College Football Cheat Sheet: Rivalry

One of the best weekend in sports has finally arrived. What makes college football different from everything else in here.

This is rivalry week.

Teams will play in games against teams they hate the most after eating some turkey on Thursday. Some can put a stamp on good season and others can play spoiler against their heated rival. We will feel the stakes all weekend. The party gets started on Friday before a jam-packed Saturday.

This will be an elite college football weekend. Savor it.

The Slate

Navy at Memphis	7:30pm (Thursday)	ESPN
Iowa at Nebraska	Noon (Friday)	CBS
Kent State at Northern Illinois	Noon (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
Ohio at Buffalo	Noon (Friday)	ESPNU
No. 7 Ole Miss at Mississippi State	Noon (Friday)	ABC
No. 13 Utah at Kansas	Noon (Friday)	ESPN
Air Force at Colorado State	3:30pm (Friday)	FS1
No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)	3:30pm (Friday)	ABC
Temple at North Texas	3:30pm (Friday)	ESPN
San Diego State at New Mexico	3:30pm (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
Boise State at Utah State	4:00pm (Friday)	CBS
No. 2 Indiana at Purdue	7:30pm (Friday)	NBC
No. 3 Texas A&M at No. 16 Texas	7:30pm (Friday)	ABC
No. 25 Arizona at No. 20 Arizona State	9:00pm (Friday)	FOX
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan	Noon	FOX
Toledo at Central Michigan	Noon	ESPN+
No. 5 Texas Tech at West Virginia	Noon	ESPN
No. 12 Miami at No. 22 Pittsburgh	Noon	ABC
Houston at Baylor	Noon	TNT
East Carolina at Florida Atlantic	Noon	ESPN+
Colorado at Kansas State	Noon	FS1
Ball State at Miami (Ohio)	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Clemson at South Carolina	Noon	SEC Network
Iowa State at Oklahoma State	Noon	ESPNU
Kentucky at Louisville	Noon	ACC Network
FIU at Sam Houston	1:00pm	ESPN+
UTEP at Delaware	1:00pm	ESPN+
UCF at No. 11 BYU	1:00pm	ESPN2
Georgia Southern at Marshall	1:30pm	ESPN+
Georgia State at Old Dominion	2:00pm	ESPN+
Louisiana Tech at Missouri State	2:00pm	ESPN+
WKU at Jacksonville State	2:00pm	ESPN+
Arkansas State at App State	2:30pm	ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at New Mexico State	3:00pm	ESPN+
South Alabama at Texas State	3:00pm	ESPN+
ULM at Louisiana	3:00pm	ESPN+
UAB at Tulsa	3:00pm	ESPN+
Boston College at Syracuse	3:00pm	The CW
Missouri at Arkansas	3:30pm	SEC Network
Cincinnati at TCU	3:30pm	FOX
Wisconsin at Minnesota	3:30pm	FS1
No. 14 Vanderbilt at No. 19 Tennessee	3:30pm	ESPN
Troy at Southern Miss	3:30pm	ESPN+
Penn State at Rutgers	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
Wake Forest at Duke	3:30pm	ACC Network
LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma	3:30pm	ABC
Army at UTSA	3:30pm	ESPN+
No. 6 Oregon at Washington	3:30pm	CBS
Kennesaw State at Liberty	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
James Madison at Coastal Carolina	3:45pm	ESPNU
Florida State at Florida	4:00pm	ESPN2
Oregon State at Washington State	6:30pm	The CW
Virginia Tech at No. 18 Virginia	7:00pm	ESPN
Rice at USF	7:00pm	ESPN+
Maryland at Michigan State (Detroit)	7:00pm	FS1
UCLA at No. 17 USC	7:30pm	NBC
No. 10 Alabama at Auburn	7:30pm	ABC
North Carolina at NC State	7:30pm	ACC Network
Northwestern at Illinois	7:30pm	FOX
Charlotte at No. 24 Tulane	7:30pm	ESPNU
No. 21 SMU at California	8:00pm	ESPN2
UNLV at Nevada	9:00pm	CBS Sports Network
No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford	10:30pm	ESPN
Fresno State at San Jose State	10:30pm	FS1
Wyoming at Hawaii	11:00pm	Mountain West Network

Current College Football Playoff picture

1.) Ohio State vs. 8.) Oklahoma/9.) Notre Dame

2.) Indiana vs. 7.) Ole Miss/10.) Alabama

3.) Texas A&M vs. 6.) Oregon/11.) Virginia

4.) Georgia vs. 5.) Texas Tech/12.) Tulane

First Four Out: BYU, Miami, Utah, Vanderbilt

A loaded Black Friday highlights the SEC slate

This certainly does feel like a big weekend in the SEC. There are rivalry games up and down the schedule this week with five teams playing on Friday. There are some real stakes as some teams are playing for playoff seeding, others face a “win and in” game, and the SEC Championship Game still needs to be set.

— Ole Miss (10-1, 6-1) at Mississippi State (5-6, 1-6): We are all on Lane Kiffin watch. Mississippi State is playing for a bowl berth and to ruin a dream season for their heated rival. Things tend to get crazy in the Egg Bowl. This one could be an all-timer on Friday afternoon.

— Georgia (10-1, 7-1) at Georgia Tech (9-2, 6-2): The Yellow Jackets gave up a home game to play this rivalry in Downtown Atlanta. That will be a lot of red and black in the stands. A win could lock up a top-four seed for UGA. The Dawgs just need an Alabama or a Texas A&M loss to return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for another SEC Championship Game appearance.

— Texas A&M (11-0, 7-2) at Texas (8-3, 5-2): It’s hard to envision Texas making the playoff this season even with a win. But they could end an undefeated season for Texas A&M and knock the Aggies out of the SEC Championship Game. This rivalry returns to Austin and is delivering a game with SEC Championship stakes for the second year in a row.

— LSU (7-4, 3-4) at Oklahoma (9-2, 5-2): One more win will get Oklahoma back into the College Football Playoff. LSU is banged up and in the middle of a coaching search. This one should be all Boomer Sooner.

— Vanderbilt (9-2, 5-2) at Tennessee (8-3, 4-3): The Vols are not returning from the playoff. They can make sure their in-state rival doesn’t make it to the postseason. Vanderbilt needs a win and some help this weekend. This one will be a shootout at Neyland Stadium. Diego Pavia could steal the Heisman Trophy with a big performance.

— Alabama (9-2, 6-1) at Auburn (5-6, 1-6): All Alabama needs is a win to secure a playoff bid and another trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship. The Tide just need to beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium. That is easier said than done. The Tigers could knock Bama out of the playoff with an upset win.

Can Ohio State finally do it?

The Big Ten has a full card this weekend with two games on Friday and a loaded slate on Saturday. Everyone’s attention will be on the Big House.

— Ohio State (11-0, 8-0) at Michigan (9-2, 7-1): The Buckeyes are the best team in college football again but they haven’t beaten Michigan since 2019. Meanwhile, a win opens up the playoff door for the Wolverines. Stakes, tension, and storylines in the Big House. This one won’t be boring.

— Oregon (10-1, 7-1) at Washington (8-3, 5-3): Oregon is one win away from returning to the playoff. They just have to win in Seattle first. Washington can play spoiler against a team they do not like.

I’m sure the ACC will deliver some more chaos

There is one weekend left in the ACC and yet there are six teams still alive in this conference. Who will make it to Charlotte to play for a playoff bid? We will find out on Saturday.

— Miami (9-2, 5-2) at Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-1): The Canes are the highest-ranked team in the ACC but need a lot help to get to Charlotte mostly due to that head-to-head overtime loss to SMU. Pitt just needs a Virginia or SMU loss to get the Charlotte with a home win on Senior Day. This is a big one.

— Wake Forest (8-3, 4-3) at Duke (6-5, 5-2): Believe it or not, a 7-5 team could make the ACC Championship Game. Duke must win first. If the Blue Devils get it done at home, Pittsburgh + SMU need to lose or Pittsburgh loses + Virginia loses + North Carolina wins. It’s a long shot, but Duke has a chance to get to Charlotte.

— Virginia Tech (3-8, 2-5) at Virginia (9-2, 6-1): The Hoos are back in the ACC Championship for the first time since 2019 with a win. They could also get there with some help (SMU loss + Pittsburgh loss + North Carolina win). But they would rather just win. Virginia will have to beat the rival that has owned them for two decades at home to get there.

— SMU (8-3, 6-1) at California (6-5, 3-4): The Mustangs can return to Charlotte with an ACC win in Berkeley. What a sport. If Cal pulled an upset with interim head coach Nick Rolovich, SMU would need a Pittsburgh loss + Duke loss + Virginia win + North Carolina win to keep its playoff hopes alive.

This is the chaos conference.