CFB Rivalry Week Predictions & Games to Watch
This is the best weekend of college football. Many of the key games start on Thursday and continue on through into late Saturday night. Here are games that fans should try to check out even if they do not follow either team within a rivalry.
Ranking: AP Poll was used because the College Football Playoff Poll is not yet out.
Mississippi State (7-4) at #20 Ole Miss (8-3)
With all the drama about Lane Kiffin either taking or declining the Auburn job, it only adds to the drama of the annual Egg Bowl between the Bulldogs and Rebels on Thanksgiving.
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers is a technician with his 3,474 yards, 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Doing that against SEC West competition is tremendous. He’s going against the No. 53 ranked passing defense in Ole Miss, so there’s a good chance Rogers goes for 300 or more passing yards.
Of course Kiffin is an offensive guru, so he’s going to put up points as well. Look for the running game of the Rebels to be the focal point with freshman sensation Quinshon Judkins being No. 9 in the country with 125.7 yards rushing per contest.
That will help Kiffin dial up a couple of bombs that directly lead to points. Rebels survive a late rally by the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss 31 Mississippi State 28
Auburn (5-6) at #8 Alabama (9-2)
Speaking of Auburn and its coaching search, the players for the Tigers will not be concerned about all of that when playing the in-state rival Crimson Tide. The hate is real and the Iron Bowl is talked about 365 days a year.
This should still be a blowout even with the emotion Auburn players will possess. It’s simple. Bryce Young plays for Alabama. He’s the difference-maker and that’s that.
Auburn will certainly come out charged up under the direction of interim head coach Carnell Williams. That’s still not going to stop Young from passing for over 300 yards and at a couple of touchdowns.
Auburn’s passing defense gives up 211.6 yards through the air per game, but add about another 100 to that total with Young at the controls for the Tide.
Auburn’s rushing attack will not be able to keep up with Alabama’s passing game, especially since quarterback Robby Ashford has not even gone over a 50% passing mark the past three games. He’s not suddenly going to be great against the talent from the Crimson Tide. That’s a recipe for disaster against Nick Saban and Alabama.
Alabama 42 Auburn 20
Arizona State (3-8) at Arizona (4-7)
Why would anyone care with their win-loss records? Well, these two schools do not like each other for one. The competitiveness of the ASU-Arizona game will be extremely high. Also, with both teams not headed to a bowl game, expect to see trick plays galore.
What does either team have to lose?
As for a player to watch, Arizona quarterback Jayden de Laura has thrown for 3,485 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has some playmakers to throw to like Dorian Singer with his 1,014 yards and six touchdowns, plus Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan, with their combined 119 catches and 15 touchdowns as well.
Arizona 34 Arizona State 20
North Carolina State (7-4) at #18 North Carolina (9-2)
Both teams are coming off a loss and will be ticked off. There’s no love lost between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels either. The biggest question will be how well UNC can protect signal caller Drake Maye so that he can work his magic.
NC ST has produced only 22 sacks, so they will likely be inclined to come after Maye a little bit more with blitzes than they normally would against a more average quarterback. Giving the redshirt freshman quarterback from UNC time to survey the field can lead to big trouble. Maye has thrown for 3,614 yards, 34 touchdowns and four interceptions.
NC ST's quarterback situation is unsettled. Ben Finley took the majority of reps for the Wolfpack at Louisville, but he was ineffective. Injuries have besieged the quarterback position, so that begs a question.
With UNC holding the quarterback advantage, will NC ST come out with a bag of tricks and do anything it can to overcome the Tar Heels? An onside kick? Flea flicker? It probably won’t matter. In a rivalry game, NC ST absolutely needs its top signal caller and Devin Leary is not going to play.
North Carolina 41 NC ST 17
Florida (6-5) at Florida State (8-3)
Well, both teams have shown some improvement this season. That’s especially true for the Noles, as they have been competitive throughout the 2022 college football season. A big part of that stems from the development of quarterback Jordan Travis.
He’s always been a talented runner, but he’s also thrown the football well this season with 2,526 yards, 21 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Florida has played much better down the home stretch, but it will be challenging to slow down Travis and the FSU offense.
When the Gators possess the football, Anthony Richardson needs to find consistency. He’s better than last year, but he’s still not the precision passer that’s needed to help the Gators back into national prominence. Richardson is completing only 55.7% of his passes and has just 14 passing touchdowns to eight interceptions.
He will need a few of those plays that head straight to the highlight reels for Florida to win this contest. Richardson is certainly capable though. He’s an excellent athlete.
Florida’s rushing attack averages 209.3 yards per contest. Unless it can play keep away from Travis and FSU, it’s hard to see a path for a UF victory.
Florida State 34 Florida 24
#3 Michigan (11-0) at #2 Ohio State (11-0)
This would be the game with the most eyeballs watching. It’s for good reason. The team that wins holds bragging rights, an almost guaranteed spot in the College Football Playoff, and wins the Big 10 East before heading to the Big 10 championship game.
Michigan is coming off a lackluster offensive performance against Illinois. If quarterback JJ McCarthy does not throw more accurately, there’s little chance the Wolverines can oust the Buckeyes inside the Horseshoe.
He was just awful at throwing the football last week. It was just one of those games. Is McCarthy ready to bounce back? He better be, because the injury bug is not helping Michigan’s running back room.
Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum have been banged up. Corum, before the injury, was even a Heisman Trophy candidate; it’s well deserved with his 1,457 yards and 18 touchdowns. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is not friendly with sharing injury news, but suffice it to say that the Wolverines are in a quandary in the backfield if even one of these two young men do not tote the football, let alone losing both. They are not alone with a running back dilemma.
Ohio State’s Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson have also been injured. It’s unfortunate that so many talented players are possibly out for this traditional rivalry. The Buckeyes still have a bevy of receivers and their own Heisman candidate and frontrunner for the award, CJ Stroud.
His 2,991 yards, 35 touchdowns and just four interceptions are a part of the high-flying passing attack in Columbus. He’s going to be the difference in this game, as the Buckeyes jump out to a double digit first half lead and never look back.
Ohio State 34 Michigan 17
More Score Predictions
#9 Clemson 34 South Carolina 23
#12 Oregon 24 #23 Oregon State 23
Illinois 27 Northwestern 17
Kentucky 21 Louisville 17
Minnesota 24 Wisconsin 20
#6 LSU 27 Texas A&M 20
#18 Notre Dame 34 #7 Southern California 31
#17 Washington 38 Washington State 31
Purdue 31 Indiana 20
#11 Penn State 34 Michigan State 27
#15 Kansas State 31 Kansas 27
