Mid-December has been the NFL's start to having multiple Saturday games on the schedule, but with college football moving to a 12-team playoff field, it would be great if they would at least not schedule games on the Saturday where three playoff games take place. Considering college football is the main feeder system for the NFL Draft and player pool, you would think the league decision makers would help college football in this instance.
No matter how popular college football is, especially with the 12-team playoff system, the NFL is king, and it is hard for TV ratings from college playoff games to compete. We saw the same issues in year one of the college football playoff, and we will see the same problems this Saturday as well.
Many are puzzled why the Texas A&M- Miami game is not a primetime game on Saturday, and the answer simply is that the ratings for this game are going to be much better in the morning before the NFL games get started. Though it will be a great atmosphere in College Station at 11:00 AM local time, Kyle Field would even be more electric at 7:00 or 8:00 PM.
It is easier to put the playoff games, which feature the Group of 6 teams against the NFL games, due to many expecting a blowout in both games as Tulane goes to Oxford and James Madison travels to Eugene. Though there will be eyes on both games, especially if there is a chance of an upset late, millions of potential views will be missed as the Bears and Packers square off at 7 PM on Fox.
For those who have a streaming service with the four-screen Multiview option should come in handy if you're both a college football fan and an NFL fan allowing you to watch Ole Miss and Tulane at the same time the Eagles tangle with the Commanders, and then being able to watch the Dukes and Ducks go head to head while watching the NFC North battle in primetime.
Obviously, the ideal fix would be for both of these NFL games to be on Sunday, allowing all four first-round college football playoff games to be the main sports attraction of said time slot. The NFL is notorious for stepping on other sports' toes when scheduling games, so though it is not surprising, it does hurt the overall college football playoff product.