We all remember a few years ago when the John Cooper led Ohio State Buckeyes were 10-0 and in the running for the national championship, only to be upset by lesser Michigan teams. If you’re not having a great year, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that is better than ruining your rival’s season and claiming bragging rights for a year!

For the sake of Rivalry Week, we’re throwing out our typical format of prognosticating Top 25 games and replacing them with this week’s biggest rivalry games. The analysis won’t be nearly as in depth as normal, but these are the games that you will want to watch this weekend because of the great pageantry and emotion that are associated with them.

Before we get to those games, we need to address a game that all Mountaineer fans will be following this Saturday: Cincinnati at South Florida.

Big East Games

Cincinnati at South Florida (-19) Running back Andre Hall rushed for 222 yards and three touchdowns last weekend as the Bulls shut out the Orange 27-0 on a day that Syracuse retired the infamous #44 jersey. The Bearcats were clawed by WVU 38-0 last week and must defeat USF and Rutgers in their remaining two games if they are to go to a bowl this season. The running of the Bulls continues this week as USF is set for a collision course in the “Big East Championship Game” on December 3rd against West Virginia……… South Florida 45 Cincinnati 7

Rivalry Games

#16 Fresno State at #1 USC (-23½) OK, so this isn’t a rivalry game…yet, but Bulldogs coach Pat Hill is working 24/7 to make it such. FSU finally got over the hump in their last game and defeated WAC rival Boise State for the first time in four years to put themselves in position to win the WAC for the first time under Hill. USC also got over the hump as they were victorious in the locale of their last defeat: Memorial Stadium on the campus of Cal. Since Coach Hill inherited the Bulldogs programs, he has stated that FSU will play any school, any time at any place. You should have been careful what you wished for coach because you have a date with the #1 team in the land this Saturday night. The Bulldogs are definitely a Top 20 team, but they are not a Top 5 team this year. Yet, FSU thrives on these types of games and even a strong showing against the Mighty Trojan Warriors would help Hill recruit players that will take them to the next level. USC just defeated Cal and has city rival UCLA next, can they play with any emotion in this game? USC 31 Fresno State 21

#7 Virginia Tech at Virginia (+7) Could the cHokies lose two in a row? The cHokies have won five of their last six meetings against the Cavaliers in the “Battle of the Commonweatlh”, but lost the last time they visited Charlottesville. The Cavaliers carve the turkey early..…. Virginia 17 Virginia Tech 14

#8 Alabama (+7) at #11 Auburn The Tigers have won four of the last five meetings in the “Iron Bowl”, but ‘Bama’s lone win was at Auburn. High Tide rolls through Auburn…… Alabama 10 Auburn 9

Oregon State at #10 Oregon (-13½) Both teams will be playing the “Civil War” with their backup quarterbacks who are both out with injuries. The home team has been victorious in the last eight “Civil Wars”, but there is more at stake in this year’s edition. Oregon State must win to become bowl eligible and the Ducks must win to keep their slim BCS Bowl hopes alive. The Oregon Trail leads to Eugene in 2005…… Oregon 41 Oregon State 24

#9 Ohio State (-3) at #17 Michigan Ohio State must win to keep their Big Ten championship dreams alive while a victory over the Buckeyes would help heal the wounds of a disappointing season for Michigan. Ohio State has the better defense in this match up as Troy Smith and the Buckeyes skin the Wolverines… Ohio State 24 Michigan 12

Clemson at #19 South Carolina Steve Spurrier has done it again! Just as he had at Duke, Spurrier transformed a very mediocre program into a winner. Last week the Gamecocks defeated his old team, Florida. Now comes the intrastate brawl with the Tigers….and last year it was exactly that as the game was called late in the fourth quarter after a brawl broke out between the two teams and essentially ending Lou Holtz’s career at USC. Clemson has won the last three meetings. Make it four in a row as the Tigers eat chicken for Thanksgiving….. Clemson 24 South Carolina 20

Northwestern (-14½) at ILLinois The Wildcats have struggled against teams with good defenses this year. They won’t have any worries against the ILLini as their defense is horrid. Northwestern extends their winning streak over ILLinois to six games as the Wildcats scalp the ILLini………. Northwestern 45 ILLinois 17

Vanderbilt (+12) at Tennessee If ever there was a year for Vandy to end their 24 year drought against the Vols, this is the year. QB Jay Cutler gives the Commodores a fighting chance in every game. Unfortunately, he gets beat up a lot. The Vols sink the Commodores……. Tennessee 17 Vanderbilt 14

Purdue at Indiana (+12½) The Battle for the Old Oaken Bucket has gone to the Boilermakers in eight of the past ten years. Both teams enter the contest with identical 4-6 records so both teams will be home for the holidays. Who gets the Old Oaken Bucket and bragging rights? Purdue 34 Indiana 24

Utah at BYU (-11½) Utah needs a victory to become bowl eligible and has won the last three meetings against the Cougars. BYU has been playing well down the stretch and has won five of their last six games. Coach Bronco Mendenhall has quickly brought the Cougars program back to respectability and looks to put an exclamation point on his inaugural season by defeating BYU’s rivals from Salt Lake City. Bronco and the Cougars buck the Utes…….. BYU 41 Utah 27

Washington State at Washington (+3) The battle for the Apple Cup takes place in Seattle this year as the Huskies try to break a two game losing streak to the Cougars. UW won their first game Pac 10 game of the year last Saturday against Arizona while Washington State surrender a lead late in the game and fell to Oregon. Both teams are having extremely disappointing seasons and will be home for the holidays, but only one gets bragging rights for the long winter ahead. The Huskies run past the Cougars……. Washington 27 Washington State 24

Cal at Stanford (+4) Stanford can go bowling with a win over rival Cal, but the Golden Bears would much rather the Cardinal stay home for the holidays. This game has an interesting twist and Stanford QB Troy Edwards injured his non-throwing hand in last week’s victory at Oregon State and may be out for this game. Therefore, there will be two predictions for this game: With Edwards and Without Edwards. Yes, Edwards’ play does make this much difference in the outcome of this game.

With Edwards: The Cardinal bowl over the Bears……… Stanford 27 Cal 21

Without Edwards: The Golden Bears knock over the Cardinal’s bowl hopes…. Cal 38 Stanford 16

With a cold spell settling over the northern part of the country, stay inside this weekend where it’s warm and enjoy Rivalry Weekend. Who knows, there just might be another historic ending to a game like the 1982 Cal-Stanford game (IE: The lateral game where a Cal player ran over a Stanford band member to score the winning TD as time expired). Have a great weekend!!!