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Awful Announcing
The Best and Worst fall wedding weekends for football fans
By Matt Yoder,
16 hours ago
The football season is almost upon us, which means the favorite time of year for many sports fans is a shining light at the end of the dark dog days of the summer tunnel. Soon, our Saturdays and Sundays (and Thursdays, Fridays, Mondays, and sometimes Tuesdays — bless you #MACtion) will be filled with America’s modern-day pastime. It’s also that time of year when football fans start aligning their calendars to ensure they can follow their favorite teams without interruption or clear their schedules for the games of the year.
And that means another very important thing — making sure a fall wedding weekend does not interfere with football.
Yes, the fall wedding that is as polarizing as whether or not you view a hot dog as a sandwich. And this week, there seems to be a widespread debate in sports media. So, if you are one of those poor, unfortunate souls who have to balance real life with your football fandom, we are here to help you plan accordingly.
We poured through the football season from September to November for 13 weeks with a full slate of college football and NFL games to designate the best and worst fall wedding weekends for football fans. We’ve given more weight to the college football slate, given that most weddings are on Saturdays. But we have the NFL games in mind as well, in case you have to take travel plans into consideration.
So here are the weekends when you should be free and in the clear to tailgate and spend seven hours with Scott Hanson and the weekends when you may want to truly consider how much you truly love your family and friends.
Best Fall Wedding Weekends for Football Fans
1) November 23-24
CFB: #5 Alabama at #16 Oklahoma, #23 USC at UCLA, Indiana at #2 Ohio State, #6 Ole Miss at Florida
The SEC’s traditional Cupcake Saturday before Rivalry Week thankfully features a couple of good conference matchups, but the landscape across college football is bleak. The likes of UMass, UTEP, and Wofford make their yearly ritual sacrifice in the SEC. In the ACC, FSU and Clemson play Charleston Southern and The Citadel. Ohio State hosts Indiana, and Michigan plays Northwestern in the Big Ten, which doesn’t fire up anybody. And in the NFL, six teams are on byes, with only GB-SF being the only game anyone would really have circled now. This is the weekend if you and your family need a break from football.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 9.5/10
Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
2) October 5-6
CFB: #25 Iowa at #2 Ohio State, #14 Clemson at #10 Florida State, #11 Missouri at #20 Texas A&M, #9 Michigan at Washington
A national championship rematch, you say? Steelers-Cowboys? While they may not be matchups that will decide playoff byes, those are big selling points. And with the GOTY in the ACC and Panthers fans getting to see what might have been with Caleb Williams, there are a few decent storylines here, but not much else.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 8/10
3) September 7-8
CFB: #4 Texas at #9 Michigan, #15 Tennessee at #24 NC State
NFL: Opening Weekend, Rams-Lions, Cowboys-Browns
The NFL’s week-long opening weekend celebration is the main event here, up against the weakest slate of college football games you’ll find all season… except for a titanic showdown between Texas and Michigan, that is. The rest of the CFB slate is pretty awful, with Top 10 teams playing a bunch of Group of 5 teams and only one other Top 25 matchup. The NFL’s Opening Weekend takes center stage with games on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. But with the best games scattered over a number of days, the Sunday slate is a little diluted, with Cowboys-Browns and Rams-Lions the featured attractions.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 7.5/10
4) November 16-17
CFB: #15 Tennessee at #1 Georgia, #13 LSU at Florida, #3 Oregon at Wisconsin, #12 Utah at Colorado
It seems like this weekend is the one where all the Power 4 conference schedule makers decided to pump the brakes before the home stretch. There’s a distinct lack of quality games across the board, although a couple could become more interesting as the season progresses. The NFL slate is quite good, though, with another Mahomes-Allen duel being the marquee contest and some classic rivalry games.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 7/10
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) rolls out of the pocket in the third quarter of the NFL Week 17 game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. The Chiefs won 25-17 to clinch the AFC West Championship.
5) September 14-15
CFB: #5 Alabama at Wisconsin, #3 Oregon at Oregon State, #7 Notre Dame at Purdue, Colorado at Colorado State
It’s another week that doesn’t inspire a ton of interest on the college football calendar, as Saturday is highlighted by the Top 10 teams facing potentially tricky games on the road at Power 4 schools. Colorado and Colorado State played arguably the GOTY last year, but will this game actually matter in October? In the NFL, the matchup between Caleb Williams and CJ Stroud on SNF following another Patrick Mahomes-Joe Burrow showdown is mouth-watering.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 6.5/10
6) October 26-27
CFB: #11 Missouri at #5 Alabama, #16 Oklahoma at #6 Ole Miss, #10 Florida State at #19 Miami, #13 LSU at #20 Texas A&M, #22 Kansas at #18 Kansas State
There are an astonishing five Top 25 matchups on the calendar now, but it’s hard to predict in August which ones may develop into Top 10 clashes and which ones may fade from the national spotlight. There are a couple of decent rivalry games, though, that could have big implications in the ACC and Big 12. The NFL features a huge primetime matchup with 49ers-Cowboys and some other good games throughout the day.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 5.5/10
Worst Fall Wedding Weekends for Football Fans
Mandatory Credit: Jenna Watson-USA TODAY Sports
7) September 28-29
CFB: #2 Ohio State at Michigan State, #21 Arizona at #12 Utah, #16 Oklahoma at Auburn, #1 Georgia at #5 Alabama
This weekend is about one game, the first regular season meeting between Georgia and Alabama since 2020. Since that time, the Tide and Bulldogs have contested two SEC title games and a national championship. The rest of the weekend is fairly average, so plan accordingly and do whatever you need to do to break free on Saturday night.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 5/10
8) September 21-22
CFB: #12 Utah at #17 Oklahoma State, #24 NC State at #14 Clemson, #15 Tennessee at #16 Oklahoma, #23 USC at #9 Michigan
The CFB schedule features some insane new conference matchups thanks to realignment in the Big Ten and SEC. Just for the novelty, seeing games like USC playing in the Big House and the Vols visiting Norman will be appointment television. The NFL schedule features a must-see game in Lamar Jackson and the Ravens up against Micah Parsons and the Cowboys and a couple of other decent inter-conference games.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 4/10
9) November 9-10
CFB: #1 Georgia at #6 Ole Miss, #5 Alabama at #13 LSU, Washington at #8 Penn State, #16 Oklahoma at #11 Missouri, #10 Florida State at #7 Notre Dame
This weekend is absolutely stacked with feature games all day Saturday and Sunday. It’s a huge SEC Saturday with three games between Top 20 teams and a Florida State-Notre Dame game in South Bend that always conjures up some amazing nostalgia from the days of Charlie Ward. The NFL sees an NFC East game that always brings huge views and a couple of other key divisional contests.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 3.5/10
10) November 2-3
CFB: #2 Ohio State at #8 Penn State, #3 Oregon at #9 Michigan, Florida at #1 Georgia, #23 USC at Washington
It’s another great weekend of games showcasing the top four teams in the Big Ten squaring off. On the NFL side, two divisional matchups with the Lions traveling to Green Bay and the Dolphins going to Buffalo should be great games. There are some other decently intriguing matchups along the way on both Saturday and Sunday, although the depth on Sunday might not quite be there by the time November rolls around.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 3/10
11) October 19-20
CFB: #1 Georgia at #4 Texas, #5 Alabama at #15 Tennessee, TCU at #12 Utah, Colorado at #21 Arizona
A Super Bowl rematch leads the way on October 20th, which is a date every NFL fan should have circled on their calendar. And the appetizer just happens to be a Top 5 showdown between Georgia and Texas. That’s as good of a Saturday-Sunday doubleheader as you will find all season long.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 2/10
12) October 12-13
CFB: #2 Ohio State at #3 Oregon, #6 Ole Miss at #13 LSU, #8 Penn State at #23 USC, #4 Texas at #16 Oklahoma
The college football gods are smiling on us with one of the best Saturdays in recent memory. The Red River Rivalry, the Buckeyes in Eugene in the first of three possible games this year, and two other huge Top 25 matchups. This is the Saturday to be in front of your television all day. The NFL Sunday slate is fairly uninspiring, but that really doesn’t matter when the Saturday is that compelling.
Fall Wedding Verdict: 1.5/10
Michigan and Ohio State players got into a shoving match in the 2022 game.
13) November 30-December 1
CFB: Washington at #3 Oregon, #4 Texas at #20 Texas A&M, Auburn at #5 Alabama, #7 Notre Dame at #23 USC, Florida at #10 Florida State, #16 Oklahoma at #13 LSU, #9 Michigan at #2 Ohio State
You’re absolutely nuts if you are a football fan and have scheduled ANYTHING for this weekend except for several days glued to your television, tablet, or mobile device. It starts Thursday on Thanksgiving Day with the traditional three NFL games and Memphis-Tulane for the college football sickos. Friday has the Chiefs-Raiders Amazon game and a full slate of college action featuring the Egg Bowl, Nebraska-Iowa, and more. Saturday is The Game, the Iron Bowl, and a ton of other insane games. And then Sunday features two possible Super Bowl previews in Eagles-Ravens and 49ers-Bills. It’s a gift from the football gods.
Fall Wedding Verdict: May God have mercy on your soul
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