Who’s Going Home Crowned As Conference Champs?
It’s that time of the year again in college football!
After a long journey, the best of the best from the Power 5 conferences are set to do battle for their conference championships.
It’s Championship Saturday, with a rematch of last year’s National Championship thriller between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs headlining the slate of games.
Another anticipated matchup, the one that will happen at AT&T Stadium between Red River rivals as the Oklahoma Sooners look for revenge against the Texas Longhorns.
Pac-12 Championship Game: No. 17 Utah vs. No. 11 Washington
A rematch of a Week 3 matchup in Salt Lake City from September in which Washington rolled to a 21-7 victory in enemy territory, Utah should provide the Huskies with more of a fight here.
Utah changed quarterbacks, going from Tyler Huntley to freshman Jason Shelley, who is a dual-threat option capable of causing Washington fits. In a game third down conversions and extending drives will count, look for Jake Browning and Washington to be the better of the two teams in that category.
Prediction: Washington 27 Utah 16
ACC Championship Game: No. 2 Clemson vs. Pittsburgh
Clemson is listed as a -27.5 favorite vs. Pittsburgh this Saturday at Bank of America Stadium, which tells you all you need to know about this matchup. If this game is in anyway competitive, it’ll be because of Pittsburgh’s front four putting constant pressure on Trevor Lawrence.
Unlikely.
Prediction: Clemson 42 Pittsburgh 13
Big Ten Title Game: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 21 Northwestern
Coach Pat Fitzgerald did an excellent job with this Northwestern football team during the regular-season. Northwestern was 8-1 in conference play, with their lone loss being a 20-17 home defeat vs. Michigan back at the end of September. As we saw this past Saturday, Ohio State is a little better than Jim Harbaugh’s football team.
From a talent perspective, these two teams aren’t close. If Northwestern wants any chance at victory, they must establish a rushing attack early and often with freshman Isaiah Bowser to keep Ohio State off the field. I’m betting against it.
Prediction: Ohio State 44 Northwestern 23
Big 12 Championship Game: No. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Texas
The stakes were high for Oklahoma the first time these teams played. While it’s hard to say how much Oklahoma has improved since losing the first meeting in a wild 48-45 shootout in Dallas, Texas, it’s unlikely that Oklahoma has three turnovers like they did back in October.
Those three turnovers — two by Heisman hopeful Kyler Murray — changed the momentum of that game. Protecting the football is one of the strengths of Lincoln Riley’s football team, and we’ll see a different game take form here because of that in what should be a convincing but high-drama battle.
Prediction: Oklahoma 48 Texas 40
SEC Championship Game: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Georgia
While familiarity with a team plays a significant role and Kirby Smart’s team has plenty of it, I can’t see Georgia’s offense enjoying the same level of success vs this stout Alabama defense as they have against others this season.
Early on Georgia should be able to make this a competitive game because of their outstanding front four and their ability to stop the run, but it won’t be long before Tua Tagovailoa and that explosive Alabama offense gets it going.
Prediction: Alabama 34 Georgia 16
What are your thoughts on this Saturday’s Conference Title games? Leave your comments below!