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It’s been over 2,180 days since Ohio State last beat Michigan. Let that sink in momentarily.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is on a four-game skid against That Team Up North. Even with a triumphant national championship victory last season, this series still haunts Day and the Buckeyes.

While much of the discourse this week will be around whether Ohio State and Day can finally get over the hump, I’m more curious about the other side of this matchup. What should we expect from the Wolverines? And what needs to happen for them to knock off their arch-rivals, again?

The 2025 blueprint to victory feels an awful lot like the 2024 game plan. Ohio State boasts arguably the best defense in college football, which means points will likely be hard to come by. On offense, the Buckeyes boast a Heisman Trophy-caliber freshman quarterback in Julian Sayin, a freakish receiving corps, and a run game that’s started to blossom down the stretch of the season. The Buckeyes are clear favorites—and it’ll likely take something truly special for Michigan to do it again.

For Michigan to keep its win streak alive, I think the Wolverines need to turn this into a slopfest. Pray for penalties. Scheme for inefficiencies. Hope that the weather is cold and nasty. On the field, I suspect Michigan will sell out to defend the pass while attempting to put pressure on Sayin. That means the Buckeyes might have an opportunity to feed running back Bo Jackson.

On offense, they need to protect the football and hope, by hook or by crook, that they can bust a few big plays. If this all sounds like a delicate balancing act, it’s because it is.

In the end, Michigan’s path is narrow, but it’s there. Make it ugly, steal a possession or two, and hope the pressure of The Streak weighs heavily on the top-ranked Buckeyes.

The Egg Bowl is the only college football rivalry that consistently teeters on the absurd.

The game has an almost mythical lore about it. There was The Immaculate Deflection in 1983. The Dog Peeing Penalty in 2019. There’s Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin. It’s cowbells versus quarter zips. It’s two crabs-in-a-bucket teams that care more about destroying each other than bettering themselves.

The 2025 Egg Bowl, which kicks off today at 12:00 pm ET, has storylines galore. Chief among them is the speculation about Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin—and whether he’ll stay loyal to Oxford or leave for Baton Rouge or Gainesville. While that might not be announced until after the game, there’s always the chance it leaks before kickoff. I, for one, can’t wait to see what kind of hilarity this installment of the Egg Bowl has to offer.

Ole Miss is flying high and looks bound for the College Football Playoff. The Rebels boast a dynamite offense, swarming defense, and the hottest coach in the country. On paper, Ole Miss should roll the Bulldogs. And yet, that’s the perfect concoction for something preposterous to happen.

I’m not saying Mississippi State will win. In all likelihood, Kiffin and Ole Miss will overwhelm the Mississippi State defense and cruise to victory. But don’t discount the absurdity of this matchup. Because when you do, that’s when the Egg Bowl has a way of reminding you why it’s the most delightfully unpredictable game in college football.

The Atlantic Coast Conference has been anything but ordinary in 2025.

Clemson and Florida State have had seasons to forget. Bill Belichick’s UNC team went from grabbing headlines to fading into a below-average abyss. The Miami Hurricanes looked unbeatable until they weren’t. And teams like Virginia and Pitt have come out of left field to make a major push for a conference title. Just like we all predicted, right?

As the regular season comes to a close on Saturday, the conference has one last chance to get nuts.

On its face, the most likely ACC title game scenario is clear: If all three 6-1 teams (Virginia, Pitt, and SMU) win, Virginia and SMU will play for the ACC title because Pitt has a worse record against common opponents. And if two of the three win out, we’ll know who punched their ticket.

But if this season has taught us anything, expect the unexpected in the ACC. Buckle up, folks. If there’s one league capable of turning a straightforward finish into a circus, it’s the ACC.

2025 Vanderbilt has been one of the sport’s greatest stories.

Head coach Clark Lea has transformed the Commodores from a perennial SEC doormat to a team in the College Football Playoff discussion. Quarterback Diego Pavia is putting up Heisman-like numbers. The defense has shown some real promise. All in all, the vibes are sky high in Nashville right now.

But as good a story as this version of Vanderbilt has been, when you squint at the schedule, it’s easy to see this team doesn’t have a marquee win in 2025. The ‘Dores beat teams like South Carolina and LSU, but both teams have crumbled down the stretch. Vanderbilt came up short in big matchups against Alabama and Texas.

But on Saturday, Vanderbilt has the chance to notch a signature win when it squares off against in-state rival Tennessee. The game boasts a ton of intrigue and has the potential to be one of the best games of a loaded slate.

Clark Lea and Vanderbilt don’t “need” to beat Tennessee. What he and this program have accomplished this season is nothing short of amazing. However, I do think this game against the Vols is a great measuring stick opportunity and could be a proof-of-concept game for what Lea hopes to build over the long haul, especially now that he signed a fresh six-year contract extension.

Thanks to conference realignment, Oregon State and Washington State have played incredibly bizarre 2025 schedules.

Technically, they’re only schools remaining in the Pac-12 (for now), so the schedules were bound to be a little weird. Essentially, both programs are operating as West Coast Independents. But, man, oh man, the schedules are even weirder when you take a closer look at them.

Oregon State is 2-9 and has losses against teams ranging from Oregon and Texas Tech to Sam Houston and Tulsa. Washington State is 5-6 and has played games against the likes of Ole Miss, Virginia, Toledo, JMU, and Louisiana Tech.

The most bizarre part? Oregon State and Washington State have already played once (the Beavers won) and are set to play for a second time on Saturday. Yes, you read that correctly. They’re playing each other twice in one season. Very normal, huh?

Conference realignment has done unfathomable damage to Oregon State and Washington State. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Thankfully, after a few strange years out in the cold, both teams will finally play a real conference slate next season. Here’s to hoping they can settle back in and get back to playing good football in 2026.

In Part 2 of our Rivalry Week extravaganza, we dive into The Game between Ohio State and Michigan and talk through what it'll take for the Buckeyes to break their four-game losing streak, and spitball the ways that Michigan could win their fifth straight in college football's biggest rivalry. We also unpack the implications of the Iron Bowl and debate a De Facto National Championship situation for Auburn and whether Deuce Knight can be an X-factor. Plus, Miami's huge road test at Pitt, a smaller-than-expected point spread with Oregon traveling to Washington, and an intra-Tennessee battle between Vandy and the Vols. And to make sure you're fully prepared, we go rapid fire through 17 other big games in Week 14.

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