How’d ‘ya like college football’s rivalry weekend? Couldn’t really ask for more than that, unless your team was Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Auburn or BYU.
Yeah, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark was the real loser for something he said way back in August.
Remember, you’d think he would be smart enough to not have a foot-in-mouth moment. But he wasn’t, making some controversial comments as he rooted for the Red Raiders to beat Texas in their regular season finale. He bolstered his address with a reference to Texas Tech’s 37-34 overtime win against Texas last season.
“Coach, I’m not going to put any pressure on you, but I’m going to be in Austin for Thanksgiving, OK? And you better take care of business like you did right here in Lubbock last year,” Yormark said, addressing Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire.
Rest assured, neither Yormark or McGuire were invited to the Longhorns’ house for Thanksgiving a day before the 57-7 Texas blowout against the Red Raiders in wrapping up a 11-win regular season and earning a berth in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday at JerryWorld in Arlington, for possible CFP positioning.
Michigan played its best game of the season, beating the Buckeyes for the third year in a row (30-24) and this time without their coach, Jim Harbaugh, on the sideline. Harbaugh was completing the Big Ten’s suspension of three games.
Later in the day Saturday, A&M led LSU in Baton Rouge and outplayed the Tigers, except for the fourth quarter as LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels enjoyed a Heisman moment, completing scoring passes of 23, 21, and 15 yards in leading the Tigers to a come-from-behind 42-30 win.
In another Southeast Conference hate game, Auburn surprisingly hung with Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium in a back-and-forth Iron Bowl game, featuring four lead changes only to see Jalen Milroe finding Isaiah Bond in the corner of the end zone for a game-winning touchdown on a believe-it-or-weep fourth-and-31 call to keep No. 8 Bama’s path to the College Football Playoffs alive, depending on the outcome of Saturday’s SEC title game against Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
Then, back to the Big 12 as Oklahoma State battled from way behind to overcome BYU 40-34 in double overtime in a rainstorm in Stillwater to earn a date against Texas in the Big 12 Championship game on Dec. 2.
The win was the third biggest comeback in Oklahoma State football history. A loss to the Cougars would have sent Oklahoma, the Cowboys’ in-state rival OU, a team the Cowboys beat earlier this year in the Bedlam Series, to the championship game.
That would be like losing twice on the same day. Ugh.
Follow Joe Hale on Twitter/X: @joeyballgame
