After a few minor bowl games, the action gets a lot more serious on Friday with a first-round College Football Playoff game that features several St. Louis ties, including Notre Dame's leading rusher.
Before that, a couple of minor bowls begin the day's football action with an 11 a.m. kickoff in the Cure Bowl.
After Friday's lone playoff game, the other three first-round CFP games are Saturday.
Here's a look at Friday's college football games.
Cure Bowl
Matchup: Ohio (10-3) vs. Jacksonville State (9-4)
Site: Orlando, Florida
Time: 11 a.m. CST Friday
TV: ESPN
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Line: Ohio by 5
Notable
- Both teams lost their head coaches in recent weeks. Jacksonville State head coach Rich Rodriguez left to take the West Virginia job earlier this month. Ohio's Tim Albin took over at Charlotte. Offensive coordinator Brian Smith takes over as Ohio's long-term coach.
- Jacksonville State running back Tre Stewart ranks fourth in college football with 1,601 rushing yards (123.2 per game) and 23 touchdowns (fourth in CFB). He also has 15 catches for 200 yards and one touchdown. Stewart spent three seasons at Division II Limestone before transferring.
- Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro, a Central Florida transfer averages 166.8 passing yards per game while completing 65.9% of his passes.
- The Bobcats have the 13th-ranked rushing offense in the FBS (211.6 yards per game).
- Until 1946, Jacksonville State was nicknamed the Eagle Owls, for a bird that exists only in Europe and Asia. Fans decided the Fighting Gamecocks would be more relatable than a bird living thousands of miles from Alabama.
St. Louis-area ties
- Ohio sophomore receiver Chase Hendricks (St. Mary's) is the team's second-leading receiver with 453 yards.
- Ohio freshman offensive lineman Bryce Parson (CBC) has not appeared in a game this year.
- Ohio wide receiver Eian Pugh transferred from Illinois, where he played in one game over two seasons.
Why you should watch
What better way to start the weekend than a late-morning kickoff between two teams you probably know little about?
Gasparilla Bowl
Matchup: Tulane (9-4) vs. Florida (7-5)
Site: Tampa, Florida
Time: 2:30 p.m. CST Friday
TV: ESPN2
Line: Florida by 10.5
Notable
- Florida won its last three regular-season games, rallied on the recruiting trail and has several upperclassmen returning in 2025. All of that happened after athletic director Scott Stricklin guaranteed the once-embattled coach Billy Napier would return in 2025.
- Tulane was ranked 18th before dropping its regular-season finale to Memphis, then losing to Army in the American Athletic Conference championship game.
- Tulane standout quarterback Darian Mensah won't play He entered the transfer portal and committed to Duke. He is one of just a few Tulane starters not expected to play.
- Ty Thompson, who transferred to Tulane from Oregon in 2024, is expected to make his first college start in what could be his final game for the Green Wave. Thompson has entered the transfer portal with the intent of finding a team that wants him to start full-time. But he remains on good terms with coach Jon Sumrall and could conceivably return to the Wave.
St. Louis-area ties
- Tulane senior defensive back Johnathan Edwards (Parkway North), an Indiana State transfer, has made 18 tackles this season.
- Tulane assistant Greg Gasparato coached safeties in 2019 at Appalachian State under now-Mizzou head coach Eli Drinkwitz.
- Tulane assistants Bam Hardmon and Dan Roushar as well as Florida assistant Billy Gonzales each previously coached at Illinois.
- Tulane assistant Greg McMahon, in addition to his time spent as an NFL assistant, also coached at Southern Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Illinois.
Why you should watch
Tulane, after losing two straight to fall out of the Top 25, looks to be a big underdog on the field and will undoubtedly be outnumbered in the stands vs. surging Florida. Tulane also lost its starting quarterback as well as one of his backups to the transfer portal. So a Green Wave win here would be one of the bigger upsets of bowl season.
CFP first-round game
Matchup: No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 seed Notre Dame (11-1)
Site: South Bend, Indiana
Time: 7 p.m. CST Friday
TV: KDNL (Channel 30) in St. Louis, ABC nationally. Also on ESPN (main telecast), ESPN2 (multi-angle view), ESPNEWS (SkyCast) and ESPN Deportes (Spanish)
Line: Notre Dame by 7
Notable
- Indiana has gone from being picked 17th in the Big Ten preseason poll to winning 11 games for the first time ever and making the playoffs. What's more, 10 of the Hoosiers' 11 wins were by 14 or more points and they faced deficits in only three games and only once in the second half
- Notre Dame hasn't made a national championship run since 1988, its longest title drought since winning the school's first in 1924. Indiana coach Curt Cignetti has plenty of FCS and Division II playoff experience.
- The Hoosiers are scoring 43.3 points, the most of any playoff team, and have one of the FBS' stingiest defenses, too.
- The most telling matchup will be Notre Dame's ground game against Indiana's defense. The Irish offense has centered primarily around a three-pronged running attack that features QB Riley Leonard, St. Louisan Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Indiana, meanwhile, leads the nation in fewest yards rushing per game allowed (70.8) and the 2.46 yards per carry allowed is second best in FBS.
- The two campuses in the Hoosier State are separated by 200 miles, but this is the first meeting since 1991.
- Snow is forecast to end before kickoff, but wind chills will be in the teens.
- The winner advances to face No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.
St. Louis-area ties
- Notre Dame sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love (CBC) leads the Irish with 949 rushing yards and 15 TDs. He is fifth nationally at 7.1 yards per carry.
- Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Christian Gray (De Smet) has 26 tackles and two interceptions.
- Notre Dame junior defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio (Lutheran St. Charles) didn't start his season until Oct. 12 after suffering a fractured foot. He tallied 12 tackles and a sack in seven games.
- Notre Dame freshman running back Aneyas Williams (Hannibal, Mo.) is named after former St. Louis Rams defensive back Aeneas Williams. Aneyas Williams has 174 rush yards and two touchdowns
- Indiana senior defensive lineman Lanell Carr Jr. (De Smet), a West Virginia transfer, has 37 tackles this season. In a loss to Ohio State, Carr tied for second on the team with seven tackles.
- Indiana assistant Buddha Williams was a graduate assistant at Illinois in 2014-15
Why you should watch
It's the first game of the playoff era, played at one of the game's most iconic stadiums. It features two teams not far from St. Louis as well as several local ties. There's even a possibility of snow. How many more reasons do you need?
The Associated Press contributed to this report.