With the last college football Saturday upon us, it's time to relflect. No more College Gameday means no more Lee Corso for the year. I'm gonna miss this crazy bastard and his mascot heads (fast forward to around 2:45 on the video and watch, his coffee is clearly spiked). Corso...one of the beauties of college football. Till next year...
A lot still can happen in terms of the BCS picture so this weekend should go a long way in determining the bowl picture. Of the four championships, there's one rematch (ASU/STAN), one with two polar opposite teams (OSU/MSU), one battle of high-scoring offenses (AUB/MIZZOU) and one David vs. Goliath (Duke/FSU). It's certaintly not as exciting as BCS bowl week but its another college football Saturday and one of the last of the year. Here are some of my predictions for the weekend:
SEC Championship
#5 Missouri (11-1, 7-1) vs. #3 Auburn -1.5 (11-1, 7-1) 4:00 PM CBS
No Alabama, no Johnny Football, but two great offenses. Missouri has kind of manufactured their way to a relatively quiet 11-1 record and their first SEC championship birth. Auburn, on the other hand, is pretty much destiny's team as they've won on miracle plays in the final seconds in each of their past two games. Similar offenses that love to play fast and score a ton of points with Auburn ranking 5th in rushing offense. I've been wavering on who I think wins this game, but if anything I think the over is a good pick. I can't discredit anything Missouri has done, but Auburn is riding a serious wave of Jesus and God and all external forces right now. Auburn 42 Missouri 38.
Pac-12 Championship
#7 Stanford (10-2, 7-2) @ #11 Arizona State -3.5 (10-2, 8-1) 7:45 PM ESPN
Love what ASU has done this season. It's nice to see a different team other than USC, Stanford and Oregon relevant in the Pac-12 which seems to have the usual suspects playing for a title the past 5 to 7 years. Stanford loves the power game and ASU loves the spread/finesse so we have two conflicting styles on offense. Stanford covers but Arizona State wins on a late field goal, goes to the Rose Bowl and people go running everyone in their underwear in Tempe. ASU 28 Stanford 27
ACC Championship
#20 Duke (10-2, 6-2) vs. #1 Florida State -29 (12-0, 8-0) 8:00 PM ABC
Unfortunately for Duke, Jameis Winston actually DIDN'T rape anyone (as of now) so he will be playing on Saturday. Florida State is clearly the more talented team, probably the most talented team in the country. 7th ranked offense, 4th ranked defense and most likely the Heisman winner at quarterback. Duke is a nice story this year and I respect the hell out of their coach David Cutcliffe for how he's turned this sorry program around. However, Florida State is a different animal. I love fairytale endings; I often pray my life ends in one, with a gorgeous woman, a dog and beach, but that's besides the point. Point is, I don't see David taking down Goliath here. However, I AM gonna pick Duke to cover the big spread. Florida State 35 Duke 10
Big-10 Championship
#10 Michigan State (11-1, 8-0) vs. #2 Ohio State -6.5 (12-0, 9-0) (-6.5) 8:17 PM FOX
#1 ranked defense vs. #6 ranked offense. A battle of opposing strengths in the Big-10 chip at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy. Michigan State is going to have to protect the football and make timely plays on offense if they want to crush Ohio State's National Championship aspirations. I really think Michigan State's defense will slow down Ohio State a bit and keep this game close. Playing in a dome does favor the offense though so I think the Buckeyes make enough plays to avoid the small upset. Ohio State 24 Michigan State 20.
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