Rivalry Week Part II: Gameday - Iron Bowls and Oaken Buckets

The second half of rivalry weekend is here and ESPN's College Gameday is broadcasting from Auburn, Alabama, for the 2013 edition of the Iron Bowl, the great in-state rivalry between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers.  Today's edition of this brutal rivalry has conference championship and possibly national championship implications.  Both teams are in the top five of the BCS Rankings (#1 Alabama, #4 Auburn) and the winner of today's Iron Bowl (Kickoff is at 3:30 PM Eastern on CBS) will represent the SEC West in the Conference championship game in Atlanta next week.  The team that the winner of today's game will play will depend on the outcome of this evening's match-up (Kickoff 7:45 PM on ESPN) between #21 Texas A&M and #5 Missouri.  Missouri has to win today's game in order to win the SEC East, if they fall to Johnny Football and the Aggies, #10 South Carolina will clinch the division.  Speaking of South Carolina, they play a non-conference game against their in-state rival, #6 Clemson (Kickoff 7:00 PM ESPN2).  A win here by Clemson will put the Tigers in consideration for an at-large BCS bid.

In the Big Ten today, THE GAME, the biggest interstate college football rivalry in the country, between #3 Ohio State and Michigan, starts at Noon on ABC.  Ohio State has already clinched the Leaders Division title and a berth in the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis, and Buckeye Quarterback Braxton Miller is in consideration for the Heisman Trophy.  Michigan, by contrast has had a difficult season.  The Wolverines have only accumulated a 7-4 overall record and even though they will get into a bowl game, they are mainly playing for bragging rights and a chance to derail Ohio State's hopes for a national championship berth.  Even if the Buckeyes win today, they still have to play #11 Michigan State, the winner of the Legends division, in the conference championship.  As for the Spartans, their top-ranked defense will host Minnesota at Noon on The Big Ten Network.

Also in the Big Ten today is the in-state rivalry between Purdue and Indiana (Kickoff 3:30PM Big Ten Network).  Both teams play for the Old Oaken Bucket trophy, which looks like this:

Image Source:  about.com

In the ACC today, the in-state rivalry between #24 Duke and North Carolina, which is more associated with basketball than with football, features a Duke team playing for a conference division title.  While North Carolina has enough wins for a bowl bid, Duke has to win today in order to have a chance to play Florida State in the ACC Championship.  Should Duke lose today, the Coastal Division will have a three-way tie for first place between the Blue Devils, Georgia Tech, and Miami (FL).  Should this situation occur, I have no idea who will represent the division in the ACC Championship since Duke lost to Georgia Tech, yet beat Miami.   However, Miami beat Georgia Tech, but they lost to Duke.  It seems like one big mess could take shape, but if Duke wins, it is a moot point.  Speaking of Georgia Tech, the Ramblin' Wreck will host their in-state rival Georgia at 3:30 PM Eastern on ABC.   As for #2 Florida State, the Seminoles travel to Gainesville to play their in-state rival Florida in a non-conference game.  Long story short, Florida State is heavily favored to win this game.

In the PAC-12, the conference championship is already set between Stanford and Arizona State.  But there are some great rivalry games from that conference on today's slate.  Utah hosts Colorado this afternoon at 2:00PM Eastern on the PAC-12 Network in a game known as "The Rumble in The Rockies."  #8 Stanford hosts #25 Notre Dame at 7:00PM on FOX and Arizona plays #12 Arizona State at 9:30 PM Eastern on The PAC-12 Network.  The most important game in the conference today is most likely the crosstown rivalry between #22 UCLA and #23 USC.  Both teams will play in the postseason but the eyes of the college football world are focused on USC's interim head coach Ed Orgeron.  Coach Orgeron has done a remarkable job revitalizing the Trojans football program. Whether or not he will be considered for the USC head coaching job will likely depend on his team's performance later today.  Kickoff for that game is 8:00 PM Eastern on ABC. 

As for the Big XII, #9 Baylor will travel to TCU to play the Horned Frogs at 3:30 PM Eastern on ESPN2.  Today's game marks the 109th time that these two teams have played each other.  I guess conference realignments could not stop this long-term rivalry.  Currently, Texas and Oklahoma State are tied for first in the BIG XII standings.  Baylor has to win order to remain in contention for at least a share of the BIG XII title.  Meanwhile, Kansas State travels to Lawrence to play the Kansas Jayhawks at Noon eastern on FOX Sports 1 and West Virginia hosts Iowa State at 4:00 PM Eastern on the same network.  Enjoy the rivalries Everybody!!