A friend of The Jungle, we’ll just call him Brent Hartman, asked over Thanksgiving break why this blog wasn’t posted earlier this week to preview the games on Thursday and Friday. Well, we didn’t forsee Texas and Texas A&M having a record-breaking shootout, or Auburn nearly toppling Alabama, or West Virginia upsetting Pitt. So, the Jungle was wrong, but we are going to fix that mistake right now by previewing Saturday’s games before they get a chance to be played.

NOON

GAME TO WATCH: No. 15 Clemson at South Carolina on ESPN. This is rivalry week, and what better way to kick off this Saturday than a classic Carolna slugfest? South Carolina should watch C.J. Spiller at all times, and that means no blinking. If you blink, Spiller will hurt you. And could this be the Spur-Dog’s last game as Gamecocks’ head coach? He said he’d be back next year, but will he still have the passion after another draining season in Columbia?

GAME TO SWITCH TO DURING COMMERCIALS: No. 20 Ole Miss at Mississippi State on Fox. The Egg Bowl is a classic rivalry, although it seems to be a little one-sided this season. The Bulldogs have played opponents tough at home this season, but don’t expect the Rebels to let up while chasing a second straight Cotton Bowl berth. Translated into Spanish, this rivalry is called Sustantivo de Huevos, which sounds much cooler.

THE OTHERS ARE BLOWOUTS, I WANT TO WATCH A CLOSE ONE: No. 11 Oklahoma State at Oklahoma on FSN (12:30). The Sooners’ free-fall this year has taken a little of the spark out of this rivalry. Oklahoma played in the BCS title game a year ago, now it is hoping a win will cost Oklahoma State a chance at a BCS at-large berth. Oh, how a season can change things.

3:30 P.M.

GAME TO WATCH: Florida State at No. 1 Florida on CBS. No matter how silly Florida’s jerseys are going to look, tune in to this one to see one of the greatest college players of all time, Tim Tebow, play at home for the final time. This could also be ‘Noles coach Bobby Bowden’s final regular-season game. If Bowden does return, at least he won’t ever have to deal with Tebow again.

GAME TO SWITCH TO DURING COMMERCIALS: No. 19 Miami at South Florida on ABC. This game could decide who the best team in Florida is, or at the very least, second best. If the Bulls win, they will have defeated Florida State and Miami in the same season, firmly entrenching them as a force to be reckoned with in the state.

THE OTHERS ARE BLOWOUTS, I WANT TO WATCH A CLOSE ONE: No. 14 Virginia Tech at Virginia on ESPN. tthis game continues the rivalry week tradition, but not the tradition of good college football games.

7:00-8:15 P.M.

GAME TO WATCH: Arkansas at No. 17 LSU on ESPN (7:00). Even though the Tigers have lost some steam, expect this to be a barn-burner. Hopefully, it will be like the game in 2007 that went into overtime. Or any one of the 300 LSU games that went into overtime that season.

GAME TO SWITCH TO DURING COMMERCIALS: Notre Dame at Stanford on ESPN2 (8:15). This could be a rare oppurtunity to see a coach actually get fired during a game. The Irish have made it almost abundantly clear that they will not retain Charlie Weis’ services, but could they actually pull him during the second half?

THE OTHERS ARE BLOWOUTS, I WANT TO WATCH A CLOSE ONE: Georgia at No. 7 Georgia Tech on ABC (8:00). How quickly the tide has turned in this series. The Yellowjackets are actually going to use this game as a tune-up for next week’s ACC Championship game. Never thought that phrase would be uttered.