It’s hard to be thankful this year.
I don’t need to recite everything that’s happened. That would be repetitive. You’ve lived through it. You still are. You know.
Due to *gestures wildly at entirety of 2020* this, many of us are separate during a time of year when our families usually come together. This is no laughing matter. Bright spots are sometimes hard to find.
But, and I say this with the utmost seriousness, at least we have football.
Our great American sport’s professional league has a Thanksgiving tradition all its own that usually involves the nation making themselves watch the Lions and the Cowboys outperforming expectations no matter how high the bar. But I’m talking about college football.
Thanksgiving Week usually marks Rivalry Week, when the most bitter and fun yearly matchups happen, usually with trophies and glory on the line. There’s a few of those this year. But it also means the season’s almost over, and bowls will soon begin.
Not this year, though.
2020 holds a little gift for us. We get a few more, extra weeks of football after this one. And like I said, I’ll take the bright spots where I can get them.
So this year, I’m thankful for the shambling catastrophe that was the various football conferences’ attempts to schedule their season in (sigh) these crazy times. It means we can enjoy college football a tad longer than usual.
Below, though, I’ll break down this week’s schedule, letting you know the best games to watch and where you can find them.
Feel free to give me a follow on Twitter. You’ll get betting picks (#BetOnIt), helpful rankings of every Power-5 conference team (#TierRankings), and updates from my data-driven algorithm that’s correctly predicted the College Football Playoff every year (#PlayoffEliminator). Plus, all the college football news you need.
Two rules: if your team’s on just ignore what I have to say and put ’em on the Big Screen. And all times below are in God’s Time Zone (CST).
FRIDAY
The fun kicks off a day early, and I mean REALLY kicks off. Iowa State vs. Texas (11a, ABC) has serious conference-title and bowl-season implications, as the Cyclones are basically the last chance the Big 12 has to get a team into the Playoff. Tom Herman can play spoiler, and doing so might just save his job. Notre Dame vs. North Carolina (2:30p, ABC) comes along after that, an ACC clash between two top-tier teams. I’ll take the opposite of the usual position and say this game is more important to the Tar Heels, who can get some great momentum by showing up against the Irish. So far they’ve been inconsistent. Then at night: CIVIL WAR!!! (The good kind!) Oregon vs. Oregon State (6:30p, ESPN) have dropped that moniker that previously referred to their rivalry game but I do not care. It’s fun, it’s tradition, and I will use it. Fight me. (Please don’t fight me.)
SATURDAY
MORNING
Big Screen: Maryland vs. Indiana (11a, ESPN2) leads off what I’m affectionately terming “Sleepy Saturday,” due to both turkey notoriously putting people to sleep and the simple fact that a lot of these games have the potential for one team to sleepwalk in and get upset by the other. Case in point: Indiana has looked incredible, beyond what was expected. But Maryland’s already shown flashes of awesomeness under Taulia Tagovailoa (yes, Tua’s younger brother). If the Hoosiers are still suffering from bruised ego after their loss to the Buckeyes last week, the Terps could eat their lunch.
Small Screen: I’m sorry about this. Penn State vs. Michigan (11a, ABC) will be an absolute disaster and I could not resist putting it here. Let me paint you a picture. The Nittany Lions are the first team to EVER – in college football history – to start the season 0-5 after being ranked in the top ten before the season started. And the Wolverines? They took multiple overtimes to squeak by Rutgers last week. RUTGERS. This game will basically be America’s Funniest Home Videos in football form: filled with hilarious and embarrassing pratfalls you can’t look away from, committed by people who should know better.
Watch the Score: Kent State vs. Buffalo (11a, CBSSN)
AFTERNOON
Big Screen: If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching college football, it’s that Alabama’s football team is an uncaring soulless machine that will grind whatever is in front of it to pieces unless the thing in front of it is a Tiger of some variety. Auburn vs Alabama (2:30p, CBS) has a touch more intrigue than the average Iron Bowl: the Tide will lack Nick Saban on the sideline due to The Virus (yes, that virus). Will that bother Bama at all? Probably not! (But I’m telling you there’s a chance, because Tigers.)
Small Screen: Colorado vs. USC (2:30p, ABC) is a clash between undefeated teams that really shouldn’t be, and I’m selfishly hoping both teams lose at some point because I don’t think any PAC-12 team deserves a Playoff spot this year. Not only did the whole conference start the season WAY late with nary a peep of protest from any member institution, every single team not named Oregon is a trash fire. Still, brightly burning objects are interesting to watch when you’re bored. And we have yet another upset opportunity for the Buffs to surprise the vulnerable Trojans.
Watch the Score: Mississippi State vs. Ole Miss (3p, SECN), San Jose State vs. Boise State (3p, FOX)
NIGHT
Big Screen: LSU vs. Texas A&M (6p, ESPN) went to seven OTs a few years ago. Remember that? It probably won’t happen this year because the Bayou Bengals are surprisingly awful and the Aggies are surprisingly excellent, but we can keep our fingers crossed.
Small Screen: With OU/West Virginia canceled, Utah vs. Washington (6:30p, ABC) is a nice diversion. The Utes can’t possibly be as bad as they looked against USC . . . can they?
That’s it! Again, if you want to keep up with news and picks follow me on Twitter here, and otherwise, happy watching!
(And happy Thanksgiving.)