College football schedule, Week 13: What games to watch, TV times, channels

The best of what's on tap for Rivalry Week on Saturday as college football heads toward the postseason

By Tom Fornelli

Nov 25, 2016 at 7:31 pm ET • 3 min read

It's here. The last real college football Saturday of the season. Oh, there will be games played next Saturday -- including conference championships -- and on the next few Saturdays after, but I'm talking about the college football Saturdays that feature a ton of games from morning through night.

The kind where you turn the television on to start your day, and you can flip back and forth between a multitude of channels for 14 hours and never see a commercial.

Those are real college football Saturdays, and this is the last one of the 2016 season. Do not be sad about it. Instead, cherish every moment you have with it.

Marquee matchups

No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State -- Noon, ABC: I feel like this is a game I probably shouldn't have to sell to you. If you're watching college football this Saturday, and this isn't a game you plan to watch, you're something of a lost cause. It's Ohio State, and it's Michigan. It's two of the top four teams in the nation playing in one of the sport's greatest rivalries. The loser of this game is eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. If Michigan wins, it's playing for a Big Ten title. If Ohio State wins, it becomes the biggest Michigan State fan in the world, as it would need the Spartans to beat Penn State later in the day so the Buckeyes could play for the Big Ten title. Still, even if Ohio State doesn't win the Big Ten, there's a very good chance it could be chosen for the playoff at 11-1. So it's an important game between two really good teams. Think of it as a playoff quarterfinal.

No. 13 Auburn at No. 1 Alabama -- 3:30 p.m., CBS: The Iron Bowl is still the Iron Bowl, even if there isn't nearly as much on the line as you'd have hoped. Alabama has already clinched the SEC West title, and if we're being honest with ourselves, even if Alabama lost this game it would still go to the playoff as long as it wins the SEC title next week. So if Nick Saban really wanted to, he could relive those NFL days and rest his starters in "Week 17" here. He won't, though, because again, it's the Iron Bowl. Sometimes hate is all you need to get motivated, and whether Alabama needs to win this game or not, it wants to win this game. And Auburn wants to win this game. It's going to be a dog fight.

Michigan State at No. 7 Penn State -- 3:30 p.m., ESPN: This could end up being the most important game of the day in the Big Ten, believe it or not. As I mentioned above, there could be a lot on the line here. If Michigan beats Ohio State earlier in the day, then everything is settled. Michigan wins the Big Ten East. If Ohio State wins, however, Penn State finds itself a win over the Spartans away from going to Indianapolis to play for its own Big Ten title, and you have to think winning the conference would give Penn State a great shot at a playoff berth. I mean, it would be an 11-2 Big Ten champion with wins over Ohio State and probably Wisconsin in the title game. And even if Michigan wins, Penn State would still be playing for a possible Rose Bowl berth.

No. 22 Utah at No. 9 Colorado -- 7:30 p.m., Fox: Another important game, this one taking place out west. It's a very simple formula for the Buffaloes. If they beat Utah in this game, they're Pac-12 South champions and will play for a conference title next week. If they lose, USC is your South Division champion. Then Colorado goes from a possible Rose Bowl bid to the Alamo Bowl, and nothing against San Antonio or the lovely folks of the Alamo Bowl, but that's a pretty steep drop-off in terms of prestige.

No. 15 Florida at No. 14 Florida State -- 8 p.m., ABC: Another fantastic rivalry game that should provide plenty of entertainment, but you may not realize there's still a lot on the line here as well. It's a long shot, sure, but if Florida were to beat the Seminoles, and then go on to beat Alabama next week, well, I have a hard time believing the Gators would be left out of the playoff. That's a lot that needs to happen, obviously, and the Gators need to get by the Noles first. That happens to be something Florida's been unable to do since 2012.