Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, with college football fans everywhere looking forward to exciting Week 14 rivalry games. Not to make light of any of the rivalry games throughout the entire season, but the Thanksgiving weekend rivalry games seem to mean just a bit more than the rest. That will certainly be the case when teams take the field after celebrating Thanksgiving dinner with their teammates and families. Of course, the latest Discover Fan Loyalty Poll asked college football fans across the country about some of their top Thanksgiving traditions as they relate to food and football, and some of the results may surprise you.
- My views are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Discover Products Inc. and its affiliates.
The latest results from the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll related to Thanksgiving, asking college football fans whether or not they would give up their seat at the dinner table this Thursday in exchange for free tickets at the 50-yard-line to watch their favorite team play. Overall, 42 percent of the fans surveyed said that they would rather pass on turkey than pass the pie around the table, opting to accept the free tickets to watch their favorite team play. While that number is high, the majority – at 55 percent – said that they agree with the sentiment that home is where the heart is, and that even free tickets at midfield to watch their favorite college football team play would not be enough to get them to skip Thanksgiving dinner with their family.
It seems that while turkey and football go together, just don’t make fans choose one over the other. The majority will try to find a way to thoroughly enjoy the best of both worlds! After all, I know that I would!
When breaking the data down by conference, fans of an SEC or American Athletic Conference team were most likely to take the free tickets, at 46 percent, which is three percentage points higher than the average fan. On the flip side, fans of Pac-12 teams said that they would not skip the traditional Thanksgiving Day festivities, as 60 percent would pass up the tickets in favor of spending the day with family. This Thanksgiving, only fans of four teams would have to make that decision, as the only two college football games scheduled are the Ole Miss Rebels traveling to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas Longhorns hosting the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Both of these games will have bowl implications, but neither will have any ramifications on any of the five BCS Bowl Games.
Just don’t tell the fans of these four teams that their games don’t mean as much as some of the other games during the Thanksgiving rivalry weekend. Texas and Texas Tech will play for the Chancellor’s Spurs, while Ole Miss and Mississippi State will battle for state pride.
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What about when it comes to the dinner menu on Thanksgiving? This is certainly more of a personal preference, with many people having such different tastes. In the longstanding debate over which Thanksgiving dinner staple people cannot live without, college football fans weighed in and turkey sits squarely on top, proving that the debate may not be as close as some may feel. Turkey takes the top billing with 48 percent, followed by stuffing at 20 percent, pie at 9 percent, mashed potatoes at 7 percent and cranberry sauce at 2 percent. Surprisingly, 12 percent said that another item of food is No. 1 in their hearts. While stuffing and pie and the top two musts on my Thanksgiving dinner plate, I would love to know what of the rest of you would say – especially the 12 percent who did not choose any of the top five food items as their No. 1 choice. Once again, feel free to weigh in with your own responses below.
While the Thanksgiving day games are still important, neither rivalry made my top 10 list of games for Week 14. They may not always be the biggest Thanksgiving weekend rivalry games, but these games have just that much more on the line in 2013. Take a look at my top 10, and then feel free to let me know which game you are most looking forward to watching over Thanksgiving weekend, especially if it is not one listed below.
10. Duke Blue Devils at North Carolina Tar Heels – Nope, this is not basketball, but this game means a lot on the gridiron this season. A Duke win will place the Blue Devils in the ACC Championship Game against the Florida State Seminoles. A Tar Heels victory would completely open things up in their half of the conference standings. This year’s Victory Bell game means more than most have in recent football history.
9. Arkansas Razorbacks at LSU Tigers – Neither team is going to a BCS Bowl, and only the Tigers will live to play past this weekend. Still, the battle for the Golden Boot always has meaning the day after Thanksgiving, and always makes for an exciting game.
8. Arizona Wildcats at Arizona State Sun Devils – Both teams bring a ton of momentum into this year’s Territorial Cup, with the ‘Cats having just defeated the Oregon Ducks. The Sun Devils will face the Stanford Cardinal in the Pac-12 Championship, so they will hope to enter that contest with another big win under their belt.
7. Oregon State Beavers at Oregon Ducks – The battle for the Platypus Trophy seemed like a much bigger game a month or so ago, but pride is always on the line. The Ducks said they didn’t want to go to another Rose Bowl, and that was taken care of with a blowout loss at the hands of Arizona. A loss here would take them out of the running for the Alamo Bowl, so they really need this game.
6. Florida State Seminoles at Florida Gators – These two often save their best for this game, although I’m not sure what Florida’s best even looks like at this point. The Seminoles know that a win places them one step closer toward playing for the BCS Championship. It should not be a problem.
5. Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Wolverines – Having played since 1897, this game often comes with BCS Bowl Game implications for both teams. That is not the case this season, as only the Buckeyes have a shot at reaching either the BCS Championship Game or Rose Bowl with a win. Michigan will go to a bowl game, but it will not have the letters BCS associated with it.
4. UCLA Bruins at USC Trojans – Another huge game that will feature a pair of Top 25 teams in the latest BCS Standings. Neither team will play for the Pac-12 Championship this year, but the 2013 season is hardly lost. USC has turned things around since firing Lane Kiffin, while UCLA is coming off of a tough defeat against the Stanford Cardinal last Saturday.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Stanford Cardinal – Another big game with two top 25 teams, the Legends Trophy will have much meaning to both. Notre Dame may actually need a win just to get an invitation to any bowl game, even if a BCS bid is not at stake. Stanford needs a win in this one and then can look forward to the Pac-12 title game the following weekend to keep its BCS Bowl Game hopes alive.
2. Clemson Tigers at South Carolina Gamecocks – This year’s Palmetto Bowl features both teams in the top 10, with the Tigers and Gamecocks holding out hope to play in a BCS Bowl Game in January. A Clemson win would all but guarantee that to happen, while South Carolina would need losses by the Missouri and Auburn Tigers this weekend. Still, this game is as big as it has been in quite some time.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide at Auburn Tigers – The 2013 Iron Bowl may go down as the biggest in the history of this game dating back to 1893. It features No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Auburn, where the winner will play for the SEC Championship the following Saturday and also have a very strong chance to play in the BCS Championship Game on January 6. This game is always big, but this year, it is even bigger than normal.
Which of these games would force you to consider skipping Thanksgiving dinner with the family if it took place on Thursday? I’m sure many of you would be tempted to pass on the turkey instead of passing the turkey in order to watch one of these huge Thanksgiving weekend rivalry games!
Make sure that you stay tuned to Boston Super Blog for all of the latest polls and results from the Discover Fan Loyalty Poll. We have got you covered throughout the remainder of the 2013 college football season, leading all the way up to the BCS Championship Game! Make sure to Like Discover on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!
The Discover Fan Loyalty Poll is conducted twice a month by Rasmussen Reports, a nationally recognized leader in polling, who gathers sentiment by phone from 1500 college football fans who follow games at least once per week on television, radio, in person or online. The Poll leads up to the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl. Discover’s commitment to college football includes relationships with ESPN and Notre Dame Football on NBC.
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