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This is going to be one of the best college football weekends of the season. It always is.
Thanksgiving weekend is the sport's traditional rivalry weekend, meaning just about every game matters more. Some have Playoff stakes, some have conference stakes, and some just have local hollerin' stakes, but if you only watch a few days of college football per year, this weekend ought to include at least one of them. (I'm speaking hypothetically. I don't know why anyone would only watch a few days of such a sport.)
Below, the Watchability Grid, which arranges the schedule based on a guesstimate of competitiveness, quality, fun, and what else is on at the time, with TV and streaming info for each Division I game.
Thursday is tolerable, Friday is better than just about anyone would've predicted, and Saturday will be one of the best days of the season.
| Watch THIS | Maybe watch this | This is a football game | |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | LSU - Texas A&M ESPN, WatchESPN |
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Buddy, this is No. 5 LSU vs. No. 4 Texas A&M! If you have a time machine, that is! Sure. Watch it. Lots of good players, and two coaches who are just about out of chances to convince people they're long-term solutions. It's either this or the NFL.
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| Watch THIS | Maybe watch this | This is a football game | |
| Noon ET | #20 Houston - Memphis ABC, WatchESPN |
NIU - Kent State CBSSN |
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| NC State - North Carolina ESPN, WatchESPN |
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| 2:30 | Arkansas - Missouri CBS, CBSSports.com |
Buffalo - Bowling Green WatchESPN |
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| 3:30 | #5 Washington - #23 WSU Fox, Fox Sports Go |
#16 Nebraska - Iowa ABC, WatchESPN |
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| #19 Boise State - Air Force CBSSN |
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| TCU - Texas FS1, Fox Sports Go |
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| 4 | LA Tech - Southern Miss ESPNews, WatchESPN |
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| 5 | Toledo - #21 WMU ESPN2, WatchESPN |
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| 6 | Baylor - Texas Tech ESPN, WatchESPN |
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| 8:30 | Cincinnati - Tulsa ESPN2, WatchESPN |
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| 9:30 | Arizona State - Arizona ESPN, WatchESPN |
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Black Friday has only one standout game, and -- wonders never cease -- it's the Apple Cup. We've all joked for two months now that UW-WSU was looking like it'd be important, and it actually happened. The 2008 Crapple Cup has been redeemed.
Many of the other games are fine. Invest in family time Friday night, so you can buy yourself couch time on Saturday. Couch time alongside your family, of course.
| Watch THIS | Maybe watch this | This is a football game | |
| Noon ET | #3 Michigan - #2 Ohio State ABC, WatchESPN |
Kentucky - #11 Louisville ESPN, WatchESPN |
Purdue - Indiana ESPNU, WatchESPN |
| Georgia Tech - Georgia SEC Network, WatchESPN |
Kansas - Kansas State FS1, Fox Sports Go |
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| UCF - USF CBSSN |
Rutgers - Maryland ESPNews, WatchESPN |
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| Virginia - Virginia Tech ESPN2, WatchESPN |
Illinois - Northwestern BTN, BTN2Go |
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| Arkansas State - ULL WatchESPN |
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| 12:30 | Syracuse - Pitt ACC Network, WatchESPN |
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| 2 | Wofford - Charleston Southern WatchESPN |
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| New Hampshire - Lehigh WatchESPN |
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| Richmond - NC A&T WatchESPN |
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| Villanova - St. Francis WatchESPN |
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| Chattanooga - Weber State WatchESPN |
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| 3 | CAU - Illinois State WatchESPN |
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| Boston College - Wake Forest ACC Network, WatchESPN |
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| 3:30 | #13 Auburn - #1 Alabama CBS, CBSSports.com |
#18 WVU - Iowa State FS1, Fox Sports Go |
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| Minnesota - #6 Wisconsin BTN, BTN2Go |
SJSU - Fresno State CBSSN |
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| Michigan State - #7 Penn State ESPN, WatchESPN |
South Alabama - Idaho WatchESPN |
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| Notre Dame - #12 USC ABC, WatchESPN |
Duke - Miami ESPN2, WatchESPN |
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| #25 Navy - SMU ESPNU, WatchESPN |
FIU - ODU WatchESPN |
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| Miss. State - Ole Miss SEC Network, WatchESPN |
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| 4 | Oregon - Oregon State Pac-12 Networks |
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| App State - NMSU WatchESPN |
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| Troy - Texas State WatchESPN |
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| Tulane - UConn ESPNews, WatchESPN |
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| Nevada - UNLV WatchESPN |
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| North Texas - UTEP ConferenceUSA.com |
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| 5 | Grambling - Southern NBCSN, NBCSports.com |
Youngstown State - Samford WatchESPN |
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| 5:30 | FAU - MTSU beIN Sports |
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| 7 | WKU - Marshall ESPNU, WatchESPN |
UCLA - Cal ESPN2, WatchESPN |
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| Charlotte - UTSA CampusInsiders.com |
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| Cal Poly - San Diego WatchESPN |
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| 7:30 | #22 Utah - #9 Colorado Fox, Fox Sports Go |
South Carolina - #4 Clemson ESPN, WatchESPN |
ECU - Temple ESPNews, WatchESPN |
| #17 Tennessee - Vanderbilt SEC Network, WatchESPN |
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| 8 | #15 Florida - #14 FSU ABC, WatchESPN |
Rice - #24 Stanford Pac-12 Networks |
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| 9 | Colorado State - SDSU CBSSN |
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| 10:15 | Wyoming - New Mexico ESPN2, WatchESPN |
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| Utah State - BYU ESPNU, WatchESPN |
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| Midnight | UMass - Hawaii Oceanic PPV |
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I came very close to telling you to watch the Egg Bowl in the middle shift. You would've wisely not listened, probably, but I bet it'll be the most entertaining game of that group. There's a chance all the other meaningful games are blowouts, though if any of them are upsets, they could swing large pieces of the season.
Otherwise, the best parts of the early and late shifts are obvious.
Happy Thanksgiving!