Thanksgiving week means it’s time to gore ourselves–but not on turkey and pumpkin pie! We’re talking about college football, and specifically this week’s rivalry week games. While other huge rivalries like Texas and Oklahoma or USC and UCLA are played out during other times of the season, this week gives us the opportunity to unabashedly wear our jerseys out to the store (or for more laxed environments, work) and have conversations with fans of the other team on how much their team, rich with history and tradition, isn’t good. Here’s a list of games we’re going to watch this weekend while our DVR works overtime recording the rest.

Auburn and Alabama (Alabama leads this series 40–33–1)
The annual Iron Bowl has a lot of intrigue surrounding it—and we’re not just talking about the players in the news. Auburn has already punched its ticket to the SEC Championship game against South Carolina. A loss to Alabama won’t prevent that, but it would put a huge damper in their quest for a national title. We’re sure that’s something Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban would love to be thankful for this holiday season.

Notre Dame at USC (Notre Dame leads series 42-33-5)
USC lack of bowl eligibility and Notre Dame’s uneven season has pulled some of the glitz and glamour out of the proceedings. But even that can’t pull us away. We’re interested to see how Notre Dame’s first-year coach Brian Kelley handles the pressure of trying to “Beat ‘SC.” While USC’s Lane Kiffin is also in his first year as coach, at least he’s been there before, as a coordinator under Pete Carroll.

Mississippi State and Mississippi (Ole Miss leads the series 60–40–6)
Known as the Battle of the Golden Egg–or Egg Bowl–a golden egg has been awarded to the winner since 1927. All we know is that lately the losers have had plenty of egg on their faces as in the past two years the winning squad has crossed the 40-point plateau, with the 2008 41-0 drubbing of MSU surely not out of their memories yet.

Michigan and Ohio State (Michigan leads the series 57-43-6)
One of football’s greatest rivalries, this contest transcends the actual game. This week, students from both schools will compete in banner contests, food drives and blood drives. That last one is fitting considering Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez is 0-2 against the Buckeyes, so if it goes to 0-3, everyone in Ann Arbor will be asking for blood, too.

Which games do you think we’ll be missing out on? Let us know in the comments!