This is it, people. The last few games before bowl season. The conference titles at stake. The drama. The tension. The B1G. The FCS playoffs! The everything.
Full Week 12 college football TV schedule guide: It’s championship week, y’all
The last week of the regular season will see winners crowned in conference races around the country, and we’ll finally know the BCS National Championship’s participants. Also, these games will be great.
John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Note: We’ve removed weeknight games, for your convenience.
Saturday
| 12 p.m. ET | No. 17 Oklahoma, 9-2 | No. 6 Oklahoma State, 10-1 | ABC |
| 12 p.m. ET | No. 16 UCF, 10-1 | SMU, 5-6 | ESPN |
| 12 p.m. ET | Marshall, 9-3 | Rice, 9-3 | ESPN2 |
| 1 p.m. ET | Memphis, 3-8 | UConn, 2-9 | ESPN3.com |
| 1 p.m. ET | Fordham, 12-1 | Towson, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. ET | Tennessee State, 10-3 | Eastern Illinois, 11-1 | ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. ET | New Hampshire, 8-4 | Maine, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. ET | Coastal Carolina, 11-2 | Montana, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 2 p.m. ET | Southern, 8-4 | Jackson State, 8-3 | ESPNU |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | No. 25 Texas, 8-3 | No. 9 Baylor, 10-1 | FOX |
| 3:30 p.m. ET | Furman, 8-5 | North Dakota State, 11-0 | ESPN3.com |
| 4 p.m. ET | No. 5 Missouri, 11-1 | No. 3 Auburn, 11-1 | CBS |
| 4 p.m. ET | South Dakota State, 9-4 | Eastern Washington, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 7 p.m. ET | Jacksonville State, 10-3 | McNeese State, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 7:30 p.m. ET | USF, 2-9 | Rutgers, 5-6 | ESPN2 |
| 7:45 p.m. ET | No. 7 Stanford, 10-2 | No. 11 Arizona State, 10-2 | ESPN |
| 8 p.m. ET | No. 20 Duke, 10-2 | No. 1 Florida State, 12-0 | ABC |
| 8 p.m. ET | UL Lafayette, 8-3 | South Alabama, 5-6 | ESPN3.com |
| 8 p.m. ET | Sam Houston State, 9-4 | Southeast Louisiana, 10-2 | ESPN3.com |
| 8:17 p.m. ET | No. 2 Ohio State, 12-0 | No. 10 Michigan State, 11-1 | FOX |
| 10 p.m. ET | Utah State, 8-4 | No. 23 Fresno State, 10-1 | CBS |
Early shift
Best bet: No. 17 Oklahoma at No. 6 Oklahoma State
Odds: Oklahoma State -10.5
Read more: Oklahoma blog Crimson and Cream Machine and OSU blog Cowboys Ride for Free
Bedlam! And with real oomph behind it! Oklahoma has won nine of the last 10 meetings, but the last time Oklahoma State was in the top 10 it throttled OU, 44-10. A similar whipping may be on tap again, as the Sooners have turned increasingly one-dimensional (and not by choice) with their struggles at QB, while Oklahoma State knows full well it’s one win away from taking the Big 12 crown and riding off to the Fiesta Bowl.
If Oklahoma wins, the afternoon game with Baylor and Texas turns into the unofficial Big 12 championship, so you’d best believe all eyes in Texas will be on this game.
Plan B: UCF at SMU
The second half of the AAC’s endgame features UCF playing to sew up its conference title and spot in the BCS with a trip to SMU. This is not a sure thing, as June Jones has a potent attack down in Dallas, but UCF has gotten through the AAC unblemished (indeed, only top-10 monster South Carolina has beaten UCF, and by a field goal at that) so expect a win here.
Keep it in mind: Marshall at Rice, Conference USA Championship
Most people wouldn’t pay the Conference USA title much mind, but if both teams hit their scoring and yardage averages for the season, we’re looking at over 900 yards and about 75 points on the board by the end of the day. If the other two games are laughers, go for it. We won’t judge.
In case of emergency: Memphis at UConn
No.
Middle shift
No. 5 Missouri vs. No. 3 Auburn, SEC Championship (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)
Odds: Auburn -2
Read more: Mizzou blog Rock M Nation and Auburn blog College and Magnolia
The best, most highly-rated championship game may have no national title implications. Seems stupid, doesn’t it? Oh, for a playoff.
Anyway, it’s a jarringly upstart Missouri against the most charmed team we’ve ever seen in Auburn. You could fill a three-hour broadcast with just highlights from both of their improbable years. But one slip for each—Auburn to LSU and Mizzou at home to South Carolina—has probably done it for their title hopes. But maybe not! Ohio State may yet lose. More on that in a second.
Plan B: No. 25 Texas at No. 9 Baylor
We feel bad for Texas, because if we're being honest, Mack Brown did a really good job turning around a horrendous season, and he deserves more credit than he's going to get on his way out the door (because that's got to be coming). Depending how Bedlam goes in the early game, Texas just might be playing for the Big 12 title and a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. It's the last week of the season and that door is still not closed on the Longhorns. So kudos to Mack Brown for that, since if he finishes 8-4 going into the bowl nobody's really going to care how near a BCS spot was. We care though. We do.
Late shift
Mike Carter, US Presswire
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Michigan State, Big Ten Championship (Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis)
Odds: Ohio State -5.5
Read more: OSU blog Land-Grant Holy Land and MSU blog The Only Colors
The nation’s best rushing offense in yards per carry against the nation’s best rushing defense in total yards and yards per carry. Michigan State’s surprisingly competent offense vs. Ohio State’s surprisingly incompetent defense. Firecracker Urban Meyer against dour Mark Dantonio. This one should be a lot of fun, and Ohio State’s shot at the national championship is at stake.
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Plan B: No. 7 Stanford at No. 11 Arizona State, Pac-12 Championship
The Pac-12's most dynamic defense against one of the most low-key brilliant offenses in the entire nation. Oh, this should be fun. The question here is if Arizona State can stop Stanford and Tyler Gaffney from chewing the Sun Devils to death (Oregon couldn't) and if Stanford can win another shootout like its 42-28 victory over ASU in Week 3. This is a team that has failed to hit 28 points in six of its last seven games, mind you; simply holding ASU to four touchdowns again may not be enough.
Keep it in mind: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 20 Duke, ACC Championship (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte)
You might think the location isn’t really neutral, since Duke is in North Carolina. Thing of it is, though, this is Duke football, and Duke football doesn’t have what you or I would call a (finger quotes) “fan base.” Oh, there are people who show up and cheer. And that’s fine. But given this golden opportunity to mobilize its (finger quotes) “fan base” to try to muscle FSU’s horde out of Bank of America Stadium, Duke will likely underwhelm.
Oh, and FSU is going to bring the thunder on the field too. A conference championship game with a 29-point spread? Yeahhhh. RIP Duke.
In case of emergency: Utah State at No. 23 Fresno State, Mountain West Championship
It’s not for a BCS spot, so you don’t have to watch Fresno State anymore if you don’t want to. QB Derek Carr is fun to watch, but he’s been playing against atrocious secondaries virtually all season long. USU’s back seven is decent, so this one should be competitive, but it’s not really meaningful. So it goes.
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