A Sports Filled Weekend Ahead

The college football fun starts early this weekend. Get that heiner in the recliner now!

Friday night brings us the start of a glorious stretch of conference championship games. The party begins with No. 8 Colorado (10-2) meeting No. 4 Washington (11-1) in Santa Clara, Calif. The Huskies bounced back from their only loss with a pair of convincing wins and will surely be part of the four-team college football playoff if they beat the Buffaloes. FOX will air this at 9 p.m. ET.

Saturday’s SEC championship pits No. 1 Alabama (12-0) against No. 15 Florida (8-3) in Atlanta. Bama can play some defense; so can Florida, but the Gators can’t score. CBS, 4 p.m.

Two good ones Saturday evening, so keep the clicker close at hand.

No. 3 Clemson (11-1) takes on No. 23 Virginia Tech for the ACC title in Orlando at 8 p.m. on ABC. The Tigers will seal a spot in the football final four with a win.

The Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis pits No. 6 Wisconsin (10-2) against No. 8 Penn State (10-2) on FOX at 8 p.m. This is the game that could make the final CFP rankings interesting because Ohio State (11-1) is currently No. 2 but did not win its Big Ten division and will not be the Big Ten champion, with its lone loss to Penn State.
Let’s throw in some NFL games so Sunday is not wasted.

At 4:05 p.m. on CBS, two longtime playoff absentees try to further their cause when the Buffalo Bills (6-5, winners of their last two) visit the AFC West-leading Oakland Raiders (9-2, winners of five straight). The Raiders last made the playoffs in 2002, the Bills in 1999.

The New York Giants (8-3, five straight wins) hope to keep pace with the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East and must go to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers (6-5). The Steelers have won their last two. FOX gets this one at 4:25 p.m.

Football, football, football. So we have a one-track mind. It’s the right track.

Watch responsibly.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman