Michigan vs. Purdue: Game time, TV schedule, streaming, and more for Championship Weekend

Dec 3, 2022 - 4:56 PM

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We are coming off one of the most exhilarating weeks of the college football season where we saw the Michigan Wolverines head into Columbus and defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes. We also witnessed the demise of the LSU Tigers and Clemson Tigers as their playoff hopes are now shot, while the USC Trojans and TCU Horned Frogs kept those hopes alive heading into conference championship weekend.

With an amazing week of football behind us, it’s time to look ahead as teams like the Wolverines and some of the teams above look to cement their position in the College Football Playoff during Championship Weekend.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the top games.

No. 2 Michigan Wolverines vs. Purdue Boilermakers

• TV: FOX
• Stream: Sling TV
• Time: 8 p.m.
• Location: Indianapolis, IN
• Weather: NONE (Dome)
• DraftKings Odds: MICH -16.5, O/U: 51.5, ML: MICH -850, PUR +600
• Best Bet (15-17): MICH -16.5

The Michigan Wolverines are coming off the best win of the Jim Harbaugh era as they topped the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus for the first time in over two decades. What made it even more shocking is they did it without Blake Corum. Instead, the Wolverines heavily leaned upon the arm of J.J. McCarthy, who had not been put under this kind of pressure to this point in his career. He and second-string running back Donovan Edwards shined as the Wolverines routed their arch-nemesis.

A similar game plan will likely be in play on Saturday against Purdue. Last season, after the upset win over the Buckeyes, Michigan bounced Iowa out of Indy, 42-3, thanks to loose play. I suspect we see the same thing on Saturday where Harbaugh lets his guys have fun as the Wolverines throw the kitchen sink at the Boilermakers and look to repeat as Big Ten champs.

Aidan O’Connell, Purdue’s starting quarterback, is going through the tragedy of losing his brother. He has not been at practice to this point in preparation for the Big Ten Championship, but is expected to play. He and childhood friend Charlie Jones have been one of the top quarterback-wide receiver duos in college football this season. They’ll be a tough task for a Michigan defense that faced a similarly strong case against Ohio State this weekend.

What Purdue has going for it is it has won three straight and are just 60 minutes from being very unlikely Big Ten champions. That is huge motivation for a squad that has been known to pull off an upset against some of the top teams in the country in the past.

The problem is Purdue has some bad losses this season like to Syracuse, Wisconsin and Iowa. Their best wins are at Illinois and at Minnesota, two teams no longer inside the top-25. This is by far the Boilermakers toughest test of the season — and with a defense that allows 128.3 rushing yards per game is facing the best ground game in the country in the maize and blue.

I like the Wolverines to roll and keep the high of the Ohio State game going to win their second straight Big Ten title.

No. 14 Utah Utes vs No. 6 USC Trojans

• TV: FOX
• Stream: Sling TV
• Time: 8 p.m. (on Friday, Dec. 2)
• Location: Las Vegas, NV
• Weather: NONE (Dome)
• DraftKings Odds: USC -3, O/U: 67, ML: UTAH +135, USC -155
• Best Bet (15-17): O67

I love that the PAC-12 does this really cool thing where the best two teams in the conference record-wise meet up in the conference championship game. It makes for a really fun rematch, as USC’s only loss of the season came to those Utes. It’s almost like it would be better if every conference did something like this...

Anyway, the neutral site is a huge factor in this game. Utah was at home when USC lost midseason, and Salt Lake City is quietly one of the most difficult places to play in the country. We’ll see how the teams fair without either side having a homefield advantage.

Caleb Williams’ name is still in the Heisman conversation and the last time these two teams met, he threw for five touchdowns in one of his best performances of the year. Utah quarterback Cam Rising also had five scores and nearly 500 total yards of offense alone.

It came down to a last-second score in Salt Lake City earlier this season, and I suspect this game will be very close once again. I like a lot of points to be scored, so I will take the over despite the daunting 67 mark.

No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats vs No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs

• TV: ABC
• Stream: Sling TV
• Time: Noon
• Location: Arlington, Texas
• Weather: NONE (Dome)
• DraftKings Odds: TCU -2, O/U: 62, ML: KSU +110, TCU -130
• Best Bet (15-17): TCU -2

Another rematch from earlier this season should make for an incredibly intriguing matchup in Jerry World in the early slate on Saturday. Kansas State gave TCU its toughest test of the season as the Horned Frogs saw themselves down 28-10 just minutes before halftime at midseason.

Then, Max Duggan and Kendre Miller woke up and scored four unanswered touchdowns to pull off the come-from-behind 38-28 win in Fort Worth. Will Howard began his campaign for the starting role in this game. Since then, it remains the only blemish on his resume. An upset win over Oklahoma State thanks to a four-touchdown performance from the junior quarterback all but won him the job. He’s one of the main reasons the Wildcats are in Arlington this weekend for the Big 12 Championship.

However, the Horned Frogs are rolling right now and everyone continues to doubt their resume when they have done nothing but win football games. They’ve survived one of the toughest schedules in the country and are coming off a 48-point win over Iowa State last weekend. TCU has been trying to prove that they are worthy of a College Football Playoff bid all season and they are one win away from securing a spot. I think they get the job done and finish off the perfect regular season heading into the playoff.