The College Football Playoff's expansion to 12 teams was hit with controversy in all corners: the number of teams, how those teams were selected and seeded, and the timing of such games.
All those points are up for debate, but this is not: by delaying the semifinals to the Thursday and Friday in the first full week in January, the Powers That Be have given us the greatest 8-day stretch of high-value football we've ever had.
MONDAY
FCS National Championship: Montana State vs. North Dakota State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Pound for pound, this may very well be the best game we get all week. In one corner we've got top-ranked Montana State, playing to complete an undefeated season and win its first national championship in 40 years. In the other, we've got No. 2 seed North Dakota State, playing to end its long title drought of [checks notes] two years. Montana State has the top scoring offense in FCS, led by a quarterback in Tommy Mellott who won the FCS version of the Heisman and a coordinator named the top in the country by his peers, and they'll face an NDSU team that ranks third in scoring and 10th in scoring defense.
TUESDAY
No games. This is the first day since Friday, Dec. 13 without NFL or major college football. Take this opportunity to reacquaint yourself with your loved ones. Sit down for dinner at the table and clean the kitchen afterwards.
WEDNESDAY
Again, no games. Consider volunteering at a local animal shelter or preparing an elderly neighbor's home for winter if they haven't done so already.
THURSDAY
College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl: Penn State vs. Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Notre Dame hasn't won a national championship since 1988, Penn State hasn't done so since 1986, and they'll compete for a title berth against each other. The first team to 20 wins, and maybe the first to 17.
FRIDAY
College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl: Texas vs. Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)
It's two of the most talented rosters in the sport, squaring off for just the fourth time ever. The nation's No. 1 and No. 2 yards per play defenses try to slow down two of the most explosive offenses in the sport. With the way Ohio State is playing, the Buckeyes may mow through Texas the way they did Tennessee and Oregon, or the Longhorns might stun the nation and halt the scarlet and gray buzzsaw. Either way, the atmosphere should be sensational with the higher-seeded but underdog Longhorns playing a de facto home game.
SATURDAY
NFL Wild Card Weekend, Day 1: LA Chargers at Houston (4:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
It's the fourth straight season a Jim Harbaugh-coached team has reached the playoffs.
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (8 p.m. ET, Amazon Prime Video)
One of the fiercest divisional rivalries, meeting in the playoffs for the fifth time ever.
SUNDAY
NFL Wild Card Weekend, Day 2: Denver at Buffalo (1 p.m. ET, CBS)
The Bills begin their seventh playoff run in eight seasons under head coach Sean McDermott, and their sixth with McDermott as head coach and Josh Allen at quarterback. Is this the year they bring it all home?
Green Bay at Philadelphia (4:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Two of the NFL's oldest franchises meet in the playoffs for just the fourth time.
Washington at Tampa Bay (8 p.m. ET, NBC)
Washington hasn't won a playoff game since 2005, a wild card game at Tampa Bay. Does history repeat itself?
MONDAY
NFL Wild Card Weekend, Day 3: Minnesota at LA Rams (8 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Vikings won 14 games, and begin their quest for their first Super Bowl berth since the 1976 season on the road.