Rivalry Week
Written by David
Rivalry Week did not disappoint.
In a top 5 match-up, #3 Michigan outlasted #2 Ohio State 30-24 thanks to a game saving interception by the Michigan D. The Wolverines have now won three straight over the Buckeyes. With the win, Michigan clinched a spot in the Big 10 Championship game to face Iowa. Meanwhile, the one-loss Buckeyes will be putting their fate into the play-off committee’s hands in determining their post season destination.
#10 Louisville bowed out of the national title hunt after losing to in-state rival Kentucky in a 38-31 thriller. Louisville now sits at two losses. No two-loss team has ever made the play-off. Louisville faces Florida State in the ACC Championship game next weekend.
The 5th ranked Seminoles kept their play-off chances alive after pulling away from the Gators late 24-15. The Seminoles fell behind early 12-0 in the second quarter, but finally found some offense before the half. FSU’s defense stepped up holding the Gators to only 3-points in the second half. Both teams were playing without their starting quarterbacks due to injury.
Washington State gave #5 Washington all they could handle in the Apple Cup. The Huskies were tied 21-21 late into the game and kicked a field goal as time expired to win 24-21. Unbeaten Washington will face one loss Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship in a rematch that will have National title implications.
Auburn had their souls snatched after #8 Alabama scored on a 4th & 31 heave to the endzone which gave the Tide a 27-24 victory over their instate rival. Auburn was in full control of the game late into the 4th quarter, but a muffed punt was recovered by Alabama who was able to set up shop deep in Tiger territory. The Tide had a series of unfortunate events prior to the 4th and 31 play. Alabama will face #1 Georgia in the SEC Championship game in a much-anticipated game as Alabama keeps their championship aspirations alive.
Spencer Rattler and South Carolina could not find any offense in their 16-7 loss to heated rival Clemson. In fact, the Gamecocks only had 169 total yards of offense. Clemson improved to 8-4 overall as South Carolina dropped to 5-7 on the season.
Top ranked Georgia had to work up a sweat to put away a feisty Georgia Tech team 31-23. Tech piled up 205 rushing yards on the Dawg defense, but the Bulldogs also rushed for 262 yards on offense. The Yellow Jackets rallied in the 4th quarter by scoring 10 points but came up short.
North Carolina State cruised past North Carolina 39-20 in Raleigh, NC. The Wolf Pack took a 26-7 lead into halftime and never looked back. North Carolina State piled up 504 total yards of offense and the defense forced three turnovers.
In one of the few rivalry games that wasn’t even close, Virginia Tech blasted Virginia 55-17. The Hokies scored 24 first half points and tacked on another 24 points in the 3rd quarter alone. With the victory, Virginia Tech became bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. The Cavaliers fell to 3-9 overall.
On to Pick'ems…
Noah needed to have a bad week, but it didn’t happen. In fact, nobody was able to gain on him heading into the last week because of his ridiculous 55-point perfect week.
This was also the first time EVER that I had gotten a perfect week. My prize? A tie with my son and no weekly prize money.
And then there’s Megan sitting in 3rd place…AGAIN! I’m getting paranoid because she took second place from me last season during the last week of games, and I ended up placing third and winning a whopping $18.
However, that sound Megan hears is the jaws theme music as Wendi circles third place like a shark.
Don’t look now, but Sam is only 5-points behind 3rd place. He had an outstanding week snagging 50-points.
All Mike had to do was keep things close for a chance of sliding into third place. So, what new and creative way does he decide to use to mess things up? He sticks 10 on Ohio State and gets burned immediately. That ended up being his only gaffe on the day. But it was a costly one. One that most likely put him out of the running of any money.
And let that be a lesson to all of you that NOBODY takes 8th place from Cindie. Cindie’s guarding 8th place like it’s For Knox. But like Fort Knox, is there really anything of value to guard?
Maybe it’s just Sean, but every team he roots for ends up losing. He proudly wore the Auburn shirt all of Saturday evening only to watch them lose… Just like his Beavers… And the Raiders after blowing a 14-point lead…Do you see the trend yet? In fact, I’ve instructed my kids to not hang around Sean because of his losing mentality.
Most Points for the week: Both Noah and I scored a perfect 55 points. Due to the tie, no one won the $20 weekly prize. Next week, the prize money will move to $30.
Least Points for the week: Marc got extremely aggressive with some upsets but came up short in nearly every single one of them. He got tagged with only 16 points for the week and currently sits in last place.
Best Pick of the week: Those of us who picked Michigan over Ohio State got off to a hot start. That would be Noah, Sam, Wendi, Sean, Marc, and I. However, Marc’s hot start turned into a living nightmare shortly after.
Worst Pick of the week: The crazies that put 10 points on Ohio State! Looking at you Mike, Cindie, and Stemple.
Here’s how we rank heading into the final week:
1. Noah – 512 Points
2. David – 504 Points
3. Megan - 490 Points
4. Wendi – 487 Points
5. Sam – 485 Points
6. Mike – 480 Points
7. Adam – 473 Points
8. Cindie – 453 Points
9. Evelyn – 443 Points
10. Stemple – 428 Points
11. Sean – 422 Points
12. Marc – 405 Points
Good luck this week and then it’s off to Bowl Mania.
