There were two big rivalry games played in our part of the country last Saturday. Yours truly predicted upsets in both. Here is what happened.

Georgia Tech at Georgia

In 1954 the renowned sportswriter Grantland Rice attempted to select the greatest 4-man backfield in college football history. He selected Sammy Baugh as QB and Bronko Nagurski as FB. If the astute Mr. Rice were making his selections in Athens last Saturday, he may have considered Tech running backs Roddy Jones and Jonathan Dwyer for the other two backfield spots. Rice actually selected Jim Thorpe and Red Grange, but these all-time greats had few better days than the Yellow Jacket tandem who piled up 358 yards and 4 touchdowns as they ripped the Red and Black defense to shreds and overshadowed a superb five touchdown pass performance by Dawg QB Matthew Stafford. Final score: Tech 45-Georgia 42.

South Carolina at Clemson

(With apologies to the late Grantland Rice)

Raining down from a gray November sky Thunder and Lightning combined to form a perfect storm that swept away the Garnet and Black hordes who dared to invade Death Valley last Saturday. Thunder and Lightning are only aliases, however. Their real names are James Davis and C.J. Spiller and they combined for 177 rushing yards behind a vastly improved Clemson line. The dynamic duo hauled in five Cullen Harper passes for an additional 52 yards and Davis thundered into the end zone for three touchdowns.

It was a cold dark day for South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier, a/k/a Evil Genius, and an exhilarating victory for Tiger interim head coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson upset nationally ranked USC 31-14 as the "perfect storm" washed away much of the agony endured by Clemson faithful this season.

With the regular season now "in the books" we focus our attention on the SEC & ACC title games.

SEC Championship, Atlanta, Georgia

The national title game in January won't be a better match-up than this one on December 5. Undefeated Alabama faces once beaten Florida for all the SEC marbles. "Game of the Century" is an over-used phrase, but the upcoming battle in the Dome certainly falls into that category. Nick Saban's fundamentally sound, smash mouth Tide squares off against Urban Meyer's sleek, speedy Gators. Florida's offense has averaged almost a point per minute since the one loss to Ole Miss. Bama's rugged defense can be immovable. Florida needs to score early because the Tide usually does and then the Crimson defense digs in to thwart an opponent's comeback bid. The Gator defense has been overlooked by many analysts, but it is one of the best in the nation. Florida All-American QB Tim Tebow may be a huge factor and if the defense can slow down Bama's vaunted rushing attack, the Gators should prevail. Florida by 6.

ACC Championship, Tampa, Florida

Virginia Tech takes on Boston College for the conference title for the second consecutive year. This should be a tough, defensive struggle with the winner securing an Orange Bowl berth. Both the Hokies and the Eagles have experienced up and down seasons. Tech's defense should be the difference as Coach Beamer's charges grab another ACC championship. Virginia Tech by 4.