Bowl season is now in full swing, and while we prepare for the first round of the first-ever expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff, we have some other postseason matchups to enjoy.
The 2024 bowl season began on Saturday, Dec. 14, and it runs through Jan. 20, when the College Football Playoff national champion will be crowned in Atlanta. The final non-CFP bowl will be the Bahamas Bowl, held on Saturday, Jan. 4.
While we don’t have any traditional bowl games on Saturday, we have something even better: a trio of on-campus College Football Playoff first-round matchups. Leading off the day in the noon block, SMU heads to Penn State as both teams look to bounce back from conference title game losses.
In the afternoon, Clemson heads to Texas after sneaking into the field, while in the nightcap, Ohio State hosts Tennessee in what will be a high-pressure matchup for coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes.
The first two games will be televised on TNT (albeit, with an ESPN production crew) and streamed on Max, while the primetime matchup will be simulcast on ABC and ESPN.
Here are today’s matchups.
CFP First Round: SMU at Penn State
Noon ET/TNT + Max/Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania
SMU made it into the field as an at-large despite falling against Clemson in the ACC title game, and they hit the road in the cold Happy Valley conditions to take on a Penn State team that’s desperately searching for a big win under coach James Franklin.
CFP First Round: Clemson at Texas
4 p.m. ET/TNT + Max/DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas
Texas is hosting a home CFP game after missing out on a first-round bye with its overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC championship, and it gets what should be an advantageous matchup, at least on paper, against Clemson. The Tigers lost their season finale to South Carolina but found a backdoor path into the ACC title game, which they won to punch their ticket.
College Football Playoff First Round: Tennessee at Ohio State
8 p.m. ET/ABC + ESPN/Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
Despite losing to Michigan to end the regular season, Ohio State is hosting a home playoff game. But the vibes in Columbus aren’t great, and Day absolutely can’t afford a loss to a Volunteers team that has been plagued by some inconsistency in the passing game but boasts a dangerous rushing attack and strong defensive front.