Everything at Stake in Loaded College Football Rivalry Week
While a glorious six-foot axe, golden egg and oaken bucket are among the trophies at stake during Rivalry Week, college football's key topics involve a bit more than traveling hardware.
Heading into the regular-season finales, six of the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences haven't yet settled their championship game matchup. That alone creates plenty of drama, but a pair of matchups also feature a winner-takes-the-division result.
Plus, at this point of the season, every loss is particularly crushing. The remaining College Football Playoff contenders are all desperate to avoid a loss this weekend.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Throw in five-win teams hoping to earn bowl eligibility and rivalry trophies, and Thanksgiving Week is stuffed with storylines.
College Football Playoff Implications
Although four Top Eight teams are preparing for a ranked opponent, none play each other. If the list of CFP contenders is trimmed Saturday, it won't be the natural product of a result.
So, which programs can afford a little chaos?
Confidently? Only LSU. The Tigers could rebound with a victory over Georgia, win the SEC title and head to the playoff. Ohio State is probably in decent position even if Michigan wins, since a Top 10 opponent will await in Indy.
Clemson isn't completely out should it lose to South Carolina. However, the reigning national champions would need losses from at least four of Alabama, Georgia, Utah, Oklahoma and Minnesota over the next two weekends to feel comfortable. While not unrealistic, the perfect sequence of results is improbable.
That quintet of teams is the win-or-go-home group.
Georgia and Oklahoma have sealed a place in their conference title games, and both Utah and Minnesota can do the same Saturday. Alabama will place the finishing touch on its resume at Auburn.
Assuming a win Saturday, the only program certain of a CFP berth with a victory next weekend is Georgia. Minnesota should be safe if LSU topples Georgia, considering the Golden Gophers would have victories over Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
Oklahoma and Utah require a little help, but the scenarios are mostly contingent on LSU beating Georgia. For now—as the late Al Davis said—just win, baby.
Power 5 Championship Games
The marquee Big Ten game is No. 1 Ohio State at No. 13 Michigan, but the conference's most impactful result is the other showdown.
Eighth-ranked Minnesota will host 12th-ranked Wisconsin, and the program that triumphs will oppose the Buckeyes in Indianapolis next week. Wisconsin has appeared in five of the eight Big Ten Championship Games, and Minnesota is seeking its first trip.
And, just as importantly, the winner gets Paul Bunyan's Axe!
Although no massive trophy is at stake when Virginia and Virginia Tech meet, the Hoos and Hokies are playing for the Coastal Division crown. Clemson awaits the winner in the ACC title.
In the Pac-12, Oregon's opponent hasn't been decided. USC wrapped up the regular season at 7-2 with a victory over Utah, so the sixth-ranked Utes must improve to 8-1 in conference action to challenge the Ducks. Utah hosts five-win Colorado this weekend.
Baylor will take on Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship, and Georgia will test LSU for the SEC title.
Group of 5 Championship Games
This much we know: Boise State will oppose Hawaii for the Mountain West crown, and Appalachian State will play Louisiana.
Boise State and Appalachian State need wins to stay in the New Year's Six bowl chase, but they're looking up at Memphis and Cincinnati in the Top 25. The AAC schools are set for a showdown Friday—and, if Memphis wins, a rematch in the same location next week.
Should the Bearcats secure the victory, Navy could displace Memphis with a win over Houston. In that case, Cincinnati would serve as host for the AAC championship.
In the MAC, Western Michigan just wasted an opportunity. The Broncos could've sealed the West Division title but lost to Northern Illinois during their Tuesday night clash. Central Michigan must defeat Toledo to represent the West against Miami (Ohio).
One side of Conference USA is far more complicated, but the East Division is straightforward.
Florida Atlantic clinches with a win over Southern Miss, or Marshall steals the crown if it defeats Florida International and FAU loses. The other side of the league is one giant mess.
Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss and UAB enter the weekend 5-2 in conference play, and none—I repeat—none has a win-and-in scenario. Because each program went 1-1 against the others, all three are hoping for a certain team to lose.
The short version, along with a victory: Louisiana Tech wants a UAB loss, Southern Miss wants a Louisiana Tech loss and UAB wants a Southern Miss loss.
If all three programs win, per the conference, the tiebreaker will be average computer ranking. Long live the BCS?
Bowl Eligibility
Since just four programs make the College Football Playoff, a few teams will be understandably disappointed at a narrow miss. But for the majority of schools, the CFP is either an extreme unlikelihood or a goal that quickly fades.
The championship-or-bust mentality isn't always fair, though.
Simply qualifying for a bowl is often an accomplishment—and, for programs such as Charlotte, deserves a celebration.
True, some programs eventually won't appear particularly motivated to play in late December. Still, the extra weeks of practice are often important for young rosters, rebuilding programs and new-ish coaches. Earning that sixth win is still valuable.
As it stands, 75 teams have reached the benchmark. But with 11 programs vying for one more win to be bowl-eligible yet only four spots remain to be filled, it's likely a couple of six-win squads won't have a postseason destination.
Although none of the five-win teams square off, notable schools searching for victory No. 6 include Michigan State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon State and TCU.
All recruiting information via 247Sports. Stats from NCAA.com, cfbstats.com or B/R research. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
