Post by Uncle on Sept 12, 2024 20:55:45 GMT -6
"Rivalry Week" is typically designated for the last week of the College Football regular season right before the Conference Championship games...
...but this season - thanks somewhat in part to the PAC-12 nearly dissolving last year (more on that in the 2024 CFB Season Tids thread) - we get some rivalry games much earlier in the season in 2024.
On top of that - also thanks to Conference realignment - we could be getting a sneak preview of some new rivalries between new Conference foes (looking at you Arizona and Kansas St)...
Next week will officially kick-off Conference games where the chaos will really start, but Week 3 isn't exactly the calm before the Conference "storm": it offers two good, primetime matchups on Friday the 13th, Alabama on the road at Camp Randall Stadium and some good, ol' fashioned games between long-time rivals...
For those of you that love the "traditional" rivalry games, don't worry - you'll get your fill of "Iron Bowls", "Egg Bowls" and "Paul Bunyan Axe" game during the Thanksgiving Week 14 weekend...until then, get you fill of "The Apple Cup", "The Civil War Game" and the "Backyard Brawl"...
"Friday the 13th", 9/13 - Evening Games
UNLV @ Kansas - 7PM ET (ESPN); spread is Kansas -9
The state of Kansas is on full display Friday night as we start in the Kansas City suburbs (the Kansas side) where the Runnin' Rebels travel to Children's Mercy Park to take on the Jayhawks. Renovations are being done to the Jayhawks football stadium so they are playing their 2024 home games at the home of Sporting Kansas City (MLS soccer team), as well as Arrowhead Stadium - so it won't be a full home-crowd advantage for Kansas this season. The Jayhawks were ranked #22 to start the season, mainly due to a high-powered offense, but a stout Illinois defense shut that down in Champaign last week, and now they get to face an upstart 2-0 UNLV team that has aspirations of winning the MWC and getting into the 12-team Playoff mix as the top "Group of Five" team. This game is actually a rematch of last year's Guaranteed Rate Bowl where Kansas topped UNLV 49-36, and even though the players aren't the same, I would expect another high-scoring, barnburner type of game. Vikings fans should pay close attention to Kansas RB Devin Neal, a really solid RB prospect that could be available on Day 2/early Day 3 in the 2025 Draft.
#20 Arizona @ #14 Kansas St - 8PM ET (FOX); spread is Kansas St -7
The second Kansas game of the night will take place in Manhattan at "The Bill", aka Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and will feature one of only two Week 3 matchups between ranked teams. This is also the "Battle of Wildcats" - the mascot of both teams - and new rivals as Arizona left the PAC-12 to join the BIG XII in 2024. Oddly enough, since this game was previously scheduled as a non-conference game, it actually won't count as a BIG XII Conference game for either team, but try telling either team this game doesn't matter as the BIG XII looks to be chaotic this year and could go in any number of different directions. Kansas St had problems defending the pass @ Tulane last weekend, and that could spell bigtime trouble because Arizona has one of the most dangerous passing games in the nation, led by QB Noah Fifita and 2025 Rd 1 prospect, WR Tetairoa McMillan. Kansas St QB Avery Johnson took over for QB Will Howard (who transferred to Ohio St) last season and has yet to really "break out" as a passing threat, but he's a tremendous athlete and even though longtime Kansas St HC Bill Snyder is retired, the Wildcats still love the ground game he was remembered for and should be able to run the ball against the Arizona defense. The fans in Manhattan are promoting this as a "blackout game" and the result could come down to which team's luck runs out on the unluckiest day of the year.
Saturday, 9/14 - Early Afternoon Games
#4 Alabama @ Wisconsin - Noon ET (FOX); spread is Alabama -16
The Saturday slate of action kicks-off at legendary Camp Randall Stadium as the Crimson Tide travel to a BIG10 opponent for the first time since Happy Valley in 2011. Also, this is the first time since 1971 that Camp Randall has hosted an SEC opponent, so yes, this is a rare treat. The Badgers are led by Miami QB transfer Tyler Van Dyke who has continued his struggles in Madison with Wisconsin ranked among the bottom of the entire FBS in terms of average yards-per-play. Alabama hasn't exactly lit up the scoreboard either as they let South Florida hang around in Tuscaloosa last weekend before finally putting them away in the 4th qtr. Legendary Camp Randall is sure to be juiced-up for this rare SEC/BIG10 matchup between legendary teams and one of these teams will head into Conference play with bigtime momentum; the Crimson Tide are 2TD+ favorites on the road, but there's been some massive upsets at Camp Randall in the past and the last time Alabama traveled to Madison - nearly 100 yrs ago in 1928 - the Badgers won 15-0.
#16 LSU @ South Carolina - Noon ET (ABC); spread is LSU -7
While Conference games will start in earnest next week, this is South Carolina's 2nd SEC matchup in consecutive weeks as they defeated Kentucky 31-7 in Lexington last week. The Gamecocks are 2-0 and have a bit of momentum for this home matchup vs the "Bayou Bengals". LSU is going to be a tough opponent and the Gamecocks haven't beaten the Tigers since 1994. Just like last weekend vs Kentucky, their defense is going to need to come up big, but it'll be a tall task as LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier is off to a good start and is tied for the most TD passes (8) in the nation early in the season. "The Cockpit" in Columbia will be loud for this early-season SEC clash.
#24 Boston College @ #6 Missouri - 12:45PM ET (SEC Network); spread is Missouri -16
The other matchup between ranked teams this weekend is an interesting ACC/SEC matchup. On paper, the Tigers should dominate this matchup: they return a good chunk of their solid 2023 team that finished #8 in the nation and beat Ohio St in the Cotton Bowl (including QB Brady Cook and WR Luther Burden III) and they haven't given up any pts yet in 2024 through two games. But Boston College is off to a surprisingly tremendous start in 2024 after winning @ FSU and clobbering Duquensne 56-0 last week, and the Golden Eagles aren't typically a team that clobbers cupcakes like that. Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos has been a very effective duel-threat QB so far - sort of like this year's Jalon Daniels (Kansas QB) - and he'll need to be extra effective to pull-off another road upset over a ranked team. Missouri is a team with Playoff aspirations and could actually contend for the SEC Championship with Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss & Alabama this season and it would be quite the upset if the Golden Eagles pull this off.
Saturday, 9/14 - Late Afternoon Games
#9 Oregon @ Oregon St - 3:30PM ET (FOX) - "Civil War Game"; spread is Oregon -16.5
The late afternoon slate on Saturday features three "rivalry" games with "The Civil War" in Corvallis taking center stage. The Ducks and Beavers have met 127 times and every game has been played in either November or December, so the 128th meeting will be the first time it takes place in September. This will also be the first time both teams have met as non-conference rivals since 1963. The Ducks have dominated the series lately, winning 13 out of the last 16 games, but Oregon HC Dan Lanning is just 1-1 after taking a loss in Corvallis 2 years ago. The Ducks have sputtered to start the 2024 season, too - playing a close game to Idaho in Week 1 and having to kick a last-second FG to beat Boise St in Week 2, so they need a "statement game" to get back into the national conversation. The Beavers are nowhere near as talented as the Ducks, but they have a very strong rushing game and still play stout on defense, and as Oregon found out 2 years ago, winning a rivalry game in Corvallis is no easy feat.
Washington St vs Washington - 3:30PM ET (Peacock) - "Apple Cup Game"; spread is Washington -4.5
The annual "Apple Cup Game" will be played on a "neutral" field this time - Lumen Field in Seattle. This will be the 116th meeting between these rivals and just like the "Civil War Game", they have never met in September before. An interesting thing about this year's Pacific Northwest rivalry matchup is that both teams feature QB's from the South: Washington is led by former Miss St QB Will Rogers, while the Cougars are led by Texas native QB John Mateer, who rushed for nearly 200 yds last week in a win vs Texas Tech (a program record). Also similar to the "Civil War Game", one team has dominated the series lately as the Huskies have won 12 out of the last 14 Apple Cups. Both of these teams look vastly different than they did a year ago when the Huskies went all the way to the Natonal Championship game while former Washington St QB Cam Ward is now the QB in Miami. I get the feeling that things are about to turn around in this series in favor of the Cougars.
West Virginia @ Pittsburgh - 3:30PM ET (ESPN2) - "Backyard Brawl Game"; spread is WVU -1.5
Unlike the previous two rivalry games, the "Backyard Brawl" has been played all over the College Football calendar in the past, but it's been moved to the front of the schedule for both teams in recent years and has featured some great, close games: 5 out of the last 7 meetings have been 1-score games with only one of them being a blowout. The 2-0 Panthers needed to come-from-behind last week @ Cincinnati and West Virginia was a team many thought could compete for the BIG XII Title this season until Penn St came into Morgantown and smacked the Mountaineers in Week 1. This should be yet another exciting chapter in this storied rivalry and the winner will get a nice boost of momentum heading into Conference play next week.
Saturday, 9/14 - Evening Game
Colorado @ Colorado St - 7:30PM ET (CBS); spread is Colorado -7
There's not too many interesting matchups in the evening on Saturday with this in-state Colorado rivalry probably being the most intriguing, partly because of the national interest in Coach Prime, QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/CB Travis Hunter and partly because this game was one of the best early-season games last year, with the Buffaloes barely hanging on for a 43-35 win in Boulder. This year's game is in Colorado Springs and the Rams will be looking for revenge on Coach Prime and a Colorado team that might be still trying to pick up the pieces from last week's "primetime" beatdown in Lincoln at the hands of the Cornhuskers. The Rams were crushed @ Texas in Week 1, but the Buffaloes are nowhere near as talented as the Longhorns, regardless if they have the #1 pick in the 2025 Draft and I expect Shedeur to continue to take punishment in this game. The Buffaloes might very well win this, but I don't think it'll be pretty.
...but this season - thanks somewhat in part to the PAC-12 nearly dissolving last year (more on that in the 2024 CFB Season Tids thread) - we get some rivalry games much earlier in the season in 2024.
On top of that - also thanks to Conference realignment - we could be getting a sneak preview of some new rivalries between new Conference foes (looking at you Arizona and Kansas St)...
Next week will officially kick-off Conference games where the chaos will really start, but Week 3 isn't exactly the calm before the Conference "storm": it offers two good, primetime matchups on Friday the 13th, Alabama on the road at Camp Randall Stadium and some good, ol' fashioned games between long-time rivals...
For those of you that love the "traditional" rivalry games, don't worry - you'll get your fill of "Iron Bowls", "Egg Bowls" and "Paul Bunyan Axe" game during the Thanksgiving Week 14 weekend...until then, get you fill of "The Apple Cup", "The Civil War Game" and the "Backyard Brawl"...
"Friday the 13th", 9/13 - Evening Games
UNLV @ Kansas - 7PM ET (ESPN); spread is Kansas -9
The state of Kansas is on full display Friday night as we start in the Kansas City suburbs (the Kansas side) where the Runnin' Rebels travel to Children's Mercy Park to take on the Jayhawks. Renovations are being done to the Jayhawks football stadium so they are playing their 2024 home games at the home of Sporting Kansas City (MLS soccer team), as well as Arrowhead Stadium - so it won't be a full home-crowd advantage for Kansas this season. The Jayhawks were ranked #22 to start the season, mainly due to a high-powered offense, but a stout Illinois defense shut that down in Champaign last week, and now they get to face an upstart 2-0 UNLV team that has aspirations of winning the MWC and getting into the 12-team Playoff mix as the top "Group of Five" team. This game is actually a rematch of last year's Guaranteed Rate Bowl where Kansas topped UNLV 49-36, and even though the players aren't the same, I would expect another high-scoring, barnburner type of game. Vikings fans should pay close attention to Kansas RB Devin Neal, a really solid RB prospect that could be available on Day 2/early Day 3 in the 2025 Draft.
#20 Arizona @ #14 Kansas St - 8PM ET (FOX); spread is Kansas St -7
The second Kansas game of the night will take place in Manhattan at "The Bill", aka Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and will feature one of only two Week 3 matchups between ranked teams. This is also the "Battle of Wildcats" - the mascot of both teams - and new rivals as Arizona left the PAC-12 to join the BIG XII in 2024. Oddly enough, since this game was previously scheduled as a non-conference game, it actually won't count as a BIG XII Conference game for either team, but try telling either team this game doesn't matter as the BIG XII looks to be chaotic this year and could go in any number of different directions. Kansas St had problems defending the pass @ Tulane last weekend, and that could spell bigtime trouble because Arizona has one of the most dangerous passing games in the nation, led by QB Noah Fifita and 2025 Rd 1 prospect, WR Tetairoa McMillan. Kansas St QB Avery Johnson took over for QB Will Howard (who transferred to Ohio St) last season and has yet to really "break out" as a passing threat, but he's a tremendous athlete and even though longtime Kansas St HC Bill Snyder is retired, the Wildcats still love the ground game he was remembered for and should be able to run the ball against the Arizona defense. The fans in Manhattan are promoting this as a "blackout game" and the result could come down to which team's luck runs out on the unluckiest day of the year.
Saturday, 9/14 - Early Afternoon Games
#4 Alabama @ Wisconsin - Noon ET (FOX); spread is Alabama -16
The Saturday slate of action kicks-off at legendary Camp Randall Stadium as the Crimson Tide travel to a BIG10 opponent for the first time since Happy Valley in 2011. Also, this is the first time since 1971 that Camp Randall has hosted an SEC opponent, so yes, this is a rare treat. The Badgers are led by Miami QB transfer Tyler Van Dyke who has continued his struggles in Madison with Wisconsin ranked among the bottom of the entire FBS in terms of average yards-per-play. Alabama hasn't exactly lit up the scoreboard either as they let South Florida hang around in Tuscaloosa last weekend before finally putting them away in the 4th qtr. Legendary Camp Randall is sure to be juiced-up for this rare SEC/BIG10 matchup between legendary teams and one of these teams will head into Conference play with bigtime momentum; the Crimson Tide are 2TD+ favorites on the road, but there's been some massive upsets at Camp Randall in the past and the last time Alabama traveled to Madison - nearly 100 yrs ago in 1928 - the Badgers won 15-0.
#16 LSU @ South Carolina - Noon ET (ABC); spread is LSU -7
While Conference games will start in earnest next week, this is South Carolina's 2nd SEC matchup in consecutive weeks as they defeated Kentucky 31-7 in Lexington last week. The Gamecocks are 2-0 and have a bit of momentum for this home matchup vs the "Bayou Bengals". LSU is going to be a tough opponent and the Gamecocks haven't beaten the Tigers since 1994. Just like last weekend vs Kentucky, their defense is going to need to come up big, but it'll be a tall task as LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier is off to a good start and is tied for the most TD passes (8) in the nation early in the season. "The Cockpit" in Columbia will be loud for this early-season SEC clash.
#24 Boston College @ #6 Missouri - 12:45PM ET (SEC Network); spread is Missouri -16
The other matchup between ranked teams this weekend is an interesting ACC/SEC matchup. On paper, the Tigers should dominate this matchup: they return a good chunk of their solid 2023 team that finished #8 in the nation and beat Ohio St in the Cotton Bowl (including QB Brady Cook and WR Luther Burden III) and they haven't given up any pts yet in 2024 through two games. But Boston College is off to a surprisingly tremendous start in 2024 after winning @ FSU and clobbering Duquensne 56-0 last week, and the Golden Eagles aren't typically a team that clobbers cupcakes like that. Boston College QB Thomas Castellanos has been a very effective duel-threat QB so far - sort of like this year's Jalon Daniels (Kansas QB) - and he'll need to be extra effective to pull-off another road upset over a ranked team. Missouri is a team with Playoff aspirations and could actually contend for the SEC Championship with Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss & Alabama this season and it would be quite the upset if the Golden Eagles pull this off.
Saturday, 9/14 - Late Afternoon Games
#9 Oregon @ Oregon St - 3:30PM ET (FOX) - "Civil War Game"; spread is Oregon -16.5
The late afternoon slate on Saturday features three "rivalry" games with "The Civil War" in Corvallis taking center stage. The Ducks and Beavers have met 127 times and every game has been played in either November or December, so the 128th meeting will be the first time it takes place in September. This will also be the first time both teams have met as non-conference rivals since 1963. The Ducks have dominated the series lately, winning 13 out of the last 16 games, but Oregon HC Dan Lanning is just 1-1 after taking a loss in Corvallis 2 years ago. The Ducks have sputtered to start the 2024 season, too - playing a close game to Idaho in Week 1 and having to kick a last-second FG to beat Boise St in Week 2, so they need a "statement game" to get back into the national conversation. The Beavers are nowhere near as talented as the Ducks, but they have a very strong rushing game and still play stout on defense, and as Oregon found out 2 years ago, winning a rivalry game in Corvallis is no easy feat.
Washington St vs Washington - 3:30PM ET (Peacock) - "Apple Cup Game"; spread is Washington -4.5
The annual "Apple Cup Game" will be played on a "neutral" field this time - Lumen Field in Seattle. This will be the 116th meeting between these rivals and just like the "Civil War Game", they have never met in September before. An interesting thing about this year's Pacific Northwest rivalry matchup is that both teams feature QB's from the South: Washington is led by former Miss St QB Will Rogers, while the Cougars are led by Texas native QB John Mateer, who rushed for nearly 200 yds last week in a win vs Texas Tech (a program record). Also similar to the "Civil War Game", one team has dominated the series lately as the Huskies have won 12 out of the last 14 Apple Cups. Both of these teams look vastly different than they did a year ago when the Huskies went all the way to the Natonal Championship game while former Washington St QB Cam Ward is now the QB in Miami. I get the feeling that things are about to turn around in this series in favor of the Cougars.
West Virginia @ Pittsburgh - 3:30PM ET (ESPN2) - "Backyard Brawl Game"; spread is WVU -1.5
Unlike the previous two rivalry games, the "Backyard Brawl" has been played all over the College Football calendar in the past, but it's been moved to the front of the schedule for both teams in recent years and has featured some great, close games: 5 out of the last 7 meetings have been 1-score games with only one of them being a blowout. The 2-0 Panthers needed to come-from-behind last week @ Cincinnati and West Virginia was a team many thought could compete for the BIG XII Title this season until Penn St came into Morgantown and smacked the Mountaineers in Week 1. This should be yet another exciting chapter in this storied rivalry and the winner will get a nice boost of momentum heading into Conference play next week.
Saturday, 9/14 - Evening Game
Colorado @ Colorado St - 7:30PM ET (CBS); spread is Colorado -7
There's not too many interesting matchups in the evening on Saturday with this in-state Colorado rivalry probably being the most intriguing, partly because of the national interest in Coach Prime, QB Shedeur Sanders and WR/CB Travis Hunter and partly because this game was one of the best early-season games last year, with the Buffaloes barely hanging on for a 43-35 win in Boulder. This year's game is in Colorado Springs and the Rams will be looking for revenge on Coach Prime and a Colorado team that might be still trying to pick up the pieces from last week's "primetime" beatdown in Lincoln at the hands of the Cornhuskers. The Rams were crushed @ Texas in Week 1, but the Buffaloes are nowhere near as talented as the Longhorns, regardless if they have the #1 pick in the 2025 Draft and I expect Shedeur to continue to take punishment in this game. The Buffaloes might very well win this, but I don't think it'll be pretty.
... and neither is this Chris guy.
