When it comes time for the big rivalry games in college football you always hear the talking heads on TV saying "when these teams meet you can throw the record book out the window." I suggest holding onto that record book, especially if your office is more than three stories off the ground.

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Just because they want you to throw the records out when Rival A meets Rival B, does that mean you should throw out the line and the trends and everything we learned all season about these teams? Absolutely not, but you do need to look at them differently.

More than wins and losses are on the line this Thanksgiving weekend in College Football because teams will playing for a wide range of rivalry trophies from the Commonwealth Cup when Virginia Tech faces Virginia to the Jeweled Shillelagh when heavily favored USC hosts Notre Dame.

West Virginia and Pitt face off in the Backyard Brawl Friday, and this is a rivalry between two teams that are located just 70 miles and one border away from each other. This series took on national prominence after the Panthers stunned the nearly national championship-bound West Virginia Mountaineers last season. This year revenge is on the mind of Mountaineer fans as they travel to Heinz Field as 3.5-point favorites over their hated rivals.

Speaking of derailing national championship hopes, Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida all have their eyes set on the big prize this year but all still have to get past hated rivals before Championship Saturday. The Gators and Crimson Tide are set in stone to meet in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game but they still have dates against their respective rivals. Alabama hosts Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Auburn/Alabama rivalry has generally been considered the nastiest rival in all of sports while Florida faces an in-state rival of its own, Florida State in the Sunshine Showdown. The teams have played for the Governor's Cup since 1958.

Both Florida and Alabama seem safe bet to make it to the SEC title game unscathed as Florida enters the game giving 16.5 points to the Seminoles and Alabama is favored by 14.5 points.

In the marquee game Saturday night, Oklahoma also has a rival to get past if it wants to continue on its path to Miami for the BCS National Championship Game. Before qualifying for the BCS title game, they have to qualify for the Big 12 title game and to do that they have to win the Bedlam Game against Oklahoma State. The Sooners enter the game as touchdown favorites.

Other rivalry games this weekend include the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Border War between Missouri and Kansas, the Civil War between Oregon and Oregon State, the Battle for the Boot between LSU and Arkansas, the Battle of I-75 between Toledo and Bowling Green, Clean Old-Fashioned Hate between Georgia Tech and Georgia, and the Battle of the Palmetto State between Clemson and South Carolina.

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Last season in these rivalry games the underdogs went 9-6 ATS but what really sticks out is the money line success underdogs have had the last two seasons. Texas A&M, who faces Texas Thanksgiving night, has stunned the Longhorns in back-to-back years as seven-point underdogs and 21-point underdogs, respectively. Other money line upsets in these rivalry games the past two years include spreads of 13, 14 and 28-points. The four-touchdown stunner was Pitt over West Virginia and what better game to kick off the rivalry weekend on Friday than the Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pitt at noon.