Welcome to your weekly football schedule and viewing guide on DISH. From the biggest primetime games to the most important matchups of the weekend, we’ll call out the best college football and NFL games of the week to watch with DISH.
Remember, as a DISH subscriber, you can use Game Finder to set your DVR to record all of your favorite teams, use Multi-View to watch multiple games at the same time, or download the DISH Anywhere app to watch football on-the-go! Check your DISH Guide for this week’s full football schedule in your local market.
College Football Playoff Semifinal Games
Orange Bowl – No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame
Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30pm ET on ESPN
When looking at the Orange Bowl, Penn State and Notre Dame head coaches James Franklin and Marcus Freeman have built eerily similar programs to one another. The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish both have feasted on opponents with stout defense and potent rushing attacks. Points are likely to be at a premium in this one, so the question is, who will be able to make enough plays on offense to win the game? The Penn State offense revolves around the two running back system of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton and the nation’s best tight end, Tyler Warren. Luckily for Notre Dame, their entire secondary – including safeties Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler – are some of the best cover players in the country, so there’s hope they can contain Warren. Penn State QB Drew Allar will do his best to keep the Mackey Award winner involved, but he’ll need his running game and other wide receivers to step up. Allar is a more capable passer than Notre Dame signal caller Riley Leonard, but he’s not nearly as athletic. Leonard can punish you with his legs, but he ranks near the bottom of the country in air yards per attempt, and just like Penn State, will rely on a two back system of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. The RB tandem struggled against Georgia, only netting a combined 56 yards, but the 80 rushing yards from Leonard were invaluable. Keep an eye on special teams in this one. Notre Dame proved they can strike when they took the opening kickoff of the second half back for a touchdown against Georgia.
Cotton Bowl – No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas
Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30pm ET on ESPN
Ohio State University and the Texas Longhorns have met only three times on the gridiron, and the last time was in the Fiesta Bowl in 2009. Two of the three meetings were settled by three points each, with Texas leading the series 2-1. But the ‘vibes’ around both of these programs are quite different following the quarterfinals. Texas escaped Arizona State 39-31 after two overtimes and a do-or-die fourth down conversion. Steve Sarkisian’s team was up 17-3, but an unfortunate characteristic of this Longhorns team is that they cannot finish teams off when they have them on the ropes. They were incredibly lucky to get out with a win, and now they’ll play an Ohio State team that is coming off a complete opposite performance. Ohio State were firing on all cylinders and drummed Oregon in the Rose Bowl, taking a 34-0 lead at one point. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith couldn’t be stopped, racking up seven catches for 187 yards and two touchdowns. OSU Quarterback Will Howard was also nearly flawless.
With that said, there could be a little bit of a recency bias when analyzing this game. Texas has the talent to compete with anyone in the country, especially on defense. We mentioned that Notre Dame’s ability to cover is elite, but it’s Texas that boasts the best secondary in the country. Thorp Award winner Jahdea Barron will be tasked with covering Jeremiah Smith but the Longhorns will still have to contend with Emeka Egbuka and Carnell State. Texas should have chances in this game, so it will come down to quarterback Quinn Ewers putting on a flawless performance (could Arch Manning even make an appearance?). We’ll see how it shakes out, but Ohio State being a 7-point favorite feels like a reaction to the team’s most recent performances.
NFL Wild Card Games
LA Chargers at Houston Texans
Sat., Jan. 11, 4:30pm ET on CBS
The Texans and Chargers both have reasons to feel optimistic in their first round playoff game. For the Texans, it’s a surprisingly great record in the Wild Card round: Since 2011, the Texans have hosted eight Wild Card games, and they’re 5-2 in those matchups. Their pass rush and secondary are both above average, and WR Nico Collins had over 1,000 yards receiving despite missing five games with injury. As for the Chargers, their first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh is one of the most successful coaches in both the pro and college game, having won a National Championship with Michigan a year ago and taking the San Francisco 49ers to the Conference Championship round in each of his four seasons with the team. Very few people expected the Chargers to make the playoffs in his first season, which means they’re playing with house money – and eager to purge the demons of their epic Wild Card collapse against the Jacksonville Jaguars two years ago.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Sat., Jan. 11, 8:00pm ET on Amazon Prime Video
These two iconic teams need no introduction to NFL fans or each other. The AFC North rivals have arguably the greatest rivalry in the NFL. They’ve also faced off in the playoffs four times since 2001, with the Steelers winning three of those games. Their back-and-forth history extends to this season, which they split with both teams winning at home. However, the Ravens enter the playoffs on a roll; Lamar Jackson may give Josh Allen a run for his money for the MVP Award with his play in December. The Steelers, conversely, won seven of eight games before losing four straight and falling backwards into the playoffs. Still, the history and enmity between these teams means this should be one of the more hard-fought games of Wild Card weekend.
Denver Broncos at Buffalo Bills
Sun., Jan. 12, 1:00pm ET on CBS
After a nine-year drought, the Denver Broncos are back in the playoffs thanks to their rookie quarterback Bo Nix (along with the Chiefs and Chargers, the Broncos are the third AFC West team to make it to the tournament). The first round pick has the look of a long-term franchise quarterback, and Denver’s defense boasts not only a Defensive Player Of The Year candidate in cornerback Pat Surtain II, but the NFL’s best pass rush, which collected a franchise record 63 sacks this year. They’ll face a Buffalo Bills team that has the strongest offensive line in the NFL. The MVP race got a lot more interesting over the last month, but regardless if he wins or not, Josh Allen is having a career year and is the tip of the spear in Buffalo’s dangerous offense. Fun fact: these are the only two teams to have beaten the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs this season.
Green Bay Packers at Philadelphia Eagles
Sun., Jan. 12, 4:30pm ET on FOX
These two teams played the second game of the 2024 NFL season in Brazil, with the Eagles winning 34-29. A lot has changed for both teams since then, with the Eagles reemerging from an early season funk to win 12 of their final 13 games, and the Packers playing third fiddle in an ultra-competitive NFC North. Both teams enter the game with injury concerns: Packers QB Jordan Love left the Week 18 game against the Bears with an elbow injury that affected his throwing hand and WR Christian Watson suffered a season-ending knee injury; as for the Eagles, QB Jalen Hurts remained in concussion protocol in his team’s Week 18 game against the Giants, and his status for this one is still uncertain. The Eagles look like one of the most complete teams in the NFL behind Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Among NFC teams, they have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl after the Detroit Lions. This should be an exciting game between two seasoned playoff squads.
Washington Commanders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun., Jan. 12, 8:00pm ET on NBC
With two rookie QBs in the playoffs and three more who look like franchise cornerstones, this year’s draft class already looks like one of the best in years, if not decades. But one year in, the man at the top is clearly Washington Commanders rookie Jayden Daniels. The former Heisman trophy winner didn’t just look like the most impressive rookie, he looked like one of the best QBs in the league, period. Consider this nugget from NFL.com: “[Daniels] has five touchdown passes in the final 30 seconds of regulation or overtime — two more than any quarterback, rookie or veteran, has had in any single season since the 1970 merger.” The Commanders will face off against another elite QB, Baker Mayfield. And yes, we used the “E” word for the former Cleveland Browns gunslinger – in the calendar year of 2024, no NFL QB threw more touchdown passes than Baker. This game has the potential to be the best, most competitive contest of Wild Card weekend.
Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams
Mon., Jan. 13, 8:00pm ET on ESPN
Pity the Vikings: Despite winning 14 games – a win total that would get you the No. 1 seed in most seasons – Minnesota will open the playoffs on the road, and may have to win three road games to reach the Super Bowl. Even worse, they’ll have to face one of the two teams that beat them in 2024, the Los Angeles Rams. Despite the tough draw, don’t expect Minnesota to throw themselves a pity party: With a top 10 offense AND a top 10 defense, the Vikings might be the most well-rounded team in the playoffs. Still, the matchup against the Rams is not ideal for their style of play. Minnesota is the most blitz-happy team in the NFL, and veteran Rams QB Matthew Stafford is an assassin against the pass rush. There’s also a matter of familiarity: Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell (the heavy favorite to win Coach of the Year) has worked extensively with Rams coach Sean McVay, including as offensive coordinator in their 2021 Super Bowl-winning season. With the oft-injured Rams just happy to come out of a middling NFC West, the pressure is squarely on the Vikings in this one. But if KOC and the Vikings can get past them, they could start building momentum for a deep run.
