ACC & Big 12 Week 14 Preview
Throughout the college football season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee are out on the road to meet with fans of our partner schools (including new Big 12 partners) to spread the word about the Russell Athletic Bowl’s new matchup and our brand-new home field opening for the 2014 bowl season.
Here are three of the notable games across our partner conferences where we will be in attendance this weekend:
No. 12 Kansas State (8-2, 6-1 Big 12) rebounded from a week 11 loss to TCU and defeated Big 12 opponent West Virginia by six points last Saturday. The Wildcats, one of four teams ranked in the Top 25 in the conference, currently are third in the standings behind Baylor and TCU. They host Kansas (3-8, 1-7 Big 12) this Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for their first home game since the first week of November. The Jayhawks faced Oklahoma last Saturday and suffered their seventh conference loss of the season. Kansas State has won this matchup the last five years but Kansas has the advantage in the series history, 65-41-5.
No. 22 Louisville (8-3, 5-3 ACC), one of three ranked teams in the ACC Atlantic division, handed Notre Dame its second-consecutive loss last Saturday and returns to Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to host in-state rival Kentucky (5-6, 2-6 SEC) in week 14. The Wildcats lost on the road to Tennessee in week 13 and have not recorded a win since early October. The Cardinals, who currently are third in the Coastal standings, jumped two spots in the College Football Playoff rankings as a result of last week’s win. When Kentucky hosted Louisville in 2013, the Cardinals earned the 27-13 win, increasing their lead in the overall series record to 12-8.
Following a shutout win over Georgia State last Saturday, No. 21 Clemson (8-3, 6-2 ACC) remains home in the final week of the regular season to host South Carolina (6-5, 3-5 SEC). With the decisive win, the Tigers moved up one spot in the College Football Playoff rankings and are second in the ACC Atlantic Standings behind undefeated Florida State. The Gamecocks defeated South Alabama 37-12 in week 13 and became bowl eligible with their sixth win of the season. When South Carolina hosted Clemson in 2013, the tenth-ranked Gamecocks upset the sixth-ranked Tigers 31-17 making the overall record in this series 65-42-4 in favor of Clemson.