We are officially at the end of the regular season for college football. With bowl season fast approaching, we are gifted with the best week of the entire season; rivalry week. Rivalries in college can happen for many reasons, proximity, boosters, necessity from conference play or pure hate.
But they make for some of the best and most entertaining football of the year. This year’s rivalry week is no different. With several of the games having serious implications for the College Football Playoff and conference championship games next week.
This week’s Top 4 is no different than last week’s. But it’s given us what many are calling Game of the Century part 2 (more on that in a bit). First, we need to see what our reigning #1 team Georgia has to handle.
1. Georgia (11-0), 1st in SEC East
Georgia plays in the SEC which is usually the best conference in college football the biggest reason why? Because honestly what else is there to do in the South besides play football?
Nevertheless, the Georgia Bulldogs have a perfect conference record and are locked into the SEC Championship game next week. They are an interesting team in that they do not play a conference rival during rivalry week but instead an instate rival (proximity) in Georgia Tech.
The rivalry is billed as; Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate (awesome name) and is about to have its 116th meeting. Georgia leads all time 69-41-15 (ties are lame) and have won the last 4.
They enter as -36.5 point favorites hosting the 5-6 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. It should be a cakewalk to the SEC Title game and essentially a lock for the playoff in back-to-back seasons.
2. Ohio State (11-0), tied for 1st in Big Ten East
3. Michigan (11-0), tied for 1st in BIg Ten East
Once again OSU is vying for a perfect regular season and a chance at the Big Ten Title. Standing in their way, their greatest rival the #3 Michigan Wolverines.
What is often simply referred to as “The Game” (dumb name because Yale vs Harvard did it first) is must-see viewing during rivalry week. This Saturday is the 118th meeting between the two teams. It was started partially because of a real-life border dispute between Michigan and Ohio known as the Toledo War. When the teams played for the first time in 1897, this fueled the fire for what would be considered one of college football’s greatest rivalries.
As the current record stands Michigan has a series lead 59-51-6 (once again ties are lame). The 21st century has been owned by Ohio State though, with the Buckeyes having won 15 of the last 20 with 1 win being vacated in 2010. Prior to last year’s massive win in Ann Arbor, Michigan had lost 8 straight. After getting that monkey off their back now they have another, they have not won in Columbus since 2000.
The buildup for this game has been monumental. As previously discussed is billed as Game of the Century part 2, which can’t be discussed without a look at part 1. In 2006 the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes hosted the #2 Michigan Wolverines, the only time in the historic rivalry they have played as the top 2 teams in the country.
What happened next was an all-time offensive classic (the opposite of classic Big Ten Football). OSU would win the game 42-39. They also won the Big Ten title outright and punched their ticket to the BCS National Championship game against Florida. Michigan would go on to play USC in the Rose Bowl. both teams would lose but their rivalry game would be cemented in history.
Now, this Saturday we get a chance at part 2, quite a billing and a lot to live up to. Both teams come in undefeated but battered, Michigan Heisman candidate RB Blake Corum and two-headed monster backs Miyan Williams and Treveyeon Henderson all being banged up and missing time last week.
The winner gets a chance at the Big Ten Title and CFP berth. The loser still might get into the playoff but their pathway becomes much harder.
4. TCU (11-0), 1st in Big 12
The most surprising team in college football this year keeps on finding a way to win.
After a walk-off field goal at Baylor last week put them at 11-0, TCUs pathway to an undefeated regular season is basically locked up. They host 4-7 Iowa State this week, who is not an actual rival of theirs but simply a Big 12 team (sad).
TCU has proven they can win any way they need to; grind out defensive struggle at Texas, overtime thrillers against OK State, blowout win with Tarleton State and come from double digits wins against Kansas State. They can do it all and are the internet’s favorite team which should give them a national title berth off the bat.
They are already locked in for the Big 12 Title game. If they win out they are a lock for the CFP and will likely play the winner of OSU vs Michigan.
First two teams out:
5. LSU (9-2), 1st in SEC West
Let me just start out by saying, Fuck the CFP committee if they put a 2-loss LSU team that wins the conference into the playoff after they refused to put a 2-loss Penn State team that won the Big Ten in 2016 in. *sigh* still not over it.
LSU has overcome early losses to Florida St and Tennessee to be just outside the playoff and in unprecedented territory. Southern gentleman Brian Kelly in his first year has led the Tigers to SEC West title and a shot to be the first 2-loss team ever in the playoffs.
First, they need to beat one of their many rivals in Texas A&M who after winning the recruiting trophy has been terrible this year and sports a 4-7 record.
This will be the 61st meeting between the two teams. Since A&M joined the SEC it will be their 11th matchup with LSU having won 8 of the last 10. This game had some thrillers with the 7 OT game in 2018 being a classic. But from where these two stand, I see LSU being a 10-win gearing up for Georgia.
6. USC (10-1), 1st in PAC 12
This rivalry started because the Head Coach of Notre Dame’s wife was convinced by the wife of USC Athletic Director that a better way to spend late November was in sunny California and not snowy South Bend, Indiana (can’t say I blame her).
This is affectionately known as a conversation of wives and shows how much thought really went into these rivalries back in the 1920s. This is the 93rd meeting and Notre Dame leads all time 48-36-5 (ties suck once again). They also battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, which is just a wild trophy.
On Saturday, USC takes on the #13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in what very well be what puts or keeps them out of the CFP. Now USC would still need to win the conference title game next week against either Washington or Oregon or Utah (this is why we need divisions). But, beating a ranked team to end the regular season will give them plenty of momentum and keep the playoff hopes for Lincoln Riley and co.
