Why Week 7 has all the makings of an epic rivalry week - ESPN

Among the litany of problems college football has created for itself in recent years, the demise of a number of once-proud rivalries doesn't engender the same frustration that myriad court cases and rampant transfers have, but it's no less problematic when it comes to undermining the things fans love most about the sport.

In the pursuit of money, realignment bloated conferences and split apart once bitter rivals. Bedlam is on hiatus. The quality of the Apple Cup has gone from Honeycrisp to Red Delicious since the Pac-12 fell apart. The Civil ConFLiCT trophy is probably just holding up a broken coffee table in Bob Diaco's man cave.

And that's perhaps the tip of the iceberg.

Imagine a year or two from now, when the seemingly inevitable 24-team playoff has taken hold, and we reach the final weekend of the regular season, when the most intensely fought rivalry games are traditionally played, and Ohio State is left with a choice: sit its starters against Michigan or risk injuries before a playoff run.

The idea seems preposterous now, but again, how many rivalries have we already sacrificed in pursuit of supposed progress?

So as we enter Week 7, it's worth appreciating the matchups on the docket in what might be considered a midseason dress rehearsal for rivalry week, smaller in scale but still full of the essentials. It's the Sammy Hagar to Rivalry Week's David Lee Roth.

The third Saturday in October always gives us Alabama-Tennessee. This year, it's a showdown between two top-20 teams, with victory cigars and playoff hopes on the line. The Tide were dealt a blow by Georgia a week ago, but Keelon Russell's hot start and a surprisingly dynamic run game have Alabama looking like one of the best teams in the country. Tennessee's