CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY PREVIEW

Wow, this college football season has flown by! It feels like yesterday I was preparing for opening weekend and now the regular season is over! And it was a great regular season. We saw teams fall even lower than they already were, like Florida and Tennessee. We saw Texas become competitive again, and Miami rise back to the top! We also saw tons of coaches getting fired. But at last, championship week is upon us and I couldn’t be more excited. Oh, and the rankings came out Tuesday night.

College Football Playoff Rankings

So the last playoff rankings before the final playoff selections have been announced. And it came out as follows..

Clemson

Auburn

Oklahoma

Wisconsin

Alabama

Georgia

Miami

Ohio State

Penn State

USC

I don’t disagree with this TOO much, primarily because it’s going to all play itself out this weekend. If I would change anything, I would likely have TCU at 10 instead of USC.

HOWEVER, this weekend we will get the final rankings. You know, the ones that actually matter!

So with that said, here’s my Championship Saturday picks!

AAC CHAMPIONSHIP

(20) MEMPHIS V.S. (14) UCF

This has the potential to be the game of the day! I am amped to watch a high scoring shootout and that’s exactly what this will likely be. Revenge will clearly be on the minds of the Memphis players as the last time they played UCF, they were blown out by almost 30 points. UCF opened as a 7 point favorite. Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson will definitely be up for the challenge. He and wideout Anthony Miller form one of the best quarterback-receiver combos in the nation and they will give UCF all they can handle. UCF has the nation’s best offense, with tons of weapons, starting with quarterback McKenzie Milton. I don’t think either defense will be able to stop the other but in the end I think UCF will pull this out, but MUCH closer than the last game.

UCF 42

MEMPHIS 38

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

(11) TCU VS (3) OKLAHOMA

The last time these 2 teams played, Oklahoma dominated TCU in a 38-20 game at home. TCU and quarterback Kenny Trill will be looking for revenge on Saturday. They seem to be ready coming off of consecutive games where they dominated the opponent, however a much larger effort must be made if the defense expects to stop Heisman favorite Baker Mayfield. The Oklahoma offense has been on a tear, but TCU should have some confidence because even though they lost the previous matchup, they did shut out Oklahoma in the 2nd half. Given the circumstances, I do expect them to contain that offense enough to keep it close.

OKLAHOMA 31

TCU 24

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

AUBURN VS GEORGIA

Another revenge game as Georgia will try to redeem themselves from the beating that Auburn handed them a few weeks ago. Auburn is coming off a MAJOR win in the Iron Bowl that definitely left a few players banged up including running back Kerryon Johnson. Speaking of running backs, Georgia has 2 of the best in Sony Michele and Nick Chubb who didn’t fare so well against Auburn the first time who will be looking to respond. Auburn quarterback Jared Stidham has been ELITE the last several weeks and I expect him to continue to play well. This game will come down to the Auburn defense v.s. Georgia’s freshman quarterback Jake Fromm. If he can make some plays down the field and protect the football, expect Georgia to come out on top. However, I don’t see that happening.

AUBURN 31

GEORGIA 20

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

(7) MIAMI VS (1) CLEMSON

Finally, a non rematch! These teams played 2 years ago and Clemson humiliated Miami 58-0. Some Miami players say that loss has fueled them and they have not forgotten that game. Coach Mark Richt has took the Canes to an 10-1 season and a shot to make the college football playoff in just his 2nd season. Dabo Swinney is one of the best coaches in the country and he will undoubtedly have his number 1 ranked, and defending champions ready for the Turnover Chain. Miami has played up to their competition this season and I expect them to show up. Miami’s defense is just as good as Clemson’s. This will come down to which offense can make the most big plays. Despite not having their 2 top weapons in the passing game, Miami still has enough playmakers for me to give them the edge.

MIAMI 34

CLEMSON 30

Championship Saturday is a day I look forward to every year and I can not wait for this one! This will be the most top 10 matchups we have seen in one day since 1973!! I really think each game could go down to the wire. I have a wedding to attend Saturday afternoon, so I hope the happy couple doesn’t mind if I scream something out from the back while watching the games on my phone. And if they do, so what! It’s their fault for getting married on Championship Saturday!