Four-Down Friday: What do we even do with Week 12 in college football?

Week 12 in college football carries a very underwhelming lineup, but there are still some storylines to watch out for.

Up until this point, it’s been yet another incredible season of college football action. In recent weeks, it’s seemed we’ve had a really great slate of games on Saturdays, providing all of the drama that we crave from this sweet, sweet sport that we love so dearly.

Well, on paper at least, Week 12 of college football as we near the end of the season does not bring us one of those Saturdays. There is only one matchup featuring two ranked teams, and the rest of the games set to take place don’t exactly cleanse the palate when it comes to college football madness.

Still, while not the most appealing week of the season to many, there are still some stories to watch out for as Week 12 of college football enters our lives while we gear up to stuff ourselves on Thanksgiving.

Go ahead, Harbaugh, blow it all up

Undefeated the entirety of the season, the Wisconsin Badgers have not received the recognition some feel they’ve deserved as a team from a Power Five conference with an unblemished record. That changed this past Tuesday, as the Badgers were bumped up to No. 5 in the College Football Playoff Rankings after the chaos that took place in Week 11. Right now, the Badgers are being told to just not screw up along the way and they will get a shot at the national championship.

Boy, wouldn’t it just be a shame if everyone’s favorite villainous coach, Jim Harbaugh, were to just mess that all up and punch the Big Ten in the gut in the process?

That’s entirely what could happen on Saturday, as Harbaugh leads his Michigan Wolverines into Madison to take on the undefeated Badgers.

Since the blowout loss to Penn State in Happy Valley a few weeks ago, Michigan has won its last three games and the offense has had some new life with Brandon Peters at quarterback, scoring over 30 points in all three of those games. However, the young Peters and this offense will be facing a Wisconsin defensive unit on Saturday that leads the nation in total defense heading into Week 12. So, without a doubt, this will be the toughest test of the season for this group.

Even with the game in Madison, though, come on — would you really put it past Harbaugh and Michigan to play the best game of the year to this point and put the Big Ten’s College Football Playoff chances on life support? The story just writes itself.

Darnold vs. Rosen

Does the game on Saturday night between the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins carry some of the implications we all thought it might in the Pac-12 title picture we assumed it would coming into the season? No, not even close. But, does it still give us the NFL Draft battle people had been craving?

Yes, it still does.

While few outside of Los Angeles will truly care who comes out on top between UCLA and USC, many eyes will be on who performs better on Saturday night — Trojans quarterback Sam Darnold or Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen.

Neither are even close to Heisman contention or anything of that nature, but despite that, they’re both considered legitimate candidates for the No. 1 overall spot in the upcoming NFL Draft. Remember, very rarely do the NFL scouts care about overall body of work in college, as long as a prospect has the tools they see they can develop. Despite their down seasons, there’s no questioning both Darnold and Rosen have most of the tools that have scouts drooling and wondering what could be for their respective franchises.

So, with a slew of those scouts in attendance inside the Coliseum, while the USC-UCLA rivalry game this year isn’t as exciting as it could be, it’ll still be fun watching these two top prospects try to outdo themselves on national television as they get set to become millionaires next spring — assuming they do both choose to leave, of course.

Stay woke, Canes

OK, Miami, we get it. You’re a very good football team, and by all accounts, you are indeed “back.” This was a message sent to us loud and clear last week when the Miami Hurricanes went out and just Hulk-smashed the then-No. 3 team in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. That statement win ended up making Miami the new No. 3 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings, right behind the team they’re now set to play in the ACC Championship Game come Dec. 2, the Clemson Tigers.

But, Miami has to realize that the work is far from over, and the team they’re welcoming in this weekend could very well crush all the hopes and dreams they’ve accrued along the way.

Miami will play host to the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday, a team that has made some serious strides under head coach Bronco Mendenhall, maybe one of the most underrated head coaches of this generation. This Virginia team has had its ups and downs this year, but clearly they have the talent — and obviously the coaching — to compete.

While Miami has looked stellar the last two weeks against some top-notch opponents in Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, the main reason people were skeptical of the Hurricanes in the first place for most of the season was the fact they played down to much of their competition.

With dreams of a College Football Playoff berth in its sights, maybe the last team Miami wants to revert back to its old ways against is Mendenhall and Virginia. If the Canes are sleeping, then those Playoff hopes will dwindle enormously.

Georgia needs to send a message

Through 10 weeks of the college football season, the Georgia Bulldogs had done everything to convince us they were the unquestioned best team in the nation. We were all gearing up for the undefeated Bulldogs to meet the undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide on Dec. 2 in the SEC Championship Game, a contest that would undoubtedly receive the “Game of the Century” label from many.

But then, in Week 11, something happened. Auburn happened.

Georgia went into Jordan-Hare Stadium last Saturday and wasn’t just upset by Auburn, it was embarrassed in front of the entire country. The Bulldogs’ vaunted defensive unit gave up 488 total yards to the Tigers in a 40-17 beatdown. The loss knocked Kirby Smart’s team from the No. 1 spot in the College Football Rankings all the way down to No. 7 — quite the rude awakening.

Despite the crushing defeat, all is not lost for Georgia. With just one loss on the season and the SEC Championship Game — either against Alabama or a rematch with Auburn — remaining, a spot among the final four is still there for the taking. But, they need to get back on the right track beginning this weekend against the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Bulldogs need to go out there on Saturday in Athens and send a clear message with a thrashing of Kentucky. Just winning this game against a 7-3 Kentucky team isn’t enough; we need to see the domination that we saw from them the first 10 weeks of the season that made us fall in love with them in the first place.

A message needs to be sent to both Alabama and Auburn that what took place last weekend against the Tigers was nothing more than one bad outing on the season, and come Dec. 2 in Atlanta, they’re still ready to claim the SEC crown.