The rivalry week of the college football season absolutely did not disappoint. Michigan held off Ohio State in a thriller in Ann Arbor, Alabama walked off Auburn on a miracle last-second play, Washington survived Washington State and Florida State struggled to beat Florida ahead of the conference championship game.
Starting in Ann Arbor for the game, second-ranked Ohio State faced off against third-ranked Michigan in an instant classic. After punts from both sides, an interception from Will Johnson set up Blake Corum to score, taking a 7-0 lead. Ohio State would get a field goal before JJ McCarthy threw a touchdown to Roman Wilson on a controversial play that ended with cornerback Denzel Burke holding the ball, but a touchdown being called, making the score 14-3. The Buckeyes drove down the field quickly, including a one-handed catch by superstar receiver Marvin Harrison Jr on a drive that ended with an Emeka Egbuka touchdown to make it 14-10. Opening the second half, the Wolverines extended the lead with a field goal until Ohio State ran the ball the entire drive to get a touchdown and tie the game at 17-17 in the third quarter. Michigan would then lead a long drive that ended in a touchdown run by Blake Corum to retake the lead and another field goal to make the score 27-17. Ohio State with their backs against the wall quickly drove down the field and scored a touchdown to Marvin Harrison Jr running across the field, making it 27-24. Michigan then proceeded to burn seven of the eight minutes remaining, and got a field goal, giving the ball to Ohio State up 30-24. If the Buckeyes were going to win, they needed a touchdown. They got close with big completions to Marvin Harrison Jr and Julian Fleming. But with 30 seconds left in the game, Kyle McCord was hit as he was attempting to get a pass to Marvin Harrison Jr over the middle, falling in the hands of Michigan corner Rod Moore, sealing the game for Michigan. One of the most anticipated games of all time lived up to the hype, and if the right things happen, could see a rematch later this season.
Over at Jordan Haire Stadium, a last-second comeback touchdown was the deciding factor. Eighth-ranked Alabama was in a surprisingly close game with arch-rival Auburn but was leading 17-14 at halftime. However, as the game came to a close, Auburn was leading 21-20. They went down the field and got a field goal to make the score 24-20, meaning Alabama would need to score a touchdown to beat them. Alabama struggled to get down the field, and several penalties backed them up, but on second down, a bad snap that quarterback Jalen Milroe wasn’t ready for backed up Alabama to the 31-yard line with two plays to save their season. An incompletion on third down left just one play. With a 10-1 record and no timeouts left, Alabama needed a touchdown or they would have two losses and would be eliminated from the College Football Playoff. On a fourth & 31, Auburn only rushed 3, leaving eight defenders to guard five receivers in the end zone. Despite everyone being covered, Jalen MIlroe threw up a prayer to the corner of the end zone, where Isaiah Bond caught it to give Alabama a 27-24 lead. Auburn was only able to run two desperation plays when they got the ball back, which was intercepted to end the game and keep Alabama alive.
Washington was able to barely survive against Washington State, needing some trickery to get themselves into field goal range, but on the last day of the Pac-12 regular season, Washington hit a walk-off field goal as time expired to keep their undefeated season alive. The Huskies will play Oregon in the last ever Pac-12 game and with a win, can be 13-0 and an automatic playoff bid. Meanwhile, Florida State with their backup quarterback barely got a win over Florida. At one point, Florida State was down 12-0 and it looked like they weren’t going to get the win on the road, but they came back and got to a 12-0 record. However, they have to play top 15 Louisville in the ACC Championship, and a loss, which looks much more likely than ever, could very well knock the Seminoles out of the playoffs.
In the last year before College Football changes forever, the race is heating up for the four spots of the CFP, and as always, there is expected to be some chaos and no one knows who’s going to be in the last four teams on December 3. With the last week before the final ranking, only time will tell.
