The 2024 college football season was a feast of surprises, twists and power struggles. Now we get to the main course: a rivalry week that gives us all the tried-and-true flavors – traditional holiday games, conference title stakes – and some new notes. The jockeying for potential overall contenders in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff was a welcome addition, as was the increasing importance of the conference titles themselves.

We have all the usual big games – Iron Bowl, The Game, Egg Bowl, Farmageddon and more – but the stakes are higher than ever before. Here you will find everything you need to consider for an incomparable weekend.

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Aggieland Showdown | Play out?
Play along? | Big 12 questions
FCS Preview | Week 14 playlist
Small school showcases

The game of the week in Aggieland

We have three SEC teams with three losses each — No. 13 Alabama, No. 14 Ole Miss, No. 15 South Carolina — lurking on the fringes of the CFP race, waiting to take advantage of another contender’s slip-up. Another, however, has the chance to automatically play his way into the playoff field. If Texas A&M upsets Texas on Saturday night, the Aggies will steal the SEC Championship berth from the Longhorns and secure a win from an automatic bid in the second leg of this legendary rivalry game.