Rivalry Week recruiting battles to watch

The end of the college football season is upon us, meaning it's time for rivalry week. Battle lines are drawn even as the Thanksgiving feast is being prepared in a show of goodwill.

The names are familiar and colorful: The Iron Bowl. The Civil War. Bedlam. Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

But beyond the field warfare, the coaches are not naïve to the impact on recruiting.

Since 1896, Clemson and South Carolina have fought for superiority in the Palmetto State and Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier knows that having the edge in the state can help land the best players.

"Of course, you've got to recruit your in-state players to start with," Spurrier said. "And then branch out from there.

"Winning breeds more winning and unfortunately, losing does the same thing."

Clemson leads the all-time series 65-40-4 but South Carolina won the last three contests, including last year, 34-13.

While the two programs are sharing the spotlight, there is not much of an edge in recruiting. South Carolina is the No. 13 team in the Rivals.com team rankings while Clemson sits at No. 14. Each has four players from the state committed and of the six uncommitted players inside the Top 20 in the state, neither program has a significant recruiting advantage entering play Saturday.

That could all change with a fourth straight victory from South Carolina.

Here is a look at other nationally relevant rivalry games taking place this week and the impact each could have on recruiting:

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