Rivalries, title hopes, playoff implications
Slate of Week 13 games has it all
No rivalry has produced more big games than Michigan-Ohio State.
The Wolverines and Buckeyes get together Saturday for their annual Big Ten grudge match and it will the 24th time both are ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll at kickoff.
That’s seven more than the next closest rivalries (Notre Dame-USC and NebraskaOklahoma). Among the rivalry games in the spotlight over Thanksgiving weekend, Alabama-Auburn has had eight top10 matchups in its history and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State has just two. The 10th-ranked Sooners and No. 7 Cowboys will make it three Saturday in Stillwater.
Of the all the rivalry games being played this weekend, the one with the second-most top10 matchups is Florida-Florida State with 14. The Gators and Seminoles are decidedly unranked this season.
Still, it’s a rivalry so interest abounds, as it will across the country over this holiday weekend when you can gorge on college football.
Best Game
NO. 2 OHIO STATE at NO. 6 MICHIGAN: Bedlam makes a strong case, but BuckeyesWolverines gets the slight nod because of the greater likelihood of offensive fireworks. Ohio State possesses the best offense in the country, fueled by a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback.
C.J. Stroud has thrown 36 touchdown passes and completed 71.1% of his passes, guiding an offense that averages almost 8 yards per play.
The Wolverines have two of the nation’s best pass rushers in Aidan Hutchinson and David Ajabo (combined 20 sacks), but the real counter for Michigan is its powerful running game. Hassan Haskins (1,063 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns) and Blake Corum (5.98 yards per carry) are the one-two punch.
The winner takes the Big Ten East, a spot in the conference title game and will be a step away from the College Football Playoff. And Ohio State has won eight straight in the series, all five since Jim Harbaugh has become Michigan coach.
Heisman Watch
WILL ANDERSON JR., OLB, ALABAMA: The Heisman race clarified last week with Stroud and No. 3 Alabama’s Bryce Young taking the role of favorites, but Young’s teammate deserves attention.
Anderson has been the most consistently dominant player in the country this season, with 26½ tackles for loss, including 13½ sacks. The NCAA record for tackles for loss in a season is 32 by George Selvie of USF in 2007.
In the Iron Bowl, Anderson has a chance to feast on an Auburn offense that has gotten out of sorts with a backup quarterback during a three-game losing streak.
Numbers To Know
2-14 — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s record against Oklahoma. Among high-profile rivalries, Bedlam is one of the most historically lopsided (9018-7) because Oklahoma State spent much of its existence closer to Kansas than the superpower with which it shares a state. The Cowboys have closed the gap under Gundy but still rarely beat the Sooners. This year, they are the favorites.
4— Cincinnati’s ranking in the College Football Playoff Top 25. The Bearcats are positioned to become the first team from outside the Power Five conferences to reach the playoff, if they can win out. They play at East Carolina on Friday.
6 — Number of consecutive years Clemson has played in (and won) the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. That streak is not quite dead yet for a Tigers team that had three losses before November. Clemson plays in-state SEC rival South Carolina on Saturday, but if No. 21 Wake Forest loses at Boston College and No. 23 North Carolina State loses to North Carolina, Clemson wins the ACC Atlantic.
51.82 — San Diego State punter Matt Araiza’s average per punt, which is on pace to break the FBS record. The 22ndranked Aztecs play Boise State on Friday at 10 a.m. with major Mountain West Conference championship implications on both sides.
2014 — The last time Rutgers played in a bowl game. The Scarlet Knights play at Maryland on Saturday and the winner gets bowl eligible. The Terps last reached the postseason in 2016.
Hot Seat
DAVID CUTCLIFFE, DUKE: It is doubtful any coach is going to save or lose his job based on this weekend’s results, but it certainly looks as if the end of an era is coming at Duke.
The 67-year-old Cutcliffe has had remarkable success (six bowl games and an ACC championship game appearance) in 14 seasons at a program that has rarely climbed out of the bottom of the ACC over the last 50 years. But the Blue Devils are 3-8 heading into their finale against Miami and the slippage over the past three seasons suggests it is time for a change in Durham.
Friday
FRESNO STATE 40, SAN JOSE
STATE 9: In San Jose, Calif., Jake Haener threw for 343 yards with four touchdowns and Fresno State (9-3, 6-2) won its fourth Mountain West Conference Thanksgiving Day game. Matt Mercurio kicked field goals of 31, 26 and 36 yards for San Jose State (5-7, 3-5), which has lost its last three. Nick Starkel was 19-of-42 passing for 260 yards.
Fresno State remains a halfgame behind San Diego State in the Mountain West’s western division.
Haener has passed for 3,810 yards and 32 touchdowns this season. Haener is the seventh Bulldog to have a 3,000-yard passing season.