2016 e-Systems College Football Pool – Week 12 Results

The last weekend of the regular season in college football is a weekend like no other in sports. Why? Rivalries. One of the great things about college football is that almost every team has a team it likes to beat more than anyone else on the schedule, and that feels the same way about them. Many games have trophies that go to the winner – items such as axes, buckets, bells, and “eggs” are up for grabs this weekend. Other games don’t have a trophy, and in the minds of the participants, don’t need one – the bragging rights for the year are spoils enough. In the spirit of this week, here’s some background on three rivalry games that are being played this weekend.

In the pantheon of rivalry games, Washington versus Washington State isn’t one of the crème de la crème. It doesn’t have the national implications Michigan-Ohio State usually does. It isn’t the main topic of the state 24/7/365 like the Iron Bowl. It isn’t a rivalry steeped in tradition like Notre Dame-USC. In fact, the two schools haven’t even played with a championship on the line since 1936 – until this year. The Huskies and Cougars meet on Friday in Pullman, Washington, for the 109th time with both the Apple Cup and the Pac-12 North title at stake. The Apple Cup itself wasn’t given out until 1962; from 1934-1961, the Governor’s Trophy was the winner’s prize. The game was renamed because Washington is a national leader in apple production. The Huskies have a 70-32-6 advantage in the series, and have won the last three games.

Staying in the Pac-12, Colorado and Utah will meet for the 63rd time in Boulder this weekend. This game has Pac-12 South implications – win, and the Buffaloes win the division. Utah can only hope to spoil the party. This game has a long history, but one with a wide gap. The teams first met in 1903, a 22-0 Colorado win, and played each other almost every year until 1962. At that point, each school was the other’s second-most played opponent (behind Utah State for Utah and Colorado State for Colorado). However, despite the relative proximity of the schools, they did not play again until 2011, when both joined the Pac-12. The game has proven to be a hard-fought rivalry since: while the Utes have won the last four games, no game since 2011 has been decided by more than seven points. The Buffaloes enjoy a 31-28-3 margin in the overall series.

Coming back to the South, the Clemson-South Carolina rivalry is the second-longest uninterrupted series in major college football. The Gamecocks and Tigers have played each other for 107 straight years, since 1909. The teams have met in what is now officially known as the “Palmetto Bowl” 113 times; Clemson holds a 67-42-4 lead in the series. From 1896 through 1959, the teams played each other on a mid-October Thursday in conjunction with the South Carolina State Fair in Columbia; this was known as “Big Thursday”. Starting in 1960, the teams moved to a more traditional home-and-home series played on Saturday, and in 1962 the game was moved to the final weekend in the regular season, where it has been ever since. The Tigers have won the last two games in the series, and look to keep their national title dreams alive in Clemson this Saturday.

In small-school news, two schools from the state of Alabama have made it to the Division I FCS playoffs! Jacksonville State has the #3 national seed and looks to take the final step to a championship after falling short in the title game in 2015. Samford also made the cut for the postseason. The Bulldogs will face Youngstown State on the road in the first round of the playoffs, with the winner to meet Jacksonville State in the second round of the 24-team tournament. It was a very successful year for Samford’s conference, the Southern Conference, as The Citadel, Chattanooga, and Wofford all made the playoffs as well, meaning almost half of the conference membership are playoff-bound.

Congratulations to the deflator, who wins week 12 in a tie-breaker over bamaken! Both finished with 230 points. Ralphie finished third with 227 points.

Standings after twelve weeks:

One of the hallmarks of rivalry games is to expect the unexpected, and with so many on the slate this weekend, major point swings can result if you pick wisely! The first game this weekend is LSU at Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night, Thursday, November 24 @ 7:30 PM ET, so make sure to get your picks in by then!