt team, in a league where we just witnessed three top-15 teams lose on the road to unranked opponents. But Tennessee’s top-five defense nationally (4.3 yards per play allowed) should be able to bottle up a Commodores offense that hasn’t scored more than 24 points since its early October upset of Alabama.

Line: Tennessee -11

7. No. 16 Arizona State (9-2) at Arizona (4-7), 3:30 p.m., Fox

The first Territorial Cup rivalry of the Big 12 era has more than bragging rights at stake. No team in the Big 12 controls its own destiny, but a win by Arizona State puts it in very good position to lock up a spot in next week’s conference championship, with a Playoff berth likely up for grabs. There is only a single, multi-part tiebreaker scenario that would keep the Sun Devils out of the conference title game with a victory against their in-state rivals. Getting to that championship would punctuate quite a turnaround season for ASU and second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham, after the program went 3-9 in 2023 and was picked last in the Big 12’s preseason media poll.

Line: Arizona State -9

6. No. 6 Miami (10-1) at Syracuse (8-3), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

The selection committee has shown it is willing to forgive one loss as far as the rankings are concerned, and the Hurricanes have benefited from being on the right side of all but one of their close calls. Miami moved up two spots in this week’s rankings, less because of its blowout of Wake Forest and more because of the carnage elsewhere. The Canes still need a win against Syracuse — the quietest eight-win team in the country? — to clinch a spot in the ACC championship against SMU, but if they can get there, they will have a solid case for an at-large Playoff berth even with a loss.

Line: Miami -10.5

5. No. 24 Kansas State (8-3) at No. 18 Iowa State (9-2), 7:30 p.m., Fox

The rivalry known as Farmageddon is one of the oldest in college football and has been played every year since 1917 — 107 straight seasons. Last year’s rendition featured a memorable, snow-covered upset by the Cyclones on the road. This season’s is arguably the most important home game in the history of Iowa State football. Similar to Arizona State, a victory puts Iowa State in line to reach the Big 12 championship, with most of the tiebreakers favoring the Sun Devils and Cyclones. Iowa State, which has never had more than nine wins in a season, could set a program record and have a chance to claim its first conference title since 1912, when it was a member of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Line: Iowa State -2.5

4. No. 5 Notre Dame (10-1) at USC (6-5), 3:30 p.m., CBS

See above for the point about the committee forgiving one loss. Notre Dame has the worst loss of anyone in the Top 25, but that’s old news, particularly with how dominant the Irish have been of late. All of the “quality” wins have lost some luster, as well, including the season opener over Texas A&M, but the lack of a second loss thus far outweighs all of it in the eyes of the committee. Now the Irish are in line to host a home Playoff game if they can survive a rivalry road trip against USC, which, for all its warts, has been good at home in the Coliseum, with its only loss by three points in overtime to Penn State. If Notre Dame can better that result, it could jump the No. 4 Nittany Lions in next week’s Playoff rankings.

Line: Notre Dame -7.5

3. Michigan (6-5) at No. 2 Ohio State (10-1), noon, Fox

Practically speaking, Ohio State needs a win to secure its spot in the Big Ten title game against Oregon, but The Game obviously goes much deeper than that. These Buckeyes are on a mission to exorcise a number of demons, chief among them beating Michigan for the first time in four years. This isn’t the same contending Michigan program that has bested Ohio State the past three meetings, but in many ways that puts more pressure on the Buckeyes. Michigan, which still has a solid defense, will get up for this matchup, and Ohio State can’t afford to lose, even though it is safely in the Playoff with a loss. It may be a down year for Michigan, and Ohio State may have grander aspirations, but this game remains appointment viewing.

Line: Ohio State -19.5

2. No. 15 South Carolina (8-3) at No. 12 Clemson (9-2), noon, ESPN

There are a few layers to the Palmetto Bowl. It’s an evenly matched rivalry game between top-15 teams. Clemson is still alive in the ACC championship hunt, needing a loss by Miami, but there’s also a burgeoning subplot of whether the winner of this game has a chance to slither into an at-large Playoff spot. A more prosaic SEC has helped bolster a three-loss South Carolina with close defeats against LSU and Alabama; a win over Clemson and perhaps some losses elsewhere would give the Gamecocks an argument. On the flip side, Clemson — the first team out in the latest 12-team bracket — is hoping its two losses and a quality win over South Carolina could vault the Tigers into an at-large spot, even if it misses the ACC championship. Would the committee dare to put Clemson in over a two-loss SMU or Miami team that falls in the conference title game?

Line: Clemson -2.5

1. No. 3 Texas (10-1) at No. 20 Texas A&M (8-3), 7:30 p.m., ABC

I suppose conference realignment isn’t all bad. It revived this game after a 12-season hiatus, bringing back a bitter in-state rivalry with decades of backstory and ill will. And while the game is no longer on Thanksgiving Day, it sets up about as well as the SEC and college football fans could wish for, with a top-20 showdown to determine who will play Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. For A&M, a win keeps its Playoff hopes alive and sends the Aggies to their first conference title game since winning the Big 12 in 1998. For Texas, a Playoff spot is all but guaranteed, but it’s a chance to go into College Station and end A&M’s season on a bitter note, with a chance for the Longhorns to establish themselves as SEC champs in their inaugural season.

Line: Texas -5.5

 (Photo of Texas A&M receiver Jahdae Walker: Michael Chang / Getty Images)