Conference Championship Weekend
By Colin Dixon November 27th, 2018
Picture Via @ClemsonFB Twitter
This coming Saturday, December 1st, all 10 Division 1 NCAA Football conferences will be hosting their Conference Championships. 4 of the 5 Power 5 championships will have playoff implications on the line and that means this weekend is going to be exciting.
To start, we will look at the only Power 5 conference championship that will not have any playoff implications at all. This game is Utah vs Washington and it will be played at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Ca. Earlier this year these teams faced off and the Washington Huskies came out as the winners. On Saturday the Huskies are 5 point favorites and will look to keep rolling after their big win in the Apple Cup last weekend.
Washington has a solid defense and more experience in big games, so I am taking the Huskies to be the Pac 12 Champions.
Score Prediction: Washington 31- Utah 17
Next is the ACC Championship with the Clemson Tigers squaring off versus the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Pitt Panthers are known for playing spoiler to big teams but the Tigers who are 26 point favorites are looking to keep their undefeated season alive and head into the College Football Playoff on a roll.
Clemson will win the game in dominant fashion and I do not think it will even be close.
Game Prediction: Clemson 56 - Pitt 10
Now over to the Big 10 Championship where the Northwestern Wildcats will face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are coming off a big win against rival Michigan and hope that a big win in this game could squeeze them into the College Football Playoff. Northwestern is a scrappy team who will look to spoil any chance of the Buckeyes playing for a National Championship.
Ohio State has always had a dominant offense but they showed that their defense can show up in big games and that is why I am going with the Buckeyes this Saturday.
Game Prediction: Ohio State 31 - Northwestern 17
The Big 12 has one of the biggest games of this coming Championship Weekend when the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns bring the Red River Rivalry into the Big 12 Championship. Earlier this season the Longhorns gave the Sooners their only loss of the season but Kyler Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners will look to get revenge this Saturday.
I think the Sooners will get their revenge, it was a close game the last time these 2 played and I think it is a good game again but the Sooners will come out on top and hope to find a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Game Prediction: Oklahoma 45 - Texas 38
Now to the biggest game of the weekend is when #1 Alabama will face off with #4 Georgia. The last time these two faced off was in the National Championship last year and this year they will be playing at the same stadium that they faced off in last year. Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs have been rolling since their only loss to the LSU Tigers earlier this year but the Alabama Crimson Tide may just be too much for the Bulldogs to handle. The winner of this game will undoubtedly find their way into the College Football Playoff and if Georgia wins then there is the possibility that both teams can make the playoff.
I think the result will be the same as it was last year with Alabama coming out on top but this game will not be as close as last years was.
Game Prediction: Alabama 31 - Georgia 10
Besides all of the Power 5 Championships, there are two Group of 5 Championships that will be intriguing to watch on Saturday.
The first one is the UCF Knights and the Memphis Tigers. UCF will look to win their 25th straight game and if they can win on Saturday they will definitely find themselves playing in a New Years Six bowl this year. Although the Knights have been winning they will be without their quarterback McKenzie Milton on Saturday because of a broken leg. Without Milton running the offense, it will be interesting to see how the Knights operate on Saturday but they should be just fine without him.
Game Prediction: UCF 38 - Memphis 30
The other Group of 5 Championship game that will be intriguing this Saturday will be the Mountain West Championship between the Fresno Bulldogs and the Boise State Broncos. These teams already faced off this year with the Broncos ending up on the winning side. The Broncos are favored by 2.5 points but the Bulldogs will look to get their revenge on Saturday. Fresno State only allows about 13.5 points per game and will look to use their high powered offense and defense to lead them to a Mountain West Title.
Game Prediction: Fresno State 28 - Boise State 24
After Championship Saturday is all over on Sunday, December 2nd the final College Football rankings will be announced and everyone will know who is in the College Football Playoff. This year of College Football has been nothing short of exciting and this next month of championships and bowl games will be just as fun to watch.
My Final 4: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Oklahoma
Picture Via @ClemsonFB Twitter
This coming Saturday, December 1st, all 10 Division 1 NCAA Football conferences will be hosting their Conference Championships. 4 of the 5 Power 5 championships will have playoff implications on the line and that means this weekend is going to be exciting.
To start, we will look at the only Power 5 conference championship that will not have any playoff implications at all. This game is Utah vs Washington and it will be played at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Ca. Earlier this year these teams faced off and the Washington Huskies came out as the winners. On Saturday the Huskies are 5 point favorites and will look to keep rolling after their big win in the Apple Cup last weekend.
Washington has a solid defense and more experience in big games, so I am taking the Huskies to be the Pac 12 Champions.
Score Prediction: Washington 31- Utah 17
Next is the ACC Championship with the Clemson Tigers squaring off versus the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Pitt Panthers are known for playing spoiler to big teams but the Tigers who are 26 point favorites are looking to keep their undefeated season alive and head into the College Football Playoff on a roll.
Clemson will win the game in dominant fashion and I do not think it will even be close.
Game Prediction: Clemson 56 - Pitt 10
Now over to the Big 10 Championship where the Northwestern Wildcats will face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are coming off a big win against rival Michigan and hope that a big win in this game could squeeze them into the College Football Playoff. Northwestern is a scrappy team who will look to spoil any chance of the Buckeyes playing for a National Championship.
Ohio State has always had a dominant offense but they showed that their defense can show up in big games and that is why I am going with the Buckeyes this Saturday.
Game Prediction: Ohio State 31 - Northwestern 17
The Big 12 has one of the biggest games of this coming Championship Weekend when the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns bring the Red River Rivalry into the Big 12 Championship. Earlier this season the Longhorns gave the Sooners their only loss of the season but Kyler Murray and the Oklahoma Sooners will look to get revenge this Saturday.
I think the Sooners will get their revenge, it was a close game the last time these 2 played and I think it is a good game again but the Sooners will come out on top and hope to find a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Game Prediction: Oklahoma 45 - Texas 38
Now to the biggest game of the weekend is when #1 Alabama will face off with #4 Georgia. The last time these two faced off was in the National Championship last year and this year they will be playing at the same stadium that they faced off in last year. Jake Fromm and the Georgia Bulldogs have been rolling since their only loss to the LSU Tigers earlier this year but the Alabama Crimson Tide may just be too much for the Bulldogs to handle. The winner of this game will undoubtedly find their way into the College Football Playoff and if Georgia wins then there is the possibility that both teams can make the playoff.
I think the result will be the same as it was last year with Alabama coming out on top but this game will not be as close as last years was.
Game Prediction: Alabama 31 - Georgia 10
Besides all of the Power 5 Championships, there are two Group of 5 Championships that will be intriguing to watch on Saturday.
The first one is the UCF Knights and the Memphis Tigers. UCF will look to win their 25th straight game and if they can win on Saturday they will definitely find themselves playing in a New Years Six bowl this year. Although the Knights have been winning they will be without their quarterback McKenzie Milton on Saturday because of a broken leg. Without Milton running the offense, it will be interesting to see how the Knights operate on Saturday but they should be just fine without him.
Game Prediction: UCF 38 - Memphis 30
The other Group of 5 Championship game that will be intriguing this Saturday will be the Mountain West Championship between the Fresno Bulldogs and the Boise State Broncos. These teams already faced off this year with the Broncos ending up on the winning side. The Broncos are favored by 2.5 points but the Bulldogs will look to get their revenge on Saturday. Fresno State only allows about 13.5 points per game and will look to use their high powered offense and defense to lead them to a Mountain West Title.
Game Prediction: Fresno State 28 - Boise State 24
After Championship Saturday is all over on Sunday, December 2nd the final College Football rankings will be announced and everyone will know who is in the College Football Playoff. This year of College Football has been nothing short of exciting and this next month of championships and bowl games will be just as fun to watch.
My Final 4: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Oklahoma
