10 College Football Games Perfect for Prime-Time TV in 2016
College football and prime time are the perfect marriage. As the game and the television coverage surrounding it have grown, national television doesn’t mean what it once did. With multiple television outlets broadcasting games simultaneously, the cache of being broadcast coast to coast has decreased.
However, prime-time games are still pretty darn special. College football under the lights gives games a spotlight that is truly meaningful and worthy of an all-day buildup by media and rabid fans alike. Prime time is the right time. It’s still important.
College football programmers know this, and they’ve increasingly shifted their best games to prime time via ABC, ESPN and other national networks. Here are 10 games that would be perfect in prime time this fall. They were chosen for their histories and potential impacts on the College Football Playoff picture.
Alabama at LSU
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If you’re weary of college football games that inevitably devolve into pass-first, defense-optional shootouts, 55-51 affairs where the last team to hold the ball has the best chance of winning, Alabama-LSU is your kind of rivalry.
The Crimson Tide and Tigers are SEC West mirror images. Both rely on strong running games and nasty defenses with hard hits applied all over the field. When Alabama and LSU meet, points are at a premium, and the stakes are often high, with SEC and national title implications regularly hanging in the air.
The games are hard-fought, too. Of the last dozen meetings, seven have been decided by a touchdown or less, and four have gone to overtime.
This rivalry has become a favorite of network programmers, which have made it a regular on prime-time schedules. Alabama’s visit to LSU Nov. 5 should be no different. It’ll likely be meaningful, and with an entire day to get ready, Tiger Stadium will be particularly raucous.
TCU at Baylor
2 of 10
You might not realize it, but TCU-Baylor is one of college football’s oldest and most competitive rivalries. The series dates back to 1899 and covers 111 meetings. How close is it? It’s tied at 52-52-7 following TCU’s double-overtime victory last November. The private Christian universities played 69 times as members of the old Southwest Conference, and TCU’s inclusion in the Big 12 has given the rivalry some extra juice.
Both teams feature fast-paced spread offenses, which has led to some defense-optional shootouts. In 2013, Baylor prevailed 41-38, and a year later, the Bears used a furious comeback for a 61-58 win that was ultimately TCU’s only regular-season defeat. Last fall, rainy weather and injuries tamped down the pace as TCU took a 28-21 double-OT win.
However, if both teams have healthy quarterbacks, their Nov. 5 meeting should have a major impact on the Big 12 title race. It’s a game worthy of the nation’s attention, without question.
Clemson at Florida State
3 of 10
The ACC has proved over the last three seasons that it is a force to be reckoned with in college football. The league has a national championship and a pair of College Football Playoff appearances, and it has Clemson and Florida State to thank. The Tigers are coming off a 14-1 season as the national runner-up, and the Seminoles had a BCS national title and a CFP appearance of their own before that.
The two teams have dominated the ACC and the ACC Atlantic over the last seven seasons. Since 2009, the winner of Clemson-Florida State has represented the Atlantic in the ACC title game, and Clemson and FSU have combined to win the last five ACC titles.
2016 should be no different. With quarterback Deshaun Watson and nine offensive starters returning, the Tigers should be the favorites to win another ACC championship and make the College Football Playoff again. But Florida State won’t roll over easily. Clemson’s Oct. 29 visit to Tallahassee will be must-see TV. It’s the kind of game that deserves a day of buildup and the prime-time stage. Here’s hoping it gets that.
Florida State vs. Ole Miss
4 of 10
In recent years, Labor Day has become a perfect showcase for college football. The NFL and Monday Night Football are still a week away from roaring to life, and the rest of the first week of the college regular season is done. ESPN places a buzzworthy game on Monday night (like Ohio State-Virginia Tech last fall), and the nation tunes in to watch.
Florida State-Ole Miss fits that mold. Both teams are coming off 10-win seasons and appearances in New Year’s Six bowl games, and both have their sights set higher in 2016. FSU returns all 11 starters on offense, including tailback and Heisman Trophy candidate Dalvin Cook. Ole Miss brings back only eight starters, but that includes freewheeling quarterback Chad Kelly, one of the nation’s most prolific passers and fresh off throwing for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2015.
Orlando, Florida’s renovated Citrus Bowl is an excellent setting for this game, and it should have a tremendous prime-time spotlight.
Michigan at Michigan State
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While it doesn’t have the cache of Michigan-Ohio State, Michigan-Michigan State is gaining prominence as a rivalry worth watching. 2015 had plenty to do with that. The Spartans have won seven of the teams’ last eight meetings, including three consecutive. But that almost wasn’t the case.
With just seconds remaining, Michigan led the Spartans 23-21 and needed only a successful punt to secure a victory over its rival. Instead, Michigan State took a muffed punt back for a stunning touchdown and a 27-23 win in the Big House.
The teams will meet again Oct. 29 when Michigan visits Spartan Stadium. An evening kickoff would give Spartans fans extra time to replay the punt repeatedly and give Wolverines fans more time to be angry and primed for a showdown under the lights.
Michigan at Ohio State
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In the 1970s, Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes waged what was known as the 10-Year War. Michigan and Ohio State have always been fierce rivals, but the competition went to another level when Schembechler faced off against his mentor, Hayes. Michigan won the 10-Year War 5-4-1, but the games were noted for their intensity and animosity between the two sides.
Nearly 40 years later, another intense battle is on the horizon. Head coach Urban Meyer has restored Ohio State to national prominence, going 50-4 with a national title in his first four seasons. Jim Harbaugh is on track to match his southern rival. In his first season as head coach at his alma mater, Harbaugh took a team that went 5-7 in 2014 and fashioned a 10-3 record.
With strong recruiting and relentless energy, Michigan is rocketing back toward national relevance. Harbaugh has not been shy about firing barbs at the Buckeyes through his Twitter account, and even though Ohio State rolled the Wolverines 42-13 last fall, this rivalry should only get hotter.
Michigan-Ohio State has traditionally been a noon kickoff, and Michigan’s visit to Ohio Stadium Nov. 26 will likely be no different. But a prime-time start would kick the intensity up a notch or four, and it’d be fun to see.
Notre Dame at Southern California
7 of 10
Notre Dame’s schedule has gone through some upheaval following its scheduling alliance with the ACC, with Michigan among the traditional rivals being tossed to the side in favor of four to five ACC games per season. Southern California has remained as a mainstay, and with good reason. The Fighting Irish and Trojans have one of the nation’s best traditional rivalries, although Notre Dame has the upper hand with wins in four of the last six meetings.
2016 should be another epic chapter. While both programs enter fall dealing with quarterback uncertainty, both should be fixtures in the Top 15. And by the time Notre Dame visits the Trojans on Nov. 26, the Irish will have sorted out DeShone Kizer versus Malik Zaire, as USC will have figured out Max Browne versus Sam Darnold.
There is an excellent chance that this Thanksgiving weekend showdown will have an impact on the College Football Playoff. It’s a perfect choice for an under-the-lights showcase at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Ohio State at Oklahoma
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In the College Football Playoff era, nonconference scheduling is crucial. A 12-0 record in a Power Five league will likely earn you a playoff berth, but any misstep along the way will leave teams sweating. That’s why strength of schedule, which gives the playoff selection committee a way to judge teams, is so important. One way to control that? Scheduling marquee out-of-league games.
That makes Ohio State’s Sept. 17 trip to Oklahoma particularly intriguing. Only a 17-14 loss to Michigan State separated the Buckeyes from a second consecutive playoff berth, and Oklahoma made the playoff as the Big 12 champion before falling to Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Head coach Urban Meyer will bring a young team with just eight returning starters to Norman for the beginning of a home-and-home series. Meanwhile, quarterback Baker Mayfield and a talented OU offense hope to prove that 2015 was no fluke. This will be an excellent early-season national barometer and a game that should have no shot at beginning before 7 p.m. Central time.
Stanford at Notre Dame
9 of 10
Stanford-Notre Dame is one of college football’s more underrated rivalries. The teams have met annually since 1988, and the Cardinal’s recent rise to prominence under Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw has given it some extra oomph. The teams have met as Top 25 foes in each of the last five seasons, and expect that trend to continue this fall.
This has been a tightly contested series as well. Each of the last four games has been decided by a touchdown or less, including Stanford’s 38-36 win last season, which the Cardinal clinched on a final-play field goal.
When Stanford visits Notre Dame Oct. 15, the game could carry national and College Football Playoff implications. Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey is the nation’s returning all-purpose-yard leader and one of college football’s most exciting players.
Meanwhile, no matter if DeShone Kizer or Malik Zaire starts under center, the Fighting Irish should have a versatile, talented offense. This is certainly a game worthy of the spotlight NBC and Notre Dame Stadium’s lights could provide.
Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech
10 of 10
Tennessee and Virginia Tech share a state border, but the SEC and ACC powers have met just eight times on the gridiron. Their next meeting should be one of the most hotly anticipated in modern history. Bristol Motor Speedway will host the Volunteers and Hokies for what is being dubbed “The Battle at Bristol.”
When Tennessee and Virginia Tech invade Bristol on Sept. 10, they are expected to smash the record for the biggest crowd in college football history. More than 150,000 fans are expected, which would be well beyond the previous record of 115,109 when Notre Dame visited Michigan in 2013.
"I'll guarantee you in a year there’ll be a million people claim they were here," speedway general manager Jerry Caldwell told Mike Strange of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The Last Great Colosseum, as Bristol calls itself, will be converted into a football stadium, and the atmosphere will be off the charts. It’s a prime-time natural.
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