Rivalry Week is a time when coaching legacies can be defined.
Whether a coach is looking to give his squad a morale-boosting ending to a disappointing season or prove they've mastered a disliked opponent, it's hard to deny that the stakes for the final week of the regular season can often be just a little bit higher.
As such, when coaches pick up that big Thanksgiving weekend win, the urge to fire off a memorable postgame quip might be a little higher. Discussing weekend plans proved to be a theme of the week -- Kirby Smart was raring to get right back to recruiting, while Kirk Ferentz' focus was more on relaxing -- but regardless of topic, this week had plenty of great postgame coach quips.
From the serious to the fun, here are all the top quotes from Week 14 of the college football season.
"I got a lot of praying to do to figure that out tomorrow." -- Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin
Ole Miss won its third consecutive Egg Bowl over Mississippi State on Friday, but the on-field performance of both teams wasn't the only storyline surrounding the game. Last Friday, Rebels athletic director Keith Carter issued a statement saying an announcement on the future of Kiffin -- who has been heavily linked to the open LSU head coaching position -- would come Saturday after the rivalry matchup.
So will Kiffin extend his contract at Ole Miss or head to Baton Rouge? As of just after the Egg Bowl's final whistle the answer is ... still uncertain. Kiffin acknowledged the weight of his upcoming decision in a postgame interview but made clear his focus for the short term would be enjoying his team's regular-season-ending win.
"Get some recovery, do some recruiting, see what happens" -- Georgia coach Kirby Smart
Georgia handled business at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, dispatching Georgia Tech to secure a seventh regular season with at least 11 wins in 10 seasons under Smart. After the win, though, Smart quickly snapped into business mode when looking ahead on his calendar.
Smart's version of R&R? Recovery and recruiting. The coach was full steam ahead in planning to continually improve his roster as other SEC games determine the Bulldogs' potential SEC championship game prospects.
"I'm not going to be doing s--- this week, pardon my French." -- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz
Rivalry Week was a pleasant one for Iowa fans, as the Hawkeyes posted an impressive display in a 40-16 win over Nebraska to cap off an 8-4 regular season.
Ferentz' plans for the upcoming days? A little less tense than Kiffin's or Smart's. The longtime Hawkeyes coach said he doesn't have much on his immediate to-do list now that the regular season has come to a close, with his focus shifting (at least temporarily) from game-planning to enjoying some Thanksgiving leftovers and ice cream.
"Häagen-Dazs coffee with the chips in, that's pretty good."
"Super bittersweet for me ... " -- North Texas coach Eric Morris
Morris will be coaching at Oklahoma State next season, but he provided North Texas fans another explosive offensive performance in his final regular-season game as coach at DATCU Stadium, with his Mean Green squad eclipsing the 50-point mark in a 52-25 romp over Temple.
After the win, Morris talked about the emotions of continuing to coach his team -- which will play for the American Conference championship next week and have a shot at the Group of 5 playoff bid -- knowing he'll be elsewhere in 2026.
"We can be a basketball and football school." -- New Mexico coach Jason Eck
New Mexico has enjoyed a stellar first season under Eck -- who was hired in the offseason -- and the Lobos' win over San Diego State ensured they'd end the regular season with a 9-3 record and a six-game winning streak. It marks New Mexico's first nine-win season in football since 2016.
It's a good time to be a Lobos sports fan right now. In addition to Eck's squad, New Mexico men's and women's basketball are a combined 11-4 to start their respective seasons. According to Eck, the school shouldn't need to worry about choosing one or the other.
"One day when I'm 80 and sitting back in my rocking char drinking a Coors Light, I'll reflect back on it." -- Indiana HC Curt Cignetti
One of the greatest turnarounds in college football history added another chapter to its story on Friday night as Indiana blew past Purdue to complete the Hoosiers' first undefeated regular season since 1945 and first perfect (no ties) regular season in program history.
Cignetti, to his credit, kept his eyes ahead when talking about his squad's remarkable season. He said there would be plenty of time when he's much older for looking back on the past, but "we've got too much ahead of us right now."
"It would be a disservice to our sport if this team is not a playoff team." -- Texas HC Steve Sarkisian
A team with three regular-season losses has never received an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff, but don't tell that to Longhorns boss Steve Sarkisian, who was plenty fired up to state his squad's case after Texas notched perhaps the most impressive win of any playoff "bubble" squad, downing No. 3 Texas A&M in Austin in a heated rivalry game.
Sarkisian unsurprisingly didn't mince words after the big win about how he felt about the Longhorns' postseason case.
"We knew this game was going to be a bloodbath." -- Arizona HC Brent Brennan
Rivalry games tend to always come with an extra level of fire. This season's matchup between in-state foes Arizona and Arizona State was no exception to such a rule, with the Wildcats eventually earning their fifth consecutive victory to close out the regular season in a contest that ended after midnight on the East Coast.
Speaking about the physicality and intensity of the game, Brennan was blunt -- and graphic -- in describing his squad's expectations.
"We're going to win with humility." -- Ohio State HC Ryan Day
After six years and four consecutive losses, Ohio State and Day regained bragging rights in the 2025 edition of The Game, taking down Michigan 27-9 in Ann Arbor. After the game, it looked like a brief moment like a repeat of last season's encounter -- in which a Wolverines flag plant on the Buckeye logo caused a skirmish at midfield -- could be unfolding.
But Day redirected his squad back toward the locker room, matching his message in a postgame interview after being asked about what the victory meant to him and the Buckeye fanbase.
"'History is great, but what's more fun is writing history, right?" -- Dan Lanning
Oregon kept its momentum rolling to close out the regular season, taking down Washington in Seattle to remain in solid position for a home game in the College Football Playoff.
Discussing his message to his players before the rivalry weekend clash, Lanning said he invoked the concept of being a part of history to his players -- Autzen Stadium didn't host a Playoff game last season, so a home postseason game this year would be the first in program history.