College football TV schedule: Why Big Ten and Big 12 games are must-see TV
Clemson maintained the top spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) poll this week, followed by Alabama, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Iowa and Oklahoma State, a pair of undefeated teams, are fifth- and sixth-ranked, respectively. The top four teams in the poll on Dec. 6 will advance to the College Football playoffs.
With Ohio State and Oklahoma State in the top six, games this weekend involving those and other teams in both the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences could help determine the final CFP playoff picture.
Looking at Saturday's schedule of games involving CFP poll teams, 21st-ranked Memphis travels to Philadelphia to face Temple, which has fallen out of the polls. The Owls, however, lead the East division of the American Athletic Conference with a 5-1 mark. You can watch Temple and the Tigers kicking off at noon Eastern time on ESPNU.
No. 8 Florida, who has already clinched the Southeastern Conference East division title, has a non-conference game against Florida Atlantic at noon on the ESPN SEC Network.
North Carolina, ranked 17th, hopes to keep its dream of reaching the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game alive when it faces Virginia Tech, also at noon, on ESPN.
In the Big Ten, fifth-ranked Iowa, at 10-0, is one spot out of the College Football Playoff pool. The Hawkeyes will host Purdue at noon on ESPN2.
With longtime rival Ohio State lurking on the schedule next Saturday, No. 12 Michigan will try not to look ahead by playing at Penn State. Saturday's game is at noon Eastern on ABC.
Florida State plays Florida in one week. In the meantime, the 14th-ranked Seminoles will host Chattanooga at 3 p.m. Eastern. This game will be live-streamed on ESPN3.
Houston remains unbeaten at 10-0. The 19th-ranked Cougars travel to Hartford to take on Connecticut at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
No. 15 LSU will try to snap a two-game losing streak at No. 22 Mississippi, a game you can watch on CBS, also at 3:30.
Top-ranked Clemson is back at home this weekend, facing Wake Forest at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
No. 13 Utah will host UCLA Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on Fox.
Northwestern, ranked 20th in the CFP poll, travels to No. 25 Wisconsin for a 3:30 p.m. game on the Big Ten Network.
The game of the day has third-ranked Ohio State hosting No. 9 Michigan State in a contest that will go a long way in helping to determine the Big Ten champion. This game will also kick off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.
No. 24 USC goes north to Oregon to face the 23rd-ranked Ducks at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.
With arch rival Auburn one week away, No. 2 Alabama warms up with Charleston Southern at 4 p.m. Eastern on the ESPN SEC Network.
Saturday night at 7 p.m. Eastern, No. 16 Navy hopes to continue its winning ways with a road trip to Tulsa. You can watch this game on the CBS Sports Network.
Fourth-ranked Notre Dame and Boston College will renew their almost annual series Saturday night, this time playing at the historic home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park. This game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Eastern and will be broadcast on NBC.
Now, to the Big 12 Conference, and two games which will help determine its champion. First, at 7:30 p.m. on Fox, No. 6 Oklahoma State, unbeaten with a league mark of 7-0, will host tenth-ranked Baylor, who is 5-1.
Then, at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC, No. 7 Oklahoma will host 18th-ranked TCU.
Finally, No. 11 Stanford will host arch rival California in the "Big Game." This game will be televised on ESPN, beginning at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
