This article is part of our The Spread Offensive series.
Rivalries add an extra element to the mix. Yankees-Red Sox in baseball. North Carolina-Duke in college basketball. That added intensity, passion, fervor. Forgive the cliche, but it's more than just a game. It's about bragging rights.
In college football, unless there are some extenuating circumstances, teams play their rival just one time per year. That kicks things up a notch, as well. One chance at redemption. One chance to make a statement for your fan base and to recruits. One game to hold over your rival for an entire calendar year.
Usually the records can also be thrown out the window in a rivalry game. No matter what each team looks like heading into the game, players get up for this particular contest. Last weekend, two bitter rivalries with winning streaks on the line were played, with two very different results.
"The Block at Hard Rock"
There's losing, and then there's losing the way the Miami Hurricanes lost to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday. Miami had lost six consecutive games to the FSU heading into this contest. Yet Miami was 4-0 and the Noles had limped to a 3-2 start. Florida State lost a gut-wrenching 37-35 contest to UNC on a 54-yard field goal just one week before.
As expected, though, this game was hotly contested. In addition, it followed an all-too-familiar script, as the Canes jumped out to a first-half lead, only to see the Noles storm back in the second half behind Dalvin Cook. Still, the
Rivalries add an extra element to the mix. Yankees-Red Sox in baseball. North Carolina-Duke in college basketball. That added intensity, passion, fervor. Forgive the cliche, but it's more than just a game. It's about bragging rights.
In college football, unless there are some extenuating circumstances, teams play their rival just one time per year. That kicks things up a notch, as well. One chance at redemption. One chance to make a statement for your fan base and to recruits. One game to hold over your rival for an entire calendar year.
Usually the records can also be thrown out the window in a rivalry game. No matter what each team looks like heading into the game, players get up for this particular contest. Last weekend, two bitter rivalries with winning streaks on the line were played, with two very different results.
"The Block at Hard Rock"
There's losing, and then there's losing the way the Miami Hurricanes lost to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday. Miami had lost six consecutive games to the FSU heading into this contest. Yet Miami was 4-0 and the Noles had limped to a 3-2 start. Florida State lost a gut-wrenching 37-35 contest to UNC on a 54-yard field goal just one week before.
As expected, though, this game was hotly contested. In addition, it followed an all-too-familiar script, as the Canes jumped out to a first-half lead, only to see the Noles storm back in the second half behind Dalvin Cook. Still, the Canes battled, as Brad Kaaya found Stacy Coley in the end zone to bring the score to 20-19 with 1:38 left. All that remained was an extra point.
In this rivalry, it should come as no surprise, then, that the kicking game played a crucial role in the outcome. Years after getting burned over and over by wide rights and even a wide left, the Seminoles exacted some revenge, as the PAT was blocked by DeMarcus Walker. Miami kicker Michael Badgley had connected on 72 consecutive extra points prior to that kick.
"The Block at Hard Rock" sent Miami to its seventh-straight defeat at the hands of its nemesis.
"Going, Going, Ore-gone"
There's winning, and then there's winning the way the Washington Huskies beat the Oregon Ducks on Saturday. The Huskies hadn't beaten their rivals in 13 years. There are teenagers in the Pacific Northwest who knew nothing but Oregon domination and Washington desperation.
However, it was a perfect storm for the Huskies, as the Ducks already looked vulnerable this season. Oregon was just 2-3, coming off a 51-33 loss to Washington State. The Huskies, meanwhile, had looked the part of a College Football Playoff squad during the previous weekend, dismantling Stanford, 41-6.
Years of frustration was taken out on the Ducks. Washington kept the train rolling, as quarterback Jake Browning scored a staggering eight times as the Huskies dismantled the Ducks, 70-21. U-Dub also rushed for a whopping 378 yards against the feeble Ducks. In this case, the records and how the teams were playing mattered, as the Huskies are a top-5 team while Oregon is searching for answers near the bottom of the Pac-12.
This Week's Primetime Matchup - "Hurts So Good"
Let's shift gears and turn to this weekend's top matchup, Alabama at Tennessee. The magic finally ran out for the Volunteers. The Vols made another miraculous comeback last Saturday, erasing a 14-point deficit late in the fourth quarter to send the game against Texas A&M to overtime. UT QB Josh Dobbs tossed a pick during the OT session, though, and the Vols suffered their first defeat of the 2016 campaign.
Tennessee's reward? A date with No. 1 Alabama. The Tide made mincemeat out of Arkansas, though did allow more than 400 yards passing. Still, Alabama freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts continues to show he is ready for the moment. Hurts scored four more times in the 49-30 rout, and has not been rattled in SEC play. This gauntlet of games for the Tide will show if Alabama is truly as good as everyone thinks it is. Should it get past the Vols, Alabama would then face the aforementioned Aggies, who are sitting at 6-0 with a bye this week.
Flash "Facts"
Here are some quick hitters as we head into the meat of conference play. They might be fact. They might be opinion. They might even be prognostication. Feel free to comment.
1. The Big Ten is the best conference in college football with four teams in the Top 10.
2. The SEC has seven teams in the top 23, but is not quite as top heavy as the Big Ten.
3. Lamar Jackson still leads the Heisman race, but Deshaun Watson is hot on his tail, and Jake Browning has emerged as a darkhorse.
4. All that said, my prediction for the end of the year is J.T. Barrett of Ohio State.
5. The next head coach to lose his high-profile job will be Oregon's Mark Helfrich, not Charlie Strong of Texas.
6. This weekend's upset special? Indiana over No. 10 Nebraska. The Hoosiers played Ohio State fairly tough on the road, while the Huskers' biggest win is over Oregon, and we all know how the Ducks' season has gone.
7. The winner of the ACC Coastal will be decided the next two weeks, with Miami playing host to North Carolina and then visiting Virginia Tech. The Hokies thumped the Tar Heels, 34-3, last weekend. Virginia Tech's only loss is to Tennessee.
8. Rutgers coach Chris Ash needs a hug. The Scarlet Knights have been outscored 136-0 by Ohio State and Michigan combined the last two weeks.
9. BYU's Jamaal Williams might be the best running back you've never heard of. Williams has 866 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns for the Cougars. BYU beat reeling Michigan State and then plays another Power 5 squad in Mississippi State this weekend.
10. Navy had the biggest win of the weekend with the upset of Houston. Hats off to the Midshipmen.
