The final week of the college football regular season as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and rivalry weekend. We have “The Game” between defending champions Michigan and Ohio State, a rivalry renewed between Texas and Texas A&M, and South Carolina vs Clemson. Rivalry weekend is one of the most anticipated weekends in college football with historic rivalry games taking place that will help give us a clearer picture of what the newly expanded College Football Playoff could look like. With this high-stakes weekend approaching let’s take a deeper look into some of this week’s key rivalry games.
A Rivalry Renewed Texas vs Texas A&M
For the first time since Texas great Justin Tucker kicked a walk-off field goal to beat Texas A&M in 2011, the Lone Star Showdown is set to take place Saturday night. Since Texas A&M departed for the SEC in 2012 the annual matchup between these two bitter rivals went more than a decade without taking place, but the stakes couldn’t be any bigger as a spot in the SEC Championship game is on the line. Texas is 10-1 on the season and is currently the number three team in the AP Polls while A&M is ranked 15 with a 8-3 record. A loss to Texas for the Aggies will most likely end their playoff hopes while Texas has room for error with only one loss at this stage of the season. The winner of this game will move on to face the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta
“The Game” Michigan vs Ohio State
Michigan versus Ohio State is one of college football’s longest-running rivalries dating back to the late 1800s having first played each other in 1897. Michigan, the defending national champion, has beaten Ohio State in their previous three matchups and is looking to make it four in a row this Saturday but, for Michigan winning this game could save what has been a rocky season for the Wolverines. After going undefeated last season, en route to a national championship, Michigan is 6-5 under first-year Head Coach coach Sherrone Moore. For Ohio State, winning this game would clinch a spot in the Big 10 Championship, setting up a rematch against first-year conference member Oregon. Ohio State will need better play up front on both sides of the ball, as we saw in the previous three matchups Michigan relied on a heavy rushing attack to beat the Buckeyes. If Ryan Day and Ohio State want to silence the credits a dominant win over the Wolverines could do that.
Clemson vs South Carolina
The rivalry between Clemson and South Carolina since the arrival of Shane Beamer has been a competitive and back-and-forth rivalry. Since 2021 Clemson has been 2-1 vs. the Gamecocks, their 2022 matchup being most memorable as South Carolina upseted #8 Clemson ending their playoff hopes that season. Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney was in the headlines all off-season with his displeasure with how NIL has changed the landscape of college football. Many media pundits questioned Clemson's future as a program under Swinney due to Swinney‘s failure to adapt. Fast forward to this weekend’s matchup with South Carolina, Clemson has a chance with a win to book a spot in the ACC Championship game vs SMU. Clemson has won three straight games since losing to Louisville earlier this month, but a win in Miami loss would allow Clemson to make the college football playoff with the ACC champion auto bid. For Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks, they enter this week as one of the hottest teams in the country winning five straight games since their 27-25 loss to Alabama. South Carolina is all but likely out of playoff contention but a win over Clemson would give South Carolina its ninth win on the season the most under Beamer since the coach's arrival in 2021.
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