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.
This Week’s Football Schedule: Dec. 5-9
Thursday Night Football – Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
Dec. 5, 8:15pm ET on Amazon Prime Video
It’s not shocking that the NFC North is the best, most competitive division in the NFL. However, it is shocking just how dominant its teams have been. The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers have six losses combined, the same number as the NFC South-leading Atlanta Falcons and two fewer than the last-place Chicago Bears. According to NFL.com, all three teams have at least a 98 percent chance to make the playoffs, meaning their remaining divisional games are tune-ups for the playoffs and a chance for some serious bragging rights.
It also means that what Thursday night’s game lacks in competitive stakes, it should more than make up for in quality. It’s almost eerie how similar these two teams are statistically. The Lions and Packers are both averaging 4.8 yards per carry on the ground; the Lions have 24 receiving touchdowns, the Packers have 23; and Green Bay leads the NFL in yards per reception at 13, while the Lions are sixth at 12.1. Helped by a pick-six, Detroit won comfortably in their first meeting a month ago, but with half of their divisional games still to be played, this result could have a trickle-down effect on playoff seeding.
College Football Conference Championship Games
Mountain West Championship: #20 UNLV at #10 Boise State
Friday, Dec. 6 at 8:00pm ET on FOX
What to know: The festivities will kick off with an especially fun matchup in the Mountain West. With a playoff spot in the line, this is probably the biggest group of five conference championship game of all time. These two teams faced each other six weeks ago in an Allegiant Stadium in Vegas, where Boise outscored UNLV 6-0 in the fourth quarter to win by five. UNLV held Heisman candidate Ashton Jeanty to a season low 3.9 yards per carry, but the bellcow still rattled off 128 yards and a touchdown. UNLV head coach Barry Odom will be a hot name in the coaching carousel, especially if he can get a win on the blue turf. Mark this one down as a much watch.
American Athletic Championship: Tulane vs #24 Army
Friday, Dec. 6 at 8:00pm ET on ABC
What to know: Going into last weekend, Tulane had an outside shot at the College Football Playoff and hosting the AAC Championship. But a 34-24 home loss to Memphis slashed Jon Sumrall’s hopes to crash the party. Sumrall’s name will also be thrown around coaching vacancies, despite this only being his first year in New Orleans. As for Army, despite being 10-1, the road to the playoff is not zero, but it’s close to it. Realistically, both teams are playing for hardware and Army will look to keep things going before its big matchup with Navy in two weeks.
Big 12 Championship: #16 Iowa State vs #15 Arizona State
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 12:00pm ET on ABC
What to know: Going into the final weekend of the season, six teams had a chance to make it to the Big 12 Championship game in Dallas. In the end, the matchup will be a clash between Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils and Matt Campbell’s Iowa State Cyclones. Similar to Boise State/UNLV, this is a win-and-get-in game. ASU is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won five straight games behind of QB Sam Leavitt and RB Cam Skattebo. WR Jordyn Tyson has been ruled out with an undisclosed injury which is a big blow to the Sun Devils. Iowa State will look to slow the pace of the game, but they’ll need to shore up its iffy run defense, which is ranked 99th in the country. ASU was picked by many to finish last in the conference in the pre-season and now could win the Big 12 in its first season since leaving the Pac-12.
MAC Championship: Ohio vs Miami (Ohio)
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4:00 ET on ESPN
The MAC championship might not have CFP implications, but it is still an in-state battle for a conference championship. Ohio’s only conference loss of the season came at the hands of the Redhawks, so there is a revenge factor at play in this one. Ohio QB Parker Navarro struggled in the previous matchup, while Miami (Ohio) QB Brett Gabbert (brother of Missouri and former NFL QB Blaine Gabbert) thrived.
SEC Championship: #5 Georgia vs #2 Texas
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4:00 ET on ABC
What to know: With both teams pretty much guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff, this game is for SEC glory and a first-round bye. The matchup in Austin back in October feels like ages ago, especially seeing how both of these teams have played since then. Georgia has been consistently inconsistent, while Texas has slowly but surely gotten better, especially on the defensive side of the ball. In their first game, Georgia’s defense had their best performance of the season and the offense rode running back Trevor Etienne’s three touchdowns. But Etienne will likely miss his fourth straight game and the defense has not looked the same since. The Bulldogs needed a huge comeback and eight overtimes to beat Georgia Tech, but will come into this one as underdogs once again. Texas is looking to win the SEC in its first year in the conference.
ACC Championship: #17 Clemson vs #8 SMU
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4:00 ET on ABC
What to know: The ACC Championship is another ‘win and get in’ scenario. The SMU Mustangs took the conference by storm behind coach Rhett Lashley and QB Kevin Jennings. Clemson on the other hand has had an up and down season that culminated in a nonconference loss to rival South Carolina last weekend. But thanks to Miami’s loss to Syracuse, Clemson snuck into the title game and now has a path to the playoff. SMU could still possibly get an at-large bid with a loss, but it’s unlikely. None of the top three teams in the conference have a win over the selection committee’s top 25.
Sun Belt Championship: Marshall vs Louisiana
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:30pm ET on ESPN
The Sun Belt, or, as we call it, the ‘Fun Belt’ Championship is between two teams who did not meet in conference play. Both Marshall and Louisiana finished the season 7-1, but the Ragin’ Cajuns were the most consistent team in the conference. Since the Sun Belt split into divisions in 2018, the home team of the conference title has won every game (5-0). But don’t count the Thundering Herd out, as they clawed their way out of a 17-0 hole vs James Madison last week to win in overtime.
Big Ten Championship: #1 Oregon vs #4 Penn State
Saturday, Dec. 7 at 8:00pm ET on CBS
Thanks to Michigan’s shocking upset over then-#2 Ohio State in “The Game,” #4 Penn State will play #1 Oregon for the Big Ten Championship and a first-round bye in the playoff. And despite the Nittany Lions’ loss to Ohio State and the Ducks’ close win over the Buckeyes, there’s reason to believe this game will be close (the spread is currently Oregon -3.5). First, the physicality of the Nittany Lions is something that Oregon hasn’t really had to deal with thus far in the season. And second, the Ducks are the only FBS team in the country to go undefeated in the regular season, something they’ve only done once before. With both teams virtually guaranteed to make the playoffs regardless of this game’s result, it’s entirely possible that Oregon gets caught looking ahead in hopes of what would be the school’s first-ever national championship.
Sunday Night Football – LA Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs
Dec. 8, 8:20pm ET on NBC
To borrow the expression he popularized: Who’s got it better than Jim Harbaugh? In January, he led his alma mater Michigan to the school’s first National Championship since 1997, then joined the LA Chargers, who – despite playing in the same division as the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champs, the Kansas City Chiefs – are in excellent position to make the playoffs. Harbaugh is a player’s coach through-and-through, and his positive, spirited personality seems just what the doctor ordered for a franchise that’s at times seemed listless since relocating to LA.
Andy Reid also knows a little something about changing the personality of a moribund team. But this is easily one of the weirdest seasons in his 26 years as a head coach. The Chiefs have only lost one game and already earned a playoff berth, and yet are difficult to take seriously as a contender. Depending on your relationship to conspiracy theories, this skepticism is largely due to a ton of good fortune, which continued last Friday when the Raiders literally fumbled away the game. Kansas City is living by the adage ‘to the victor goes the spoils,’ but if they’re not careful, they could see their No. 1 seed slip away over the final weeks of the season.
Monday Night Football – Cincinnati Bengals at Dallas Cowboys
Monday, Dec. 9, 8:15pm ET on ESPN
Speaking of weird seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals are having one of the strangest seasons imaginable. Their explosive offense is fifth in points per game, and Joe Burrow leads the NFL in pass yards (3,337) and touchdowns (30). He’d definitely be a candidate for MVP…if the Bengals weren’t allowing 28.3 points per game, the second worst in the NFL behind Carolina. The Dallas Cowboys are also giving up 28.3 points per game, but their offense hasn’t been nearly as explosive as Cincy’s. Still, the Cowboys have won two in a row and with both teams’ defensive deficiencies, we should at least have a fun game between two teams that have otherwise not met expectations.
