Post by Uncle on Nov 25, 2021 11:29:59 GMT -6
The last week of the College Football regular season is also known as "Rivalry Week" as several matchups will contain bitter in-state (Bedlam, Civil War, etc) and out-of-state (Ohio St/Michigan) "rivalries". This is not the last week of college football before bowl games - that will be next week during the Conference Championships - but some of this weekend's games will go a long ways to determine the Final Four in the CFP.
Thanksgiving Day, 11/26
"Egg Bowl" Game: #9 Ole Miss @ Miss St - 7:30PM ET
The evening NFL game on Thanksgiving is Buffalo @ New Orleans which is decent as both teams are jockeying for playoff position in their respective divisions/conferences. But if you don't care to watch that, the "Egg Bowl" is a solid alternative. This is a chance to watch probable 2022 1st Rd QB Matt Corral (Ole Miss) on the road in a "rivalry" game that means something as this is their last chance to impress the Bowl Game Committee to put them in a solid New Year's Day Bowl game. On the other side, Mike Leach's "Air Raid" style of football has certainly brought some offensive excitement to a program that traditionally loves to play power football. Matt Corral had been dealing with some lower leg injuries that have slowed his running ability down, but I believe he's recovered and he should be on full display as you're eating your apple/pumpkin pies in the evening. This could very well be a very high-scoring/entertaining game, and at the very least it could be worth "channel flipping" back-n-forth between Buffalo/New Orleans and the "Egg Bowl".
Black Friday, 11/27
#16 Iowa @ Nebraska - 1:30PM ET
Iowa has had a solid season and were involved in the BIG 10 "Game of the Year" 1.0 earlier this season vs Penn St, but they've had 2 "bad" losses following that. If they win and Wisconsin stumbles vs Minnesota, Iowa will be representing the BIG10 West in the Conference Championship. Nebraska has played tough all season long as they haven't lost by more 9 pts all season - they just can't do the little things correctly under HC Scott Frost who's likely on his way out. Nebraska QB A Martinez will not play due to a shoulder injury, but I keep wondering if the Cornhuskers will just play all-out for Frost here and pull off at least 1 upset this season.
#4 Cincinnati @ East Carolina - 3:30PM ET
The big news is that the Bearcats jumped to #4 in the latest CFP rankings this past Tuesday, so if they win on the road - and win next weekend's Conference USA Championship game (likely vs #24 Houston), they would theoretically be in the CFP and be the 1st ever non-Power 5 team to get in. I'm not a fan of Cincinnati but I'd love to see it for "parity's sake" in CFP. They really were focused and probably played their most complete game last weekend vs a solid SMU team so that tells me they're focused. I would expect E Carolina to give it their all, but Cincy has too much NFL talent. Also, Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder also had his most complete game last weekend so keep an eye out for him to keep rising up 2022 Draft Boards if he continues to improve.
North Carolina @ #20 NC State - 7:00PM ET
North Carolina QB Sam Howell hasn't decided if he's entering the 2022 Draft or not, and this game (and whatever bowl game NC makes it to) will likely determine his course of action. If he plays really well on the road vs an in-state ranked rival and he plays lights-out in the Bowl game, I could see him turning pro as there's probably not much else to prove. I'm not that high on Howell as a pro (I've repeatedly called him "Baker Mayfield lite") and I still have that opinion, so let's see if he can change my attitude at all.
Saturday, 11/28
"The Game" #2 Ohio St @ #5 Michigan - Noon ET
The "BIG10 Game of the Year" 2.0 and quite possibly College Football's most known rivalry, nicknamed "The Game". As Harbaugh has learned, Michigan HC's are graded not so much by their record but if how well they do in "The Game", and Harbaugh has done poorly to say the least. This is probably his best chance to pull of the victory - he has a very solid defense, a decent offense and he's playing in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have to control the clock and keep Ohio St's skill position players off the field to have a chance to succeed as the Buckeyes have been surging lately behind their passing attack (and 3 NFL WR's prospects). The stakes can't be bigger - the loser of this game is out of the CFP...if Harbaugh and Michigan can't win under these circumstances with this team, then he probably never will. This should be an entertaining game and I expect a close contest.
#18 Wake Forest @ Boston College - Noon ET
The Demon Deacons have had a great season, but if they lose on the road to a halfway decent BC team, they will be out of the ACC Championship game next weekend and Clemson (who face an "OK" S Carolina team) will be in to face Pittsburgh. The Boston College QB, Phil Jurkovec, is an interesting 2022 QB prospect to me (even though he hasn't declared yet) and it'll be interesting to me how he does in a big game for both schools - BC is "bowl eligible" but a win here would put them in a better bowl game that Jurkovec could use to showcase his 2022 QB chances. The trouble is, can BC's defense hang with the high-scoring Wake Forest offense?
"Iron Bowl" Game: #3 Alabama @ Auburn - 3:30PM ET
Auburn had a solid start to their season, but have suffered some bad losses in recent weeks and their QB, Bo Nix, is out with a season-ending ankle injury, which means that will severely diminish their chances of pulling off the upset here. Alabama is already headed to the SEC Championship to face Georgia, but a 2nd loss means it won't matter if they win or not next weekend - they could be out of the CFP, especially to an unranked and undermanned Auburn team. Honestly, it would be a huge upset of Auburn was to pull this off and we've seen stranger things happen in these type of rivalry games. Even though QB Bo Nix is out, he did provide some bulletin board material for this game by calling out "Alabama bias" in the officials - we'll see if that ratcheted up the intensity of the game or if it inspired Saban to pull the full hammer down on Auburn.
"Border Battle" Game: #14 Wisconsin @ Minnesota - 4:00PM ET
The winner of this game also receives the "Paul Bunyan Axe", not to be confused with the Paul Bunyan Trophy that is awarded to the winner of the Michigan/Michigan St game. Wisconsin is red-hot after a slow start and is poised to give the winner of "The Game" between Ohio St/Michigan a real test next weekend in the BIG10 Championship, but they have 1 last test - a road game vs. a Minnesota team that started the season well in primetime vs Ohio St (nearly pulling off the upset), but has had some bad losses this year (including to a poor Bowling Green team). PJ Fleck often has the Golden Gophers playing "up" in big games and I expect them to be here. Again, if the Badgers lose and Iowa takes care of business at Nebraska, Iowa will be going to the BIG10 Championship game instead of Wisconsin. The Badgers do have the advantage of knowing what they're playing for as they'll know where they stand at kickoff as Iowa's game will likely end before this one starts.
"Bedlam" Game: #10 Oklahoma @ #7 Oklahoma St - 7:30PM ET
Oklahoma St has a slim, outside chance of sneaking into the CFP if they dominate this rivalry game and win the BIG XII title next weekend - likely vs The Sooners again. They need to dominate at home though, and anything can happen during a rivalry game.
Thanksgiving Day, 11/26
"Egg Bowl" Game: #9 Ole Miss @ Miss St - 7:30PM ET
The evening NFL game on Thanksgiving is Buffalo @ New Orleans which is decent as both teams are jockeying for playoff position in their respective divisions/conferences. But if you don't care to watch that, the "Egg Bowl" is a solid alternative. This is a chance to watch probable 2022 1st Rd QB Matt Corral (Ole Miss) on the road in a "rivalry" game that means something as this is their last chance to impress the Bowl Game Committee to put them in a solid New Year's Day Bowl game. On the other side, Mike Leach's "Air Raid" style of football has certainly brought some offensive excitement to a program that traditionally loves to play power football. Matt Corral had been dealing with some lower leg injuries that have slowed his running ability down, but I believe he's recovered and he should be on full display as you're eating your apple/pumpkin pies in the evening. This could very well be a very high-scoring/entertaining game, and at the very least it could be worth "channel flipping" back-n-forth between Buffalo/New Orleans and the "Egg Bowl".
Black Friday, 11/27
#16 Iowa @ Nebraska - 1:30PM ET
Iowa has had a solid season and were involved in the BIG 10 "Game of the Year" 1.0 earlier this season vs Penn St, but they've had 2 "bad" losses following that. If they win and Wisconsin stumbles vs Minnesota, Iowa will be representing the BIG10 West in the Conference Championship. Nebraska has played tough all season long as they haven't lost by more 9 pts all season - they just can't do the little things correctly under HC Scott Frost who's likely on his way out. Nebraska QB A Martinez will not play due to a shoulder injury, but I keep wondering if the Cornhuskers will just play all-out for Frost here and pull off at least 1 upset this season.
#4 Cincinnati @ East Carolina - 3:30PM ET
The big news is that the Bearcats jumped to #4 in the latest CFP rankings this past Tuesday, so if they win on the road - and win next weekend's Conference USA Championship game (likely vs #24 Houston), they would theoretically be in the CFP and be the 1st ever non-Power 5 team to get in. I'm not a fan of Cincinnati but I'd love to see it for "parity's sake" in CFP. They really were focused and probably played their most complete game last weekend vs a solid SMU team so that tells me they're focused. I would expect E Carolina to give it their all, but Cincy has too much NFL talent. Also, Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder also had his most complete game last weekend so keep an eye out for him to keep rising up 2022 Draft Boards if he continues to improve.
North Carolina @ #20 NC State - 7:00PM ET
North Carolina QB Sam Howell hasn't decided if he's entering the 2022 Draft or not, and this game (and whatever bowl game NC makes it to) will likely determine his course of action. If he plays really well on the road vs an in-state ranked rival and he plays lights-out in the Bowl game, I could see him turning pro as there's probably not much else to prove. I'm not that high on Howell as a pro (I've repeatedly called him "Baker Mayfield lite") and I still have that opinion, so let's see if he can change my attitude at all.
Saturday, 11/28
"The Game" #2 Ohio St @ #5 Michigan - Noon ET
The "BIG10 Game of the Year" 2.0 and quite possibly College Football's most known rivalry, nicknamed "The Game". As Harbaugh has learned, Michigan HC's are graded not so much by their record but if how well they do in "The Game", and Harbaugh has done poorly to say the least. This is probably his best chance to pull of the victory - he has a very solid defense, a decent offense and he's playing in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines have to control the clock and keep Ohio St's skill position players off the field to have a chance to succeed as the Buckeyes have been surging lately behind their passing attack (and 3 NFL WR's prospects). The stakes can't be bigger - the loser of this game is out of the CFP...if Harbaugh and Michigan can't win under these circumstances with this team, then he probably never will. This should be an entertaining game and I expect a close contest.
#18 Wake Forest @ Boston College - Noon ET
The Demon Deacons have had a great season, but if they lose on the road to a halfway decent BC team, they will be out of the ACC Championship game next weekend and Clemson (who face an "OK" S Carolina team) will be in to face Pittsburgh. The Boston College QB, Phil Jurkovec, is an interesting 2022 QB prospect to me (even though he hasn't declared yet) and it'll be interesting to me how he does in a big game for both schools - BC is "bowl eligible" but a win here would put them in a better bowl game that Jurkovec could use to showcase his 2022 QB chances. The trouble is, can BC's defense hang with the high-scoring Wake Forest offense?
"Iron Bowl" Game: #3 Alabama @ Auburn - 3:30PM ET
Auburn had a solid start to their season, but have suffered some bad losses in recent weeks and their QB, Bo Nix, is out with a season-ending ankle injury, which means that will severely diminish their chances of pulling off the upset here. Alabama is already headed to the SEC Championship to face Georgia, but a 2nd loss means it won't matter if they win or not next weekend - they could be out of the CFP, especially to an unranked and undermanned Auburn team. Honestly, it would be a huge upset of Auburn was to pull this off and we've seen stranger things happen in these type of rivalry games. Even though QB Bo Nix is out, he did provide some bulletin board material for this game by calling out "Alabama bias" in the officials - we'll see if that ratcheted up the intensity of the game or if it inspired Saban to pull the full hammer down on Auburn.
"Border Battle" Game: #14 Wisconsin @ Minnesota - 4:00PM ET
The winner of this game also receives the "Paul Bunyan Axe", not to be confused with the Paul Bunyan Trophy that is awarded to the winner of the Michigan/Michigan St game. Wisconsin is red-hot after a slow start and is poised to give the winner of "The Game" between Ohio St/Michigan a real test next weekend in the BIG10 Championship, but they have 1 last test - a road game vs. a Minnesota team that started the season well in primetime vs Ohio St (nearly pulling off the upset), but has had some bad losses this year (including to a poor Bowling Green team). PJ Fleck often has the Golden Gophers playing "up" in big games and I expect them to be here. Again, if the Badgers lose and Iowa takes care of business at Nebraska, Iowa will be going to the BIG10 Championship game instead of Wisconsin. The Badgers do have the advantage of knowing what they're playing for as they'll know where they stand at kickoff as Iowa's game will likely end before this one starts.
"Bedlam" Game: #10 Oklahoma @ #7 Oklahoma St - 7:30PM ET
Oklahoma St has a slim, outside chance of sneaking into the CFP if they dominate this rivalry game and win the BIG XII title next weekend - likely vs The Sooners again. They need to dominate at home though, and anything can happen during a rivalry game.
... and neither is this Chris guy.