College Football Playoff triple-header, NFL action headline loaded Saturday slate on TSN
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Saturday is set to be a jam-packed day full of football on TSN with the first round of the College Football Playoffs in full swing, along with a pair of marquee NFL matchups.
Here’s a look at all of the action on the network and where you can find the games.
(11) SMU Mustangs vs. (6) Penn State Nittany Lions – 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
Kevin Jennings leads the SMU Mustangs into Happy Valley for a matchup against Drew Allar and the Penn State Nittany Lions.
SMU
The Mustangs finished as the top seed in Atlantic Coastal Conference this season with an 11-2 record, but fell to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers in a dramatic finish to the ACC title game.
Jennings, a first-year starter, threw a four-yard touchdown pass with just 0:16 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 31-31, before a 41-yard return on the ensuing kickoff put the Tigers into field goal range.
Freshman kicker Nolan Hauser came on and drilled a walk-off 56-yard field goal with no time remaining, giving Clemson their eighth conference title in 10 years.
After the game, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said it would be “criminal” for his team to be left out of the new 12-team college football playoff format after going undefeated in conference play this season.
The committee agreed with Lashlee, and ultimately ranked SMU inside the 12-team cutline over the likes of Alabama and Miami for a first-round matchup against No. 6 Penn State.
Penn State also dropped their conference title game, falling in the Big Ten championship to top-seeded Oregon.
Drew Allar, fresh off of a commitment to return to the school for his senior year, will look to build on a season that saw him throw for 2,894 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Allar leads a high-powered Nittany Lions offence featuring Tyler Warren, Trey Wallace, and Nick Singleton.
Warren, a projected first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft, won the John Mackey Award as the best tight end in college football, while also earning first-team All-American honours.
This game has the potential to be a shootout, with the winner moving on to face Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty and the No. 3 Boise State Broncos in the Fiesta Bowl.
Houston Texans (9-5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (13-1) – 1p.m. ET / 10a.m. PT
C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans travel to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for a potential playoff preview against the Kansas City Chiefs.
C. J Stroud Houston Texans
Houston clinched their second straight AFC South title last week with a win over the Miami Dolphins, but come into this matchup at 3-3 over their past six games.
Top target Nico Collins has topped 100 yards receiving in four of his nine games played this season, and is coming off of a two touchdown performance in Week 15.
For the Chiefs, a win over the Texans, combined with a Buffalo Bills loss on Sunday, would help the Kansas City earn a first-round bye come playoff time as the first seed in the AFC.
Patrick Mahomes was listed as a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, and should be able to play after being forced out of Sunday’s 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns with an ankle sprain.
Carson Wentz would get the start if Mahomes is unable to go, with head coach Andy Reid stating that he has “full confidence” in the former second-overall pick as the Chiefs look to push their win-streak to five games.
(12) Clemson Tigers vs. (5) Texas Longhorns – 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
The action continues Saturday with Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns playing host to Cade Klubnik and the Clemson Tigers.
Watch Clemson take on Texas LIVE Saturday at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on TSN2, TSN.ca, and the TSN App.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers
Ewers led the 11-2 Longhorns to the SEC title game in their first season in the conference, but fell to Georgia 22-19 in an overtime thriller to squander their chance for a first-round bye.
Even with the loss last time out, Texas comes into this game as the biggest favourites of the first round at -480 on FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Longhorns boast four ranked wins on the season, with their only two losses coming at the hands of Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs.
By comparison, Clemson played just two ranked games all season prior to the ACC championship, losing both.
After falling to their rival South Carolina in the regular season-finale, Clemson’s hopes for a playoff berth appeared to be dead in the water.
But just a few hours later, Syracuse closed out Miami for one of the biggest upsets of the week and Clemson found themselves playing for the ACC championship seven days later.
Their overtime win in the conference title game clinched an automatic bid to the CFP and a first-round matchup against Steve Sarkisian’s Texas Longhorns.
No. 4 Arizona State, the lowest-seed team to receive a first-round bye, awaits the winner of this one in the Peach Bowl.
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) vs. Baltimore Ravens (9-5) – 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT
Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers take to the road for an AFC North showdown against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
Lamar Jackson Baltimore Ravens
Despite losing last week, the Steelers managed to secure a playoff berth for the 12th time in 18 seasons under head coach Mike Tomlin.
With a victory over Baltimore, Pittsburgh would win the AFC North for their first division title since 2020.
The Steelers defeated the Ravens 18-16 back in a sloppy, field goal-filled affair in Week 11.
Longtime Pittsburgh kicker Chris Boswell provided all the offence his team would need, converting six field goals for 18 points in the victory.
The latest win continued a trend of dominance for the Steelers over Lamar Jackson.
Since taking over as the team’s starter in 2019, Jackson holds a 1-4 record against Pittsburgh. He has thrown five touchdowns and eight interceptions during that time.
If the two-time NFL MVP were to beat the Steelers for the first time since Week 5 of the 2019 NFL season, the Ravens would clinch a playoff spot of their own, and tie Pittsburgh atop the division with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Derrick Henry scored a touchdown the last time these teams met, but the 30-year-old has failed to find the end zone in each of his last three games for the longest such drought of his season.
He will look to get back on track against a defensive line that could be without T.J. Watt, as the former Defensive Player of the Year left last week’s contest early with an ankle injury.
Watt, 30, opened the week as a limited participant in practice, and would provide a major boost to the Steelers’ vaunted defence if he were able to play.
(9) Tennessee Volunteers vs. (6) Ohio State Buckeyes – 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
Nico Iamaleava and the Tennessee Volunteers look for the upset in Columbus against Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Nico Iamaleava Tennessee Volunteers
Iamaleava, now in his first full season as the Vols’ starter, has thrown for 2,512 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions to lead Tennessee to a 10-2 record this season.
He is joined by star running back Dylan Sampson in forming one of the most formidable one-two punches in college football.
Sampson, the 2024 SEC Offensive Player of the Year, set single-season school records in rushing yards (1,485) and touchdowns (22) this season.
“He’s done a great job of creating big plays,” said head coach Josh Heupel. “Explosive plays, making people miss…a huge part of our success as a football team.”
Sampson is coming off one of his best games of the season with a career-best 178 yards in Week 14, and will now face an Ohio State team that allowed 172 yards on the ground in their last fame.
The Buckeyes were the second-ranked team in the country just weeks ago, but after a stunning 13-10 upset at the hands of Michigan, will now face a dangerous Volunteers team in their first playoff game.
After being selected by the committee as the eighth seed on Dec. 8, head coach Ryan Day did his best to shift the focus forward to Tennessee.
"We're in the playoffs now. That game is behind us," said Day. "The [result] is never going to change, it's never going to change here at Ohio State. However, the playoffs have. The expanded playoffs have. ... So, all right, we're in this thing."
The winner of this game will be in tough for their next matchup against Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.