Rivalry Weekend- Oregon vs. Oregon St.

Oregon Ducks #5 (10-1)  vs. Oregon State Beavers #15 (8-2) 

The 10-1 Ducks travel across town to face archrival Oregon State. After Oregon appeared to have a shot at the National Championship, they are now in a tough situation and are not in control of the Pac-12. Because of the loss to Stanford, Oregon is now 2nd to that same Cardinal team. Standford faces a tough test today at UCLA in which a Stanford win would create a rematch for the Pac-12 championship next Friday.

Oregon, led by freshman QB Marcus Mariota, needs a win at Corvalis today to have a chance at the Rose Bowl or another BCS bowl. Heisman candidate, Kenjon Barner, does not look like he has as much of a chance now that the Ducks are no longer BCS champion favorites. The Ducks can still fly and even through the rain, I expect a rebound from the poor offensive effort last weekend.

QB-Sean Mannion

On the opposing sideline will be the Beavers of Oregon State. This OSU team has been under the radar much of the season and possess a team very capable of beating this Oregon squad. Ranked 15th in the nation, an Oregon State win could place them in the highest Pac-12 bowl outside of the BCS. The beavers would love to knock their rivals out of the BCS bowls as well as capping an over achieving season. 

Prediction: Due to my belief that rivalry games always make the game a TD closer than it should be, I think Oregon wins in the end. Much closer than people think adding in the weather elements. The ducks struggled at home in tough weather but they will squeak this one out this afternoon.

Final Score: 31-24

Northwestern Wildcats vs. Michigan Wolverines

Final Score: Michigan-38 Northwestern-31

This will definitely be the most thrilling game of the day unless Alabama comes back from their 20-0 deficit against Texas A&M on a Hail Mary pass. If you didn't watch the game or haven't seen the replay, I highly suggest you take a look. 

Recap:

With 3 minutes remaining in the game the score was 31-28 Northwestern. They had the ball at the Michigan 41 on a 4th down and 1. Michigan had zero timeouts remaining and Northwestern was trying to put a nail in the coffin. A Colter, QB, run appeared short but after the chain measurement, Northwestern had gotten a first down by one half of an inch. Unable to stop the clock this game appeared over. 

After 3 running plays, Northwestern had to put with 25 seconds remaining. A poor punt was returned by Jeremy Gallon to the Michigan 37 still with only 18 seconds left. On first down replacement QB, Devin Gardner, could not find an open receiver so he looked to utilize his legs. After noticing the QB spy, Gardner back tracked and flung the ball 55 yards down the field. There he found Roy Roundtree who made a spectacular catch after the ball had been tipped up by the Northwestern defender. The clock stopped because of the first down and Michigan clocked the ball with 7 seconds remaining. Brady Hoke elected to kick the game tying 25 yard field goal and was correct. This sent the game to overtime. In overtime, Gardner had a 1 yard run counting as his 4th total TD of the game. On the ensuing possession, Michigan made an excellent play on 4th and 2 to seal the game. 

Implications:

Northwestern and Michigan both are now sitting at 7-3. The major difference though is that the Wolverines are 5-1 in the Big 10 while the Cats are only 3-3. This game kept alive Michigan's Rose Bowl hopes. Now up on Nebraska by half a game, a Cornhusker loss would push Michigan to the top of their division. Penn State and Nebraska are currently tied at 20 apiece. Northwestern is bowl eligible and should be in a pretty solid bowl. These last few games should be interesting. I think that Nebraska will lose a game but the game at the Horseshoe will be the deciding factor whether Michigan or Nebraska plays Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship.