College Football Rivalry Week: Here’s What You Need To Know
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There are Tuesday college football games this week. This can only mean one thing. In Thanksgiving football tradition, it’s officially rivalry week, and one of the most critical stretches of the college football season.
Let’s start in order. On November 21, both Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan play. However, they will not play each other (Bowling Green at WM, EM at Buffalo).
On Thanksgiving Day we have the always exciting Egg Bowl. #13 Ole Miss will play at Mississippi State. This is a prime time 7:30pm kickoff on ESPN. Regardless of standings and record, this is one of the best rivalries in the NCAA.
Friday
Then, the day after Thanksgiving features 13 key matchups. This includes a few other inter-state heavy-weight battles. Namely, Texas Tech will travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns. Then, for the nightcap, we have #11 Oregon State playing at #6 Oregon at 8:30 pm. The Ducks need to win this game to stay in the playoff race.
Saturday
You might as well nurse your turkey hangover for a few days this year because on Saturday, there are big-time college football games for 12 hours straight. What’s unique here is the main event kicks off the day. While this is not an instate rivalry, Ohio State vs. Michigan is the most heated rivalry in the Big Ten and perhaps all of college football. This year, the stakes are higher than ever, with #2 Ohio State playing at #3 Michigan (without head coach Jim Harbaugh) at 12 pm. This, too, has major playoff seeding implications. Still, after the conclusion of this game, there is no reason to get off the couch. Here are some other notable Saturday matchups.
- UConn at UMass
- Colorado at Utah
- Alabama at Auburn
- Arizona at Arizona State
- Vanderbilt at Tennessee
- Virginia Tech at Virginia
- Georgia at Georgia Tech
- Clemson at South Carolina
- Florida State at Florida
- Notre Dame at Stanford
- Washington State at Washington
- North Carolina at North Carolina State
- California at UCLA
All of the major players in this college football season have significant games this Thanksgiving week. Many of the results will impact what happens next. In fact, certain teams have the opportunity to play “spoiler” while others will have the chance to knock off the team standing in their way. Regardless, college football rivalry week is upon us, and we have a lot to be thankful for.
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Ranking The 5 Best Thanksgiving Football Game Traditions
There are a few things that simply go hand-in-hand with the Thanksgiving holiday. Obviously, there’s turkey, eating until you need stretch pants, and football. To celebrate the many Thanksgiving football traditions across the country, we’ve ranked the five most common games you will find.
Before we start, let’s be clear: any football on Thanksgiving is acceptable. The game serves as the pre-meal event and the post-meal “I need to sit down and not move for a little bit” time period. However, even before Thursday, the holiday often kicks off with a football game. Whether you are in your hometown or watching a prime-time game on TV that is taking place across the country. On Thanksgiving week, one thing about the sport is for certain.
There’s Football For Everyone
For those who celebrate with friends or family, the Thanksgiving holiday often means a return to your hometown. Many regions have capitalized on this and scheduled their big market football game to take place either Wednesday or Friday night in order to make it available to all those in town.
On the collegiate level, it’s common to find a few major in-state rivalry games that take place as the Thanksgiving game. It’s one of the more intense battles of the year, given all the fans have such respect for their home state but despise the school there that they did not go to.
Then, there’s the NFL. You always know the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are playing on Thanksgiving Day. The Lions will get the day going with the early game, and the Cowboys always get that late afternoon game that is often accompanied by a power nap. Nowadays, we get also get a nightcap game that alternates teams each year.
Still, with all the football fun already mentioned here, there’s another Thanksgiving game that sits above the rest. So, let’s dig in. Here are the most common Thanksgiving football games ranked down from five to one.
Jeff Gorra is a Boston-based writer who has been with Beasley Media Group since the beginning of 2023. He writes about restaurants and food, as well as sports and rock music. His experience also includes show hosting and in-depth creative writing in rock and reggae dub music. Jeff’s an avid surfer, New York Giants, and Pearl Jam fan, however, if you make unforgettable pizza, he is sure to find you.