Each week, the Watch Grid attempts to sort the college football schedule by watchability.
Hello, welcome to the best weekend any single sport has to offer annually. I will not listen to any argument otherwise.
Not only is Hate Week filled with postseason stakes, it’s got the more important stuff too: deep, immediate animosity on a familial level. Just for the extreme example, have you thought about how many people’s whole worlds will be shattered by the result of Michigan-Ohio State this year? I’ve never more looked forward to observing other people’s problems.
Weekly, the Watch Grid attemps to sort your college football viewing experience by watchability. That’s easy this week, because the majority of games have ancient grudges to be settled by teenagers, so just try to watch everything!
Thanksgiving college football schedule
Colorado State at Air Force (3:30 ET, CBSSN) is football, and there’s allegedly NFL stuff all over your screen, but all right-thinking Americans consider this Egg Bowl Day (7:30, ESPN). Last year’s meanest, sloppiest game again has almost no stakes beyond half a state pouting itself to sleep on a holiday, and that’s just the way we like it.
Black Friday college football schedule
| Time (p.m. ET) | WATCH THIS | Maybe watch | It's football |
| Noon | Houston at Memphis, ABC | #14 Texas at Kansas, FS1 | Akron at Ohio, CBSSN |
| - | - | Nebraska at Iowa, Fox | Buffalo at Bowling Green, ESPNU |
| - | - | - | CMU at Toledo, WatchESPN |
| - | - | - | EMU at Kent State, WatchESPN |
| 2:30 | - | Arkansas at Missouri, CBS | - |
| 3 | - | - | Coastal Carolina at South Alabama, ESPN+ |
| 3:30 | - | - | East Carolina at Cincinnati, CBSSN |
| 3:30 | Virginia at Virginia Tech, ABC | - | - |
| 4 | - | #9 UCF at USF, ESPN | Oregon at Oregon State, FS1 |
| 8 | - | #6 Oklahoma at #13 West Virginia, ESPN | - |
| 8:30 | #16 Washington at #8 Washington State, Fox | - | - |
Another reason this week is so great: Imagine most of this stuff being buried on Saturday. Instead, we get something pretty close to TWO Saturdays.
For anyone upset about the Big 12 Pre-Championship being relegated to the second tier, I hear you. However, Watch Grid protocols decree only one game may be WATCH THIS at any point in time, because persons who possess single television screens might be incapable of having two on. The decisive factor: the Apple Cup is a heated rivalry. OU-WVU is not.
Saturday, Nov. 24 college football schedule
| Time (p.m. ET) | WATCH THIS | Maybe watch | It's football |
| Noon | #4 Michigan at #10 Ohio State, Fox | Georgia Tech at #5 Georgia, SECN | WKU at Louisiana Tech, CBSSN |
| - | - | #11 Florida at Florida State, ABC | Navy at Tulane, ESPNU |
| - | - | #20 Syracuse at Boston College, ESPN | - |
| - | - | Baylor at Texas Tech, FS1 | - |
| - | - | Marshall at FIU, Stadium | - |
| - | - | Purdue at Indiana, ESPN2 | - |
| - | - | NC State at North Carolina, ACCN | - |
| 12:30 | - | Wake Forest at Duke, ACCN | - |
| 1 | - | - | Old Dominion at Rice, ESPN+ |
| 2 | - | Georgia Southern at Georgia State, ESPN+ | New Mexico State at Liberty, WatchESPN |
| - | - | Elon at Wofford, WatchESPN | Duquesne at Towson, WatchESPN |
| - | - | Stony Brook at SEMO, WatchESPN | - |
| 2:30 | - | Troy at Appalachian State, ESPN+ | Wyoming at New Mexico, MWC |
| 3 | - | UL Lafayette at ULM, ESPN+ | Southern Miss at UTEP, ESPN+ |
| - | - | UAB at MTSU, WatchESPN | UIW at Montana State, WatchESPN |
| - | - | Stanford at UCLA, P12N | Delaware at JMU, WatchESPN |
| 3:30 | - | Auburn at #1 Alabama, CBS | Illinois at #19 Northwestern, BTN |
| - | - | Maryland at #12 Penn State, ABC | SMU at Tulsa, CBSSN |
| - | - | #24 Pitt at Miami, ESPN | Temple at UConn, ESPNU |
| - | - | Arizona State at Arizona, FS1 | - |
| - | - | Minnesota at Wisconsin, ESPN2 | - |
| 4 | - | Tennessee at Vanderbilt, SECN | Arkansas State at Texas State, WatchESPN |
| - | - | - | Rutgers at Michigan State, Fox |
| - | - | - | San Diego at Nicholls, WatchESPN |
| 5 | - | Grambling vs. Southern, NBCSN | Lamar at Northern Iowa, WatchESPN |
| 6 | - | - | Charlotte at FAU, Stadium |
| 7 | - | South Carolina at #2 Clemson, ESPN | #15 Kentucky at Louisville, ESPN2 |
| - | - | Kansas State at #25 Iowa State, FS1 | San Jose State at Fresno State, ESPNU |
| - | - | Colorado at Cal, P12N | - |
| 7:30 | #7 LSU at #22 Texas A&M, SECN | - | ETSU at Jacksonville State, WatchESPN |
| 8 | - | #3 Notre Dame at USC, ABC | - |
| - | - | Oklahoma State at TCU, Fox | - |
| 9:30 | - | - | Nevada at UNLV, CBSSN |
| 10 | #21 Utah State at #23 Boise State, ESPN | BYU at #17 Utah, FS1 | - |
| 10:30 | - | Hawaii at San Diego State, ESPNU | - |
Ohio State fans enter Saturday knowing they’re the underdogs, their seven-year winning streak very well might end, their head coach isn’t exactly guaranteed to be around next year, their defense is bad, Michigan’s defense is great, that a loss would ruin most of their beloved Jim Harbaugh memes, and that a loss would likely mean their eternal archrivals in the Playoff.
And they’re the side with the psychological advantage.
What a great game. I love it. Everything that follows is pretty good, including a decent FCS game or two (you don’t have to pay much attention to the FCS playoffs until round two), but the ocean of agony that consumes one or another entire state based on the result of Michigan-Ohio State will define the weekend and much of the season.
Good luck to your team against those people who are exactly like you who are nothing like you. Here are this week’s S&P+ picks.