by Big Al

I guess it's kind of another rivalry week. But a regular-season-ending rivalry week without Ohio State-Michigan is a paltry one indeed.

Alabama at Arkansas

At least we got Alabama-Auburn earlier in the year. In the meantime, this will not be a good game. Alabama in a blowout.

Georgia at Missouri

Hey, there's a game between ranked teams! Georgia wins it.

Minnesota at Nebraska

I'm very disappointed that this is not a big game. But Minnesota couldn't follow up their success last year, and Nebraska can't get any. So, how about Nebraska.

North Carolina at Miami

Hey, another game between ranked teams! North Carolina has been so up-and-down, it's hard to know which direction they are going. Miami, meanwhile, is flying under the radar at 8-1. Which is an odd thing for Miami to be doing. Miami gets back on the screen with a win.

Wisconsin at Iowa

Iowa is ranked, but Wisconsin is not. Maybe if Wisconsin could play a fifth game, they would get to have a number next to their name. Either way, Wisconsin gets the win, but 3-2 isn't enough to get ranked.

Tennessee at Vanderbilt

Tennessee used to have their big, year-ending rivarly game against Kentucky. Which was stupid: Kentucky is so rarely good at football, that the game could be ignored. And was. So, they finally got to move on from Kentucky and schedule... Vanderbilt. Which is an even worse choice. At least their in-state, I guess. Anyway, Tennesse finally gets win #3.

USC at UCLA

USC is undefeated and completely ignored. And UCLA is actually not awful for once. But USC reminds UCLA that they still have a long way to go. USC wins.

Virginia at Virginia Tech

I feel like this game should have been bigger. Look for Virginia Tech to at least get a rivalry win out of the year.

The possibilities of Ohio State vs. Texas A&M?

Look, I applaud Coastal Carolina and BYU for putting together a game in almost no time. And, I suppose, Ohio State and Texas A&M could have figured it out. Except that the Big Ten already put the kibosh on Nebraska's attempt to replace a canceled game with a non-conference opponent. And the SEC is not allowing their schools to play teams from out-of-conference. Nobody wants to take any risks they don't need to. Especially not risks of being left out of the college football playoff because of a game they didn't have time to prepare for. And, for Ohio State, they got special dispensation to play in the Big Ten title game with only 5 games played: they cannot take any risk whatsoever. They need to play nice with the rest of the league, and they need to keep themselves safe so that they are at full strength for a shot at the conference championship against a very good Northwestern team. And Ohio is having an outbreak of COVID right now, so Texas A&M wouldn't want to risk playing the Buckeyes either, and risk an outbreak on their team.

The very reason that both teams had their games canceled is the very reason this game could not happen. And while this game would have been in Texas A&M's interest to play in the short term, it was not in Ohio State's interest in the short term. And that's supposing the Aggies don't jump whoever loses the Clemson-Notre Dame game (which could happen). And it was definitely not in either team's interest in the long term, since both teams need to stay on good terms with their conference partners.

In conclusion, it was neat to think about. But it was not a good idea for either team to throw this together.