The final week of college football’s regular season is tabbed “rivalry week.” Forget that Texas A&M and Texas won’t play at all and that a good chunk of rivalry games actually took place last week. The title deserves to be slapped on this week because television networks and marketing departments say so. It’s why below, we rank the week’s five most watchable and intriguing rivalry games.
MORE ROB'S RANKINGS: Past five Heisman QBs | Best undefeated seasons since 2010
1. MICHIGAN vs OHIO STATE – The Game
Ohio State fans are certain Jim Harbaugh is the most overrated coach in the history of the Western world. Michigan fans are certain Urban Meyer is any number of evil things. Those beliefs always create intrigue, because watching the losing team’s excuse mill churn is an absolute delight. Still, there are more tangible stakes this time around.
Michigan ranks fourth in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and would like nothing more than to hit Ohio State with its metaphorical bus on the way to a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes, who are 10-1 despite looking less than impressive at times this season, are hoping to play season-spoiler and create another bullet point to use when their fans slander Harbaugh on the Internet.
There’s also the small matter of the Big Ten East title, which hangs in The Game’s balance. The Wolverines and their impressive defense will arrive in Columbus as the favorite, but Ohio State has the athletes to steal this game. Those athletes will just need to play better than they did in last week’s near-loss to a painfully average Maryland team in search of a head coach.
Oh, there’s also the fact that a certain segment of people have, for one reason or another, decided that Meyer is stepping down following the season. Is that unabashed speculation? You bet it is, but the narrative is part of the story regardless of whether or not it’s based in reality.
2. WASHINGTON vs. WASHINGTON STATE – The Apple Cup
A clash of styles that should include a metric ton of points, one could make a case for placing the Apple Cup in the top spot. The 111th meeting between the Pacific Northwest rivals will feature two coaches with polar opposite personalities, as the colorful Mike Leach takes on the hyper-successful but milquetoast Chris Petersen, and the differences obviously don’t stop there. Leach’s air-raid offense is a sharp contrast from Petersen’s multi-formation look. Cougars’ star quarterback Gardner Minshew is new on the college football scene, while his UW counterpart, Jake Browning, seems like he’s been under center in Seattle since "Mean Girls" was in theaters. And that stuff is just the window dressing.
Obviously, what’s important here are the stakes. The winner of the game will advance to the Pac-12 title game and the loser will get started on preparing for a mostly meaningless bowl game. Washington State, which enters the contest as the favorite, is also still alive when it comes to the College Football Playoff. The Cougars need some help, sure, but Leach playing for a title is certainly more than a remote possibility, and that’s a victory for a sport that desperately lacks interesting coaching personalities. This game is being played on a Friday night, which seems insane.
3. GEORGIA vs. GEORGIA TECH - Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate
The sport’s silliest-named rivalry game features a Georgia team with the talent to rout its in-state rival, but Georgia Tech has managed to win two of the last four meetings. Four of the last five games between the teams have been decided by a touchdown or less, with two of those contests going to overtime. Georgia Tech also arrives having won six of its last seven games. That’s all to say, it’s easy to make a case for the possibility of an upset that would completely erase the fifth-ranked Bulldogs from the periphery of the playoff conversation.
UGA will play for the SEC title regardless of what happens on Saturday, but the Yellow Jackets can still deal Kirby Smart a season-crushing loss. This game feels like it has real upset potential.
4. UCF vs. USF – The War on I-4
UCF is destined to go undefeated for eight straight years and still not crack the College Football Playoff, because the system is rigged against Group of Five teams. That’s fine, though, because the trolling that would stem from a second straight perfect season in Orlando would be just as pleasing as a “small program” crashing the playoff. If you thought people were mad when the Knights claimed last year’s national title, wait until they crown themselves the “Team of the Decade.” I cannot wait for this.
UCF has become appointment viewing not just because it has a fun offense and an electric quarterback in McKenzie Milton, but because so many people are seemingly wishing for it to lose so the Knights can be dismissed as a fraud. They are a two-touchdown favorite against Charlie Strong’s USF team. So while the game itself might not be a thriller, there’s something alluring about watching a team polish off a second straight perfect regular season.
5. ALABAMA vs. AUBURN – The Iron Bowl
OK, so Alabama is probably going to mercilessly club Auburn. The Tide’s defense is probably going to be too much for the Tigers and Nick Saban is probably going to flirt with covering the 24-point spread. But “probably” isn’t “definitely,” and the Iron Bowl tends to get weird. Therein lies the intrigue.
It says something about this Alabama team that anything resembling a “threat” to its perfect record creates enough buzz to land the game on a list like this. There’s not a ton to say here, other than I’ll probably look silly for putting this game in this column, but should the contest be close at halftime the matchup will look under-ranked in the five spot.
It's not as though the Auburn roster is devoid of top-level talent. And even the historically great teams are susceptible to an upset scare. Right? Right? … Right? Maybe?
