Expectation and emotion always run high in Rivalry Week and the 2025 edition didn’t disappoint. We round up the best games from a history-making, losing streak-snapping and perfect season-spoiling week, along with the latest College Football Playoff rankings:

Texas A&M 17 @ 27 Texas
Resurgent Longhorns spoil Aggies’ perfect season.

The Texas turnaround has come full circle as the Longhorns knocked off the SEC favourites Texas A&M, dashing their hopes of an undefeated season and knocking them out of the conference championship game. Texas, who started the season ranked #1 before becoming unranked after a series of defeats, have now pulled themselves back into the playoff picture with the win over their intra-state rivals.

It’s still a longshot for the Longhorns as a three-loss team has not yet been included in the College Football Playoff, but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian feels they are deserving of consideration.

“We are absolutely a playoff team,” he said after the win, “and worthy of an opportunity to play for a national championship. If we’re a 10-2 team right now, this isn’t a discussion.”

Losses to Ohio State and Oregon earlier in the season put Texas on the back foot, but it’s the loss to Florida that really hurts their playoff case more than going down to two highly-ranked opponents. However, the Longhorns are brimming with confidence after their up-and-down season, overcoming a 10-3 half-time deficit against the Aggies and scoring 17 unanswered points in the second half. QB Arch Manning, coming off his best career game last week against Arkansas, ran in the victory-sealing score with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to add a touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo earlier in the game.

Manning, whose early season struggles gave cause for concern, exuded confidence after the game, telling reporters, “If you let us in, we can beat anyone. If you don’t think we’re one of the best 12 teams in the country, I don’t know what to tell you.”

The Aggies, who had already clung on to their unbeaten record with a stunning comeback against South Carolina, could not do enough to contain Manning and Co. and now have to come to terms with not contending for a first SEC crown.

“It hurts a lot,” A&M linebacker Taurean York said, sharing the team’s disappointment, “But you got to regroup and get ready for the playoffs.”

Despite the loss, the Aggies are all but assured of a place in the Playoff given their season-long record.

“Their front played a lot harder that ours,” A&M QB Marcel Reed acknowledged. “They just had a better game plan in the second half for us.”

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Ohio State 27 @ 9 Michigan
Buckeyes finally come out on top in The Game.

Ohio State finally overcame fiercest rival Michigan, whom they had a lost their four previous encounters with, to maintain their perfect record, number one ranking and likely top seed in the Playoff — provided they win the Big 10 championship game against Indiana.

Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has oft been criticised for his inability to overcome the Wolverines, even en route to the 2024 national championship, but was quick to share the satisfaction that came with victory.

“Nobody wants to win this game more than me,” he stated. “To win this game, it’s just a great moment. It’s one of those moments that you want to just grab on for a while and just enjoy it. It’s a great win when you think about the point where we were at last year.”

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin rounded out a potentially Heisman-worthy season with another strong performance despite an interception on his second snap of the game. Sayin finished with 233 yards and three touchdowns, including a controversial grab by Jeremiah Smith in the second quarter. Smith bobbled the ball as he crossed into the endzone and there was some deliberation over whether it was a completed pass. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore was convinced the score should not have stood.

“They said that he had control of it — [but it] didn’t look like he had control of it,” Moore said. “They told me that it was ‘inconclusive’.”

Sayin was quick to give credit to his offensive line, which also had an outstanding game, which was evident in freshman running back Bo Jackson’s 177-yard performance.

“All season long, they’ve just had an edge to them and played nasty,” the QB said. “We hand it off, we get seven yards. You see guys getting thrown on the ground, it looks like carnage out there.”

Ohio State’s defense was too much for the Wolverines throughout the game, with Michigan QB Bryce Underwood unable to find a touchdown — the fifth time this season that Ohio State have not conceded a TD in a game — and the rushing attack was held to under 100 yards.

“It’s got to be better,” Moore conceded, taking responsibility for the team’s failings. “I put it on me.”

As is usually the case in a matchup known simply as ‘The Game’, things got heated, but this time conflict erupted between a player and an official. Michigan edge rusher Jaishawn Barham was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct before making physical contact with an official. Barham was not ejected from the game and may have been lucky not to have been. Moore explained of his player, “the official grabbed him and he shouldn’t have reacted.”

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LSU 13 @ 17 Oklahoma
Sooners rely on defense to tame Tigers.

Oklahoma continues to win ugly, leaning on their defense and grinding out a win when it really counted as they look likely to have secured the Playoff spot that eluded them last year.

Sooners QB John Mateer threw three picks during the game, but also produced the crucial game-winning 58-yard lob to Isaiah Sategna with just over four minutes left. Sategna finished with nine receptions for 121 yards while, despite the turnovers and struggle to put points on the board, Mateer finished with a very respectable 318 yards and two touchdowns — even if head coach Brent Venables wasn’t particularly enamoured with the numbers.

“There’s not a whole lot to really write about on the stat sheet, other than the score,” he insisted.

Venables did praise his players’ battling spirit against, not only their opponent but also the outside opinions that they may not be good enough.

“The narrative wasn’t always on their side, and they had to kind of fight through that as well,” Venables said. “But to be able to share in this moment with them … I just have so much appreciation, respect for our players and staff.”

Once again, it was the defence that kept the Sooners in contention, further solidifying their emerging identity as a defensively-minded team. Oklahoma held LSU, helmed by QB Michael Van Buren Jr in lieu of an injured Garrett Nussmeier, to just 198 total yards and provided a crucial stop late in the game. Van Buren finished with just 96 passing yards and the Tigers were only able to convert two out of 14 third down attempts.

Despite the paltry figures, interim coach Frank Wilson III — who is bridging the gap between the departed Brian Kelly and the incoming Lane Kiffin — looked to highlight the positives rather than focusing on the shortcomings.

“I thought, in spots, we played outstanding and gave ourselves a chance,” Wilson said. “Unfortunately, it was not enough and we fell short. I told our team I’m extremely proud of them, of the way that they competed, the way that they believed that they could win this game and came into it with that mindset and played accordingly.”

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Vanderbilt 45 @ 24 Tennessee
Commodores make history as they dominate Vols.

The Commodores closed out a fairytale season on a high with a more than convincing — this was their highest score against the Vols since 1923 — win over Tennessee to record their best ever season record.

Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea, who has just signed a six-year extension in Nashville amid rumours he was being courted by Florida, was clearly pleased to have orchestrated the school’s high point.

“This is one for the record books, the first 10-win team in programme history.” Lea said, before elaborating on his team’s potential of securing a Playoff spot, “It’s a great story in college football. To do anything other than allow these guys to compete for it all would be an injustice to the work they’ve done.”

Unfortunately, with the latest CFP rankings released on Tuesday, it looks likely that Vandy will miss out as they currently sit at #14 ahead of championship games next weekend.

As always, Vanderbilt QB Deigo Pavia was full of confidence in himself and his team and was quick to call out the naysayers who doubted him when he said they would beat the Vols.

“Well, a lot of people thought I was a fool, but all it takes is faith, and I feel He gave me a vision, a platform,” Pavia said. “It felt good to come in and back it up.”

Pavia continued to be the driving force of this Vanderbilt team with 268 passing and 165 rushing yards on the day. The QB was also supported by standout performance by running back Sedrick Alexander, who wound up with 115 yards and three touchdowns.

Tennessee kept pace throughout the first half, with the scores tied 21-21 at half-time, but could only muster three points after the interval. Head coach Josh Heupel did not mince his words about his team’s second half drop off.

“An extremely disappointing second half led to an extremely disappointing ultimate result,” Heupel said. “The [defensive] performance here tonight was not anywhere near the standard for Tennessee football.”

Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar, who recorded 299 yards and a touchdown, also acknowledged the team’s offensive shortcomings.

“We went out there a little slow [in the third quarter],” he conceded. “You only have so many opportunities. You’ve gotta take advantage of them.”

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College Football Playoff Rankings (Tuesday 2nd December):

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Notre Dame
11. BYU
12. Miami
13. Texas
14. Vanderbilt
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Virginia
18. Arizona
19. Michigan
20. Tulane
21. Houston
22. Georgia Tech
23. Iowa
24. North Texas
25. James Madison