Conference Championship Win Predictions 12/3,12/4

It’s Conference Championship Weekend and this will finalize the Final Four for the playoffs. Last week was rivalry week and there were some great games. Michigan took Ohio State to the woodshed and played old-fashioned football in winning 42-27. Alabama was dreadful against a beat-up, but heroic, Auburn team, before finally winning in four overtimes, 24-22. Cincinnati and Georgia took care of business, as did Oklahoma State and Notre Dame, and those six schools are the front runners for the playoff spots. Rivalry week is always tricky, and I went a satisfying 33-12, running my overall record to 371-117 (76%) after 13 weeks. I got the Lock of the Week upping my record to 8-5 for the year. However, my two upset specials went up in smoke dropping my record to 12-7 in that category. Here are our win predictions for Championship week. Keep in mind, these are straight up wins not involving the point spreads.

FRIDAY 12/3:

C-USA CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at San Antonio The Hilltoppers are on a roll with their high-flying offense. Since losing by six to UTSA in the regular season, they have won 7 in a row. Meanwhile, UTSA had their hopes of an unbeaten season throttled last week at North Texas.

The Pick: Western Kentucky 42 UTSA 31

PAC-12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Las Vegas Two weeks ago, the Utes thumped Oregon 38-7 in Salt Lake City to end the Ducks’ hopes for a playoff spot. Oregon gets a chance to avenge that painful loss and claim the PAC-12 championship.

The Pick: No.10 Oregon 28 No.14 Utah 24

MAC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Detroit This is a game that has to be played, even though, there aren’t any teams deserving to be called champions. We will make a pick anyway.

The Pick: Kent State 38 Northern Illinois 28

BIG 12 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Arlington, TX. Oklahoma State took care of Baylor 24-14 two months ago in Stillwater. The big question coming into this game is if Baylor quarterback, Gerry Bohanon, is able to play in this game. If he does, I’m picking an upset.

The Pick: No.9 Baylor 27 No.5 Oklahoma State 24

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at San Diego I have been picking against San Diego State most of the season and the results haven’t turned out well for me. I’m getting on the Aztec bandwagon for this one against the Utah State.

The Pick: No.19 San Diego State 31 Utah State 17

SUN BELT CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Lafayette, LA. Appalachian State rolls into Lafayette with a 10-2 record, to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns who have won 11 straight. This will be a very underrated game between two little-known, very good teams.

The Pick: Appalachian State 28 No.20 Louisiana 21

SEC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Atlanta This is the feature game of the weekend between 11-1 Alabama, and 12-0 Georgia. The Bulldogs are in the playoffs, regardless of what happens in this game. Alabama is coming off an unimpressive win over Auburn, and their fate is fairly certain; they have to win to get in unless chaos intervenes.

The Pick: No.1 Georgia 31 at No.4 Alabama 10

AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Cincinnati This is the final step for Cincinnati to make history. If they win, they are a lock to be the first Group of 5 team to make the playoffs. They are encountering an 11-1 Houston team that will present a significant challenge. But the game is at home for the Bearcats and the Houston regular season schedule is very suspect.

The Pick: No.3 Cincinnati 34 No.16 Houston 20

ACC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Charlotte This is another game that doesn’t have any playoff implications, but still will be a highly entertaining affair. Both Wake Forest and Pittsburgh have exciting offenses that are as good as any in the country. They both have outstanding quarterbacks and the scoreboard will be lighting up.

The Pick: No.17 Pittsburgh 45 No.18 Wake Forest 41

BIG 10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP at Indianapolis Michigan is highly favored against the Iowa Hawkeyes and probably deserve to be. The Hawkeyes have won 10 games and most have been very ugly. But, winning ugly, beats losing pretty. Michigan could, quite possibly, have a letdown after the big win over Ohio State.

The Pick: No.2 Michigan 31 No.15 Iowa 17

Bonus Pick: California 28 USC 20