AP Top 25 rankings: Washington joins the party

As we enter Week 14 of the college football season, the pieces are falling into place for the College Football Playoff. The top four teams have pretty much separated themselves, but the rest of the field is vying for the spots in the New Year’s Six bowl games.

Let’s take a look at how things played out in Week 13, and see whose fortunes changed the most in the AP Top 25 rankings.

Rising: Iowa State

Week 13 ranking: 15
Week 14 ranking: 12

We start with the Cyclones, who achieved their highest ranking since 2002. Iowa State is the highest ranked team in the Big 12 following its 23-20 victory on the road at Texas. The victory also keeps the Cyclones atop the conference standings with one more game played than Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

It looked like their run might come to an end when they fell behind 20-10 midway through the third quarter on Saturday. However, the Cyclones got two big field goals from kicker Connor Assalley, and then Breece Hall punched it in from three yards out to cap a 69 yard drive with just 1:25 left in the game.

The Cyclones were able to hold on for the victory when Texas missed a 58-yard field goal as time expired. There are plenty of tiebreaker scenarios in play for the Big 12 title game, but right now Iowa State needs to simply keep winning and it's in.

Falling: Oregon

Week 13 ranking: 9
Week 14 ranking: 21

The Ducks plummeted down the rankings after falling 41-38 at Oregon State, falling twelve spots. Oregon led the game 31-19 heading into the fourth quarter, but allowed two touchdowns in 63 seconds to fall behind with 12:23 to go.

The Ducks regained the lead a few minutes later with a solid touchdown drive, but watched their rivals knock them off when the Beavers punched home a touchdown on fourth down with just 33 seconds remaining in the game.

Oregon was done in by three huge turnovers, and allowed 269 yards on the ground to Oregon State. HB Jermar Jefferson gained 226 of those, including an 82-yard run to put the Beavers on the board for their first touchdown.

The Ducks have now allowed more than 265 yards to each of their last two opponents. They will hope to reverse that trend when they face a Cal team on Saturday that averages less than 140 yards rushing per game.

Rising: Louisiana

Week 13 ranking: 23
Week 14 ranking: 20

The Ragin’ Cajuns jump up into the Top 20 this week, as they picked up their eighth win in nine games with a dominant 70-20 romp over rivals Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday. It was a close 21-14 contest after the first quarter, but the Cajuns put 28 points on the board in the second frame, aided by a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Louisiana has lost just once this season, falling by three points to Coastal Carolina in mid-October. They are going to get a shot at revenge when they face the undefeated Chanticleers in the Sun Belt Conference title game in two weeks. Before then, they will face 7-2 Appalachian State in their season finale on Saturday.

Falling: Northwestern

Week 13 ranking: 11
Week 14 ranking: 16

The fairytale season for the Wildcats came crashing down on Saturday, as they fell 29-20 to a Michigan State team that had lost their previous two games by a combined 73-7 score. Northwestern trailed 17-0 just five seconds into the second quarter, but then scored 20 unanswered points to take an early fourth-quarter lead. However, the Wildcats imploded, allowing Michigan State to tie the game on their ensuing drive, and then allowed a field goal with 3:35 to play.

The Wildcats had a chance to tie or win the game, but their next drive saw them go three-and-out with zero yards gained. After forcing a punt with 10 seconds remaining, QB Peyton Ramsey was sacked, and a desperation lateral ended in a fumble recovery for a Sparty touchdown to seal the game. Ramsey completed just 21-of-43 attempts for 210 yards, with no touchdown and two interceptions.

With their game against Minnesota cancelled, the Wildcats now have a week off before they face Illinois in their season finale. The good news is that they still have a longshot chance of winning the Big Ten, as they will likely play Ohio State in the conference title game.

Rising: Washington

Week 13 ranking: Unranked
Week 14 ranking: 23

The Huskies make their debut into the rankings with a 24-21 victory over Utah on Saturday. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, they flipped the script and held the Utes scoreless after the break, scoring 17 points of their own in the third quarter. Washington then stole the victory with a 12-play, 88-yard drive over the final four and a half minutes that culminated in a 16-yard touchdown pass with only 36 seconds remaining.

The Huskies move to 3-0 on the season, but due to their season opener with Cal being cancelled, they now have just two games remaining on their schedule. Stanford will be their next opponent on Saturday, followed by a road game at Oregon next weekend. If they remain unbeaten, the Huskies would likely play either USC or Colorado for the Pac-12 title in a few weeks.

---

Wager on all NCAAF Week 14 action at BetAmerica!