Brawls and bonkers endings categorize Saturday’s college football rivalry games

The GIST: The holiday season is here, but this weekend’s football games were anything but holly jolly — with rivalries, brawls, nearly historic overtimes, and much more. And the best part? The drama is just getting started.

Georgia survives Georgia Tech in instant classic: The rivalry dubbed “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” lived up to its name on Friday. Georgia Tech jumped out to a 17–0 halftime lead before No. 5 Georgia mounted a fourth-quarter comeback to send things to overtime (OT).

• But it wasn’t just one OT — the eight (!!!) OT game was the second-longest game in college football history, and Georgia’s game-winner in the 44–42 dub likely secured them a place in the College Football Playoff (CFP).

Michigan stuns No. 2 Ohio State in The Game: Despite Michigan’s season-long struggles, the Wolverines turned in a classic defensive performance to secure a 13–10 upset victory. Ego blow and rivalry bragging rights aside, the result won’t impact the Buckeyes’ CFP hopes — but the postgame fighting cost both teams a pretty penny. Chaos is an understatement.

CFP field nearly set: The penultimate rankings of the season drop tomorrow, with one week of football left before the playoffs begin. And with the top spots all but secured, all eyes are on the bubble teams for the remaining bids.

• We’re in for a loaded conference championship week, with teams like No. 16 Arizona State and No. 18 Iowa State playing for their CFP lives. Let the countdown begin.