It’s official: The college football regular season has come to a close. People laughed, people cried, and some were even pepper sprayed.
Although all eyes are on the playoffs now, Week 12 made sure to go out with a bang. Commonly known as “hate week”, the last week of the regular football season is when rivals go head-to-head in hopes of winning bragging rights and touting themselves as the better school. Some rivalries were re-ignited while some had gasoline thrown on contentious feuds.
School pride and disdain are at an all-time high this week, with some taking the time to block out their opponent’s school letter across campus (ahem- looking at you Ohio State).
The football field is a battlefield today. Friends become foes. Fans and players only have one thing in mind—beating your enemy—I mean, beating your opponent. From the haywire of the first three weeks to now, it all comes down to this moment.
With tension so high you could a knife through it, chaos is inevitable. Here are the top 5 moments across the country that occurred on this fated day.
5. South Carolina Beats Clemson
Although Clemson leads the Palmetto Bowl series 73-44-4, the Gamecocks proved victorious this year. It was a nail-biter considering the score was 17-14, with South Carolina making a come-back late in the fourth quarter. With 1:18 left in the game, South Carolina’s quarterback LaNorris Sellers makes a 20-yard touchdown run to take the lead. Despite Clemson’s last-ditch efforts, Demetrius Knight Jr. picked off Cade Klubnik to seal the win for the Gamecocks.
The win was significant for a few reasons. Being ranked 15th and taking down ranked 16th Clemson helped build the Gamecock’s case to being a top 12 team for the newly expanded playoffs. Head coach Shane Beamer told ESPN after the game “It’s hard for me to say we’re not one of the 12 best teams in the country”.
Having a 9-3 record and a win over a ranked opponent- who went on to win a conference championship- might raise some of the committee member’s brows. Furthermore, Clemson’s loss would shake things up in the ACC by helping Miami’s chances of getting into the ACC Championship game (or so Hurricane fans thought).
4. Texas vs Texas A&M Re-ignited Rivalry
There’s only one thing Longhorn and Aggie fans agree on: it’s long overdue for these two teams to play each other. After a 13-year-long hiatus, the Lone Star Showdown was resurrected. The interruption was due to conference realignment when A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2011. Because of TV contracts and conference play, the two have not met since then. However, Texas’s debut in the SEC this year made the rivalry possible again.
Despite having not played each other in over a decade, tensions were as high as if they never missed a beat. At the beginning of the game, Aggie fans belted out the “Aggie War Hymn”, a fight song specifically against Texas. Hearing “Saw off Varsity’s horns” booming in Kyle Field set the tone for a long-awaited rematch against two Top 25 ranked teams, now in a new conference.
Despite A&M’s defense and the roars from the 12th man, Texas’s offence dominated the game winning 17-7. While the result on paper doesn’t look as substantial, the Longhorns total was 461 yards compared to the Aggies’ 248 yards. Both Texas quarterbacks imposed their will with Arch Manning rushing for a touchdown (ESPN).
The A&M defence being responsible for the only points on the board could not make up for the lackluster showing off their offence. The Eyes of Texas were definitely upon them and watched No. 3 Texas punch its ticket to the SEC championship against Georgia.
3.Syracuse Beats No. 8 Miami
Remember how the Clemson game was supposed to help Miami? Well, that would require them also to win their game. Rivalry Saturday made another victim out of the Hurricanes as the unranked Syracuse beat No.6 Miami 42-38. The upset in New York dashed Miami’s hopes of a long post-season by keeping them out of the ACC Championship as well as the playoffs.
Although Miami’s offense came to play, their defense could not stop the Big Orange from scoring. Syracuse imposed their will by running all over Miami, especially on their last game-winning drive.
Moreover, this win was extremely impressive considering Syracuse came back from a 21-0 deficit in the second half. After the game, Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord took to X to write “You’re welcome, Clemson football”. As snarky as it may be, that’s the nature of rivalry week. Quips that bite, but meant in good-natured competition.
2. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech Playing 8 Overtimes
Taking the number two spot is the game that kicked off rivalry weekend. The Georgia vs Georgia Tech game was one for the books: figuratively and literally. Known as “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate”, the two old rivals battled it out to the very end (and beyond). Overtime is not abnormal, per se, but eight overtimes is unheard of. In fact, it was the second-longest game in FBS history and the longest in the SEC.
The game was a high-scoring one with the Georgia Bulldogs limping off the field victorious 44-42. Overtime rules differ from regulation. If an offence succeeds at scoring a touchdown, they must go for a two-point conversion to win the game.
Both teams had difficulty punching it in, which led to the eight overtime periods it took. Georgia finally found a way to convert with running back Nate Frazier forcing his way into the end zone to allow for a walk-off victory for the Dawgs. The win was impressive for the Bulldogs as they came back from trailing 17-0 at halftime.
Sportsmanship Done Right
Despite the win, it was a devastating blow to Georgia Tech. Out-rushing and out-scoring in regulation, Tech had multiple times to win the game and couldn’t. However, both head coaches showed great sportsmanship after the game embracing in a hug.
Although Georgia coach, Kirby Smart, won’t go into details about what’s said, he commented how they “have respect for each other” since they played at their respective colleges, and know how draining these rivalries can get (Yahoo Sports). It is a touching reminder that as fun as the “hate” during rivalries can be, it is important to show grace and empathy to your opponent. Besides, no one else knows you like an enemy that wants to beat you.
1. “The Game”: Michigan Beats Ohio State
The moment we have all been waiting for; sorry Buckeye fans. On a day filled with upsets, the Michigan Wolverines took down the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, 13-10. The victory came as a surprise considering the Wolverines walked into Columbus as a 5-5 team with no offence.
Everyone expected Ohio State to showcase their high-powered elite receiving squad running laps around Michigan. It felt like a foregone conclusion since the Buckeyes are a projected playoff team. However, luck was not on the Buckeye’s side. Receivers Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith were quiet all day except for one touchdown by Smith. To add insult to injury, OSU’s kicker Jayden Fielding missed 2 of his 3 kicks.If anything, it was Ohio State’s game to lose, which is, to their detriment, what happened.
The game was won in the trenches. Michigan, despite lacking talent on the offensive side, imposed their will onto the Buckeye’s defensive line. It paid off. The run, alongside a game-winning field goal, carried the Wolverines to victory. Running back Kalel Mullings set up Dominic Zvada’s field goal by making a 20-yard run into scoring position.
Although Ohio State made a last-ditch effort to tie or win the game, their offence had no answers against a gritty Michigan defence that had been harassing quarterback Will Howard all day.
Post-Game Brawl?
As crazy as the win was, things got interesting after the game. The Wolverines emboldened by their victory ran to the middle of the Ohio State logo to plant their flag in the field. Tensions rose as Ohio State players attempted to rip the flag out of the Wolverine’s hands and eventually tear it up.
What started as a tiff soon grew into a full-on brawl between both sides. The fight became so physical that Ohio State police had to use pepper spray on the players to get them off of each other.
Although a tremendous achievement for Michigan, the fight overshadowed the victory and tarnished what was a hard-fought battle between the two long-standing rivals. Mullings commented on the fight after the game in a side-line report with Fox. He called the act “classless” on OSU’s part to instigate the fight, and said, “It’s bad for the sport, bad for college football”. For all intents and purposes, Rivalry Week delivered on its promise to bring chaos and carnage. For better, or for worse.