Rivalry week can be a time when the unexpected takes place. But as Week 13 of the college football season largely showed us, much of it turned out to actually be the expected. 

Ohio State beat Michigan ... again. Alabama beat Auburn ... again. Washington beat Washington State ... again. Virginia Tech beat Virginia ... again. And -- well, you get the point. Not every rivalry game ended in predictable fashion -- Florida State ended a number of streaks against Florida State -- but Week 13 taught us that getting over that proverbial hill can be tougher than it seems. 

What this all means is that when it comes to the College Football Playoff race, there's a bit of clarity now -- at least more clarity than there has been. There's still one more opportunity for #teamchaos to make an appearance, but we already know that one team, Notre Dame, will be among the four teams selected. We can reasonably deduce that the SEC will have a team in there, maybe two depending on how things unfold. We can predict that the debate between Oklahoma and Ohio State is going to be exhausting, and perhaps unnecessary in the end. 

But that's life for college football in November. With the last week of the regular season in the books, it's time to look back at the biggest winners and losers from a busy Thanksgiving weekend. 

Winners

The SEC: Already lost in all of the inevitable debate about Oklahoma and Ohio State, and which one is actually deserving of the No. 4 spot in the College Football Playoff, is that the SEC may solve that debate for them. We know that it will have at least one team -- Alabama or Georgia -- in the final four. No other conference has that assurance one week before Selection Sunday. However, if Georgia upsets Alabama in Atlanta, it might be the Crimson Tide, not the Sooners or Buckeyes, who gets that final spot. (For the record, Jerry Palm's latest playoff predictions feel this way as well.) 

Consider that the Crimson Tide are looked upon favorably by advanced metrics. They would enter the SEC title game as the No. 1 team in the country per S&P+ and FEI. As of Week 12, their resume ranking is No. 2 among playoff contenders per Tom Fornelli and their margin of victory is the nation's best. Strength of schedule, per Sagarin, puts Alabama at 61. For reference, Oklahoma is 43 and Ohio State is 53; however, the difference of 8-18 spots isn't too significant. These numbers will change, of course, mostly for the better considering that all of the teams still in the playoff hunt will play one more game. 

The point is Ohio State and Oklahoma may need to root for chalk in the SEC title -- or chaos in the ACC Championship Game with Clemson and Pitt. Either/or. If Alabama drops to a one-loss team, by just about every metric, they would still be favored against Oklahoma and Ohio State. Please know that this is simply a forecast of what I think the committee would consider if given such a situation. Yes, conference championships are part of the committee's criteria, but Alabama has already proven once that what applies to most teams doesn't always apply to them. 

Ohio State's offensive line: Look, the big uglies never get a shoutout on here. They rarely get a shoutout at all anywhere. However, Ohio State's offensive line, unquestionably, was the primary difference in the Buckeyes' 62-39 rout of Michigan. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins had all day to carve up the Wolverines' top-ranked passing defense for 318 yards and five touchdowns. Michigan, boasting one of the truly great defensive fronts in college football, was no match and registered just four tackles for loss and no sacks. Haskins was never hurried. That's pure dominance up front and it allowed the Buckeyes' speedy receivers to get open all day.

Texas: Nothing about Texas' 24-17 win over Kansas was super pretty, but then again, failing to show up in the fourth quarter only to win by a touchdown is about as on-brand as the Longhorns can get. It counts, though, and Texas is going to the Big 12 title game in coach Tom Herman's second year. The biggest jump for Texas from 2017 to 2018 was the ability to win close games. The Horns were 6-3 in games decided by a touchdown or less. Last season, they were 1-4. If Year 3 is when programs typically see a jump, then 2019 should have even higher expectations. 

Texas A&M receiver Kendrick Rogers: There are, I am sure, a number of worthy candidates for catch of the year in college football. We get at least a handful every week. Many have merit. Few have the implications of Rogers' jaw-dropping grab in the TAMU's 74-72 seven-overtime win over LSU. Rogers finished with 53 yards and two touchdowns -- not even the best numbers on his own team -- but you're not going to find a more impressive catch given the circumstances than this one, full stop. 

Boise State: The Broncos got a huge quality win Saturday night, 33-24 over Utah State. It gives Boise State the Mountain Division title and sets up a game next week against Fresno State in the Mountain West Championship Game. If UCF loses to Memphis in the AAC title, which is certainly possible given the injury to quarterback McKenzie Milton (more on that below), it could very well nab that Group of Five slot in a New Year's Six bowl, likely the Fiesta Bowl.

Losers

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: Even with Ohio State's almost-weekly close calls, anyone with a brain knew the Buckeyes would at least be ready for The Game. Michigan, however, was the team that looked disorganized. And now Harbaugh is the first coach in the program's history to start 0-4 against the Buckeyes. You can blame the loss on Ohio State's speed -- it was certainly a factor -- but the bottom line is Urban Meyer and his staff coached circles around Harbaugh. The Buckeyes had better protection in the trenches and defensively forced Michigan into more uncomfortable passing situations, which usually ended poorly. This was still overall a good season, but Harbaugh is judged by his record vs. Ohio State and the championships he wins. That part of the revenge tour remains a work in progress. 

West Virginia: The Mountaineers didn't quite have the answer for Oklahoma in a 59-56 loss Friday evening, which sent the Sooners to the Big 12 Championship Game. It's a bitter pill for West Virginia to swallow, which finishes the regular season 8-3. If coach Dana Holgorsen was ever going to get a team to Arlington, it was this one. And, yet, the Mountaineers gave up 31 points to Oklahoma State in the second half of a 45-41 Week 12 loss and had no answers for the Sooners. Normally, scoring 97 points in two games is necessary against the Big 12's top offensive teams, but West Virginia did it and has nothing to show for it. 

Other excruciating rivalry losses, Ex: A: You're not going to find a more heartbreaking loss in Week 13 than Virginia's 34-31 overtime collapse to Virginia Tech to extend the Cavaliers' losing streak in that series to a whopping 15 games. Up 28-24 and with Virginia Tech facing a third-and-10, Virginia gave up a monster 45-yard jump ball to the Hokies with two minutes remaining. Two plays later, Virginia Tech fumbled the ball into the end zone on a running play only to recover it for a touchdown. Then, in overtime, a fumbled handoff from Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins was recovered by the Hokies to secure the win. It was as brutal a loss as rivalry week produced. 

Other excruciating rivalry losses, Ex: B: Someone pour one out for Arizona. The Wildcats, up 40-21 over Arizona State, blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead (giving up 17 points in the final 6:36) to fall behind 41-40. Then, Arizona ran a 15-play drive to try to take the go-ahead lead, but kicker Josh Pollack missed a 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining. 

Other excruciating rivalry losses, Ex: C: Speaking of more horrific rivalry losses, BYU, once up 27-7 over Utah in the third quarter, allowed the Utes to climb all the way back with 28 answered points over the final 16 minutes of the game to lose 35-27. The Cougars have been on the wrong side of some close calls this season -- losses to Boise State, Cal and Northern Illinois came by a combined nine points -- but this one twists the knife the hardest and the deepest. 

Best of the rest

UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton: It was tough to see Milton go down with a gruesome leg injury in UCF's 38-10 win over USF on Friday. Most importantly, what matters is that Milton is OK. He was taken to a Tampa area hospital and reportedly had successful surgery on his right leg. His family, understandably, wants to keep details private at this time. But how UCF moves forward without its leader and program-changer will be telling. The Knights get Memphis in a rematch for the AAC Championship Game. This was a one-point, come-from-behind victory earlier in the season. 

Clemson: The good news is that the Tigers were unstoppable in a 56-35 win over South Carolina with 744 yards of total offense. The bad news is that they also gave up 600 yards to the Gamecocks, 510 of which came through the air. There's some serious vulnerability in that Clemson pass defense that will need to be monitored as this team makes a playoff run. 

Notre Dame: The story about the Fighting Irish has been true for a while: win and their in. No, the 24-17 victory at USC wasn't Notre Dame's finest work. Quarterback Ian Book played his worst game of the season and the Trojans had an advantage in the trenches. But a win is a win, and now Notre Dame can relax as conference championship week unfolds. 

Florida State: There are no real silver linings to losing 41-14 to Florida. However, snapping the five-year winning streak vs. the Gators and the 36-year bowl streak might actually be the palate cleaner the Seminoles needed to officially reboot the program in a positive direction. It's a long offseason when you don't have extra practices. That's a lot of time for first-year coach Willie Taggart to think about the changes needed. 

The rest of the bowl eligible teams: Week 13 was a busy one for teams getting bowl eligible. Tulane, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Wyoming, Southern Miss, Wake Forest, Purdue, Baylor, TCU and Miami (OH) all got to six wins this week. Barring a team refusing a bowl bid, there will be no 5-7 teams making the postseason. 

Wisconsin: Remember when the Badgers were considered playoff contenders to start the season? Wisconsin's 37-15 loss drops the preseason Big Ten West favorites to 7-5. As far as disappointing seasons go, this one might be tops. 

Oregon State: Whatever this was supposed to be, Beavers, never, ever let it see the light of day again. Don't let it hurt anyone anymore. Oregon State lost to Oregon, predictably, 55-15. 

Michigan State: Ladies and gentlemen, your almost-too-painful-to-watch special teams play of the day. Good thing the Spartans beat Rutgers 14-10 or this would have been the least of their embarrassments. 

UConn: The Huskies set FBS single-season records for points allowed (605) and yards allowed (7,409) after losing 57-7 to Temple in the season finale. The previous FBS record for most points allowed was set by East Carolina in 2010 (572). So how, exactly, did UConn handle the accomplishment?

UNLV: The Rebels, down 23-0 in the second quarter, completed a historically great comeback for their program to beat Nevada 34-29. It's the largest comeback in UNLV history and marks the end of a truly wild season for the Rebels. 

Iowa State: Somehow, scoring 21 straight points in the fourth quarter to come back and beat Kansas State 42-38 was, like, the seventh-most incredible thing that happened on Saturday. Still, Matt Campbell's team finished third in the Big 12 standings. Nicely done.