It’s the final weekend of the college football regular season, which means rivalry games take center stage.
Built on proximity, high stakes and decades of tradition, the blood pumps a little harder for players and fans alike this week.
With seven at-large bids for the first 12-team College Football Playoff up for grabs, not to mention spots in next week’s conference championship games, some of these games take on even more significance.
Rivalry Central will be College Station, Texas. That’s where the “Lone Star Showdown” will be renewed for the first time since 2011 on Saturday night. The winner between No. 3 Texas (No. 3 CFP) and No. 20 Texas A&M (No. 20 CFP) advances to the Southeastern Conference game to play Georgia.
Speaking of No. 6 Georgia (No. 7 CFP), the Bulldogs host Georgia Tech on Friday in the game known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.” The Bulldogs are double-digit favorites — ask Miami how that worked out when it played the Yellow Jackets — and they can save themselves a lot of playoff anxiety by taking care of business here.
Michigan, which has taken a step back since winning the 2023 national championship, will have plenty of motivation to play the spoiler’s role in “The Game” at No. 2 Ohio State (No. 2 CFP). The Wolverines have won three straight against the Buckeyes, and an upset Saturday could keep Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship game again and dent its playoff dreams.
No. 12 Clemson (No. 12 CFP), still alive for a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game against SMU, hosts No. 16 South Carolina (No. 15 CFP) in the “Palmetto Bowl” on Saturday. The winner keeps its playoff hopes alive.
No. 13 Alabama (No. 13 CFP) will have its slim playoff chances squashed if it doesn’t beat Auburn at home in the Iron Bowl. Same with No. 15 Mississippi (No. 14 CFP), which hosts Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl on Friday.
And then there’s the mess in the Big 12 that needs to be sorted out. Nine teams — yes, nine — remain alive for the conference championship game. No. 14 Arizona State (No. 16 CFP), picked to finish last in the 16-team league, goes to Tucson for the Territorial Cup against Arizona. The Sun Devils, with a win, have the best chance of advancing — though Big 12 number crunchers could be sorting through tiebreakers by Saturday night.
BEST GAME
• No. 3 Texas (10-1, 6-1 SEC, No. 3 CFP) at No. 20 Texas A&M (8-3, 5-2, No. 20 CFP), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
The tradition is back after a 13-year hiatus. That’s a big deal, and even bigger with the winner going to Atlanta next week to face Georgia in the SEC championship game. The Aggies probably need to win the SEC to make the playoff; the Longhorns can get to the playoff if they lose this game but their seeding could take a hit.
Texas has won 10 straight road games and takes a top-20 offense and top-five defense to Kyle Field. Texas A&M has dropped two of its last three, including last week’s four-overtime loss at Auburn.
The Longhorns are 5 1/2-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
HEISMAN WATCH
This week’s Heisman Trophy polls indicate a two-man race between Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter and Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. Ballots go out Monday to the 928 voters.
Hunter had eight catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns and made seven tackles and broke up a pass in last week’s loss to Kansas. The Buffaloes play Oklahoma State at home on Friday.
Jeanty has put together the nation’s first 2,000-yard rushing season since 2019. He’s gone over 100 yards in all 11 games, including four over 200. The Broncos host Oregon State on Friday.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• 6 — Tulane’s nation-leading defensive touchdowns, according to Sportradar.
• 7 — Illinois wins secured in the final minute or overtime since the start of the 2023 season.
• 9 — Collin Rogers’ career field goals of 50-plus yards for SMU, most in the nation since 2022.
• 14 — Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter’s career lost fumbles, most in the nation since 2021.
• 16-2 — UTSA’s record in November games under fifth-year coach Jeff Traylor.
UNDER THE RADAR
• Miami (Ohio) (7-4, 6-1 MAC) at Bowling Green (7-4, 6-1), Saturday, noon (ESPNU)
Miami, the defending Mid-American Conference champion, will go to the league championship game in Detroit next week for the third time in six years if it wins. Bowling Green will play for the MAC title for the first time since 2015 if it wins.
The RedHawks enter on a six-game win streak; the Falcons have won five in a row. The spotlight will be on BGU tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who could give the MAC an NFL first-round draft pick for the second straight year (Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell went to Philadelphia as the No. 22 pick in April.)
HOT SEAT
UCF has regressed in Gus Malzahn’s fourth season, and second since it moved from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12. The Knights are 10-16 since the end of the 2022 regular season and have lost seven of their last eight entering Friday’s home game against Utah.
Malzahn is making $4 million this year under a contract that runs through 2027. He would earn the same next year before making an average of $5.5 million in 2026 and ‘27, according to USA Today.
The post High-stakes rivalry games cap off end of regular season appeared first on Times Leader.