Rivalry Week Viewing Guide: Four In-State Showdowns, Spencer Rattler Searches for an Encore, and Leprechauns Invade California

Nooners

South Carolina vs. No. 8 Clemson, 12 p.m. on ABC

Can the Gamecocks sabotage the College Football Playoff hopes of an orange contender for a second straight week? South Carolina pulled off arguably the most shocking result of the season last Saturday when they welcomed Tennessee to Columbia and proceeded to hang 63 points on the Volunteers. Spencer Rattler played by far the best game of his college career to this point with a performance that included over 450 total yards of offense and six passing touchdowns.

#Gamecocks are doing whatever they want with the ball tonight.

Unreal performance. pic.twitter.com/yhqXPNx8vu

— Mike Gillespie (@MikeABCColumbia) November 20, 2022

Of course, most SEC fans would express that winning on the road in a late November night game against a divisional opponent serves as a tall task for any team. The Gamecocks will not have the benefit of a raucous environment when they face Clemson, as the Tigers will operate with home field advantage in broad daylight having already clinched a trip to the ACC Championship.

Prior to last weekend, Rattler had not thrown for more than 200 yards in any of South Carolina's games against non-FCS schools since losing to Arkansas in the second week of September. A return to earth for the former top quarterback in the 2019 recruiting cycle seems likely given Clemson's far more capable pass defense than that of Tennessee. If the Tigers can secure an early lead, D.J. Uiagalelei and Will Shipley should have little issue steamrolling a Gamecock run defense surrendering the eighth-worst success rate against FBS opponents' rushing plays.

Coastal Carolina vs. James Madison, 12 p.m. on ESPNU

W I L D C A R D of the W E E K

While today's meeting between the Chanticleers and Dukes should decide which member of the Sun Belt East gets to head to the conference championship, James Madison technically cannot compete for the Sun Belt title due to their recent reclassification from FCS to the FBS level. This is in spite of the fact that the Dukes winning would draw their conference record even with Coastal Carolina at 6-2, which under normal circumstances would give JMU the divisional crown due to the head-to-head tiebreaker.

It's unlikely the NCAA foresaw a first-year FBS team having an immediate path to a conference title when it drew up the rules on reclassification, so a win for the Dukes would cause a bit of embarrassment for more than just the Chanticleers.

This game features one of college football's most aesthetically pleasing offenses against one of the sport's most statistically impressive defenses this season. At the moment, JMU boasts the only defense other than Michigan giving up less than 80 rushing yards per game, while Coastal Carolina has routinely made highlight-caliber scoring plays throughout the 2022 campaign.

Coastal Carolina's CJ Beasley with the hurdle TD for the win pic.twitter.com/tjP4DumRzo

— 247Sports (@247Sports) October 2, 2022

The Chanticleers are still seeking their first outright Sun Belt title after having to cancel their appearance in the 2020 conference championship due to COVID-19 concerns. While they will face the winner of the Sun Belt West next week regardless of the result in this game, the Dukes springing an upset would serve as a massive spiritual victory for the FCS teams desiring to move up subdivisions in the future.

Afternooners

No. 9 Oregon vs. No. 21 Oregon State, 3:30 p.m. on ABC

After grinding out a win over Utah into the early hours of Sunday last weekend, the Ducks are on a strong trajectory to meet USC for the first time this season in the Pac-12 Championship. However, before Oregon can punch its ticket to the conference title game, Bo Nix and the rest of the quack attack will have to go through one of the Pac-12’s surprise success stories this season in the form of their in-state rival Oregon State.

The Beavers' only loss at home this season came by three points in a nail-biter against USC back at the end of September that saw the Trojans trailing entering the fourth quarter. A week later, Oregon State lost its starting quarterback Chance Nolan to a neck injury that has kept him sidelined, but freshman Ben Gulbranson has since gone on to score 10 total touchdowns against just one interception across all of his subsequent starts.

An absolute dime. @Bengulbranson x @Treshaunn__

ESPN
https://t.co/o5JTj4CNgm pic.twitter.com/7YRID5bK3X

— Oregon State Football (@BeaverFootball) October 9, 2022

While the Ducks control their own fate with a win, a loss in the game formerly known as the Civil War throws the Pac-12 Championship into a bit of chaos. Oregon losing in tandem with Utah and Washington winning creates a triple-tiebreaker scenario between three 7-2 teams, which would then require a strength-of-schedule formula evaluation due to the overlap in head-to-head results and common opponents.

Assuming the Ducks lose, the Utes would get in with a with a win over Colorado, a Huskies victory (more on that later), and UCLA's win over Cal yesterday. Even if Oregon loses to Oregon State, the Ducks will still advance to the conference title game if Washington also goes down, while the Huskies themselves have no path to Las Vegas after the Golden Bears failed to upset the Bruins.

Primetime

A Jeweled Shillelagh, the Sunflower Showdown, and an Aggie Funeral

As the sun sets on Saturday, the early evening offers a suite of choices for college football audiences with a variety of interests. College Football Playoff implications, regional rivalry admirers, and especially Sickos Committee members will all have something to appreciate while the final week of the regular season rolls into its closing hours.

• No. 5 LSU vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m. on ESPN
  ☣ H A Z A R D  ☣  W A R N I N G ☣
  Remember when Desmond Howard said Texas A&M was going to win the National Championship? At this point, it seems fair to question why ESPN keeps putting him or the Aggies on television, especially considering Jimbo Fisher's band of bag-chasers will likely lock up a 4-8 record tonight when College Station welcomes an LSU squad seeking to tune up for the SEC Championship next week.
  
  An interesting point of context between these teams goes back to February when — in the waning hours of National Signing Day — Texas A&M successfully lured away a four-star Louisiana recruit previously committed to the Tigers. Given the uproar the Aggies caused in the SEC with their NIL brigade last offseason, Brian Kelly will be eager to run Texas A&M off of Kyle Field while sending Fisher home to explain a 1-7 conference record to program boosters.
   
• No. 15 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 USC, 7:30 p.m. on ABC
  South Carolina won't be the only school looking to play spoiler to CFP hopes today. Marcus Freeman already dashed Dabo Swinney's postseason aspirations significantly at the start of this month, and now Notre Dame's first-year head coach will seek to do the same against Lincoln Riley and USC to close out what has been a tumultuous season for the Fighting Irish. Freeman may have had some early-season hiccups even excluding the opener against his alma mater, but Notre Dame now carries a wealth of momentum into Los Angeles after most recently shutting out Boston College 44-0 at home.

  Audric Estime again!
  
  Notre Dame extends the lead over Boston College. #GoIrish
  
  @nbc and @peacock pic.twitter.com/4A5IkOgE3G

  — Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) November 19, 2022

  The Fighting Irish's 281 rushing yards as a team last week could foreshadow major problems for a USC defense that has gotten gashed on the ground all season. The Trojans allow the fourth-highest success rate to opponents' running plays at a 48% clip, so Alex Grinch will need to have his front seven prepared to control the line of scrimmage and consistently fill gap responsibilities if USC wants to avoid losing their case for a playoff spot.
   
• Kansas vs. No. 12 Kansas State, 8 p.m. on FOX
  Once upon a time, the Jayhawks were the early-season darlings of the college football world on the heels of a five-game win streak ahead of a prominent showdown with TCU in early October. However, an injury to then-Heisman candidate Jalon Daniels compromised Kansas' previously electric offense that featured some of the most creative and effective rushing production in the sport to begin the 2022 campaign.
  
  Despite a close game with the Horned Frogs, the team has managed only one win since. Daniels did return last week when the Jayhawks faced Texas, but Kansas still fell flat in a 55-14 defeat. However, in light of Daniels getting back on the field and head coach Lance Leipold receiving a massive contract extension earlier this week that runs through 2029, the Jayhawks want to finish their regular season on a high note against their in-state rivals at KSU.
  
  After the Longhorns took down Baylor on Friday despite Quinn Ewers surrendering a safety and strip-sack fumble return for a touchdown, Kansas State needs a win tonight to clinch a rematch with TCU in next week's Big 12 Championship game. Although Wildcats quarterback Will Howard has recently only started in relief of Adrian Martinez nursing a leg injury, Howard actually owns experience leading his team to victory in this rivalry from KSU's dominant 55-14 win over Kansas back in 2020.

Saturday Night Fever

No. 13 Washington vs. Washington State, 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

The final game of the 2022 college football regular season featuring a ranked team becomes far more compelling if Oregon loses this afternoon, as the Huskies will control the fate of their conference's championship depending on the result against their in-state rival. Even if the Ducks avoid an upset, the Apple Cup will still hold viewer value given the matchup serves as one of the oldest conference rivalries between FBS teams among the dozen most-played by opposing in-state schools.

Nearly all of Washington State's losses this season have transpired in agonizing fashion late against teams that still find themselves ranked at this point in the season. Home defeats to Oregon and Utah by a combined seven points ultimately cost the Cougars a chance to compete for a spot in the Pac-12 Championship. However, Wazzu will once again have the benefit of a familiar crowd as well as the momentum of a three-game win streak ahead of welcoming Michael Penix Jr. and the rest of Washington to Martin Stadium — though Penix Jr. has performed nothing short of sharp all season.

Double handoff leads to a McMillan TD

Pac-12 Network
https://t.co/68ZEnYGBgI#Pac12FB | @UW_Football pic.twitter.com/6L3rQ61zty

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) November 20, 2022

Last week's 54-7 win for the Huskies over Colorado was only Penix Jr.'s second game of the year with less than 300 passing yards, which largely transpired due to the Buffaloes failing to score any points in the first 40 minutes. Penix Jr. will likely have the flamethrower out as much as possible given not only Washington's rival in front of them, but also the school's rivalry with Oregon. Should the Ducks fall short in the afternoon window, Washington can send Utah to the Pac-12 Championship despite the Utes losing to Oregon just last week.

On the Radar for Next Week

• Big Ten Championship: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. on FOX
• Big 12 Championship: TBD vs. No. 4 TCU, 12 p.m. on ABC
• SEC Championship: No. 5 LSU vs. No. 1 Georgia, 4 p.m. on CBS