With the events of the past weekend, the number of undefeated teams has dropped to two: Clemson and Iowa. The Tigers are 11-0 for only the second time in school history; the Hawkeyes have never been 11-0 before. Clemson has a top-20 scoring offense and defense; Iowa rides offensive balance (208 yards rushing, 210 passing per game) and a top-20 defense of their own. Both teams own wins over two currently ranked teams. Both have already punched their tickets for their conference’s championship game, where they will most likely face a one-loss top-10 team for the right to make the national semifinals. Suffice to say, it’s been a special season in Clemson, South Carolina and Iowa City, Iowa.
There is no week in sports like this week. Rivalries exist in most every sport; indeed, they are as old as sport itself. But I know of no other sport that has so many rivalry matchups scheduled at one time. Games like Bedlam, The Civil War, and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate have histories over a century old. Trophies like Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the Old Oaken Bucket, and the Apple Cup can salvage a bad season when they’re won. It’s one of my absolute favorite sports days of the year.
Those who have read this blurb know that I have a soft spot for service academy football. This year is truly a special one for two of the schools. Navy has lost only to Notre Dame and can lock up a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship with a win over Houston this week. If that happens, the Midshipmen would find themselves in the unique situation of playing a regular season game after the championship game, since their traditional season-ender against Army is December 12. Air Force is the champion of the Mountain Division of the Mountain West, and will play San Diego State for the conference title. That game will be played on the Air Force Academy campus.
In small-school news, the FCS playoff brackets are out, and a local team finds themselves as the number one seed! Jacksonville State, whose only loss this year was to Auburn in overtime, is the overall top seed in the tournament for the first time. Jax State has FCS top-5 rankings in total offense and total defense, and no team has come within twenty points of them since October began. The Gamecocks will be going for their second overall national championship – they won the Division II title in 1992. They made the Division II national title game three other times, but have never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in the FCS. Could this be the year they add another championship?
Congratulations to BritanniaTex, who wins week 12 with 163 points! Tied for second were AllySun and AUBrian, each with 162 points.
Standings after 12 weeks (dropping two lowest weekly scores):
| 1st | AllySun | 2019 |
| 2nd | Jeff4Bama | 2011 |
| 3rd | AUBrian | 2010 |
| 4th | JagRag | 2004 |
| 5th | Ralphie | 1996 |
| T-6th | pachyderm | 1979 |
| T-6th | Crimson White | 1979 |
| 8th | Jhutto | 1974 |
| 9th | JagAL | 1972 |
| 10th | Maestro | 1971 |
As I mentioned before, this is rivalry week! Keep in mind that several games will be played on Friday this week, so make sure to remember to pick. The first games are Friday, November 27 @ Noon ET, so make sure to get your picks in by then!