The penultimate episode of this college football season is in the rearview as most teams have just one game left on their regular-season schedules.
Week 13 wasn’t the best weekend slate we’ll ever see, but fans were certainly thrilled they got another Saturday full of football after the carriage dispute between Disney and YouTube TV came to a close ahead of last week’s action. Even with a weaker slate of games, we still saw contests that had major College Football Playoff implications.
Utah survived a true scare against Kansas State at home thanks to a massive 59-yard run from quarterback Devon Dampier on fourth down that led to a game-winning touchdown for the Utes to keep their CFP hopes alive. The game of the week was in the Big Ten, as Oregon strengthened its résumé in a big way with a win over No. 15 USC. Plus, Oklahoma continued to roll and Notre Dame scored 70 points. Yes, you read that right.
Without further ado, let’s get into this week’s winners and losers across college football:
Winner: Jeremiyah Love’s Heisman case
Notre Dame’s star running back only had eight carries Saturday against Syracuse, but he took those for 171 yards and three scores. Love’s day included touchdown runs of 68 and 45 yards as the Orange defense had no answer for him or the rest of the Fighting Irish offense.
It wasn’t a given that Love would even get the ball Saturday, as Notre Dame’s defense and special teams combined to score the Irish’s first three touchdowns of the game without the offense running a single play. When Love finally got his opportunity, though, he took full advantage.
THE POWER OF LOVE 🫶
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 22, 2025
HIS THIRD TOUCHDOWN OF THE DAY 💚#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/vaL8Wxe6WY
Notre Dame scored a whopping 70 points, holding Syracuse off the board until the final seconds of the game for a dominant 70-7 win. In a Heisman race that has been dominated by quarterbacks, but remains fairly open, Love proved himself even further as one of the top players in the nation.
Loser: Bill Belichick’s bowl eligibility
Six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick has had a rollercoaster ride of a first season leading North Carolina. It appeared the Tar Heels found some rhythm a couple weeks ago following consecutive wins over Syracuse and Stanford. However, the tide quickly turned with back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Duke to end UNC’s hopes to make a bowl game.
Saturday’s loss against Duke was particularly brutal, as the Blue Devils pulled off a fake field goal on a pitch play to kicker Todd Pelino who took off down the sideline for 26 yards to set Duke up for a game-winning score. Blue Devils running back Anderson Castle punched the ball in for his third score of the day on the very next play, and North Carolina dropped to 4-7 on the year. Belichick finishes his first year coaching the Tar Heels next week against NC State on the road.
Winner: Northwestern’s stay at Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field, the historic and beloved home of the Chicago Cubs, has been renewed over the last few years as Northwestern temporary home while the school completes construction of the new Ryan Field.
Minnesota played its first game at Wrigley Saturday and paid a special tribute to the historic venue with a unique detail on its helmets. The Golden Gophers added some green ivy to the logo and helmet stripe on top of their classic maroon shell and block “M” logo.
Minnesota's helmets have ivy vines on them as they play at Wrigley Field pic.twitter.com/9bC5R89fV3
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 22, 2025
The Wildcats were forced to relocate in the 2024 and ‘25 seasons, playing most of their home games at the temporary Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium located on the shores of Lake Michigan. Wrigley became Northwestern’s second home, playing two games at the iconic ballpark last year in addition to two this year. The ivy helmets didn’t bring Minnesota any luck, though, as the Wildcats pulled out a close 38-35 win for their first victory at Wrigley in their last try before the new stadium opens next fall.
Loser: Michigan State’s chance of a Big Ten win this season
Iowa was quite happy to get a walk-off win on senior day, but Michigan State blew a big opportunity to take its first Big Ten win of the year. There’s only one more chance for the Spartans to escape their conference schedule with a win, which comes next week against Maryland, but Saturday’s crushing loss to the Hawkeyes appeared to have taken any wind left out of MSU’s sails.
After starting the season 3-0 with wins over Western Michigan, Boston College and Youngstown State, the Spartans have dropped eight games in a row, including another winnable game where they fell to Minnesota in overtime on Nov. 1. Against Iowa Saturday, Michigan State led 17-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but let up 13 unanswered points including a game-winning 44-yard field goal as time expired. MSU punted on fourth-and-2 at their own 45-yard line with less than a minute left in the game when they could have gone for it and possibly won the game with a made field goal down the line.
Head coach Jonathan Smith seems to be on thin ice in just the second year of a seven-year, $52.8 million deal after he left Oregon State for the Spartans’ job. He fell to 8-15 as Michigan State’s coach, however five of those wins (all from last season) were vacated recently due to violations from Mel Tucker’s tenure as coach.
Winner: Oklahoma’s defense, continued resurgence as title threat
The Sooners defense shined yet again as Oklahoma gave up just six points in a win over No. 22 Missouri. OU has given up just 75 points in the first half through 11 games this season, the fewest total in the SEC, according to ESPN. They held Mizzou’s Ahmad Hardy, the nation’s top rusher, to just 57 yards on 17 carries. The Sooners also forced Tigers quarterback Beau Pribula into two interceptions as they held Missouri’s offense without a touchdown.
There was a period earlier in the season where Oklahoma looked like a juggernaut, but an injury to QB John Mateer coupled with losses in October to Texas and Ole Miss changed the landscape. Mateer just missed one game (a blowout victory over Kent State) and the Sooners now have three wins in a row against strong SEC opponents in Tennessee, Alabama and now, Mizzou. They finish the regular season next week against LSU who is still dealing with the fallout of Brian Kelly’s canning.
Loser: USC’s College Football Playoff hopes
Lincoln Riley’s USC team traveled to Eugene, Ore. with a chance to pull off an impressive win that would have cemented the Trojans as a true College Football Playoff contender. Seventh-ranked Oregon took care of business, though, defeating USC 42-27 and all but ending the Trojans’ CFP aspirations.
The victory over USC instantly becomes Oregon’s best win. The Ducks defeated Penn State earlier this season in an overtime thriller on the road. Nobody could have predicted the Nittany Lions’ slide that led to James Franklin’s firing, but Oregon needed to make a statement against a CFP hopeful, and they did just that behind two touchdowns from star tight end Kenyon Sadiq.
USC will have to wait at least one more year to make the program’s first CFP appearance. The Trojans fell to 8-3 and finish their regular-season schedule at home against UCLA next week.
Winner: The people’s Heisman, Diego Pavia
The Vanderbilt quarterback put up over 500 yards of total offense in the Commodores’ 45-17 stomping of Kentucky. Pavia threw for 484 yards and five touchdowns to one interception on 33-for-39 passing. The numbers he has put up this season have been silly, including 489 yards of offense and four scores in Vandy’s last game, an overtime win over Auburn.
Vandy’s two losses to Alabama and, most recently, Texas makes Pavia’s case for the Heisman Trophy a bit difficult, but he certainly has both the numbers and moments to make his way to New York. He has an opportunity to make an even bigger statement next week as the Commodores travel to Knoxville for their finale against Tennessee.
Loser: Georgia Tech
Once upon a time, Georgia Tech was looking like a true threat to run the table and make an appearance in the CFP. A loss at the start of November to NC State changed that and this week, the Yellow Jackets fell yet again to Pittsburgh.
The Jackets mounted a fourth-quarter comeback with 14 unanswered points to trim Pitt’s lead to one score. They had a shot to complete the comeback after a strange fake punt call from Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi that led to a Georgia Tech touchdown. Following the score, Panthers running back Ja'Kyrian Turner broke a 56-yard touchdown to open Pitt’s lead back to two touchdowns and all but sealed the upset in Atlanta. He ended the day with 201 yards on 21 carries with the big score.
Georgia Tech’s star QB Haynes King threw two interceptions, including a pick-six that Pitt returned 100 yards. The Yellow Jackets’ season was always going to come down to their final game against No. 4 Georgia. Now, that games looks less critical when it comes to the CFP. Unless the Jackets can pull off the upset on the road, of course.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Week 13 Winners and Losers: Notre Dame Might Still Be Scoring.
