That’s what matters. Rivalry week is here and there is still much to be resolved regarding the conference championship and national playoffs as college football takes the field today for one final time in the 2024 regular season.

Several of college football’s premier rivalry games will cap the season leading up to championship weekend, and that includes a bombastic confrontation that brings two Lone Star State schools back together after more than a decade.

A spot in the Big Ten Championship Game is waiting to be secured, as is the other half of the SEC title game against Georgia, while the Big 12 title race is still up for grabs as we head into Saturday’s action, and there are plenty Teams just outside the top dozen praying for some chaos.

Get your remote ready: The regular season finale is action-packed, with impressive football with a lot on the line and decisions still to be made in the top dozen of the playoffs.

Here are the games the College Football Playoff selection committee will be keeping a close eye on – and you should too – as Week 14 college football games begin today.

Always east

Why watch?

Because it’s the game. A border war in which the respective fans don’t even say the name of the other team. Michigan has won the last three of this series and most recently used it as a jumping off point to win the national championship, but this year the tide has turned.

At least on paper. Jim Harbaugh is out of the picture, and head coach Sherrone Moore’s team is just 6-5 and plays some of the worst passing and scoring attacks in the country.

But they can still pack a punch on the defensive line and should pose a real threat to the Buckeyes’ offensive line, which is dealing with injuries at left tackle and center.

A win here puts Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Against whom? That would be Oregon, which has already prevailed and handed OSU its only loss, by a single point.

When to see: 12 p.m. on Fox

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Why watch?

This in-state rivalry features two teams just outside the College Football Playoff rankings, and a win combined with outside developments could improve things just enough to put them in the top dozen.

In addition to beating the Gamecocks, Clemson also needs Miami to lose to Syracuse in the finals to qualify for the ACC Championship Game.

Standing in the way of the Tigers is a South Carolina team that’s on a roll, winning five straight games behind one of college football’s most dominant and productive defenses and scoring nearly 40 points per game during that impressive streak.

When to see: 12 p.m. on ESPN

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Why watch?

To see if the Trojans can finally win one of these possession games and put a huge dent in Notre Dame’s playoff chances in the process.

USC led in the fourth quarter of every game it played this season, and all five of its losses were by one point and by a total of 19 points.

What a run the Irish have been on since their home loss to Northern Illinois in early September, when they won nine straight games with the best point differential in the country.

Thanks to a strong rush and the most efficient pass defense in the country, Notre Dame has fought its way back into the College Football Playoff rankings.

And with wins against a ranked Texas A&M team on the road, at home against then-ranked Louisville, and Navy and Army teams that were undefeated at the time, the selection committee likes what it saw from the Fighting Irish.

But the team’s apparent control over an overall bid could be in jeopardy if something goes wrong against Southern Cal, especially if there are other upsets around the country.

When to see: 3:30 p.m. on CBS

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Why watch?

It’s the iron bowl. That’s why you’re watching.

But the game lost some of its luster after Kalen DeBoer’s debut, as Nick Saban’s replacement didn’t quite go as planned, entering the game 8-3.

Who would have thought that the Crimson Tide would be standing outside at the end of November looking at the picture of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff, but here we are.

Road losses to Vanderbilt, then Tennessee, and finally Oklahoma result in the selection committee going against Alabama and other teams coming out on top.

But a big win here, combined with some chaos elsewhere in the country, could give the Tide a very narrow, if unlikely, path back to the playoffs.

Auburn comes into the game fresh off a four-overtime win over SEC title contender Texas A&M and needs just one win to gain bowl eligibility in Hugh Freeze’s second season as head coach.

How nice would it be for The Plains if this win came against the Tide, providing the coup de grace to Alabama’s fading College Football Playoff hopes?

When to see: 3:30 p.m. on ABC

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Why watch?

Because this might be the best game of the week, if not the season.

A classic college football rivalry Finally returns to the field after more than a decade in a match that is one of the most anticipated games of the 21st century.

It’s prime time, under the lights, at Kyle Field under the eyes of the 12th man. And if that wasn’t enough, the winner will earn a spot against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

And from there, a win would secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

When to see: 7:30 p.m. on ABC

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