Friends in fight songs,

Last weekend the Moxie was raging.

Tua’s bro was taking it to No. 2 Ohio State. Illinois was dotting all kinds of i’s in the Big House. No. 4 TCU was trying to top its latest comeback, Evel Knievel style. South Carolina straight up stomped No. 5 Tennessee. No. 7 USC was locked into a vertigo-inducing shootout at the Rose Bowl. Pac-12 After Dark did not disappoint in Eugene. Iowa and Minnesota rowed all game without a paddle. Even Stanford had one hand on the Axe as it wielded a two-score lead over Cal in the fourth quarter.

We had Moxie from the Window to the Wall. Hell, even VANDY was fined a quarter mil after beating Florida and storming the field.

Blue was jello wrestling. Frank was streaking through the quad. We were sizing up significant upsets deep into the second half of seven of our 12 Rankings & Rivalries matchups.

And then Jeremy Piven called the fun police.

MAKE RIVALRY WEEK PICKS

TT Survivor >>
R&R Pick'em >>
Pick deadline: 9am PT FRIDAY

We ultimately hit on nine of our top 10 Pick'em picks - only 2% of us nailed the Gamecocks - and all five of our Trampled Trombone Survivors advanced.

It was the craziest week of the college football season - the whole day felt like that frantic TCU game-winning field goal - and yet, our majority picks still went 10-2.

But this was the week BEFORE Rivalry Week.

HATE. HATE. HATE.

It’s time to make some fire-breathing picks. Rivalry Week is it's OWN R&R Pick'em interval - win this week and win serious dough.

Moxie is Coming.

TROMPLED TRAMBONE RECAP

Pick spreadsheet | Game outcomes

All five of our remaining Survivors advanced. Everyone took Wake Forest, who blew past Syracuse in the second half of its 45-35 win. Our second teams also won convincingly - Georgia, Clemson and Texas.

But now, @Djw88, @rydstein, @dsackett7, @rvarealestate and @bmahone must each make three picks in our final week of the SZN. There are 14 eligible matchups for Rivalry Week, but our choices will even slimmer. No one can take Florida State, who hosts Vandy-owned Florida (technically the sale is still in escrow). Only two of us have Alabama, who has a chance to beat Lane Kiffin’s former team and new one in back-to-back games. And only one of us can take Oregon in the Civil War.

If you like your picks to finish with a little lime kick, five of us have Notre Dame, while four can take USC. And four of us can take Ohio State, while one can roll with Michigan.

RANKINGS & RIVALRIES RECAP

Weekly standings | Game outcomes

An impressive 11-1 finishing kick propelled @Cammy and @KSimons to 29 wins in the third Interval, one ahead of 18 others. Both take home $375 as co-champs, only dropping the Tennessee upset. Congrats!

There were 24 of us who went 11-1 in Week 12, and EVERY SINGLE ONE missed the Tennessee game. In fact, only five of us in the top 164 picked South Carolina.

We have one more week of Pick’em! Rivalry Week features a tryptophan-free 22 games to pick, with the winner taking home $500. Top 20 get paid. Picks locks 9am PT ON FRIDAY. We’re picking games on Friday like UNC-NC State and Florida-Florida State, PLUS the slew of Saturday rivalries. We’re skipping the Egg Bowl - Happy Thanksgiving! But feel free to egg Lane’s house on his way out of town.

We will also crown our Overall champ this weekend. @Dannyoconnor1986 went 11-1 to take a two-win lead over nine others, while 21 are within three. Remember, this is a MONSTER 22-game slate. There are 70 of us within five wins. IT’S ANYBODY’S GAME.

Team SZN Bragging Rights: Mrs. Merf is tied for 11th overall, just three wins back. The best she can do is go 21-1, because she’s picking Notre Dame to beat USC. I was two back in the third interval, and a perfect week would have grabbed a piece of the lead. But then I took Mike “I’m a MAN! I LOSE BY 40!” Gundy…

HOWEVER. I’m in a 17-way tie for first WITH THE COMMISH heading into the final week of our third interval in SEC SZN's Vandy Inclusivity Pick’em. Do I pick Vandy again…

RIVALRY WEEK SCOUTING REPORT

Merf takes a peek at this weekend's matchups...

• Wow. We have 23 games of Rivalry leftovers on tap. If our majority picks hit at a 75% clip like they have the first 12 weeks, we can expect an average record of 17-5.
• A perfect record has won six of the nine previous weeks, but we’ve never had to pick more than 13 games.
• And we’re talking RIVALRIES. Civil Wars, cups brimming with Apples, Shillelaghs, Kick Sixes and such.
• Clemson has won the last seven Palmetto Bowls, including the last two by a combined score of 68-3. But you saw the beatdown South Carolina just put on Tennessee, right?
• Vegas didn’t. Clemson is a two-touchdown favorite in Death Valley.
• Michigan emphatically and cathartically snapped its eight-game losing streak to Ohio State last year. Ohio State is still a touchdown favorite at the Horseshoe.
• Michigan is giving Bo Nix/Lanning-like updates regarding the health of Heisman-contending running back Blake Corum.
• Alabama is ranked eighth for its matchup with Auburn. It hasn’t been ranked worse than FIFTH since 2010. The Crimson Tide have been ranked first or second heading into the Iron Bowl 11 times under Saban.
• So it's remarkable Auburn has still managed to win four of those matchups since 2010.
• Oregon is 12-2 against Oregon State since 2008, but lost in Corvallis two years ago. The Beavers are only a three-point underdog.
• Notre Dame has won its last four matchups with USC, and five of the last six.
• Since scoring 14 points in a home loss to Stanford (WTF???), Notre Dame has won five straight while scoring 40 a game.
• USC gave up 45 points to UCLA, even though it also FORCED four turnovers.
• The over/under is 56. Is snow forecast in LA?
• Iowa State has won its last three against TCU. But the Horned Frogs have earned SOME respect from Vegas as a 10-point favorite. This comes a week after failing to cover for just the second time all year.
• Tennessee’s star quarterback Hendon Hooker is done for the season. Vandy has won two straight. The heated rivalry (really) is IN Nashville. The series is deadlocked at five wins apiece over the last decade.
• WE'RE GOING STREAKING! Anyone joining me?

Yours in baggy khakis and bubble gum,
Merf