College football Week 14: 15 players to watch

While Virginia has been the best team in the ACC's Coastal division this season, Virginia Tech enters its regular-season finale as the hottest. The Hokies are coming off two shutouts and beat arguably the league's second-best team, Wake Forest. Ashby was named the ACC's Linebacker of the Week for the fifth time and is coming off a seven-tackle and 1.5-sack performance against Pitt. He's fourth in the conference in tackles and in tackles for loss and will be a major key for the Hokies against their rival Virginia in a game that will decide who plays Clemson for the ACC championship. He'll play a great chess match with Cavaliers  quarterback Bryce Perkins. 

In the Big Ten, Jonathan Taylor is the star running back and Rodney Smith has been the new guy (so to speak) on the scene. At Ohio State, Justin Fields gets most of the publicity while Dobbins just does his thing. Dobbins is second in the conference in rushing yards and touchdowns and has scored two touchdowns in each of his last four games. He was a workhorse last week against Penn State, carrying the ball 36 times (easily his season high) for 157 yards. He has been absolutely huge in the Buckeyes' big games this season, as they head into another one. It is Michigan week, and Ohio State has a College Football Playoff berth in its sight. 

Washington has won nine of the last 10 Apple Cups with good defense and solid play from its quarterback. Washington State typically comes into the game with Mike Leach's stretch offense hitting on all cylinders, and this year will be no different. Eason has put up nice numbers of late, though his worst game was the one win in the last four weeks. He'll need to be efficient and limit the turnovers that have killed the Huskies of late. He's thrown five interceptions over the last three games and only one touchdown in the last two weeks. Eason needs to settle in and not try to do too much to match Anthony Gordon's gaudy stats. 

Gordon leads the nation in passing with 4,920 yards and is coming off a ridiculously video game-ish stat line of 50-of-70 passing for 606 yards and six touchdowns against Oregon State last week. The Apple Cup won't have the same charge in it as it did last year when Washington State and Washington had a division title on the line, but it is huge for the state... and for State. The Cougars have lost nine of 10 to the Huskies, and Mike Leach's high-powered offense hasn't shown up the last few years. Gordon loves to sling it and should at least put up more than the 17 points his team has topped at over the last six years. 

When discussing Minnesota's offense, Tanner Morgan and Rodney Smith get most of the publicity. But Johnson has been having a big season and is amid one of the best stretch of games of his career. He's had over 100 yards receiving in six of the past seven games and has caught a touchdown in eight of his last nine games. Two weeks ago against Iowa, he caught nine passes for 170 yards and had a big game in the win over Penn State. Minnesota must beat Wisconsin to not only win the Big Ten West division but also to keep its slim College Football Playoff hopes alive. 

OK, Mac Jones, you showed out against Western Carolina. Pair that with his effort against Arkansas, and signs point to him being able to take Alabama far. This week is a much different animal, as the Tide head to Auburn to face their biggest rival with a lot on the line. Currently they are on the outside looking in, and they may need more than a win over the Tigers to show they are worthy of getting into the College Football Playoff. Jones must give the committee the confidence to put Alabama in the Playoff, and to do so he must beat an Auburn team that has already played Oregon, Florida, LSU and Georgia.

Mond has had a nice career at Texas A&M, even through all the ups and downs he's witnessed over the past three years. He joined Johnny Manziel as the only Aggies to have thrown for 7,000 yards and rushed for 1,000 yards in their careers and is only the fourth current player to have achieved the feat (Jalen Hurts, Sam Ehlinger, Brian Lewerke). A&M has played one of the toughest schedules in the nation and the regular season, and it stays that way until the very end. The team travels to LSU this week, marking the  third time this season it has faced the No. 1 ranked team (and second on the road). Mond held his own in the losses to Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Auburn. If the Aggies want to throw a major monkey wrench into the Playoff, Mond will need to have the best game of his career. 

Army-Hawaii ends the week with one of the most contrasting styles you'll see in a game. Hawaii likes to throw it all over the place, while Army loves to grind it out. Last year, Army beat Hawaii due to its ability to move the ball on the ground and despite McDonald's 321 passing yards and two TDs. McDonald has been great all year (tops in the MW in passing touchdowns and second in passing yards) and will lead the Warriors into the Mountain West championship game against Boise State. How he takes advantage of his opportunities against a disciplined Army team will be one of the more interesting items to watch this weekend.

Moss may be the most slept-on superstar who plays on the most slept-on team that has a chance to win a national championship. He has rushed for 100 yards in five of his last six games (he gained 99 yards in the other game) and has scored a TD in six straight games (and two touchdowns in five of his last six). Last week against Arizona, he rushed for 203 yards and a score, which sets up a showdown with Colorado (a win against the Buffs puts them in the Pac-12 championship game against Oregon). The last time Moss faced Colorado, he rushed for 196 yards and two TDs in a 34-13 win two years ago. There's a lot more on the line this time around. 

Let's be upfront about it: This is why Patterson came to Michigan, and this is what Wolverine fans have been waiting for him to do. Beat Ohio State. Last season Patterson went into this rivalry with a shot at a Playoff spot, and his team was completely blown out. This time around it is Ohio State that heads into Ann Arbor with a Playoff bid in its sights and Patterson, who has played lights-out the last two games, is ready to return the favor. Against Michigan State and Indiana, he completed 67.6 percent of his passes for 750 yards and nine touchdowns. Michigan has had a tough time trying to beat Ohio State, making a win here all the more sweeter. 

The Commonwealth Cup will have more on the line than ever before: The winner of Virginia-Virginia Tech will play Clemson for the ACC championship. Perkins is one of the better dual-threat quarterbacks, as he is second in the ACC in passing yards and 14th in the conference in rushing. He's been on fire of late, which is a good sign going into the rivalry game with the Hokies. Last year, he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for 112 yards in an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. The stakes are higher this time around. 

Ole Miss and Mississippi State are having down seasons, so the Egg Bowl may not be the first game you'll think about this week. However, it is the lone college game on Thanksgiving and if you are like me and like to multi-task your sports viewing on turkey day, then you'll have it on. Pay attention to Rebels dual-threat quarterback John Rhys Plumlee. He is second in the SEC in rushing touchdowns despite not taking over the starting gig until Week 5. He's also fourth in the conference in rushing yards, though he leads the pack in rush yards per game. He is just 11 rushing yards from becoming the sixth player to hit the 1,000 yard mark in program history. Last week against LSU, he rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns. Again ...this is a quarterback. He isn't the best passer right now, so look for him to take off a lot against the Bulldogs while you're eating some leftovers Thursday night. 

The Bearcats have a spot in the AAC championship game locked up, but they need a win over Memphis (and a win over Navy or Memphis again) to possibly earn a New Year's Six bowl bid. To do that, Ridder needs to have a much better game than he did last week against Temple when he completed just nine of 25 passes for 62 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He'll need to step up his offensive output against a high-octane Memphis defense this week. 

Last week Taylor set a record with his 12th career 200-yard rushing game, breaking a tie with names like Marcus Allen and Ricky Williams. Heading into the week, he trails Oklahoma State's Chuba Hubbard by 147 yards for the lead this season. While he may not be able to take over the top spot this week — Hubbard faces Oklahoma — a win over Minnesota would put the Badgers into the Big Ten championship game and offer Taylor the extra opportunity to pile on more yards as well as get some revenge on Ohio State; in their meeting last month Taylor rushed for just 52 yards. Since then he's rushed for 676 yards over three games. 

White is having another great season for the Tigers. He's completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,074 yards and 30 touchdowns this year and has been on a tear of late. He's thrown for at least 340 yards in four of his last six games, including 17 touchdowns in the last five games (and just three picks). Memphis' game with Cincinnati is huge on so many levels. The two schools are in the hunt to earn the a New Year's Six bowl bid, and Memphis needs this game just to get to the AAC title game (where it would play Cincinnati again).