It’s hard to believe another college football regular season has come and gone. Luckily, we still have plenty of quality football ahead of us, particularly with the new 12-team CFP.
Of course, given it is Championship week, we have to highlight the marquee matchups from Saturday’s slate. This includes 4 ranked matchups from the Big 12, SEC, Big 10, and ACC. Find our breakdowns and picks below.
#16 Iowa State vs #15 Arizona State
The Arizona State Sun Devils reach the Big 12 Championship game in their first season in the conference. The Sun Devils entered the season projected to finish last in the conference but won their final 5 games to finish 10-2 overall and 7-2 in conference play to earn a shot at a CFP birth.
Iowa State also finished the regular season 10-2 overall and 7-2 in conference play. The Cyclones #6 in the Big 12 preseason poll but picked up critical wins over Utah and Kansas State in the last 2 weeks of the regular season to earn a spot in the championship game.
This game will be played at AT&T Stadium, and will be the first neutral-site game of the season for both of these teams.
They say styles make fights and the clear matchup to watch in this game is the Arizona State rushing attack against the Iowa State run defense. The Sun Devils are 21st in the country in rushing (195 YPG), while the Cyclones are 94th against the run (174 YPG).
We expect ASU to pound the ball with Cam Skattebo and hit enough big plays with Jordyn Tyson to pull out a tight victory and claim their first Big 12 title.
#5 Georgia vs #2 Texas
It hasn’t always been pretty, but the Georgia Bulldogs and Texas Longhorns have looked like the two best teams in the SEC (and possibly the country) for most of this season. This will be a rematch from the Bulldogs’ 30-15 win in Texas earlier this season.
This game will be played at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, which does mean the crowd will lean Dawgs but Texas will have an allotment of tickets that should keep this from being a true home environment for Georgia. Both of these teams went undefeated in neutral site games this season.
The question here is, which Georgia defense will we see? The one that was shredded by Jalen Milroe, Michael Van Buren, and Haynes King, or the one that held Quinn Ewers to just 211 yards in October.
It’s worth pointing out that Ewers missed a full month in the middle of this season, and came back to throw4 interceptions in 3 games against Oklahoma, Georgia, and Vandy. He’s since thrown 10 touchdowns to just 1 interception.
We expect Ewers to be fine, and his counterpart Carson Beck to do his part as well. Beck threw 8 interceptions, including 3 against Texas, in a 3-game stretch this season, but closed with 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions over his final 3 games. Look for fireworks and a potential shootout in this one. We like Texas to pull out the victory and win its first SEC Title.
#3 Penn State vs #1 Oregon
So, we have 2 first-year programs winning conference titles but can we make it 3-for-3? Vegas expects this game to be tight, but football fans know exactly what to expect from James Franklin’s Nittany Lions. The big game has eluded Penn State throughout Franklin’s tenure, and most fans outside of Happy Valley expect another loss on Saturday.
On paper, these teams are mirror images of one another. Both teams are led by veteran QBs and average around 33 PPG while allowing around 15 PPG. Average time of possession sits within 9 seconds of one another, and both teams average 6.5 yards per play while giving up 4.6 yards per play. This matchup has nail-biter written all over it.
In the end, it comes down to Dan Lanning vs James Franklin, and we just can’t pick Franklin. Give us the Ducks by a field goal, and yes, 3 teams win a conference title in their first appearance.
#17 Clemson vs #8 SMU
SMU has a chance to make it 4-for-4 as they look to cap off their first season as a power 5 school with an ACC title. The Mustangs are absolutely rolling right now. They’ve won 9-straight games, scoring 30+ points in 8 of those 9 games. They have the 21st-ranked passing attack in the country and a running back in Brashard Smith who has racked up 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Clemson Tigers were blown out in their opener against Georgia but found a way to bounce back and earn a shot at yet another ACC title. Cade Klubnik has the rare ability to look like the best QB in the country on one play and the worst on the next. Phil Mafah’s season has been a similar roller coaster. He had 6 100 yard performances, but was held to just 97 yards on his final 40 carries of the season.
We can glance at the performance of these teams in ACC play and know that SMU is the better team, but can they hold up to this massive stage? A stage the program has been begging for over the past few seasons. We’re going with an upset in this one and think Clemson finds a way to steal another ACC Championship on Saturday.
