Going into rivalry weekend stakes were high for some of the nation’s highest-ranked football programs. Michigan and Ohio State were looking to hold on to the playoff spots, while Alabama was looking to make a statement with a win in the Iron Bowl as they hope to get voters to look past their loss against Texas earlier in the season. Even though one of the two matchups was heavily favored as the Tide favored by 13.5, everyone knows that nothing comes easy when going against your bitter rival.
The biggest matchup this year and what seems like every year would be “The Game”. Of course, I am referring to the game between Ohio State and Michigan. This rivalry has gone back hundreds of years and the animosity between these rivals seems to get more bitter every year. Even though Ohio State has won most of the matchups between the teams, the Wolverines have won the last 2 matchups in a somewhat dominant fashion. With Michigan being ranked 2 and Ohio State being ranked 3 the loser of this game could be knocked out of the 4-team playoff. Throughout the game, Michigan seemed to always be one step ahead of the Buckeyes. Quarterback play was the biggest difference between the teams as McCord’s 2 interceptions made the comeback insurmountable. The Wolverines made fewer mistakes and came out with the win 30-24. With this loss, Ohio State’s ranking has dropped to sixth. Unless top teams lose in their next matchups, Ohio State’s playoff hopes are crushed. Even without their head coach Michigan has managed to secure a spot in the College Football Playoffs (barring an upset in their matchup Vs. Iowa of course), and in many mock rankings, they are even ranked as the number 1 team in the country.
Everyone expected “The Game” to be a dogfight but no one expected the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn to be the nail-biter that it ended up being. With Auburn having a below-average season at 6-5 and the Tide still showing why they are the greatest dynasty in the history of college football with their 10-1 record people expected this to be a somewhat dominating win for Bama. These predictions were proven to be completely wrong. In truth, the Tigers seemed to really feed off the home crowd’s energy and had Alabama on the ropes most of the game. With Bama losing 20-24 and less than 25 seconds left in the game this game felt over. The Tide faced a 4th and goal but a mishandled snap pushed the Tide back to the 31-yard line. This was when we fans were left speechless after quarterback Jalen Milroe threw an absolute perfect ball into the endzone to wide receiver Isiah Bond for the go-ahead miracle touchdown. This defensive collapse by the Auburn Tigers may have just landed Alabama in the College Football Playoffs.
The Crimson were ranked 8th before the weekend but after a weak performance by Washington, I could see why voters would want Nick Saban’s crew in the Playoff.
With the end of the college football season coming up pretty soon we as fans are constantly being reminded that nothing in sports is to be expected. In my opinion, I think Michigan should be ranked number 1, Georgia number 2, whoever wins the PAC 12 championship (Oregon or Washington) number 3, and then either Florida State or Alabama at the 4. Alabama would be a safe option but Florida State has played so well all year. I think I would choose Bama over Florida State as they lost their star quarterback 2 weeks ago and their schedule is like peanuts when compared to Alabama’s. This year has been an exciting one and I expect nothing less for the playoff season.
