Thanksgiving is over, but there’s a big feast ahead: a college football feast this weekend that will set the table for the championship games, and let all of us know what we’ll be seeing in the next month that might be one of the best College Football Playoffs since it was upped to four teams.
It’s the final weekend of the regular season, and this is it – a loser-leaves-town, so to speak, for the teams who won’t be going bowling, the final chance, the last impression, the last game for teams whose seasons will end either Saturday or before.
For teams like the Florida Gators, it’s a chance to ruin a season: a chance to wreck the season of any chance their archrival, the fifth-ranked Florida State Seminoles, have to get back into the playoff conversation.
How about Auburn? You think the Iron Bowl has had intensity before? The Kick Six? That meant a lot. This year would mean a lot, too, if Auburn, who can’t really go much of anywhere. But they would love to rob No. 8 Alabama of getting into the playoff.
Scenarios like that will play out in stadiums all over the country today, especially in Ann Arbor, where there’s the ultimate poker game: the nation’s number two team, Ohio State, riding into the Big House to take on third-ranked Michigan, no coach Jim Harbaugh allowed, to face the third-ranked Wolverines: Big Ten title game, potential CFP berth, and the ultimate bragging rights on the line.
Already this weekend, among ranked teams, we’ve seen No. 6 Oregon take down No. 16 Oregon State, 31-7; No. 7 Texas sailed by Texas Tech, 57-7; No. 9 Missouri demolished Arkansas, 48-14; No. 11 Penn State shut out Michigan State, 42-0, bringing the Spartans’ season to a merciful close; No. 13 Oklahoma beat TCU in a high-scorer, 69-45; No. 17 Iowa edged Nebraska, 13-10; No. 23 Tulane beat Texas-San Antonio, 29-16.
Stakes don’t get any higher than Saturday, folks. Let’s go! Let’s go, right now.
Saturday’s games (Central times listed):
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan, 11 a.m., FOX (Michigan-Ohio State rivalry boils as sign-stealing accusations increase “vitriol” on both sides)
Kentucky at No. 10 Louisville, 11 a.m., ABC (No. 9 Louisville looks to end Governor’s Cup drought against rival Kentucky, complete 11-win season)
Texas A&M at No. 14 LSU, 11 a.m., ESPN (No. 14 LSU’s battle with Texas A&M is QB Jayden Daniels’ last chance to impress Heisman voters)
Indiana at Purdue, 11 a.m. Big Ten Network (Bragging rights at stake as Indiana visits Purdue)
Middle Tennessee State at Sam Houston State, 11 a.m., ESPN+
UConn at UMass, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Pitt at Duke, 11 a.m., ACC Network (Duke looking for first win over Pitt since 2014)
Houston at Central Florida, 11 a.m., Fox Sports 1 (UCF takes on Houston, bids to become bowl eligible)
Navy at Southern Methodist (SMU), 11 a.m., ESPN2
Troy at Southern Miss, 11 a.m., ESPNU
Northern Illinois at Kent State, 11 a.m., ESPN+
Miami (Ohio) at Ball State, 11 a.m., CBS Spors Network
Florida Atlantic at Rice, noon, ESPN+
Wake Forest at Syracuse, 1 p.m., CW Network (After firing, Syracuse eyes bowl eligibility vs. Wake Forest)
Tulsa at East Carolina, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Alabama-Birmingham at North Texas, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Georgia State at Old Dominion at 1 p.m., ESPN+
Western Kentucky at Florida International, ESPN+
Colorado at Utah, 2 p.m., Pac-12 Network (Utah banged up, Colorado in free fall entering finale)
Louisiana Monroe at Louisiana, 2 p.m., ESPN+
San Jose State at UNLV, 2 p.m.
No. 8 Alabama at Auburn, 2:30 p.m., CBS (Jalen Milroe, No. 8 Alabama pose daunting task for Auburn)
No. 15 Arizona at Arizona State, 2:30 p.m., ESPN (Freshman QB, Arizona focus on ASU, still in Pac-12 hunt)
BYU at No. 20 Oklahoma State, 2:30 p.m., ABC (No. 21 Oklahoma State could punch Big 12 title game ticket vs BYU in regular-season finale)
Vanderbilt at No. 21 Tennessee, 2:30 p.m., SEC Network (No. 25 Tennessee Vols have some business to finish as they host skidding Vanderbilt | AP News)
No. 25 Liberty at UTEP, 2:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network (No. 22 Liberty tries to finish 1st perfect regular season in trip to UTEP)
Northwestern at Illinois, 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Northwestern stands between Illinois and one more game)
Wisconsin at Minnesota, 2:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 (Minnesota, in last shot to secure bowl eligibility, faces Wisconsin)
Maryland at Rutgers, 2:30 p.m., Big Ten Network (Maryland, Rutgers aiming to improve bowl positions)
Virginia Tech at Virginia, 2:30 p.m., ACC Network (Virginia, Va. Tech clash for Commonwealth Cup)
Georgia Southern at Appalachian State, ESPNU
James Madison at Coastal Carolina, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2 (No. 24 James Madison looks to get back to winning against Coastal Carolina after season’s first loss)
Arkansas State at Marshall, ESPN+
Washington State at No. 4 Washington, 3 p.m., FOX (No. 4 Washington seeks perfection facing Washington State in final Apple Cup as Pac-12 foes)
Jacksonville State at New Mexico State, 3 p.m., ESPN+
No. 5 Florida State at Florida, 6 p.m., ESPN (No. 5 Florida State, Florida without starting QBs for rivalry game)
No. 18 Notre Dame at Stanford, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network (No. 17 Notre Dame looks to avenge Marcus Freeman’s most disappointing loss in trip to Stanford)
West Viriginia at Baylor, 6 p.m., FOX Sports 1 (West Virginia looking to build bowl momentum at Baylor)
South Alabama at Texas State, 6 p.m., NFL Network
No. 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech, 6:30 p.m., ABC (No. 1 Georgia squares off with history, Georgia Tech)
No. 24 Clemson at South Carolina, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network (No. 24 Clemson vies for supremacy vs. rival in Palmetto Bowl)
Kansas at Cincinnati, 6:30 p.m., ESPN2 (Kansas pivots from loss to rival, turns focus to Cincinnati)
Charlotte at South Florida, 6:30 p.m., ESPNU
Iowa State at No. 19 Kansas State, 7 p.m., FOX (No. 19 Kansas State keeps high hopes in clash vs. Iowa State)
North Carolina at No. 20 North Carolina State, 7 p.m., ACC Network (No. 22 NC State aims to stay hot vs. rival North Carolina)
Wyoming at Nevada, 8 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Cal at UCLA, 9:30 p.m., ESPN (Cal seeks bowl eligibility when it visits UCLA)
Fresno State at San Diego State, 9:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1
Colorado State at Hawai’i, 10 p.m.
Staff picks
Our staff has picked games this entire season, and my daughter, Ashtyn, who is a college student and joined the picks for fun (and we probably shouldn’t have let her), is in the freaking lead. As usual.
Ashtyn has a 128-43 overall record after going 12-3 last week.
I’m right behind her, at a modest 125-46, I might say, and I went 11-4 a week ago.
Correspondent Mitchell Molandes is 124-47, and our photographer, Alex Nabor, is a game back from that, at 123-48. Another one of our correspondents, Shelby Thompson Molandes, checks in at 121-50. My son and staff photographer Jacob Lucas is 119-52. My wife, correspondent, business manager, and wearer of many other hats, Jenna Lucas, is 116-55, and our associate editor Clayton Fletcher, who never saw an upset he didn’t love to pick, is 107-64.
On to the picks.
Ole Miss at Mississippi State was Thursday, and we now know how that turned out. Everyone got that correct – the pick was Ole Miss across the board, and we all got that one right.
TCU at Oklahoma: The Horned Frogs have had a disappointing year, especially after what they did a year ago, backward and not forward in 2023. The pick: OU, all eight of us.
Texas-San Antonio at Tulane: Believe it or not, the pick: All eight of us picked Tulane. I’m surprised. I figured someone would take a flyer on UT-SA.
Missouri at Arkansas: The “Please Don’t Fire Sam Pittman, He’s A Nice Guy” bowl. The Pick: well, Sam’s in trouble if the panel’s right. It’s Missouri, unanimously, 8-0.
Texas Tech at Texas: Hook ‘em, I guess. The pick: No one believed in the Red Raiders. Texas, unanimously, 8-0.
Oregon State at Oregon: I have an assignment, a game today, and I hope like heck I’m back in time to see just the second half of this, to see if Oregon State can hold its own. The pick: Jenna likes OSU, everyone else took the Ducks, so 7-1 Oregon.
Ohio State at Michigan: It’s a split, but not quite even. The pick: Jenna, Jacob and Mitchell are taking the Buckeyes. I almost, almost pulled the trigger, and while I appreciate coach Jim Harbaugh’s talents, I honestly think it’s the crowd that gets this one done. I still think the Wolverines win this one without him. The official pick is 5-3, in favor of Michigan.
Kentucky at Louisville: The Battle of the Bluegrass State. But nobody believes in the Wildcats. That’s a dangerous perspective. I almost took ‘em. Almost, almost, almost. That was the story of my picks this week. I took Louisville instead. The pick: Louisville, unanimously, 8-0.
Texas A&M at LSU: The Aggies fired coach Jimbo Fisher about two weeks ago. That really meant they punted on what was left of this season. Coach Brian Kelly’s team lost to Alabama and for the most part, that meant they punted on what was left of this season, as well, because it was their third loss. Then, they started trying to win quarterback Jayden Daniels the Heisman, leaving him in to run his numbers up (yeah, I said it). Daniels is a good player, but you’re not winning the Heisman by running numbers up against Army and interim coaches and toothless Florida teams. Sorry, Brian. The pick: LSU, save for Mitchell’s pick. So, 7-1 LSU.
Alabama at Auburn: The Crimson Tide have been obliterating teams lately, and Auburn had gotten better – until it shockingly lost at home to a 25-point underdog last week. Don’t let that fool you: Auburn will likely play Alabama very tough on Saturday. Alabama is already in the SEC Title Game against Georgia next weekend. If Alabama can get out of Jordan-Haire (pronounced “Jurden-Aire” for those of you who’ve never been there, seriously) without losing, they’ll battle Georgia to have an automatic ticket into the CFP. And if you think for one minute that the winner of the SEC won’t get into the playoff, you’re out of your mind. I don’t care if they lost to Texas or not. The pick: ‘Bama, unanimously, 8-0.
Arizona at Arizona State: One of those “it would make their season if they beat their rival” games, but I don’t think this one will happen. (That means take all of your money and put it on Arizona State) The pick: Arizona, unanimously, 8-0.
Washington State at Washington: No, just no. The pick: Washington, across the board, 8-0.
Florida State at Florida: We’re going to see right now how good of a coach Mike Norvell is. That might be unfair, but he’s got a lot weighing on his shoulders right now. If the Seminoles can get out of Gainesville with a win… that would be very impressive. The pick: Alex and myself took Florida. Everyone else took FSU, so a 6-2 split.
Georgia at Georgia Tech: I’ve seen enough of Haynes King in my life, including comebacks this year, to know what he’s made of (I personally know Haynes’ father, and covered him a little bit at Longview (Texas) High School, and watched him win a state title at AT&T Stadium). I don’t know that he can pull this one off. It would be wild. He’s the kind of kid that you find yourself rooting for, no matter what the odds. The pick: Georgia, unanimously, but man… just don’t be surprised.
Clemson at South Carolina: The pick: I’m taking South Carolina ONLY because it’s at their place. Everyone else took the Fighting Dabos, so the pick officially is 7-1, and I’m the “one.”
