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College Football

Sad fans are sad, Week 14: Rivalry Week edition

Jim Tomlin

By Jim Tomlin

Published:

Rivalry Week. There is nothing else like it in all of college sports, and there is nothing else like it in the SEC.

On Saturday, the Iron Bowl alone produced a season’s worth of ups and downs, highlights, great plays, odd plays and an extraordinary finish.

Alabama at Auburn was an instant classic, and the emotion on the field was equaled in the stands. No image typified the day’s experience for Crimson Tide fans more than when the would-be tying field goal with 2:00 left caromed off the left goal post, keeping Auburn 3 points ahead:

Things only got worse when Alabama’s incomprehensible penalty for too many men on the field, with Auburn facing fourth down, gave the Tigers a first down that sealed their 48-45 win:

Reality started to sink in as Alabama fans realized their team would miss the College Football Playoff for the first time since the CFP was inaugurated in the 2014 season:

Naturally, Auburn fans went through their fair share of angst, too, as one would expect from a game where the lead changed hands 9 times:

The Crimson Tide gave Tigers fans plenty of moments of doubt:

https://twitter.com/sadSECfans/status/1200902534170329089?s=20

And of course, the experience would not be complete without a Surrender Cobra:

Georgia fans should have enjoyed their nice, easy victory against rival Georgia Tech. But a few turnovers and an injury to star running back D’Andre Swift made fans a little bit pensive:

But at the end, Tech fans took the brunt of the blowout loss, some preferring to go incognito for the day:

Meanwhile, at South Carolina, these Gamecocks fans were … um, enthusiastically costumed for their team’s drubbing at the hands of state rival Clemson:

Around the nation, this Utah fan struck a modified #SurrenderCobra early. But the Utes rolled to victory over Colorado, clinching the Pac-12 South title:

Our other favorite hashtag, the far rarer #SurrenderStefon, made an appearance in Minnesota:

Golden Gophers fans endured bitter cold and a fair bit of snow in addition to watching archrival Wisconsin win in their house to claim the Big Ten West Division title and Paul Bunyan’s Axe:

And at Oklahoma State, the game known as “Bedlam” went against the Cowboys as Oklahoma stayed in the CFP race. The Sooners’ victory probably left this Cowboys fan feeling less festive than she looked:

Another division decider on Friday saw Virginia take the ACC Coastal crown by finally breaking a 15-year losing streak against Virginia Tech. Hokies fans had a hard time taking it in:

https://twitter.com/rctruitt/status/1200511673339170819?s=20

And speaking of losing streaks, Michigan has lost to Ohio State eight times in a row, the Wolverines’ longest skid in series history against the Buckeyes. Wolverines fans have had enough:

… but for Ohioans, even ones who are not football fans, the sight of sad Michigan fans never gets old:

In the SEC, fans of Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Missouri and LSU can probably relate after their Rivalry Week victories.

Jim Tomlin

Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a copy editor and writer with SaturdayDownSouth.com.

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