Welcome to Week 13 of the college football season, also known as RIVALRY WEEK!

We’ll bear witness to an Iron Bowl without Nick Saban on the Alabama sideline after he tested positive for COVID-19 this week.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss meet for another Egg Bowl featuring Elijah Moore, who became infamous last season with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for lifting his leg like a urinating dog. This season, he returns as the nation’s leading receiver.

In the spirit of giving thanks for what we can, we claim a few games — like North Carolina-Notre Dame and Iowa State-Texas — as new rivalry matchups due to scheduling quirks. Here are a few suggestions for trophies.

We’ll be keeping up Friday and Saturday with all the highlights and Top 25 analysis.

Top 25 games

All times Eastern; lines courtesy Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill

• Kentucky at No. 6 Florida (-25) , noon, ESPN/ESPN App

• Maryland at No. 12 Indiana (-11.5), noon, ESPN2/ESPN App

• Texas Tech at No. 23 Oklahoma State (-11), noon, Fox

• No. 20 Coastal Carolina (-17) at Texas State, 3 p.m., ESPN+/ESPN App

• No. 22 Auburn at No. 1 Alabama (-24.5), 3:30 p.m., CBS

• Pittsburgh at No. 3 Clemson (-24), 3:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN App

• No. 8 Northwestern (-13) at Michigan State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2/ESPN App

• LSU at No. 5 Texas A&M (-14.5), 7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN app

• No. 9 Georgia (-21.5) at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network/ESPN App

Oregon State 41, No. 15 Oregon 38

When the Pac-12 announced its return-to-play schedule, featuring just seven games (at most), it still figured to be a long shot for the conference champion to reach the College Football Playoff. Oregon’s 41-38 loss to Oregon State, coupled with USC’s cancellation, cements the conference on the outside looking in. The reality is that at no point have the Ducks looked like a team that belonged in the playoff. Not all is lost: Oregon can rebound, win the division, advance to the title game and punch its ticket to a New Year’s Six bowl, which figured to be the team’s real ceiling anyway. — Kyle Bonagura

No. 2 Notre Dame 31, No. 19 North Carolina 17

All due respect to Clemson, but the biggest test of Notre Dame’s defense might have come Friday, with a UNC team that’s among the nation’s most explosive in both the passing and running games. The Fighting Irish were dealt a huge blow early Friday, too, when star safety Kyle Hamilton was ejected for targeting. None of it mattered. The Irish overwhelmed the Tar Heels’ offensive line, constantly grappling with quarterback Sam Howell in the backfield and stifling Javonte Williams and Michael Carter on the ground. Meanwhile, Notre Dame QB Ian Book again was a wizard when pressured, and Kyren Williams ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns. The Irish continue to look dominant, and Friday’s performance, holding the Tar Heels to just 298 yards of offense, might’ve been their most complete victory yet.

The Mack Brown era has been marked by near misses, and Friday probably constitutes another one. UNC went to halftime tied with No. 2 Notre Dame, and until Kyren Williams’ late TD, the Tar Heels still had a shot to pull the upset. Indeed, Friday might have been the most impressive performance of the season for the North Carolina defense, which pressured Book routinely but struggled to get off the field on a few crucial drives. The real shock was the performance of Howell and the offense, which simply couldn’t elude a devastating pass rush and mustered just 298 yards — its second-worst total since Brown took over as coach. Williams’ second score put the game out of reach, making Friday’s result the first time in Brown’s 22 games during this tour as coach that UNC lost by more than a touchdown. — David M. Hale

No. 24 Iowa 26, Nebraska 20

Despite not playing their best, the Hawkeyes came away with a sixth consecutive victory over Nebraska to improve to 4-2 overall with a strong grip on the second spot in the Big Ten West. The run game turned up a notch in the second half, as the Hawkeyes compiled 94 yards on the ground after netting just 35 (2.1 yards per carry) in the first half. Tyler Goodson’s workmanlike 30-carry, 111-yard performance led the way for Iowa. — Sam Khan Jr.

No. 13 Iowa State 23, No. 17 Texas 20

The Cyclones are one step closer to the Big 12 championship game. Their road win over Texas on Friday, in which they trailed most of the game, makes them a virtual lock to make the title game. It was by no means pretty, but Iowa State patiently chipped away at a 10-point Texas lead until finally getting the go-ahead score from Breece Hall with 1:25 left. The victory was Iowa State’s first road win over an AP Top 25 team in November (it was 0-43 in such situations before Friday).

The Longhorns are likely to be kicking themselves after this one. A game they controlled for much of the day slipped away thanks in part to a handful of second-half failures. A fake punt call was snuffed out, a fourth-and-1 attempt denied and Sam Ehlinger getting sacked on the penultimate play — which led to a missed 58-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker that would’ve tied the game — are all things coach Tom Herman will rue following a loss that’s devastating to the Longhorns’ hopes of reaching the Big 12 championship game — Sam Khan Jr.

Black Friday sale

Iowa wanted to remind Nebraska of the recent record in the rivalry. The Hawkeyes kept the receipts.

An axe to grind

After winning the Big Game for nine straight seasons, Stanford lost to California last year. That didn’t sit right with the folks in Palo Alto, and the Cardinal wasted no time turning the rivalry back in their favor.

It is called the Stanford Axe, after all.

Three is a magic number

Just in case you forgot how many touchdowns UCF’s Jacob Harris had against South Florida, he’ll remind you.

Your everyday backhanded throw

Oh wait, this definitely doesn’t happen regularly. Who else makes this throw other than Ian Book?

So who took out these ads?

Someone really misses Brian Lewerke. Like, really misses him.

That wasn’t supposed to happen

Maybe Dillon Gabriel thought the football would work like a boomerang after accidentally hitting Jake Hescock.

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UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel tries to throw the pass but it bounces off the helmet of tight end Jake Hescock.

How did they even make these catches?

Emery Simmons made sure that this jump ball was all his.

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Emery Simmons outjumps his defender to grab Sam Howell’s pass for a six-yard score.

And Shaun Beyer extended way, way up for this one-handed grab.

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Iowa QB Spencer Petras throws the ball to TE Shaun Beyer, who makes an unbelievable one-handed catch.

A program-defining win

It was a big victory for Matt Campbell and his Iowa State Cyclones in Austin, Texas, on Friday. The coach wasn’t afraid to show how much the win meant for the program.

A little history behind Campbell’s passion for this Cyclones team.

Reflecting back

McKenzie Milton revisited the spot he suffered the knee injury that sidelined him two years with his teammates prior to UCF’s game.

Play like a girl

Introducing Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller.

Fuller, a player for Vandy’s women’s soccer team, will be the Commodores’ place-kicker on Saturday, which will make her the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game.

New England Patriots kicker Nick Folk said he is excited to see what might transpire on Saturday.

Shaw shows off a spin

Sean Shaw Jr. managed to get into the end zone after making a nice spin move.

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Brock Purdy completes a long pass to Sean Shaw Jr., who escapes a tackle and stumbles into the end zone.

Texas unveils Whittier statue

Texas paid tribute to Julius Whittier, the Longhorns’ first Black letterman, by unveiling a new 12½-foot statue of the former offensive lineman/tight end outside the north end of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday.

Florida Man likes gravy

If you’re one of those weirdos (like me) who doesn’t like foods touching, this is basically an act of violence.

Saban substitution

Alabama coach Nick Saban is out Saturday for the Iron Bowl after testing positive for COVID-19, but his daughter, Kristen, says she has it under control.

Since the 2004 BCS National Championship (when Saban won his first national title), Kristen has given her dad a lucky penny before each game. She promised a special delivery this week.

Uniform update

For the War on I-4 matchup with UCF, USF went to a lot of neon and a lot of shiny stuff.

Here’s UCF’s take on its choice.

Here’s Oregon’s combo for the rivalry game against Oregon State.

Ohio State is feeling icy.

And Michigan State is bringing back its pop of color.

Sourced from ESPN