I decided, apparently, that we’d had enough fun with Don’t Watch This; Watch That for 2025. It is officially CLOSED—you have been told What to Watch and What Not to Watch enough—so now, in honor of Championship Saturday, I expect that you will know to make the right decisions. Choose wisely, because there are a number of interesting matchups today.
Friday Recaps
- Kennesaw State Owls 19, Jacksonville State Gamecocks 15: That the Owls and Gamecocks have both emerged from FCS in the last five years and now sit atop Conference USA is, to my mind, a point that promotion and relegation would suit college football—at least its lower ranks. Build a program in the lower ranks, and then burst through ready to beat the New Mexico States and FIUs of the world, remanding them to the underworld and, thus, giving them time to rebuild.
- Boise State Broncos 38, UNLV Rebels 21: Sigh. Believing in you was our only mistake, Rebels. Boise wins another title thanks to the computer criteria putting them here.
- #25 James Madison Dukes 31, Troy Trojans 14: The fun part: because the Dukes avoided a loss here, they keep themselves in contention—if Virginia loses to Duke today, the five highest-ranked conference champions would, as of now, be [B1G], [SEC], [Big XII], #20 Tulane, #25 James Madison. This wasn’t salted away until the fourth quarter, meaning JMU might be at risk of being jumped by Boise State in the rankings. Also, their fans did this, which is hilarious:
- #20 Tulane Green Wave 34, #24 North Texas Mean Green 21: The AAC play-im ngame resulted in a Tulane win. The Green Wave dominated the line of scrimmage and did enough on defense to make it a long day for Drew Mestemaker and the Mean Green. They’re in the CFP! Congrats to the Green Wave.
B1G Championship
#2 Indiana Hoosiers vs. #1 Ohio State Buckeyes 7pm
| FOX | OSU -4 | O/U 47.5
All the Rest (Championship Edition)
#11 BYU Cougars vs. #4 Texas Tech Red Raiders
11am | ABC | TTU -12.5 | O/U 49.5
Miami Hydroxide RedHawks vs. Western Michigan Broncos
11am | ESPN | WMU -1.5 | O/U 43.5
#3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #9 Alabama Crimson Tide
3pm | ABC | UGA -1.5 | O/U 48.5
Duke Blue Devils vs. #17 Virginia Cavaliers
7pm | ABC | UVA -3.5 | O/U 57.5
FCS Playoffs
- Villanova Wildcats at Lehigh Mountain Hawks [11am, ESPN+]
- South Dakota Coyotes at Mercer Bears [11am, ESPN+]
- Illinois State Redbirds at North Daktoa State Clown Car Repair and Pie-in-the-Face Baking School Bizon [12pm, ESPN+]
- North Dakota “Let’s just agree to not ask questions about Ralph’s Collections” Fighting Hawks at Tarleton State Purple Poos [12pm, ESPN+]
- {SWAC Championship} Prairie View A&M Panthers at Jackson State Tigers [1pm, ESPN2]
- Abilene Christian Wildcats at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks [1pm, ESPN+]
- Yale Bulldogs at Montana State Bobcats [1pm, ESPN+]
- South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Montana Grizzlies [1pm, ESPN+]
- Rhode Island Rams at UC Davis Aggies [9pm, ESPN2]
Here’s your open thread for the day. Enjoy the games.
