Best sports weekend ever? What we’re watching as Ryder Cup, NFL, college football, WNBA playoffs, MLB converge

Weekends like these are why we endure the dog days of summer. Why we count down the days until seasons are back. Why we can’t wait until that hint of fall is in the air. Why we, simply, are sports fans. The final weekend of September is setting up to be one of the greatest sporting weekends in recent memory.

Let’s start with the Ryder Cup, hosted at the iconic Bethpage Black Course just outside New York City. Team USA and Team Europe will battle for bragging rights in front of a raucous crowd unlike any you’d get at other golf events. The biggest stars are out, and the unique format — with team events Friday and Saturday and 12 singles matches on Sunday — ensures every minute will be filled with drama. Prepare for plenty of champagne popping come Sunday evening.

That last sentence applies in the MLB, too. There are still four playoff spots to be determined in this sprint to the finish. The Tigers have experienced a historic collapse, up from 15.5 games in the AL Central to fighting for their playoff lives. And could the Mets really miss the postseason? There’s a ton on the table.

The WNBA playoffs have already begun, and both semifinals — Aces-Fever and Lynx-Mercury — are tied at 1-1. One would think Las Vegas and Minnesota are on a collision course, but Indiana (without Caitlin Clark, no less) and Phoenix have already proved their mettle.

Finally, every Saturday and Sunday in September has plenty of football. Not all of them have this sort of lineup, though. Among the college highlights are No. 6 Penn State hosting its annual whiteout against No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 LSU visiting No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 17 Alabama heading to No. 5 Georgia.

In the NFL ranks, Micah Parsons makes his return to Dallas after his shocking trade from the Cowboys to the Packers, and two top AFC contenders — the Ravens and the Chiefs — try to avoid falling to 1-3 when they meet in Kansas City on CBS.

So, what are we here at CBS Sports looking forward to most? It’s hard to choose just one, but here’s what we’ll have on our screen — or at least on our main screen — over the next few days.

Ryder Cup

There’s a lot of great football on this weekend. None of those games are particularly unique, though. The Ryder Cup is played biennially, and many golf experts believe there has never been a more significant edition of the event than the one being played at Bethpage Black in New York over the next few days. The sides are relatively even, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines an American side no longer as strong as it was just four years ago, Keegan Bradley is perhaps the most exciting U.S. captain ever, and Europe absolutely ran through the Americans at the last playing in Rome. Could this be the year the road Ryder Cup streak is broken? Will Rory McIlroy come through in his last great bid to accomplish that feat on U.S. soil? The Long Island crowd will be raucous, the outfits will be exceptional, and the golf could potentially be legendary. – Adam Silverstein

The Ryder Cup will be front and center on my TV all day Friday and again on Sunday afternoon. Shoot, it’ll even take center stage on Saturday morning over the usual college football preview shows. Once noon hits, I’ll be dialed in to a blockbuster day of college football action for work purposes, but the action from Bethpage Black will likely still find a place in my quadbox. There is nothing like the pageantry and intensity of the Ryder Cup, as an individual sport morphs into the ultimate team endeavor for a weekend. – David Cobb

The Ryder Cup has been all bark and no bite for the last decade, but this year it will change. Two evenly matched squads with their own history and hurdles to overcome. On the European side, Rory McIlroy looks to call his shot successfully, a la Babe Ruth, after leading the drubbing of the U.S. in Rome in what is likely the final best shot of his career to win a Ryder Cup on American soil. Luke Donald can become arguably the greatest European captain as well in his second stint as headman. For the home team, Bradley can go from outside the boys club to sitting at the head of the table if he brings the cup back home. Throw in the New York crowd, the vagaries of match play and different playing formats, as well as characters such as Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton, and a good time is bound to happen. – Patrick McDonald

I’m a certified golf sicko, but consider this my formal proposal to move the Ryder Cup to August so I can actually watch the whole thing. Going up against football means the only significant time I get to spend watching it is on Sunday afternoon if the U.S. is in striking distance. It’s a special window of time to remember golf exists, and it’s a time-honored tradition of mine to completely ignore it if we’re being drubbed by the lads from across the pond. Call me a frontrunner or a guy who’s just too locked into the gridiron, but September means football season. – Richard Johnson 

College football

No. 6 Oregon at No. 3 Penn State

There are literally so many options to choose from this weekend, but I’ll go with the best game on the college football slate. Sure, if Alabama-Georgia is anything like last year, we are in for another electric game, but I can’t wait to watch Penn State vs. Oregon. This game could go a long way in determining who has the inside track to reach the Big Ten Championship Game and brownie points towards a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has been up and down this season, while Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has shown flashes of why he was such a touted transfer. – Cameron Salerno

The Eagles are playing the Buccaneers this weekend, the Phillies are playing in Game 162 (they have basically everything wrapped up), the Ryder Cup is on, but nothing else matters except this game. Fair warning, I am a Penn State alum and have never missed a  “White Out” game — as a student, alum or journalist. This is the biggest game of the year for PSU to date, and this is Oregon’s first visit to Beaver Stadium since the 1960s. Knowing players on the team and how much this game means to them makes the “White Out” even more special, especially for the No. 3 team in the country. This is a statement game, and the atmosphere will be like no other. Expect 110,000-plus all wearing white and the stadium to be loud for 3.5 hours.  – Jeff Kerr

No. 17 Alabama at No. 5 Georgia

While there will be games with more national implications, Alabama-Georgia has something even better: desperation. Kalen DeBoer has one of the hottest seats in college football and desperately needs to remind fans why Alabama hired a no-name from the West Coast. He tends to be the biggest in the most important stops, so don’t be surprised if DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb come out with a crazy game plan against the SEC’s new standard-bearer. If it goes wrong, I’d expect another big spike on our story about DeBoer’s hefty buyout.  – Shehan Jeyarajah

I think I’m contractually obligated to pick the game I’ll actually be attending, but even if I wasn’t at Alabama-Georgia, it’s the college football game that has me most intrigued in what is a stacked overall slate. DeBoer’s best moment as Alabama’s coach was a win over Georgia a year ago in Tuscaloosa. For all of Kirby Smart’s success, he’s still only 1-6 against Alabama since he took over in Athens. DeBoer could badly use another marquee win after losing the season opener to Florida State, while you know Smart would love to end the narrative he can’t beat the Crimson Tide. From “second-and-26” to last year’s fantastic finish, these two teams tend to deliver classics when they meet on the field, and I can’t wait to see what this year’s edition delivers. – John Talty 

No. 1 Ohio State at Washington (on CBS/Paramount+)

I’d like to echo Richard Johnson’s proposal to move the Ryder Cup to August – just as I wish the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs wrapped up before the football season begins. That said, I’m going to take a different route – one admittedly biased towards the Big Ten on CBS.

With all the other top-25 matchups happening this Saturday, No. 1 Ohio State at Washington isn’t going to grab much national attention. Ryan Day and the Buckeyes are 48-0 against conference opponents not named Michigan or Oregon, but the Huskies bring a 22-game home winning streak in one of the loudest stadiums in college football. If Washington pulls off the upset, it would be an added highlight to an already massive sports weekend. – Cody Nagel

No. 1 Ohio State at Washington has the makings of Jeremiah Smith’s loud introduction to 2025’s Heisman party

David Cobb

No. 15 Tennessee at Mississippi State 

Trap game for the No. 15 Vols in Starkville? We’re already in Week 5, but this is the their first true road game, and I can already hear those damn cowbells. Tennessee averages 53.5 points per game and has dropped at least 41 points in each contest this season. Mississippi State, on the other hand, allows just 11.8 points per game. Something’s gotta give. – Jordan Dajani

NFL

Packers at Cowboys

After I picked my jaw up off the floor after seeing Jerry Jones trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, I immediately went to check the schedule. Yes! Not only do the Packers and Cowboys play one another in 2025, but it’s in Dallas on Sunday Night Football. What a time to be alive! This was one of the most stunning trades in recent NFL history, and now we get to see the star pass rusher almost immediately head back to his old stomping grounds to take on his former team. Sign me up! After being embarrassed by the Browns last week, there’s going to be no letup by Parsons and the Packers. On top of trying to right that wrong, Parsons is in line to have a tremendous showing with Dallas’ offensive line dealing with a rash of injuries. Get your popcorn ready. – Tyler Sullivan

Ravens vs. Chiefs (on CBS)

Kansas City’s sluggish start to 2025 doesn’t bode well for this game as a fireworks show, but Lamar Jackson is just 1-5 against the Chiefs as a starter for his career, including playoffs. Something has to give here. If he can’t steal the spotlight in Arrowhead this time, we’ll have grave concerns about Baltimore as a contender. And yet, if Patrick Mahomes and Co. can’t defend their own turf and drop to 1-3, well, the sirens will commence in Kansas City as well. In other words, it’s a matchup of desperation between two recent MVP quarterbacks, which means we’re probably in for a treat. – Cody Benjamin

MLB final weekend

For most of the year, I was worried these last few days of the season would be a bit lame because so many teams seemed locked into their postseason fate. Instead, we still have a bunch of races and postseason berths up for grabs, thanks largely to the Astros, Mets, and especially the Tigers collapsing. Detroit’s trying to avoid the biggest collapse in baseball history. The Astros are staring down the end of their reign. The Mets can’t possibly miss the postseason, can they? I mean, sure they can. It’s possible. We still have legit races in the AL East and NL West, too. I don’t love the three wild card system — I think there are too many teams in the postseason now — but credit where it’s due: many of these races wouldn’t be possible without it. – Mike Axisa

As a Reds fan, I had forgotten what it was like to watch competitive baseball in September (or even August, for that matter), but that’s not the case this year. With the Mets possibly pulling off an all-time choke job in the NL Wild Card race, that has opened the door for the Reds to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 (I don’t count their fake playoff appearance in 2020 when 16 teams made the postseason during MLB’s shortened COVID season). With the Reds in the thick of the race, I’ll have my eyes on the Mets, Reds and Diamondbacks as they battle for the final NL Wild Card spot. I forgot how much fun it is to scoreboard watch in September. – John Breech

Among the possible MLB collapses (Tigers could blow division lead to Guardians), I’m particularly curious to see what happens to the Mets. I happen to be a lifelong Braves fan (so I have nothing else to root for right now!) who thoroughly enjoyed when Atlanta overcame a 10.5-game deficit to overtake the Mets for the NL East title in 2022. Could the Mets really blow another massive lead just three years later, this time in the NL Wild Card to the Reds? This is the franchise that basically has a blank check from Steve Cohen (but somehow didn’t invest in enough pitching). It would be one of the biggest collapses ever, considering they were an MLB-best 45-24 on June 12. They might be taking on a stumbling Marlins team this weekend, but they just lost two out of three to the Nationals and lost three of four to Miami back in late August. This would be exactly the type of series the Mets would lose to finish off a historic letdown. – Doug Clawson

WNBA playoffs

I must admit I’ll have the iPad up on the side to keep an eye on the Ryder Cup and the Red Sox’s playoff hopes, but my primary focus will be the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs, which are set for a pivotal weekend. Both best-of-five series – the Minnesota Lynx vs. the Phoenix Mercury and the Las Vegas Aces vs. the Indiana Fever – are all square at 1-1. The action will resume Friday with a pair of Game 3s, followed by another doubleheader of Game 4s on Sunday. 

The Lynx and Aces, the top two seeds, were major favorites heading into the semis and seemed destined to meet in the Finals next month. That matchup is no longer a guarantee, and both teams will have to go on the road and win at least one game this weekend to keep their respective seasons alive. The underdog Mercury and Fever, on the other hand, suddenly have a chance to advance to the Finals by defending their home courts. 

Will any of these four teams punch their ticket to the Finals this weekend? Will the Finals matchup be set? Or will we go to sleep Sunday night pondering two winner-take-all Game 5s early next week? The possibilities for this weekend are endless – Jack Maloney