Seth Udinski, FISM News
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Thanksgiving weekend proved to be full of exciting football action for both college and NFL fans, as the CFB and NFL seasons each march towards the home stretch and the playoffs.
Rivalry week games did not disappoint on Saturday as there were several top-tiered matchups for fans to enjoy as they ate leftovers from Thanksgiving. In the highest ranked game of the weekend, the #5 ranked University of Michigan Wolverines defeated the #2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 42-27 in a surprisingly decisive outcome. This was the first win for the Wolverines since 2011 and only the third win in 20 years in one of the most heated rivalries in all of sports. Michigan running back Hassan Haskins was the offensive star of the 2021 iteration of “The Game,” rushing for five touchdowns and tying a Wolverine record.
FIVE TOUCHDOWNS for Hassan Haskins. His performance today will go down in Michigan history forever. pic.twitter.com/oBRTpCM9H2
— Patrick Barron 🐻🌹🏆 (@BlueBarronPhoto) November 27, 2021
In other games from the weekend Alabama scored a late TD to tie things up in regulation, before defeating Auburn in the 4th overtime period to avoid a major upset in the Iron Bowl and Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 37-33 in the premier late game on Saturday, snapping a six game losing streak in their in-state rivalry game.
This wasn’t the biggest loss for the Sooners over the weekend, however, as head coach Lincoln Riley announced Sunday that he would be leaving the school to take the head coaching gig at USC. Ex-Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops will take over as the interim head coach to close out the season.
https://twitter.com/USC_mikebohn/status/1465124507044044808
Next week is the final chance that teams will have to prove to the playoff committee that they are worthy of one of the four playoff slots up for grabs, with multiple conference championship games on the docket.
Meanwhile in the pro ranks, fans were treated to a thrilling Thanksgiving Day clash between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. Both teams are right in the mix of their respective playoff chases. In a game that included a whopping 28 combined penalties, the Raiders stunned the Cowboys in overtime to win 36-33 on a walk-off field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson.
Daniel Carlson wins it for the Raiders in OT!pic.twitter.com/cZ5VTMRszS
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 26, 2021
Carlson was the clear most valuable player of the game for Raiders (6-5), hitting five field goals despite playing with a reported case of food poisoning. Dallas dropped to 7-4 but remains comfortable atop the NFC East after the surging Philadelphia Eagles (5-7) lost a heartbreaker to the lowly New York Giants (4-7) on Sunday, 13-7.
In other weekend action, the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a shootout in Indianapolis against a tough Colts team, 38-31. Tampa Bay improved to 8-3, staying in the hunt for the NFC’s top seed, while Indianapolis dropped to 6-6. The San Francisco 49ers also bested the Minnesota Vikings 34-26 to jump to 6-5 and claim sole possession of the second wildcard spot in the conference, while Minnesota fell to 5-6.