No, Jim… we’re not kidding…

College football’s new 12-team playoff era kicks off tonight in South Bend with Notre Dame and Indiana playing at 8pm ET for the de facto state championship of the Hoosier State. In case you’re wondering about the weather, it figures to be a balmy 27 degrees with a stiff breeze from the north making it feel more like 15. Raise your glasses for 1080p television coverage! 🍻 

Here’s what you have to look forward to this weekend:

🏈 TONIGHT AT 8:00 PM ET: Indiana at Notre Dame (-7)

I’ve heard from a number of people that the Irish were pushing hard to host this Friday night playoff game, and it looks like they got their wish. Can they take advantage? I’m most curious to see if the Irish can run on Indiana the way they ran on lesser opponents all season long. If they’re able to rip off five yards per carry, I think that’s the ballgame. I should also note that seemingly everyone is skimming over Indiana and putting Notre Dame through to the quarters, semis and championship finals. Curt Cignetti seems like the kind of guy who knows how to use bulletin board material.

☝️ DON’T FORGET: We’re doing a live stream tonight at 8PM ET. Throw the game up on your big TV and pull up our stream on your iPad.

🏈 SATURDAY AT 12:00 PM ET: SMU at Penn State (-8.5)

It’s the biggest December football game in the history of Beaver Stadium and there are, apparently, lots of great tickets still available?

SMU is a good football team that the hometown crowd should not confuse for an easy win. If the Nittany Lions aren’t able to get pressure on Kevin Jennings, this is going to turn into a nailbiter. It’ll be interesting to see if Penn State’s able to run on the Mustangs the way it did Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game. Also of note, Beau Pribula is now in the transfer portal and not with the Nittany Lions, meaning that Andy Kotelnicki has one fewer trick to pull out of his playbook.

🏈 SATURDAY AT 4:00 PM ET: Clemson at Texas (-12)

Clemson is the biggest underdog in the first round of the College Football Playoff, but has a coach in Dabo Swinney who is no stranger to big, postseason games. Could that play a factor as the Tigers travel to Austin? I don’t think Clemson is buttoned up enough on offense to consistently score on the Texas defense, which is statistically the best in the nation, but stranger things have happened.

🏈 SATURDAY AT 8:00 PM ET: Tennessee at Ohio State (-7.5)

Fun subplot: The presale ticket code apparently leaked online and Tennessee fans ROSE TO THE OCCASION. I’ve had people messaging me all week that Ohio State’s home field advantage will be negated by Vol Nation. I’ll believe it when I see it, but college football fans are nothing if not resourceful digital menaces.

As for the actual game? This might be the toughest one to predict. From my vantage point, it’s the closest I’ve seen to a college football inkblot test this offseason. How you feel about this game says more about you than it does the teams playing. Do you favor an ultra-talented Ohio State team that still hasn’t found its top gear? Do you favor a Tennessee squad that has a reputation for offense but is actually led by a killer defense?

☝️ DON’T FORGET: We’re doing a live stream for this one too. Stop by on Saturday night and hang out.

We’re inviting you to play a game of Bowl Bingo with us this bowl season, but you’ve gotta hurry because this week’s game locks at NOON ET!

The game is free and the object is simple: Fill out a weekly bingo card of of six college football results that you think will occur over the next week. Each week, we’ll give out fabulous prizes to the winners, as well as a grand prize to our overall champion.

Just click below, sign up for the free tier and you’ll get all the details you need to get in the game.

THE PODCAST

Your full CFP Preview Pod…

We did a deep dive of the first four games of the College Football Playoff as Indiana travels to Notre Dame, Penn State hosts SMU, Texas welcomes Clemson, and Tennessee plays at Ohio State at night. Join us as we discuss the biggest questions, the most interesting matchups within each contest, and the important stats and schemes that will decide each game.

▶️ Listen on Apple Podcasts

▶️ Listen on Spotify

▶️ Watch on YouTube