Last week: 7-0 Season: 70-31
College Football Playoff rankings: 1. Alabama 2. Ohio State 3. Clemson 4. Washington 5. Michigan 6. Wisconsin 7. Penn State 8. Colorado 9. Oklahoma 10. Oklahoma State
It's conference championship Saturday, and Washington, ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, already made its statement as to why it should be in the four-team tournament, crushing No. 8 Colorado, 41-10, in the Pac-12 championship Friday. The most likely team to take its spot is Penn State or Wisconsin, and the winner of their matchup will probably need to be impressive to kick out the one-loss Huskies. Both the Nittany Lions and Badgers have a pair of losses.
American Athletic championship
Temple (9-3) at No. 19 Navy (9-2), Noon ABC
The Midshipmen, despite two losses, are in a battle for the "Group of Five" automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl. The Group of Five are the conferences that aren't part of the "Power Five" of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12, and include the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Mid-American Conference. Navy will have to put together a very good game against the Owls to likely snag that berth, though, because No. 17 Western Michigan on Friday night completed a 13-0 season by beating Ohio in the MAC championship, so the Broncos are looking like the favorite to be in the Cotton Bowl. I actually like Temple in this game, so then it would be a moot point. Temple started the year 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Army but has gotten it together since then, and statistically, has one of the best defenses in the country. The Owls beat South Florida 46 30, one of the teams that beat Navy, 52-45. Navy's other loss was to Air Force. Should Navy win this game, it still has to face Army next week and could trip up against the better-than-normal Black Knights as well.
Temple 33, Navy 30
Bedlam
No. 10 Oklahoma State (9-2) at No. 9 Oklahoma (9-2), 12:30 p.m. Fox
Definitely up there with my favorite rivalry names. Bedlam will be the defacto Big 12 championship this year. Any chance the winner had of sneaking into the College Football Playoff likely evaporated with Washington's win Friday. Alabama is likely safely in even if Florida were to pull a huge upset. Ohio State is probably in despite not being in the Big Ten championship. If Clemson loses to Virginia Tech, the spot would most assuredly go to Penn State or Wisconsin. Still, this is a big game and has been recently. Five of the past six matchups have had both teams ranked, four of the six have been decided by single digits, and two went to OT. Defense will be probably hard to come by in this one. I like the Sooners at home.
Oklahoma 45, Oklahoma State 41
SEC championship
No. 1 Alabama (12-0) vs. No. 15 Florida (8-3) in Atlanta, 4 p.m. CBS
The Crimson Tide is an overwhelming 24-point favorite in this one, and 'Bama is probably in the playoff even if the unthinkable happens and the Gators pull off a shocker. Alabama has been utterly dominant this season and hasn't allowed a touchdown since Oct. 23 against Texas A&M. Yeah, make sure you read that again. The Tide also hasn't allowed more than 14 points since Oct. 9 against Arkansas. Florida struggles to score and hasn't put up more than 20 points since Oct. 29 against Georgia. This one could get ugly.
Alabama 31, Florida 10
ACC championship
No. 3 Clemson (11-1) vs. No. 23 Virginia Tech (9-3) in Orlando, 8 p.m. ABC
The Tigers now face the diciest situation of the top four teams. Washington's win puts the pressure on Clemson. The Tigers know if they are upset by Tech, then they will drop out. Ohio State doesn't play and should be in, and Alabama could be safe even with a loss. Clemson is an 11.5-point favorite, the second-biggest favorite in a conference title game. The Hokies are led by first-year coach Justin Fuente, the ACC coach of the year. The ex-Memphis coach has done a great job this season of revamping the Hokies' offense. It was just what Tech needed to return to the level it was at prior to four consecutive "meh" years. A much better offense, keyed by junior college transfer QB Jerod Evans, has helped take pressure off Bud Foster's defense, and as a result, it has had one of its better recent seasons. However, Tech has had some questionable performances this year, starting with getting blown out 45-17 by Tennessee after taking a 14-0 lead. The Volunteers have proven to be just OK. The Hokies also have losses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, teams they probably should have beaten. They also were very close to losing to Duke, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh. Fuente has things looking up in Blacksburg, but beating Clemson is probably asking a bit much. Clemson has been vulnerable on defense, though. The Tigers allowed 24 points to Troy, 36 to Louisville, 34 to Florida State -- all wins -- and 43 in their only loss to Pittsburgh, which was at home. There's definitely a chance the Hokies' offense could keep up with the Tigers, and if that happens, all bets are off.
Clemson 34, Virginia Tech 23
Big Ten championship
No. 6 Wisconsin (10-2) vs. No. 7 Penn State (10-2) in Indianapolis, 8 p.m. Fox
This is the most intriguing game on the slate because not only will each team of course be trying to win, but each team will be trying to win impressively so it can make its case to the playoff committee it belongs in the top four over Washington. The Badgers have played excellent defense this year. Their losses came by one TD each against Michigan and Ohio State, the latter in overtime. Penn State, meanwhile, has won eight consecutive games since getting blown out by Michigan, scoring at least 29 points in all of those victories. The Lions' other loss came in the second game of the season at Pittsburgh, 42-39. Their marquee win came Oct. 23 at home against OSU, 24-21. Wisconsin is a slight favorite, but I actually like the way PSU has been improving, and also it seems like it has had to claw its way into this position more. Wisconsin hasn't had a tough game since its losses to UM and OSU and has been on cruise control. I'm taking Penn State in a close one.
Penn State 23, Wisconsin 20
College Football Playoff rankings: 1. Alabama 2. Ohio State 3. Clemson 4. Washington 5. Michigan 6. Wisconsin 7. Penn State 8. Colorado 9. Oklahoma 10. Oklahoma State
It's conference championship Saturday, and Washington, ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, already made its statement as to why it should be in the four-team tournament, crushing No. 8 Colorado, 41-10, in the Pac-12 championship Friday. The most likely team to take its spot is Penn State or Wisconsin, and the winner of their matchup will probably need to be impressive to kick out the one-loss Huskies. Both the Nittany Lions and Badgers have a pair of losses.
American Athletic championship
Temple (9-3) at No. 19 Navy (9-2), Noon ABC
The Midshipmen, despite two losses, are in a battle for the "Group of Five" automatic bid to the Cotton Bowl. The Group of Five are the conferences that aren't part of the "Power Five" of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and Pac-12, and include the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mountain West, Sun Belt, and Mid-American Conference. Navy will have to put together a very good game against the Owls to likely snag that berth, though, because No. 17 Western Michigan on Friday night completed a 13-0 season by beating Ohio in the MAC championship, so the Broncos are looking like the favorite to be in the Cotton Bowl. I actually like Temple in this game, so then it would be a moot point. Temple started the year 1-2 with losses to Penn State and Army but has gotten it together since then, and statistically, has one of the best defenses in the country. The Owls beat South Florida 46 30, one of the teams that beat Navy, 52-45. Navy's other loss was to Air Force. Should Navy win this game, it still has to face Army next week and could trip up against the better-than-normal Black Knights as well.
Temple 33, Navy 30
Bedlam
No. 10 Oklahoma State (9-2) at No. 9 Oklahoma (9-2), 12:30 p.m. Fox
Definitely up there with my favorite rivalry names. Bedlam will be the defacto Big 12 championship this year. Any chance the winner had of sneaking into the College Football Playoff likely evaporated with Washington's win Friday. Alabama is likely safely in even if Florida were to pull a huge upset. Ohio State is probably in despite not being in the Big Ten championship. If Clemson loses to Virginia Tech, the spot would most assuredly go to Penn State or Wisconsin. Still, this is a big game and has been recently. Five of the past six matchups have had both teams ranked, four of the six have been decided by single digits, and two went to OT. Defense will be probably hard to come by in this one. I like the Sooners at home.
Oklahoma 45, Oklahoma State 41
SEC championship
No. 1 Alabama (12-0) vs. No. 15 Florida (8-3) in Atlanta, 4 p.m. CBS
The Crimson Tide is an overwhelming 24-point favorite in this one, and 'Bama is probably in the playoff even if the unthinkable happens and the Gators pull off a shocker. Alabama has been utterly dominant this season and hasn't allowed a touchdown since Oct. 23 against Texas A&M. Yeah, make sure you read that again. The Tide also hasn't allowed more than 14 points since Oct. 9 against Arkansas. Florida struggles to score and hasn't put up more than 20 points since Oct. 29 against Georgia. This one could get ugly.
Alabama 31, Florida 10
ACC championship
No. 3 Clemson (11-1) vs. No. 23 Virginia Tech (9-3) in Orlando, 8 p.m. ABC
The Tigers now face the diciest situation of the top four teams. Washington's win puts the pressure on Clemson. The Tigers know if they are upset by Tech, then they will drop out. Ohio State doesn't play and should be in, and Alabama could be safe even with a loss. Clemson is an 11.5-point favorite, the second-biggest favorite in a conference title game. The Hokies are led by first-year coach Justin Fuente, the ACC coach of the year. The ex-Memphis coach has done a great job this season of revamping the Hokies' offense. It was just what Tech needed to return to the level it was at prior to four consecutive "meh" years. A much better offense, keyed by junior college transfer QB Jerod Evans, has helped take pressure off Bud Foster's defense, and as a result, it has had one of its better recent seasons. However, Tech has had some questionable performances this year, starting with getting blown out 45-17 by Tennessee after taking a 14-0 lead. The Volunteers have proven to be just OK. The Hokies also have losses to Syracuse and Georgia Tech, teams they probably should have beaten. They also were very close to losing to Duke, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh. Fuente has things looking up in Blacksburg, but beating Clemson is probably asking a bit much. Clemson has been vulnerable on defense, though. The Tigers allowed 24 points to Troy, 36 to Louisville, 34 to Florida State -- all wins -- and 43 in their only loss to Pittsburgh, which was at home. There's definitely a chance the Hokies' offense could keep up with the Tigers, and if that happens, all bets are off.
Clemson 34, Virginia Tech 23
Big Ten championship
No. 6 Wisconsin (10-2) vs. No. 7 Penn State (10-2) in Indianapolis, 8 p.m. Fox
This is the most intriguing game on the slate because not only will each team of course be trying to win, but each team will be trying to win impressively so it can make its case to the playoff committee it belongs in the top four over Washington. The Badgers have played excellent defense this year. Their losses came by one TD each against Michigan and Ohio State, the latter in overtime. Penn State, meanwhile, has won eight consecutive games since getting blown out by Michigan, scoring at least 29 points in all of those victories. The Lions' other loss came in the second game of the season at Pittsburgh, 42-39. Their marquee win came Oct. 23 at home against OSU, 24-21. Wisconsin is a slight favorite, but I actually like the way PSU has been improving, and also it seems like it has had to claw its way into this position more. Wisconsin hasn't had a tough game since its losses to UM and OSU and has been on cruise control. I'm taking Penn State in a close one.
Penn State 23, Wisconsin 20
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