Two weeks ago: 8-2 Last week: 0-1 Season: 67-31
Championship weekend is here with a smorgasbord of conference title games, rivalry contests, and regular-season finales that stretched across Friday through this evening. I'm focusing on the big games today.
Big Ten championship
No. 14 Northwestern (6-1) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (5-0) in Indianapolis, Noon, Fox
I would love to see the Wildcats nip the Buckeyes here, but I doubt that will happen. OSU has received criticism for being in this game despite having played in just five contests, but the Big Ten adjusted its rules to get Ohio State in. Go Northwestern! The Buckeyes defeated the Wildcats 45-24 in this game two seasons ago.
Ohio State 31, Northwestern 20
Big 12 championship
No. 10 Oklahoma (7-2) vs. No. 6 Iowa State (8-2) in Arlington, Noon, ABC
The Sooners have been on a roll with six straight wins since early-season losses to Kansas State by three and Iowa State by seven. The Cyclones have been a nice story but own close victories against TCU, Baylor, and Texas, all of which have at least three losses. And ISU has lost to Oklahoma State, 24-21, which was ranked No. 6 at the time but is now No. 21, and Louisiana-Lafayette, 31-14, which is now No. 19 and 9-1. The Ragin' Cajuns have had a great season, but still, how can Iowa State be No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings after losing by 17 to a Sun Belt team? Meanwhile, another Sun Belt squad, Coastal Carolina, is No. 12 and 11-0 but did beat Louisiana-Lafayette on the road and also BYU. It makes no sense that Coastal Carolina and a team like Cincinnati (No. 9 and 8-0) are behind the Cyclones. I think Oklahoma gets revenge against Iowa State.
Oklahoma 34, Iowa State 27
ACC championship
No. 3 Clemson (9-1) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame (10-0) in Charlotte, 4 p.m. ABC
The Fighting Irish have made it through the ACC schedule unblemished. That doesn't exactly say much for the strength of the conference, but I guess we knew it was fairly weak. However, Notre Dame has had a couple of close calls and hasn't necessarily dominated in each game. It was up only 10-6 at the half on Duke, which ended up being a bad team. It defeated Louisville 12-7. It had a tough game against North Carolina, and its final result against Boston College, 45-31, was pretty similar to Virginia's 43-32 victory over the Eagles. Of course, the Irish's crowning achievement was downing Clemson, 47-40, in two overtimes. At one point, Notre Dame led 23-10 before Clemson battled back. But this game was home, and the Tigers were down a certain star player at quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who was out with COVID-19 issues. He's playing today, so I like Clemson to take this rematch. Even with a loss, the Irish probably have a good chance to remain in the top four of the CFP rankings. But if Notre Dame beats Clemson again, it will be interesting to see who slides into the top four to take the Tigers' spot.
Clemson 35, Notre Dame 28
Mountain West championship
Boise State (5-1) vs. No. 24 San Jose State (6-0) in Las Vegas, 4:15 p.m. Fox
These teams were supposed to have played Nov. 28, but the game was canceled. The Broncos lost to BYU, 51-17. Otherwise, these teams have had similar results. Coach Brent Brennan has done a great job in now his fourth year leading San Jose State. His record each season: 2-11, 1-11, 5-7, 6-0. Beating a conference titan like Boise State would help solidify the Spartans' standing in the conference as a possible tough out for years to come.
Boise State 33, San Jose State 31
SEC championship
No. 1 Alabama (10-0) vs. No. 7 Florida (8-2) in Atlanta, 8 p.m. CBS
The Gators are a great team, and they may have just looked past LSU last week in a 37-34 loss in anticipating this matchup. That said, the Crimson Tide is even better and has dominated more teams this season. It has not scored fewer than 38 points in a game. Its transformation from a defensive juggernaut to an offensive juggernaut is complete. I'm sure Nick Saban is eager to get back on top of the college football world after not winning a national title since ... the end of the 2017 campaign.
Alabama 38, Florida 24
AAC championship game
No. 23 Tulsa (6-1) at No. 9 Cincinnati (8-0), 8 p.m. ABC
The Golden Hurricane and the Bearcats were supposed to have played already based on the schedule on ESPN.com. Cincy has crushed every opponent except one, edging UCF 36-33. Tulsa has had a few more close calls, and its loss came in the opener against Oklahoma State, 16-7. Cincy must keep winning to have any outside shot at making the playoff, though that is still highly unlikely. If anything, the Bearcats are probably ticked off and feeling disrespected given their undefeated record but behind the likes of Florida, Iowa State, and Georgia in the CFP. I think they'll come out feeling like they have something to prove.
Cincinnati 41, Tulsa 28
Photo credit: Matt Cashore/USA Today Sports
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