Your Guide to Footsgiving

Forget opening weekend, forget Bowl season, forget the NFL playoffs this is the best weekend for football. The combination of college football and the NFL this weekend mean that games will be on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Let’s start with Thanksgiving’s slate of NFL games starting at 12:30 between two potential playoff teams in the 8-2 Minnesota Vikings and the 6-4 Detroit Lions. Minnesota is fighting to be a first or second seed in the playoffs and have that coveted first-round bye; the Lions are currently one game out of the sixth seed in the NFC. The 4:30 game between the Chargers and the Cowboys is an intriguing matchup. With the Chiefs freefall the AFC West is suddenly wide open and LA is only two games out of first. The pass rush of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram should fare well against the banged-up Dallas offensive line that is playing their second game in four days. Closing out the NFL slate is a divisional matchup between the Giants and the Redskins. The Redskins should be able to handle the Giants, however, a rivalry game in late November is always good television. Not to sound like an infomercial but wait there’s more. College football kicks off Thursday with the Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. This rivalry lost some luster when former Head Coach Hugh Freeze resigned due to calling an escort service, but the Rebels have a chance to knock the Bulldogs from the top 25. Thursday is the perfect day to chow down on some turkey and watch football.

Friday is the perfect day to re-heat the leftovers, stay in from Black Friday shopping and enjoy some college football. To start #2Miami travels to play at Pittsburg; which makes this game attention-grabbing is one, it is a trap game for the Hurricanes as they get ready to play Clemson in the ACC Championship game two, Pennsylvania is significantly colder than Florida this time of year and could play a factor in the game. At 3:30 South Florida and Central Florida kick off with the winner going to the American Athletic Conference Championship game. Winning a conference championship would only boost Central Florida’s Scott Frosts opportunities to coach at a Power Five school next season. Same goes for Charlie Strong; winning the AAC could mean that Strong leaves South Florida next season for other coaching opportunities (maybe Florida?). The evening game features two undervalued teams in Virginia and Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers are a surprising 6-5 and have the Hokies at home.

Friday serves as a warm-up compared to the games that are featured on Saturday. Three rivalry games feature top ten teams. “The Game” needs no introduction. Ohio State’s slim playoff hopes can be ruined by a Wolverines team that has underperformed this season. In the afternoon No. 1 Alabama faces off against #6 Auburn with serious playoff implications. The winner goes on to face Georgia in the SEC title game. If Auburn were to beat the Tide and the Bulldogs in the title game then Auburn would be the first two-loss team to play in the playoffs. To close out Saturday slate of college football games #8Notre Dame travels to #21 Stanford. The Fighting Irish are eager to get back on the field after leaving Miami last week with an embarrassing loss. The Cardinals are hot winning six of their last seven.

Sunday’s NFL slate of games is the icing on the cake for a great football weekend. New Orleans journeys west to LA to face the Rams in a match of division winners. The winner is in the driver seat for a #2 seed in the NFC playoffs. The primetime matchup between the Steelers and the Packers features a Steelers team that currently sitting as the #1 seed in the AFC with the Patriots and Jaguars trailing behind. Green Bay is fighting for their playoff lives being one game behind the Falcons.

Thursday through Sunday feature excellent games at the collegiate level and at the professional level. After enjoying Thanksgiving with the family kick back, relax and enjoy four days’ worth of football.

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