The last few years have seen significant debate around NFL and college football scheduling. Some of that’s come around Black Friday, once a crucial college football day, but one the NFL started scheduling a game on two years ago. However, college football is far from giving up that day.
Last year, the famed Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State wound up on Black Friday rather than its traditional Thanksgiving slot due to an ABC request. And reports Thursday indicated that clash will to take place on Black Friday again this year (but with an earlier start that likely means it won’t go head-to-head with the NFL game):
The Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State will kick off at noon ET on Black Friday this year, the schools announced.
The game had been on Thanksgiving recently but moved to BF last year and went up against the NFL game, which kicks off at 3 pm ET. pic.twitter.com/zkIwYZUOgX
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) May 8, 2025
Another notable Black Friday move comes from the Texas-Texas A&M game, which took place on the Thanksgiving-adjacent Saturday this year. This time around, that will happen at night on Black Friday:
Our story @TheAthletic on Texas-Texas A&M moving to Black Friday.
With the Egg Bowl being announced for an 11 a.m. CT kick and Texas-Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. CT, it’s shaping up to be a fun Black Friday for college football this year.https://t.co/4enTuxasM7
— Sam Khan Jr. (@skhanjr) May 8, 2025
There’s probably some logic here. There have been many college football complaints over the years about the NFL interfering with their traditional scheduling patterns. There have also been the reverse, especially around the expanded College Football Playoff. High-profile morning and evening CFB games on Black Friday could help maintain that day as a college football destination while also having less head-to-head overlap with a high-drawing NFL game. We’ll see how it works out.
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