Turkey Weekend Takeaways

Thanksgiving weekend means many different things to many people. To some, it is a time to reconnect with out-of-town relatives and tell wonderful stories about the past year. To others, it's a time show off their next great recipe or finally get a taste of their favorite traditional family sidedish.

Then to some, Thanksgiving is a time to avoid small talk at all costs and avoid pressing questions like, "What are you going to do with your life?" or "What did you think about Trump's last tweet?" or my personal favorite: "Wow Mitch, you sure do know a lot about sports. Hey, by the way, have you even interacted with a girl in the past year?" Most college-aged Americans seem to fall in the latter category -- with exception to the oddly-specific last question.

However, thanks to the wonderful introduction of inventions like smartphones, flat screen TVs and syndicated programming, the less socially-inclined can find recluse on a comfortable spot on the couch and lounge around watching football all weekend.

This Thanksgiving was gracious in the amount of quality football provided from Thursday to Sunday and provided more than enough talking points to carry a conversation through commercial breaks. So, without further ado, I'd like to introduce my two favorite talking points from Thanksgiving weekend:

Auburn Shuts Down Alabama 26-14 in the Iron Bowl

In what surprisingly amounted to one of the least exciting games of the day, Auburn put away the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide with ease. Despite a couple of half-hearted drives by Alabama at the end of the game, Auburn's firm grasp on the game was never in doubt.

Sophomore QB Jarrett Stidham showed a great deal of poise carrying the Tigers past Alabama and set up Auburn for a date with destiny against the Georgia Bulldogs in next week's SEC Championship Game. Hopefully, the trip to Atlanta is a bit easier for Auburn fans than storming the field on Saturday night. Ideally, there won't be any hedges or shrubs blocking their way on I-85.

For Alabama, there are suddenly questions arising about the legitimacy of their College Football Playoff resume. With this loss to Auburn, Alabama's only key wins this season have been a close victory over a mediocre Mississippi State team on the road, a solid home win over the unimpressive LSU Tigers and a Week One victory over what has turned out to be a very disappointing Florida State team. While a loss to a Top-5 team is not a death blow for Alabama's title hope, it's certainly quite a gut punch.

Without a conference championship game to fall back on, Alabama will have to sit idle and allow its fate to sit in the hands of the College Playoff Committee.

Ohio State Beats Michigan... Again

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Despite spotting the Wolverines 14 early points in the first quarter, the Ohio State Buckeyes once again beat the Michigan Wolverines for the 12th time in 13 years. Even after losing veteran QB JT Barrett to a knee injury in the 3rd quarter, the Buckeyes' defense and solid running game were able to end the game on a 17-0 scoring run and move Urban Meyer's career record against the Wolverines to 6-0.

On the other side of the equation, Jim Harbaugh's career record against Ohio State moved to 0-3. Questions have begun to arise about Harbaugh's lackluster performance in big games during his three-year tenure, but personally, I believe these questions are unwarranted.

Michigan was literally and figuratively inches away from winning last year's matchup against Ohio State and the Wolverines' 8-4 record this season is just as impressive when you consider the amount of talent the Wolverines lost to the NFL this season. With highly touted freshman QB Dylan McCaffrey set to take over the reins next year, Harbaugh and Michigan should be just as solid of a threat next year.

All jokes aside, Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year to meet with family and be grateful for the various blessings in our lives. Even sitting around and watching football has become a tradition in itself. I hope all readers had a very relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving and look forward to many more.

Questions, comments, accusations that I am biased against your favorite team? E-mail me at hausfemj@miamioh.edu!