Previewing Championship Saturday
Josh Frey
|
The college football regular season is officially over, and Week 14 is officially the beginning of postseason play with each conference championship game set to take place. With that, here is a preview of Championship Saturday, going over some of the biggest conference championships in college football.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1197550″ player=”26281″ title=”The%20Vikings%20Are%2092.%20Let's%20Talk%20about%20It.” duration=”1699″ description=”Josh Frey and Dustin Baker discuss the Patriots and Jets, from a Vikings perspective.” uploaddate=”2022-11-30″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1197550_th_1669833806.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1197550.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
#10 Kansas State vs. #3 TCU
There’s probably more riding on this game than any other that will take place on Saturday. The Big 12 Championship features two teams that have already met this season in what was one of the more entertaining games of the college football season.
In that first game, Kansas State jumped out to a 28-10 first half lead before TCU came roaring back in the second half to win 38-28.
Since that game, Kansas State has gone 4-1, slowly creeping back up the national rankings, and they now find themselves in the top 10 for the first time since 2014. A win would secure a spot in the Sugar Bowl while a loss may knock them out of the New Year’s Six entirely.
On the other side, TCU is in prime position to be the second program out of the Big 12 to make the College Football Playoff. The first was Oklahoma, who has participated in the tournament four times (2016, 2018-2020). However, a loss would almost ensure that they get kicked out in favor of Ohio State.
#14 LSU vs. #1 Georgia
The LSU Tigers lost their final gasp of hope for the College Football Playoff when they traveled to Texas A&M and fell, 38-23. However, they can still play spoiler and earn a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl by defeating the 12-0 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC title game.
However, Georgia has been nearly invincible since the start of the 2021 season. They once again sit at a perfect 12-0 and are the favorites to win the national championship due to their stingy defense and efficient offense. A loss for Georgia likely wouldn’t knock them out of the CFP, but a win for LSU would be the exclamation point to cap off Brian Kelly’s first season as head coach.
#9 Clemson vs. #23 North Carolina
2021 snapped a six-year streak of Clemson appearing in and winning the ACC title game. However, despite another somewhat disappointing year in 2022, the Tigers are back playing for the conference championship for the seventh time in eight years.
Joining them in this showdown is the North Carolina Tar Heels, who haven’t been to the ACC Championship since 2015 when they lost to the Deshaun Watson-led Tigers by a score of 45-37. They also haven’t won an ACC football title since 1980. A victory on Saturday would be a huge steppingstone for Mack Brown’s program.
#22 UCF vs. #18 Tulane
Tulane was one of the biggest surprises of this college football season, and now, they have a great opportunity to cap off their Cinderella run with an American Athletic Conference title.
However, their opponent, the UCF Golden Knights, have already gotten the better of them once this year. The two teams met in Tulane in Week 11 and UCF won a thrilling game, 38-31.
That game was largely decided by the rushing discrepancy as UCF piled up 336 yards on the ground at 6.2 yards per carry. This included a 67-yard touchdown scamper by QB John Rhys Plumlee. In order for Tulane to win the rematch, they’ll have to do a much better job at containing the run. Currently, oddsmakers appear to believe that it will happen, with Tulane favored by four points.
2023 NFL Draft Rankings: Running Backs
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.