SMQ: College Football Rivalry Week Gave Us Everything We Hoped For, and Then Some

College Football Rivalry Week Delivered Several Thrilling Games, Many With Playoff Implications.

With the holiday season upon us, college football is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Starting from the opening whistle for the Saturday slate, “The Game” between Michigan and Ohio State was billed by many as the biggest game of the year in college football to date, and it did not disappoint.

In a game with major playoff implications, Michigan was able to grind out a 30-24 victory over rival, Ohio State, even without the leadership of their head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was serving his final game of the 3-game suspension, and losing their heart and soul of the offensive line, Zak Zinter, to a devastating leg injury. The Wolverines were able to overcome the adversity and finish off the Buckeyes to claim their third straight victory over Ohio State.

If Michigan and Ohio State were the appetizer to start the day off, the main courses had a lot to live up to.

Enter Master Chef, Jalen Milroe.

Saturday marked the Ten Year Anniversary of the “Kick-Six”, which has become known as one of the wildest college football endings in history.

Like your crazy Uncle at Thanksgiving dinner, Jalen Milroe says: “Hold my Beer”.

In my previous article, I stated that Alabama would Roll over Auburn. While they didn’t exactly roll the Tigers, they finally got retribution for that wild ending in Jordan-Hare Stadium some 10 years ago.

Trailing 24-20 with 43 seconds left in the game, and facing a seemingly insurmountable 4th and Goal (from the 31-yard line), Alabama’s season seemed all but over for all intents and purposes.

But like your sweet ole Granny, who always cuts the best turkey, Milroe took the snap, dissected the defense with patience, waiting for something to develop, and finally carved out a laser of a throw that connected with Isaiah Bond in the back corner of the end zone, giving the Tide the 27-24 victory.

Move over “Kick Six”, It’s going to be “The Mil-Throw” for the next decade.

You Always Have to Leave Room for Dessert

As if the games up to this point haven’t left us full enough, we had to leave room for dessert, and that’s exactly what we got.

While we didn’t necessarily see the dramatics in the late window of games as we did in the afternoon, there were certainly significant storylines in some of the late matchups.

After trailing at halftime, Florida State was able to scrape the bottom of the pan and muster a 24-15 victory over the University of Florida. This marked the first game for the Seminoles since losing starting Quarterback, Jordan Travis.

Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker stepped in and picked up the victory, but it certainly wasn’t pretty.

Like any good holiday dinner, you have to have some great side dishes.

Some other notable performances on Saturday in College Football Week 13 were the Kentucky Wildcats knocking off #10 Louisville, 38-31, LSU beating the stuffing out of Texas A&M, 42-30;  Oklahoma State hanging on to beat BYU in Overtime, 40-34, and NC State dropping UNC like a sack of potatoes, 39-20.

If You Watched College Football this week, Be Thankful

All funny jokes, and Thanksgiving puns aside, college football won the day this weekend. As college football fans, if you were lucky enough to get to watch any of those games from Saturday, you should be thankful.

Rivalry Week lived up to its hype, and then some. Between the tense rivalries, the rich traditions, the pageantry, the atmosphere, the bands, the emotions, and so much more.

I can truly say that College Football is the greatest game on Earth.