NCAA Football Report (Week 13)
It is the most interesting week of the season as rivalry week provides the most drama every year.
Rivalry games are among the most exciting in the NCAA as they are the only games that can be truly unpredictable.
Every year the biggest rivalries in the game are held on the same week as teams head into Week 13 knowing that they are about to face their most important matchups of the year.
These games are for pride above all as they involve two teams who love to hate each other and often they are the only important game.
Although a season could be lost for a team if they can win in Week 13 they can take something away from the season.
It is the greatest way to end the regular season but also one of the most dangerous ways to end the season.
There are countless games from the past where teams have gone into Week 13 as clear favourites only to lose to their bitter rivals.
It can be a devastating loss especially with the timing as this is the last chance in the regular season to make an impression.
A ranked team can head into rivalry week with a real shot at making the top four as they take on their rival who might be unranked.
Should they take that loss all of a sudden they are now in a debate about whether or not they belong at the top of the rankings.
That is the nature of rivalries though as the rankings can essentially be thrown out because when two rivals get together either team can win on any season.
So when Week 13 comes around every year people are watching closely to see who will be upset and what effect that upset will have on the playoff.
The top four teams heading into the final week of the regular season could all have found themselves on a decline after the week.
If one of the top four teams lost the debate would be interesting especially with so many of those top teams having one more game to play during championship week.
The one game that tends to be the focus every year is the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn.
It has provided more fireworks in the last few years than any other game as the Crimson Tide have been one of the best teams but the thorn in their side has always been Auburn.
The Tigers seem to be the only team who can regularly give the Tide a challenge as they have beat them in this rivalry game often and upsetting the rankings.
This time it wasn’t meant to be as the Tide left no doubt about their #1 ranking beating Auburn 52-21 and solidifying their spot as they head into the SEC Championship game next week.
Clemson was set to take on South Carolina in a rivalry game that has been pretty one-sided and remained so this time around.
The Tigers beat the Gamecocks 56-35 taking care of their challenge before heading to the ACC Championship game next week.
For Notre Dame, this was their last chance as they are not part of a conference so they don’t have a championship game and had to make an impression against USC to guarantee their spot in the playoff.
They struggled against the USC Trojans who came out early and put the Notre Dame season in jeopardy.
If Notre Dame were to lose they would likely be out of the playoff but they climbed back and took the win in what will likely give them a spot although they will have to wait through next week to see where they land.
That left one of the top four to defend their spot and like every rivalry week, something was sure to rock the boat.
The Michigan Wolverines were unable to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes which will likely take the Wolverines out of the playoff and with the Buckeyes playing next week for the Big Ten Championship they have a shot of squeaking into the playoff.
Meanwhile, Georgia could move into the fourth place spot but will likely need to beat Alabama in the SEC championship to make the playoff.
Oklahoma beat West Virginia allowing them to move up and if they take the Big 12 title they could find a way into the playoff.
Rivalry week once again will have an impact as there is now one spot up for grabs with only championship week standing between teams and the final playoff rankings.
Although championship week is always important it might take that much more of a role in determining who will make the playoff.
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