Best of Rivalry Week: Scores, schedule, highlights, playoff analysis and more

College football’s Rivalry Week has already lived up to the hype, and it’s just getting started. We’ve seen: an Egg Bowl decided by a player simulating a dog urinating; “Say Anything”-style trolling in the NFL; and Virginia becoming the seventh different ACC Coastal team to win the division in the past seven years.

And now Saturday is upon us, with playoff berths, coaching fates and much more are at stake.

Jump to: Top 25 games

Picks and gambling tips

The best of Rivalry Week

Ole Miss: We’re No. 1!
You have almost assuredly seen this by now, but it bears repeating: Ole Miss lost a chance to send its Thursday game with archrival Mississippi State into overtime when receiver Elijah Moore scored a touchdown and celebrated as one does, by simulating urinating like a dog. This is not what one SEC power broker had in mind when he compared the Egg Bowl rivalry to “the two runt puppies in the SEC West fighting for the hind teat.” Ole Miss issued several statements apologizing for the incident on Friday, which is probably not how athletic director Keith Carter envisioned spending his day after Thanksgiving.

play

Elijah Moore’s touchdown cuts Ole Miss’ deficit to one point, but an unsportsmanlike penalty pushes the Rebels’ extra-point attempt back and is missed by Luke Logan.

Troll Tide
No matter what happens in this year’s game, it’s going to be hard to top this Titans-on-Titans trolling thanks to the 2013 Kick Six.

play

Titans RB and Alabama alum Derrick Henry is treated to a classic Iron Bowl call by linebacker and Auburn alum Daren Bates while answering a question.

Off the chain

play

The umpire in the Toledo vs. Central Michigan game attempts a measurement and pulls the chain right off of the first-down marker.

Yes, Virginia, there is an ACC title game
Virginia Tech had won the Commonwealth Cup 15 years in a row. But that history was no match for Coastal chaos. With a bid in the ACC championship game on the line, the Cavaliers outlasted the Hokies 39-30. Virginia’s reward? A date with Clemson next weekend in Charlotte, North Carolina.

play

Virginia fans and students rush the field after the last play of the game as Virginia defeats Virginia Tech for the first time in 15 meetings.

Best moment of the week

McKenzie Milton, UCF’s star QB who suffered a catastrophic knee injury at the end of last season that has kept him out all year, walked with his teammates at Senior Day.

play

McKenzie Mlton, who suffered a serious knee injury last year vs. South Florida, takes part in UCF’s Senior Day festivities before the game.

Saturday’s Top 25 games

In order of game time, with College Football Playoff rankings; lines courtesy Caesars Sportsbook

Noon ET

No. 1 Ohio State @ No. 13 Michigan
How to watch: Fox
Line: Ohio State -9.5
And our best line: Ohio State has won seven straight against Michigan and 14 of the past 15, which includes another seven-game winning streak. Those are the two longest winning streaks by the Buckeyes in series history, as well as the longest winning streaks by any team against the Wolverines since World War II ended.

No. 3 Clemson @ South Carolina
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN app
Line: Clemson -27.5
And our best line: The teams have split the past 10 meetings, but that obscures a pair of streaks in the Palmetto Bowl. The Gamecocks won five straight from 2009 to 2013, but Clemson has answered with its own five-game streak since then. There has only been one longer streak in series history; Clemson won seven straight meetings from 1934 to 1940.

No. 4 Georgia @ Georgia Tech
How to watch: ABC and ESPN app
Line: Georgia -28
And our best line: Georgia QB Jake Fromm hasn’t thrown an interception in the five games since Georgia’s loss to South Carolina, but he has been having trouble finding his own receivers, as well. He has completed less than half of his passes in each of the past three games.

3:30 p.m. ET

No. 5 Alabama @ No. 15 Auburn
How to watch: CBS
Line: Alabama -3
And our best line: All three of Auburn’s losses this season have come against teams that are currently ranked in the top 10 in the AP poll. QB Bo Nix has struggled against ranked opponents, completing just under half of his passes, with the same number of interceptions as touchdowns (6). He has completed 66% of his passes with eight TDs and no interceptions against unranked opponents.

No. 12 Wisconsin @ No. 8 Minnesota
How to watch: ABC and ESPN app
Line: Wisconsin -3
And our best line: This will be the 129th meeting between Wisconsin and Minnesota, the most-played rivalry in FBS history. The previous 128 meetings couldn’t have been any closer; the teams have split them, 60-60-8, with the first meeting coming in 1890.

No. 9 Baylor @ Kansas
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN app
Line: Baylor -14
And our best line: A win would give Kansas four on the season, its most since 2009, when the Jayhawks went 5-7 in Mark Mangino’s final campaign. A win for Baylor would tie the program record for most victories in a single season (11), also set in 2013 and 2014.

Rutgers @ No. 10 Penn State
How to watch: BTN
Line: N/A
And our best line: Penn State has won nine straight home games dating back to last season and is seeking its third undefeated season at home over the past four seasons (2016, 2017). The Nittany Lions have not gone undefeated at home in three out of four seasons since joining the Big Ten in 1993.

4 p.m. ET

Oregon State @ No. 14 Oregon
How to watch: Pac-12 Network
Line: Oregon -19.5
And our best line: Following its loss at Arizona State on Saturday, Oregon slipped from No. 6 to No. 14 in the rankings. In the CFP era (since 2014), that is the largest drop in a single week by a team previously in the top-6 of any rankings release.

No. 16 Notre Dame @ Stanford
How to watch: Fox
Line: Notre Dame -16.5
And our best line: Notre Dame is seeking to win 10 games for the third straight season. That has only happened one other time in school history, when the Irish did it from 1991 to 1993.

7 p.m. ET

Texas A&M @ No. 2 LSU
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN app
Line: LSU -17
And our best line: LSU has won 12 straight games, the third-longest active winning streak in FBS behind Clemson (26) and Ohio State (17). The last loss, however, came against Texas A&M. The Aggies needed seven overtimes — tied for the longest game in FBS history — to beat LSU at Kyle Field last season, picking up their first win in the series since joining the SEC.

No. 23 Iowa State @ Kansas State
How to watch: FS1
Line: Iowa State -4.5
And our best line: With a triumph, Iowa State will have at least eight wins for the third straight season. The Cyclones last had three consecutive eight-win seasons from 1976 to 1978.

7:30 p.m. ET

Colorado @ No. 6 Utah
How to watch: ABC and ESPN app
Line: Utah -28
And our best line: Utah boasts the nation’s top rushing defense, allowing 55.9 yards per game, the fewest by any FBS team in more than a decade. The last FBS team to allow that few rushing yards per game for a season was the Utes’ then-Mountain West foe TCU in 2008 (47.1).

Florida State @ No. 11 Florida
How to watch: SEC Network and ESPN app
Line: Florida -17.5
And our best line: Florida State has won the past four meetings against Florida in Gainesville by an average of 21.3 points per game. Florida has not beaten Florida State in Gainesville since 2009.

8 p.m. ET

No. 7 Oklahoma @ No. 21 Oklahoma State
How to watch: FOX
Line: Oklahoma -13
And our best line: There have been 16 previous Bedlam Series games in which both teams came in ranked in the AP Top 25. The Sooners are 15-1 in those games and 13-0 as the higher-ranked team.

What the games mean

No. 17 Iowa 27, Nebraska 24
Iowa beat Nebraska on a late field goal to go 9-3 in the regular season, and Friday’s game was similar to how the Hawkeyes’ season went. It was hard fought but a little up and down. Losses to Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin gave the Hawkeyes their three defeats and prevented them from having an opportunity to play in the Big Ten championship game. The nine wins tie last season’s count, and now the team will have a chance to make it 10 in a bowl game; but there was a lot left on the table with Iowa losing those three contests by a combined 14 points. — Tom VanHaaren

play

Keith Duncan nails the field goal right down the middle from 48 yards to secure Iowa’s fifth consecutive victory against Nebraska 27-24.

No. 18 Memphis 34, No. 19 Cincinnati 24
Memphis: A kick return for a score, five gains of 29 yards or more and 15 tackles for loss helped Memphis seal both a big win on Friday and the AAC West title. The game was closer than the Tigers perhaps would have preferred while facing Cincinnati’s backup QB, but they got the job done. Their reward: an even stronger résumé for New Year’s Six bowl consideration and a return visit from Cincy next weekend for the conference title game.

Cincinnati: This wasn’t an optimal result for the Bearcats — it hurts their potential New Year’s Six candidacy — but it also wasn’t that bad. They held some cards close to the vest. They got banged-up quarterback Desmond Ridder some healing time. And backup Ben Bryant actually looked pretty solid in the role, giving head coach Luke Fickell another option if Ridder isn’t 100 percent when the Bearcats come right back to Memphis next week for the AAC title game. — Bill Connelly

No. 20 Boise State 31, Colorado State 24
The Broncos completed an undefeated regular season in Mountain West play on Friday, and they remain very much alive for the Cotton Bowl berth allotted to the best Group of 5 team in the country. They’ll host Hawai’i in the Mountain West title game on Dec. 7, when a win combined with a Cincinnati victory against Memphis in the AAC title game likely would result in a New Year’s Six berth for the Broncos. — Kyle Bonagura

Virginia 39, No. 24 Virginia Tech 30
If there was one thing that felt guaranteed on the Virginia Tech schedule, it was a win over Virginia. Until Friday. The Hokies not only lost to Virginia for the first time in 16 tries, they also lost a chance to play Clemson in the ACC championship game next week. The series domination had been so lopsided, it felt like an inevitability that Virginia Tech would prevail as soon as it took a 20-13 lead in the third quarter. But an inability to slow down QB Bryce Perkins combined with three turnovers and two disastrous late-series drives ended Virginia Tech’s chances for the victory. It is a difficult finish to the regular season, but considering where the Hokies were after a 45-10 loss to Duke, there’s plenty to build off going into its bowl game. — Andrea Adelson