Seventh Day Adventure: Ohio State, Clemson, USC Defend CFP Hopes in Rivalry Week
In some seasons, Rivalry Week is a massive feast, overflowing with consequential matchups, complicated playoff scenarios, and hatred across every corner of the nation. This year’s edition is more like a tasting menu—there are plenty of interesting games that run a wide variety of reasons for intrigue, but the level of all-around excitement isn’t quite as high as usual. Admittedly, that’s by the standards of a weekend that stacks up to the opening rounds of March Madness as the best on the sports calendar; there’s still plenty to enjoy on the schedule, even if a major shakeup to the playoff picture isn’t all that likely at this point.
For those with an eye on the potential for chaos, three games stand out this week. First is, of course, the headline showdown between undefeated Ohio State and Michigan, sitting second and third in the CFP rankings and pursuing the Big Ten East title and a cakewalk in the conference title game to lock in a playoff bid. The only thing detracting from this momentous edition of The Game is the fact that, if things break right in the next two weeks, there’s no guarantee the loser doesn’t find a spot in the bracket anyway. To that end, both fanbases will be keeping an intent eye on the other one-loss teams they’d need to beat out for a spot: Clemson, which is trying to maintain a seven-game winning streak against a dangerous South Carolina team, and USC, which is looking to reverse recent history and defeat Notre Dame for the first time since 2016. In the best-case scenario for fans of chaos (and the worst-case scenario for the poor playoff committee), we could be dealing with 11-2 champions Clemson, USC, and LSU, 13-0 champions Ohio State and TCU, 12-1 Georgia, and an 11-1 Michigan that would be trying to slip in for a likely first-round rematch with the Buckeyes.
It’s fair to say, however, that the odds are stacked against an outcome as messy as that. The Tigers and Trojans are both favored, the former prohibitively so, and a dubious LSU-over-Georgia upset next week would be required to put the committee in a first-round rematch bind. Playoff spots can’t be won this week, only lost, so it’s worth keeping in mind the smaller dramas playing out across college football this week. The biggest games in the Group of 5—Tulane’s visit to Cincinnati in a possible championship preview and Coastal Carolina’s duel with James Madison for first place in the Sun Belt East—aren’t traditional rivalries, but they’re both fascinating matchups. In the Power 5, a Sunflower Showdown for the ages leads a delightful assortment of smaller matchups, from the Egg Bowl to the battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe to...well, whatever Oregon–Oregon State is called nowadays. The fate of the playoff standings may not hinge on every top game this week, but there are high stakes of every sort in a regular-season finale brimming with drama.