Welcome to the Defector College Football Watch Guide, where Israel Daramola and Ray Ratto will tell you which of the weekend’s college football games are worth giving a crap about.
Israel: We finally made it to the end of a knotty mess of a college football season. The road has been paved with the bodies of formerly high-paid coaches and transfer-portal casualties. But after all the hootin’ and hollerin’ we are here at Rivalry Week, where your record isn’t supposed to matter and everyone, audience and players alike, is weighed down by Thanksgiving dinner. The highlights of this weekend likely revolve around whether Ohio State could actually blow it again, or if Auburn has enough black magic to sabotage Alabama’s season once more for old time’s sake. But even the rivalries with lower stakes should be lots of fun; it’s fun to hate and fun to watch other haters inflict their hatred upon one another. At the Hater’s Ball, it’s hard not to have a good time.
Ray: You want to know how much of a Hater’s Ball it is? It’s in the very names of the games: A Hundred Miles Of Hate (Middle Tennessee-Western Kentucky), Deeper Than Hate (Appalachian State-Georgia Southern), Modern-Day Hate (Georgia Southern-Georgia State) and the deeply absurdist Clean Old-Fashioned Hate (Georgia-Georgia Tech). There are more than just geographical commonalities here, as spelled out most spectacularly by Lane Kiffin triple-dealing with the SEC. This is the true essence of college football at its highest level—unhinged sociopaths with an overdeveloped sense of near-homicidal tribalism, guided by a committee of wet socks (h/t Mike Ryan Ruiz) deciding who gets an extra gift of TV money in their holiday envelopes. So yeah, Hate Tastes Great—The Only True Reason College Football Exists At This Level. Well, that, and watching the ACC strangle itself, a great idea in and of itself.
And now, the games.
Ole Miss at Mississippi State – Friday, 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC
Self-explanatory, though even Mississippi State fans will feel some subcutaneous kinship for their brethren after the Rebs let themselves be taken in by the lure of short-term success and long-term betrayal named Lane. Assuming Ole Miss wins, it will be interesting to see A) where the committee decides to stick them, and B) whether Kiffin gets carried off the field to a campus bonfire where he will be the guest of honor, or just gets dragged behind a truck from Starkville back to Oxford. Those are big-time stakes that the phrase “the Egg Bowl” is unsuited to carry. – Ray
Georgia at Georgia Tech – Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC
This was supposed to be a much bigger deal, but Tech went out and spotted Pitt four scores in 18 minutes and, after getting personally involved in the game, surrendered a 100-yard pick-six to make sure the point was made as forcefully as possible. The result: Pitt goes to the ACC title game if it beats Miami and either Virginia (Virginia Tech) or SMU (Cal) lose, while Georgia Tech is essentially screwed after losing two of their last three, barely beating Boston College and giving up 124 points and 1,500 yards in the three games. At this point, the old-fashioned hate advertised may just be inwardly directed on the Tech side. Here, we will hate both teams if we don’t get nine overtimes this year. – Ray
San Diego State at New Mexico – Friday, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBSSN
San Diego State has mostly excelled defensively in the Mountain West, and they will likely have to win this game through defense again. New Mexico is good at scoring points, mainly through the air. Jack Layne is a formidable quarterback with a good receiver in Keagan Johnson, and while San Diego State QB Jayden Denegal and RB Lucky Sutton make a dynamic duo on the ground, this game will be dictated by what SDSU does defensively. – Israel
Texas A&M at Texas – Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC
There’s a perception that I hate Texas, hate the sport's dearest baby boy Arch Manning, and hate Steve Sarkisian, but in reality I would love it if Texas were great. It would certainly make my job easier. I think there’s comedy to be found from the way Texas and Manning specifically failed to live up to the prophecies of old men in love with football's royal family, but I also never believed in dismissing the kid forever. He went through growing pains this year, exacerbated by a tepid offensive roster. Despite Sarkisian’s press-conference aggrandizing, this team has never been great at any point this year. Lucky for them, I don’t think A&M is much better. That South Carolina game will be burned into my head for a long time unless they somehow win the whole damn thing. Texas has already proven itself capable of coming up big in a rivalry game. Let’s see if they have another one in them. – Israel
Indiana at Purdue – Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC
This doesn’t have the Daramola Stamp Of Detestability, but since this is the first time in years that the Old Oaken Bucket was an afterthought to either team was nearly a half-century ago. There is no compelling reason to think that the Boilermakers can make this interesting, but they could find solace by keeping the margin down and assure that Ohio State finishes with the top seed. When victory is unavailable, one must sculpt the losses as much as can be hoped. – Ray
Ohio State at Michigan – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX
I have been joking about Michigan beating Ohio State again all season, but in fact, there’s literally no reason for Ohio State to lose this game again, save for an actual voodoo curse that Jim Harbaugh left behind. That said, would it be better for OSU to lose here? This program has not faced many stern tests this season, which is why they’ve barely been discussed in this column. Julian Sayin has the stats but is very much a true freshman quarterback, and I’m sorry, but I do not want to live in a world where Matt Patricia is considered some college football defensive maestro. I feel pretty certain that losing The Game would shatter the egos of Ryan Day, the coaches, and the entire fanbase, but it would also motivate them to repeat as national champions, whereas finally beating Michigan again—in Ann Arbor—after four years will almost certainly lead to a second-round exit in the playoff. I don’t make the rules, I’m merely a witness. –Israel
Clemson at South Carolina – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on SEC Network
If Clemson manages to lose this game, I think it will spell the end of the Dabo era. South Carolina can’t find its way out of a paper bag at this point and, no matter how much offense they muster, they are always liable to choke it away. It is damn near impossible to lose to this team right now, and I can’t imagine they have much pride left in them. But that’s all the more reason I kinda want to know if Clemson can blow it, even against an opponent like this. Dabo better be praying real hard before kickoff on this one. – Israel
Miami at Pitt – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on ABC
This became a much bigger deal once Pitt beat Tech, but in terms of the playoff it still remains longshot vs. longshot. Miami’s last chance to pretty up its resume is here, and Pitt can become the tarted-up outsider, so this is a game with high stakes for both teams that might otherwise be setting themselves up for the sting of the SEC/Big Ten-sponsored playoff. Pitt has won six of its last seven and covered the 100-point spread against Notre Dame by 78, so they are on a definite roll. Another playoff-free year for Miami might lead to major changes in the offseason, but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe Miami is the team they seemed to be in September and October, and beating Pitt will convince the committee of that. Certainly sillier things have happened before. –Israel
Yale at Youngstown State – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Harvard at Villanova – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Central Connecticut at Rhode Island – Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Lamar at Abilene Christian – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Illinois State at Southeastern Louisiana – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
North Dakota at Tennessee Tech – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
New Hampshire at South Dakota State – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Drake at South Dakota – Saturday, 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
The Dakotas-Montana Invitational—er, the FCS Playoffs begin this weekend, and a quarter of the field comes from those three states. In fact, North Dakota State and the two Montanas don’t even play this week because they have byes. For you gambly types, this greatly reduces the time you have to spend on research—most of your time will probably be spent trying to find lines on the games anyway because your gambling addiction somehow stops just short of Florida A&M-Mississippi Valley State. Just more proof that the end is nigh. – Ray
Southern at Grambling – Saturday, 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC (or NBC Sports?)
The 52nd Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern will take place in New Orleans's Superdome. A lively event, though not one that has created much anticipation this year, as Southern is one of the worst teams in the SWAC. Unless Southern’s running back Trey Holly goes nuts, there’s not much faith in this game going well for them. But as it goes with HBCU football, an equally important showdown will take place at halftime: the battle of the bands, which in the Superdome on the weekend after Thanksgiving is sure to go absolutely crazy. That’s worth the price of admission, let alone checking out on TV in the midst of other rivalry week games. – Israel
Nothing beats a game in which halftime lasts an hour and the football on either side is entirely optional. These are magnificent institutions that know what is truly important in sports. Plus, it’s hard to manifest hatred through tuba violence. – Ray
Florida State at Florida – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2
I call this the Florida scammer bowl, because an entire stadium is going to be scammed into thinking that a football game is happening in the Swamp. All these teams have is spite to carry the day. In a game where people are depending on FSU to not shame itself, self-shaming is practically guaranteed. Florida will savor any chance to ensure that we don’t make a bowl game if possible. This kind of spitefulness is what the spirit of Rivalry Week is all about. – Israel
Oregon at Washington – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
The first half of the Cascadia/Bring Your Umbrella doubleheader, and the one that matters for you playoffs-or-bust types. Washington is out, obviously, but Oregon is now a sneaky sixth after schooling USC and has established its worthiness in the pigpile, while the ACC and Notre Dame create the chaos below them. This is a game the Ducks could lose but should not, so there is still some risk, but unless they get ravaged they should hold their place within the tier just below OSU/Indy/A&M. – Ray
Oregon State at Washington State – Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET on CW Network
The Pac-(1)2 championship, I guess. The last time these two faced off earlier in the season, Oregon State won 10-7, a score as sad as this conference is now. I imagine Washington wants to even the score, if for no other reason than to force themselves into a kind of co-champion situation. These are two bad teams, the also-rans of a conference that saw everyone else cut and run. But that’s the beautiful thing about our bloodsport: even stupid, bad football is amazing and worthwhile. There’s still a chance for both Maalik Murphy and Zevi Eckhaus to throw more interceptions than touchdowns to end their respective years. And what goes better with Thanksgiving leftovers than Pac-2 football? – Israel
A moment of silent respect for the end of the two-team conference that nurtured us all. Ahh, well, they can both give tutorials in five years to half the Big Ten and SEC on what it’s like when the other half of your conference leaves you behind in search of a more lucrative but emotionally much shittier deal. – Ray
SMU at Cal – Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Now that Kiffin seems to have delayed his degrading wanderlust until Saturday morning, it looks like Justin Wilcox will be the last in-season firing of this blood-encrusted season. He got croaked after losing the Big Game by three scores to an undergunned Stanford team, marking this offseason as the first time these conjoined programs have been looking for a coach at the same time since 2001. You don’t care about that, of course, but you’re not the one writing this nonsense. SMU could still backdoor a playoff spot if you believe the games are fixed, and why not cling to hope of massive corruption that doesn’t involve your suspicion of Notre Dame? It is, after all, the new forfeit. – Ray
Wyoming at Hawaii – Saturday, 11:00 p.m. ET on Spectrum Sports Net
What better way to close out the 2025 regular season than with some late-night Hawaii magic? Put the kids to bed and settle in for that nighttime gas, one more time.
