The Ultimate Guide to College Football Rivalry Week: CFP implications, heated feuds and more

For more Rivalry Week content, check out FanSided's College Football Rivalry Week hub, an in-depth and interactive look at the deep traditions, rich history, iconic venues and memorable moments of college football's biggest rivalries.

If we've learned anything throughout the years, it's that you should never underestimate the power of a college football rivalry. No matter your record, a rivalry game should never be minimized or written off — and never taken for granted.

Rivalry games are a part of a holy week where school spirit is at an all-time high and traditions become dogma. And this season, with the introduction of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, rivalry games come with even higher stakes than bragging rights and historic trophies. To get you prepared for a massive week of football feuds, we've compiled the ultimate guide to every major rivalry you'll see in Week 14.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin

• Rivalry nickname: Paul Bunyan's Axe
• Date: Friday, Nov. 29
• How to watch: Noon ET CBS
• All-time record: Wisconsin leads 63-62-8

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin is the most-played college football series in NCAA Division I history. Wisconsin has won three of the past five meetings, including 2023, but this year could be a much tighter battle. Neither team can qualify for the CFP, but spots in high-profile bowl games are at stake. Bowl eligibility is noteworthy, but so is retaining something special for the Badgers this year: an axe.

The Golden Gophers and Badgers have been battling on the gridiron for this piece of classic Americana since 1890. Just as you'd think, the trophy is literally a giant axe with the names of every winner listed on the handle. In 2014, the tradition of the winning team storming the losers' sideline and "stealing" the axe was suspended due to a skirmish between players, but was restored in 2015.

Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss

• Rivalry nickname: The Egg Bowl
• Date: Friday, Nov. 29 @ 3:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ABC/ESPN+
• All-time record: Ole Miss leads 65-46-6

Also known as The Battle for the Golden Egg, the two schools first played in 1901 but didn't make the rivalry an annual occasion until 1944. The winner is awarded, you guessed it, a giant golden egg.

Ole Miss has won three of the past four matchups and looks on course to win again in 2024. The Rebels were practically eliminated from playoff contention after a stunning upset to Florida in Week 13. So there's not much else for Ole Miss to play for on Friday except rivalry bragging rights and positioning for a better bowl game.

Georgia Tech vs. Georgia

• Rivalry nickname: Clean, Old Fashioned Hate
• Date: Friday, Nov. 30 @ 7:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ABC/ESPN+
• All-time record: Georgia leads 71-41-5

These two programs first played in 1893 with the only lengthy pause in the series occurring from 1917-24 due to World War I. The winner is awarded the Governor's Cup (not to be confused with the trophy awarded in Louisville vs. Kentucky) with the Dawgs winning six straight since 2017.

Georgia has already clinched a spot in the SEC title game, but its CFP dreams are still on the line in this year's rivalry match. Despite Georgia's dominance over the past quarter-century, the Yellow Jackets cannot be written off as potential spoilers to the Dawgs' postseason aspirations. Georgia Tech did, in fact, topple a Top 10 Florida State team at the start of the year. How poetic would it be for them knock off a Top 10 Georgia team at the close?

Michigan v. Ohio State

• Rivalry nickname: The Game
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ Noon ET
• How to watch: FOX
• All-time record: Michigan leads 61-51-6

This rivalry is so well known, arguably the most iconic in college football, it only needs a simple moniker: The Game. Michigan and Ohio State first met in 1897, with the Wolverines winning the past three games since 2021. The rivalry actually is based in a real life war (the Toledo War) fought between the two territories from 1835-36 over a border dispute. No actual fighting occurred and nobody died, it was a dispute over land and commercial development, but that didn't stop hostilities from boiling over on the gridiron 30 years later.

There is no trophy awarded in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, but the two have decided the winner of the Big Ten Conference 22 times since the 2010 season. More recently, they've even spoiled College Football Playoff and national title aspirations for each other on multiple occasions.

This year, Ohio State will be on upset alert as the defending national champion Wolverines will look to keep the Buckeyes from reaching the Big Ten title game and maybe even the playoff with one fell swoop.

South Carolina vs. Clemson

• Rivalry nickname: The Palmetto Bowl
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ Noon ET
• How to watch: ESPN
• All-time record: Clemson leads 73-43-4

One of the longest running rivalries in college football, the Gamecocks and Tigers first met in 1896 and played every year for 110 years (1909-2019). Clemson has won eight of the last nine contests since 2014 and has been historically dominant in the 120 game series. The winner is awarded the Palmetto Trophy which was introduced in 2015 and replaced the Hardee's Trophy which had been handed out for 15 years prior.

Clemson has an outside chance at the ACC title and potentially the CFP but a lot needs to happen in their favor to make that happen. A win against a seriously talented South Carolina team is required and that's no given. If things had just gone the Gamecocks' way just once or twice more, this could've been a pseudo-playoff game for them.

Louisville vs. Kentucky

• Rivalry nickname: The Governor's Cup
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ Noon ET
• How to watch: SEC Network
• All-time record: Kentucky leads 19-15

Some rivalries can be quite confusing, especially if they carry the same-named trophy. Although, Georgia v. Georgia Tech can claim to have original jurisdiction over The Governor's Cup as this rivalry did not start until 1912. In fact, the rivalry was suspended in 1924 and wasn't revived again for 70 years until 1994. Kentucky has won five straight since 2018 but that streak is in danger with a once-ACC title contending Louisville coming to town. Only the Cardinals will be bowling this year but don't sleep on the Wildcats acting as spoilers.

Notre Dame vs. USC

• Rivalry nickname: The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 3:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: CBS
• All-time record: Notre Dame leads 49-37-5

Probably one of the most well-known college football rivalries, Notre Dame and USC first met in 1926 — and this year's matchup marks the 95th in the series. USC has had a disappointing season in 2024 but could still act as spoiler to Notre Dame's College Football Playoff hopes. A second loss would certainly give the committee second thoughts about the Irish's inclusion and add another layer of beef to the famous rivalry.

The winner earns the Jeweled Shillelagh, and the Irish have taken it home five of the past six contests. The trophy's name is unusual, but it's simply a bedazzled version of a traditional Irish walking stick, introduced to the rivalry in 1952!

Arizona State vs. Arizona

• Rivalry nickname: The Territorial Cup
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 3:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: FOX
• All-time record: Arizona leads 51-44-1

Also known as "The Duel in the Desert," the Sun Devils and Wildcats first played in 1899. The two teams have been vying for the Territorial Cup trophy since 2001, the oldest known trophy in college sports. It was awarded to the winner in 1899 but mysteriously disappeared until 1980 when it was found in a church basement near ASU's campus.

The trophy's name originates in the fact that in 1899, Arizona was still a U.S. territory and wouldn't be until 1912. Arizona State completed the largest comeback in the rivalry's history in 2018, erasing a 19-point deficit and surviving a wide-right walk-off field goal attempt to defeat Arizona 41-40.

This year, the Sun Devils find themselves in a position to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game and become a serious contender for the CFP. But that also presents an opportunity for an Arizona team who cannot become bowl eligibility - after being considered a CFP-caliber team at the start of the year - to ruin its rival's season at the last possible moment. If there were ever a game for a potential spoiler, it would be this one.

Auburn vs. Alabama

• Rivalry nickname: The Iron Bowl
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 3:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ABC/ESPN+
• All-time record: Alabama leads 50-37-1

The most heated rivalry in the SEC and probably the South in general, Alabama and Auburn have been playing one another since 1893 but have only met 88 times. The Crimson Tide, traditionally dominant in the series, have won four straight since 2020. The winner earns the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy, named for a prominent dean from both universities and the Omicron Delta Kappa National Honor Society.

Any Auburn fan will constantly remind Alabama fans about the most memorable moment in the rivalry, when the Tigers returned a last-second missed walk-off field goal attempt for a game-winning touchdown in 2013. The late Rob Bramblett's iconic "Auburn's gonna win the football game" call will forever ring in college football lore and haunt Alabama nightmares for eternity.

This year, Alabama will be fighting for the slimmest of playoff hopes with a win but Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze's seat is red hot. That's a combination for some seriously meaningful football. The Tigers cannot be counted out, especially with how vulnerable the Crimson Tide played and the upset Auburn pulled in Week 13. It would make for an iconic rivalry moment if Auburn rubs dirt in Alabama's deep CFP wounds in the final game of the year.

Purdue vs. Indiana

• Rivalry nickname: Old Oaken Bucket
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 7 p.m. ET
• How to watch: FS1
• All-time record: Purdue leads 77-42-6

The rivalry's first meeting was in 1891 but The Old Oaken Bucket wasn't actually introduced as a trophy until 1925 by the two schools' alumni associations. It symbolizes an 1812 poem written by Samuel Woodworth and was described "as the most typical Hoosier form of trophy."

In 2024, Indiana could clinch the program's first-ever spot in the College Football Playoff with a win. Stumbles by Ohio State and Penn State in the final week would also reopen the door to Indianapolis for the Hoosiers but that's a slim possibility. Purdue is a Big Ten basement dweller this year but all rivalry games are 50/50 affairs when old beef is on the line.

Florida vs. Florida State

• Rivalry nickname: The Sunshine Showdown
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 7 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ESPN2
• All-time record: Florida leads 37-28-2

This is actually one of the more recently established college football rivalries. The Gators and Seminoles first met in 1958 but it was really the 1990s that defined the hate that goes into the feud. Head coaches Steve Spurrier and Bobby Bowden were the faces of the Sunshine Showdown and between 1990 and 2009, the winning team was usually on track to win a national championship.

The winner of the annual game earns the Makala Trophy, a wooden plaque with carvings of a gator and Seminole preparing for battle. The game is part of the Florida Cup Series which includes the Miami Hurricanes in the all-Florida three-way rivalry. The Seminoles have won the previous two matchups but this year both head coaches have been on the hot seat during disappointing campaigns. Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell could find himself cleaning out his office by Monday if things go poorly.

Texas vs. Texas A&M

• Rivalry nickname: The Lone Star Showdown
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 7:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ABC/ESPN+
• All-time record: Texas leads 76-37-5

When these two teams meet Saturday it will be for the first time as SEC opponents and the renewal of a rivalry begun in 1894 and once thought to have died in 2011 when they were still members of the Big 12. The winner of this rivalry game was awarded a branded trophy for the Lone Star Showdown but it's unclear if that tradition will resume this year.

The 2024 edition has massive College Football Playoff implications acting as an elimination game for not only the 12-team bracket but also the SEC title race. The winner advances to Atlanta to face Georgia for the conference championship. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers will be under tremendous pressure to perform, especially with backup Arch Manning waiting in the wings. Will he lead the Longhorns to glory or be forced to make an early transfer or NFL Draft decision? Texas A&M could also find themselves back in the CFP race with a win and a bid to the SEC title game.

Kansas State vs. Iowa State

• Rivalry nickname: Farmageddon
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 7:30 p.m. ET
• How to watch: FOX
• All-time record: Iowa State leads 53-50-4

One of the biggest battles in the Midwest, the Wildcats and Cyclones first met in 1917 and have played 107 times since then. Believe it or not, its one of the few college football rivalries that does not hand out a trophy to the winner.

The rivalry has only been played on neutral ground twice, both times in Kansas City (2009 and 2010), but it will be taken overseas for the first time ever in 2025. Farmageddon will played at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on August 23, marking a brand new chapter in the rivalry for the 109th edition.

Iowa State has won four of the last six contests but this year's edition could still have massive CFP implications. Both teams were well in the hunt for the Big 12 title just two weeks ago but now only Iowa State has the slimmest of paths to clinch a spot in the conference title game. All hope of a CFP berth died a while ago for Kansas State. However, invitations to high-profile bowl games are very much on the table with the former Pac-12 teams added this year still attached to non-Big 12 bowls.

Virginia vs. Virginia Tech

• Rivalry nickname: The Commonwealth Clash
• Date: Saturday, Nov. 30 @ 8 p.m. ET
• How to watch: ACC Network
• All-time record: Virginia Tech leads 61-38-5

These two programs first met in 1895 and have played 104 times since. This rivalry actually supplanted two others; "The South's Oldest Rivalry" between Virginia and North Carolina and the Virginia Tech-VMI game usually played around Thanksgiving. The winner earns the Commonwealth Cup and a point towards the overall Commonwealth Clash series that encompasses all sports played between the two schools.

The Hokies have won the last three contests since 2020 and this year's edition will decide which team becomes bowl eligible. Virginia Tech was once considered a dark horse candidate to win the ACC but since the start of the season, has only disappointed that prediction.

College football rivalry week schedule

.Due to severe conference realignment, some rivalry schedules have been shifted around this year. High-profile matchups like Florida vs. Miami, Colorado vs. Colorado State and Oregon vs. Oregon State were played in the first few weeks of the season. Here's a comprehensive schedule for each major rivalry game you'll be able to watch in Week 14