Rivalry weekend gave us some great games. Championship weekend looks to do the same. There will be early previews of every game this coming weekend.
We will start with the top games:
SEC features Alabama and Georgia. Georgia opens as a 5-point favorite with a total of 55.
Pac-12 features Oregon and Washington. Oregon opens a 9.5-point favorite with a total of 66.5.
Big Ten features Michigan and Iowa. Michigan opens up as a 23-point favorite with a total of 35.5.
Big 12 features Texas and Oklahoma State. Texas opens up as a 14.5 favorite with a total of 55.
ACC features Florida State and Louisville. Florida State opens up as a 3-point favorite with a total of 49.5.
AAC features Tulane and SMU. Tulane opens up as a 3-point favorite with a total of 50.5
C-USA features Liberty and New Mexico State. Liberty opens as a 10.5-point favorite with a total of 53.5
Who’s in the Playoff
The winner of Washington/Oregon will be in; the loser will be out.
Georgia, Michigan, Washington, and Florida State all win. They will be 1-4 in that order due to being undefeated. It is important that if Florida State struggles over Louisville and Texas blows out Oklahoma State, Texas may jump them.
They will all be out if Florida State, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, or Washington lose.
If Florida State loses, Texas will be in.
If Alabama wins.. Michigan and Florida State (if they win) will be in. The decision will be between Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and Pac-12 Champ.
Potential to get messy
If Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Texas all lose. There is room for a 1 loss team non-conference champ. This can include all of 1 team. It’s a very slim path, but there is potential for it.
Early Thoughts
Georgia/Alabama: Georgia will have to do an excellent job limiting Milroe’s deep throws. They should win this game if they force him to fit it into pockets.
Alabama has to pressure Beck and force him to throw it to receivers not named Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. Georgia has the weapons to exploit this Alabama defense, but Saban will prepare them.
Oregon/Washington: People don’t realize this is an almost 10-point spread. Vegas doesn’t think this game is all that close. With that being said, Washington has to defend the receiving core from Oregon. It will be a long game if they take the top off of the Washington defense early.
Michael Penix Jr. will have to be good to beat this Oregon team as well.
Florida State/Louisville: This will be an interesting game. If Florida State wins on a walk-off field goal, Texas may be able to jump them into the playoff rankings.
Florida State will have to figure out a way to run the ball against Louisville, and if they can’t, Rodemaker will have to play well to score points. Florida State will also have to defend the run because Louisville will try to beat them on the line of scrimmage.
Michigan/Iowa: The Big Ten Championship game was this past Saturday in Ann Arbor. Michigan will do what they do against Iowa. I will be surprised if Iowa scores at all in this game if the starters for Michigan stay in.
Tulane/SMU: Tulane will face a team that is statistically better than them. Unfortunately, SMU QB Preston Stone is OFS.
SMU should still throw the ball and force Tulane to defend the pass.
SMU is 22nd in passing yards per game, and Tulane is 203 in passing yards allowed. This will be the matchup to watch. Can SMU pass like they did with Stone and Tulane defend the pass?
Liberty/New Mexico State: Liberty is the better team. One glaring stat is that the Aggies are good at defending the run, while Liberty is a good rushing offense; something will have to give. This game was played in September, and Liberty won 33-17. It will be interesting to see if New Mexico State comes out fast and beats Liberty to the punch.
