The 2025 common season has come and gone, and the levels are set for convention title video games this week.
After Georgia Tech and SMU misplaced this previous weekend, Duke landed a spot within the ACC title recreation based mostly on a tiebreaker with Miami. The chaos within the ACC continues as arguably the very best staff within the convention will miss the title recreation this season.
Texas earned its largest win of the season after taking down undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Friday night. Although the Longhorns completed with a 9-3 regular-season document, their losses aren’t the one motive they might be neglected of the 12-team School Soccer Playoff. And BYU appears to be like to stamp its spot within the playoff.
Our school soccer specialists break down key storylines and takeaways from Week 14.
Bounce to:
Texas’ drawback | New Mexico’s Jason Eck
ACC chaos | Arizona’s shocking win
The case for BYU
Texas has a Florida drawback
The School Soccer Playoff choice committee is not going to exclude Texas as a result of it scheduled Ohio State and misplaced to the No. 1 staff on its residence area. If the Longhorns miss the playoff, it will likely be as a result of they misplaced to a 4-8 Florida staff. Sure, Texas earned among the finest wins within the nation in opposition to Texas A&M, and victories in opposition to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt give the Longhorns a robust case for inclusion within the 12-team area. However they wanted extra time to beat Kentucky and Mississippi State, two opponents that mixed for a 10-14 document. Additionally they received hammered by Georgia 35-10. If the Longhorns completed 10-2 — and their solely losses had been to Ohio State and Georgia — they’d be a no brainer top-10 playoff staff. There have been sufficient questions this season, although, that these losses will not be the committee’s principal concern on Choice Day. — Heather Dinich
New Mexico’s Eck exhibits that enjoyable equals profitable
New Mexico’s Jason Eck is one in all school soccer’s most entertaining coaches, a degree that is apparent nearly any time he opens his mouth. He is additionally among the finest first-year hires within the sport.
Eck took over a Lobos program reeling from the abrupt intraleague departure of coach Bronco Mendenhall to Utah State, and the exits of quarterback Devon Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck to Utah. Any momentum New Mexico gained from its first season of 5 or extra wins since 2016 appeared to fade, and Eck confronted a tough reset in Albuquerque. Eck additionally had not coached within the FBS since 2010, and have become a head coach in 2022 at Idaho.
However he has stepped into the position and thrived, finishing the common season at 9-3, after Friday’s extra time win in opposition to San Diego State. Eck set a staff document for wins by a first-year coach, whereas New Mexico went 6-0 at residence for the primary time since 1938 and tied a staff document with its sixth Mountain West victory. New Mexico received 9 regular-season video games for the primary time since 1997. Greater than 30,000 followers attended Friday’s recreation, New Mexico’s largest residence crowd since 2008, a lot of whom rushed the sphere after the victory. New Mexico didn’t make the Mountain West championship recreation, however Eck acquired a five-year contract and a elevate Sunday.
“Lobo followers ought to know, while you come there, you are going to have numerous enjoyable instances, and you are going to depart residence a winner as a rule,” Eck stated.
Eck’s on the spot success underscores a number of necessary factors. Coaches can win and have some enjoyable whereas they’re doing it. Additionally they can come from decrease ranges of school soccer and transition simply, as Indiana’s Curt Cignetti has magnified and others have proven. — Adam Rittenberg
Duke reaches ACC title recreation in most chaotic season but
Keep in mind when conferences had divisions, and the ACC had the Coastal, essentially the most lovable division of all as a result of chaos all the time ensued? It was innocent on the time as a result of Clemson or Florida State would roll over whichever staff the Coastal Chaos gods selected as their consultant within the convention championship recreation, and the ACC could be nicely represented within the playoff.
Now, the joke is perhaps on the ACC. Coastal Chaos appeared to envelop your complete league this 12 months, so the end result shouldn’t be shocking: 7-5 Duke (!!) will play 10-2 Virginia within the ACC championship recreation with a School Soccer Playoff spot on the road. Miami, in the meantime, the highest-ranked and finest staff within the ACC, received shut out as a result of it misplaced a tiebreaker.
Duke made it to the title recreation as a result of its convention opponent win share was higher — one thing Miami legitimately could not management. Now, you would say that if Miami had been the very best staff within the convention, the Hurricanes shouldn’t have misplaced two video games in ACC play, and that will be truthful. Miami had the SMU recreation in management till it did not, and for that, it’s paying a steep worth.
However contemplating Duke and Miami completed 6-2 in league play, the tiebreaker used to find out who will play within the ACC title recreation appears significantly random. The ACC could be clever to think about a change to its tiebreaker coverage that will permit CFP rankings for use when there isn’t any head-to-head matchup to think about — as was the case right here. Bloated conferences with out divisions have led to this second, however this seems like a straightforward repair.
Having Duke within the title recreation does nothing to assist the narrative and notion of the league. It solely underscores that the ACC doesn’t have its act collectively in soccer. If Duke wins, there’s already chatter that potential Solar Belt champion James Madison might take one of many CFP spots that goes to the top-five convention champions, leaving the ACC kicked to the curb.
You will need to keep in mind there aren’t any assured spots for the Energy 4 champs. The highest-five convention champions get to go, no matter convention. Would the committee omit the rightful ACC champion? Duke is taking a heaping of criticism, however the Blue Devils did what they needed to do in league play to provide themselves an opportunity. Its 1-3 nonconference document, with losses to Tulane and UConn, definitely stains the way in which individuals view the Blue Devils and may influence what the committee does if confronted with that selection.
However what has unfolded has much less to do with Duke and extra to do with the ACC having a 12 months by which its largest manufacturers faltered, and groups with higher information favored to make the title recreation misplaced (Georgia Tech and SMU), in the end exposing a flawed tiebreaker system that would value the ACC dearly. — Andrea Adelson
Arizona caps shock surge with rivalry win
Coming into the season, Arizona was picked by some to complete final within the Large 12, after dropping seven of eight video games to finish the 2024 season.
As a substitute, the Wildcats completed this common season as one of many hottest groups in school soccer. On Friday, they received their fifth in a row, hammering rival Arizona State 23-7 on the street to complete 9-3.
The mixture of quarterback Noah Fifita’s resurgence and an opportunistic protection has propelled Arizona’s turnaround.
The Wildcats compelled Arizona State into 5 turnovers to take again the Territorial Cup and eradicate the Solar Devils from Large 12 title recreation competition. Arizona leads the nation with 28 compelled turnovers.
Offensively, Fifita has rediscovered his groove after a tough 2024 season. He has thrown for 26 touchdowns with simply 5 interceptions, the second-best TD-to-INT fee within the Large 12.
The Wildcats will wait and see the place they are going to play their bowl recreation. However coach Brent Brennan has the arrow pointing up once more in simply his second season in Tucson. — Jake Trotter
The case for BYU
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BYU erases early deficit to take down UCF
BYU ends the common season taking down UCF 41-21 at residence.
In all chance, the SEC will get 5 groups within the School Soccer Playoff. These 5 groups — Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M — are all nice, and have spectacular résumés and compelling arguments to again why they’re ranked within the high 10. Every might be ok to beat anybody within the nation on any given day.
Fundamental math additionally tells us that one in all them shouldn’t be a top-four staff in its personal convention, so the concept the No. 5 staff deserves an opportunity to show it’s the finest within the nation as a part of a 12-team playoff is inherently flawed. It is an fascinating dilemma, significantly while you take a look at the case for BYU. The Cougars are 11-1, rank No. 6 in ESPN’s power of document metric however did not play as troublesome a schedule because the SEC groups ranked forward of it.
Alabama has higher wins than BYU, nevertheless it additionally misplaced to a staff that completed with a shedding document (Florida State). Texas A&M is also 11-1, however did not beat a ranked staff from the SEC. It is a related story with Ole Miss. The Rebels are safely in at 11-1, however are 1-1 in opposition to top-20 groups, identical to BYU.
BYU did not assist its trigger by taking part in numerous shut video games in opposition to mediocre groups. It is a cheap rationalization for why the Cougars are ranked the place they’re, nevertheless it’s additionally powerful to flee the notion that SEC groups are extra simply forgiven for profitable shut in opposition to unhealthy SEC groups. BYU’s solely loss is to Texas Tech — which might land a top-3 seed — so to in any other case run the desk in what’s clearly the No. 3 convention, and get neglected could be a tricky destiny to simply accept.
All these discussions are not possible to keep away from. The road will all the time be drawn someplace and the bigger the sphere, the more durable it will likely be to parse between groups for the ultimate spot. Regardless of the format, there will likely be aggrieved groups. — Kyle Bonagura