Forty names, games, teams and details that make college football news, where supporters’ anger over refereeing I have to go. First quarter: SEC tie scenario at eight.

Last week’s results confirm what we have suspected for a while: our country has changed. One side stood out. Our system of checks and balances is now out of control and out of balance.

I’m talking, of course, about our college football rivalries.

Everywhere you look, they are one-sided. One team is up, while its rival is down. Schadenfreude has become unbalanced. Bragging rights only go one way. Check the list:

Ohio State-Michigan (12)

Who is standing: The Buckeyes are 8-1 and ranked No. 2 in the nation. Who is broken: The Wolverines are 5-5 and one of the big offensive dumpster fires of 2024. What has changed: Michigan mortgaged everything to win the 2023 national championship, with Jim Harbaugh and a boatload of talent leaving afterward. In response, Ohio State doubled down on its investment in players, spending millions to retain stars and add new ones.

Deprived of a quality quarterback, Michigan hit rock bottom offensively against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday. His 206 total offensive yards were the program’s lowest in a game since 2016, and his 3.26 yards per play were the lowest since 2013. Indiana is a good thing — yes, really, believe it — but the Michigan should never be this inept. Sherrone Moore needs to prove in 2025 that he didn’t take the program back to the Brady Hoke/Rich Rodriguez era.

Rivalry game: November 30 in Columbus. And the two teams’ respective records will do nothing to ease the Buckeyes’ pregame frown. After three straight losses to the Wolverines, this will be the biggest winnable game of Ryan Day’s career.

The Egg Bowl (13)

Who is standing: The Mississippi Rebels are 8-2 and ranked No. 10, coming off a comprehensive win over Georgia that puts new shine on the Lane Kiffin era and improves the Rebels’ College Football Playoff hopes. Who is broken: The Mississippi State Bulldogs are 2-8 and have lost 10 straight Southeastern Conference games. What has changed: The dynamic is similar to last season, except Ole Miss is a little better and Mississippi State is even worse.

The rebels are currently operating on a completely different plane from their former rival. Even their squirrels are faster and more elusive than the Bulldogs players. State is in its second straight season under a new coach (Zach Arnett last year, Jeff Lebby this year), and with all six SEC losses by double digits this season, it appears the rebuild is going to take a while .

Rivalry game: November 28 in Oxford. This could get ugly.

The iron bowl (14)

Who is standing: The Alabama Crimson Tide, although 7–2, is not really considered “up” for the Tide. But beating the LSU Tigers on Saturday makes Bama fans feel better. Who is broken: The Auburn Tigers are 3-6, just 1-5 in the SEC. What has changed: Auburn went from mediocre to bad. In a direct refutation of the boosters’ delusional image of the program’s reputation, the Tigers are now 26-32 over the past five seasons.

Hiring Hugh Freeze was a deal with a devil that was supposed to change everything. Instead, a fourth straight season of seven or more losses seems inevitable. Auburn is an error-prone mess — last by far in the SEC in turnover margin (minus-10) and tied for 127th nationally.

Rivalry game: November 30 in Tuscaloosa. Freeze has been tough on the Tide in the past, upsetting Nick Saban twice while at Ole Miss and coming close on a fourth-and-31 conversion to eliminate them last year. Records aside, Kalen DeBoer better be ready.

Miami-Florida State (15)

Who is standing: The Miami Hurricanes, although that status took a hit Saturday with a surprise loss to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets that puts their playoff hopes in jeopardy. Still, at 9-1, this is Miami’s best season since at least 2017, and could end up as the best in over 20 years. Who is broken: The Florida State Seminoles are the biggest train wreck in America. What has changed: Miami rallied in Year 3 under Mario Cristobal, thanks in large part to some big additions to the transfer portal. Florida State simply collapsed, a failure of the entire system.

FSU’s accountability process began Sunday with head coach Mike Norvell’s firing of three assistant coaches, including both coordinators. From 13-0 and snubbed for the playoffs to 1-9 and embarrassing the league they’re trying to abandon, it’s been a humiliating fall for the Seminoles.

Rivalry game: Miami already beat the Noles, 36-14, in October.

The holy war (16)

Who is standing: The BYU Cougars are 9-0 and ranked No. 7, their highest ranking in 15 years. Who is broken: The Utah Utes are 4-5 and are on a five-game losing streak. What has changed: BYU took over, with massive year-over-year improvement after a 5–7 debut season in the Big 12. Utah lost its way offensively, dealing with injuries and inefficiencies and expelling his offensive coordinator.

BYU is giving off the TCU 2022 vibe, finding ways to win the closest ones (the Cougars are 4-0 in one-score games). Utah, meanwhile, could be headed for its first losing season since 2013.

Rivalry game: BYU 22, Utah 21 Saturday. This summarizes the seasons of the two teams. The Cougars were lucky and good, staying alive late in the game thanks to a questionable call against the Utes, but then taking advantage of the second chance by driving to the game-winning field goal. Utah was unlucky and failed to get a stop after the tough flag.

(Utah athletic director Mark Harlan’s postgame speechtearing up Big 12 officials, earned him a fine of $40,000 of the league and prompted an apology from Harlan. His attacks on the referees were way over the top: he said the game was “stolen” and declared himself “disgusted” with the officials, among other things. This is the kind of overreaction that allows fans to throw trash on the field when they don’t like a call. Don’t be part of the problem.)

The old oak bucket (17)

Who is standing: The Indiana Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time ever and ranked No. 5. Who is broken: The Purdue Boilermakers are 1-8 overall, 0-6 in the Big Ten and winless against FBS competition. What has changed: Curt Cignetti has arrived. The new Hoosiers coach has turned everything upside down for an eternal football lightweight. Meanwhile, Purdue went from bad (4-8 in Ryan Walters’ first season) to something much worse.

Rivalry game: October 30 in Bloomington. Purdue has won three straight in the rivalry. The chances are telescopic for a fourth.

Red River (18)

Who is standing: The Texas Longhorns, 8-1 and ranked No. 3, in the title race in their first SEC season. Who is broken: The Oklahoma Sooners, 5-5 and 1-5 in the SEC. What has changed: The Horns continued their rise in Year 4 under Steve Sarkisian, reaching the playoffs last year and emerging as a potential national title contender this year. The Sooners have struggled in the SEC transition, backpedaling from 10-3 last year.

Oklahoma’s offensive problems are glaring, starting with its error-prone quarterbacks. Jackson Arnold lost two more fumbles Saturday at Missouri, the last serving up the game-winning, scoop-and-score touchdown in the final minute. He has now lost five fumbles this season. Backup Michael Hawkins Jr. had four turnovers in four quarters against Texas and South Carolina and hasn’t played much since.

Rivalry game: Texas 34, Oklahoma 3, in October. This game solidified how this season has gone for the Sooners.

The Civil War and the Apple Cup (19)

Who is standing: The Oregon Ducks in the first rivalry and the Washington State Cougars in the second. Who is broken: Oregon State Beavers and Washington Huskies. What has changed: Conference affiliation, coaches, etc.

The Pacific Northwest rivalries were shaken by the defections of Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten. The undefeated, No. 1-ranked Ducks are thriving in their new home, while the Beavers (4-5) are treading water in the zombie Pac-12. The dynamic is reversed to their north, where the Cougars are 8-1 and on the fringes of the playoffs, while the Huskies are 5-5 overall and winless on the road in the Big Ten.

Rivalry games: Oregon beat Oregon State and Washington State upset Washington in September.

Notre Dame vs. Brian Kelly (20)

Who is standing: The Fighting Irish are 8-1 and blowing people away, with an inside track to the playoffs if they keep winning. Who is broken: Former coach Kelly is out of the playoffs with the LSU Tigers after getting crushed at home by Alabama. What has changed: Kelly couldn’t fully capitalize on Heisman Trophy quarterback Jayden Daniels in his first two years at LSU, and year three was a regression at the position coupled with similar defensive issues. His successor at Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman, suffered his annual terrible loss in early September but regrouped.

Kelly left Notre Dame to pursue a national championship. Right now, he’s further away than the school he dropped out of.

Some places where both sides are happy (21): Texas-Texas A&M and Army-Navy. The renewed rivalry between the Longhorns (8-1, 4-1) and the Aggies (7-2, 5-1) could well result in a showdown between the winner and Atlanta on November 30. Meanwhile, the Black Knights and the Undefeated 7–2 contenders could play back-to-back weeks in December — the first for the American Athletic Conference title and a potential playoff berth, then their annual neutral-site matchup.

Some where no one is happy (22): Chaos, RIP. And Oklahoma vs. Lincoln Riley. Oklahoma State Cowboys fans would love to make fun of the Sooners’ performance in the SEC, but that’s hard to do when your team is 3-7 and in last place in the Big 12. Same dynamic for Oklahoma fans, including the delight of former coach Lincoln Riley’s Big Ten flop debut with USC, are tempered by their own sorry state.