Standings:
1.) Draper 40-17 (2-12 upset)
2.) Hoying 39-18 (3-11 upset)
3.) Seeberg 38-19 (3-11 upset)
4.) Schweinfurth 37-20 (1-13 upset)
Conference championships are nice, and so are big shiny trophies (though not as nice as little shiny pants). But like everything else in the expanded Playoff era, they've become just a means to an end. For the big boys, it's a chance at a first-round bye (unless you'd rather have that golden 5 seed). For the little guys, the Playoff starts one game earlier, with the winner keeping their title hopes alive and the loser looking forward to getting mayo or Pop-Tarts or the armed forces dumped on their heads.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7
Big 12: Iowa State Cyclones vs. Arizona State Wildcats
Draper: In the crapshoot of all crapshoots...I don't know at all what is going to happen. Iowa State was the 'best'/'most consistent' team in the conference....until they weren't. Then ASU came in like gangbusters after being meh to begin the season. Is momentum a thing? I don't know. Does anyone really think the winner of this is a threat to win it all? Of course not. But someone is going to the playoff after this fartfest of a Big12 season comes to a close. The coin says....ride the hot hand. Sparky yes? ASU: 27--ISU:24
Hoying: Congratulations to the Iowa State Cyclones on their first ever 10-win season! The Cyclones and the Indiana Hoosiers have finally left the ignominious group of Power 4 teams forever stuck in the single digits, leaving poor lonely Vanderbilt to hold that title all alone going forward. Ah, well, they got to 6 wins this year, 10 is surely right around the corner. How did the 'Clones finally break the 10 win barrier? A big part of it was avoiding BYU, Colorado, and, well, Arizona State along the way to a Big 12 title game berth, but ISU has been...OK...on defense, other than getting lit up by Kansas for 45 points. The offense isn't great, QB Rocco Becht is a bit of a bright spot I guess, but ASU has been generally more consistent through the air and on the ground. Sun Devil RB Cam Skattebo went ham against BYU to get Arizona State into a tie for the conference lead, and I'm not sure if Iowa State has the run D to keep him bottled up for 60 minutes. The miracle season rolls on as ASU grabs their first conference title since Jake Plummer met up with Joe Germaine in Pasadena. ASU: 24--ISU: 20
Schweinfurth: I don't have the heart after last week. Iowa State wins. ASU: 21--ISU: 24
Seeberg: Apologies for the short write ups this week, sick toddler in the house caused lots of chaos. In any event, ISU has their first 10-win season ever- and Iowa-Nebraska still outdrew them in the tv ratings. Fan base just isn’t there, and the Sun Devils, pardon the pun, are too hot right now. ASU: 31—ISU: 23
Hoying: Congratulations to the Iowa State Cyclones on their first ever 10-win season! The Cyclones and the Indiana Hoosiers have finally left the ignominious group of Power 4 teams forever stuck in the single digits, leaving poor lonely Vanderbilt to hold that title all alone going forward. Ah, well, they got to 6 wins this year, 10 is surely right around the corner. How did the 'Clones finally break the 10 win barrier? A big part of it was avoiding BYU, Colorado, and, well, Arizona State along the way to a Big 12 title game berth, but ISU has been...OK...on defense, other than getting lit up by Kansas for 45 points. The offense isn't great, QB Rocco Becht is a bit of a bright spot I guess, but ASU has been generally more consistent through the air and on the ground. Sun Devil RB Cam Skattebo went ham against BYU to get Arizona State into a tie for the conference lead, and I'm not sure if Iowa State has the run D to keep him bottled up for 60 minutes. The miracle season rolls on as ASU grabs their first conference title since Jake Plummer met up with Joe Germaine in Pasadena. ASU: 24--ISU: 20
Schweinfurth: I don't have the heart after last week. Iowa State wins. ASU: 21--ISU: 24
Seeberg: Apologies for the short write ups this week, sick toddler in the house caused lots of chaos. In any event, ISU has their first 10-win season ever- and Iowa-Nebraska still outdrew them in the tv ratings. Fan base just isn’t there, and the Sun Devils, pardon the pun, are too hot right now. ASU: 31—ISU: 23
SEC: Georgia Bulldogs vs. Texas Longhorns
Draper: Thank goodness the expanded playoffs has saved us from meaningless games like....UGA @ Texas Part 1 and UGA vs. Texas Part 2. While it seems like this is a huge titanic struggle for dominance, it really means very little in the grand scheme of things. UGA needed full on Kansas City treatment by the refs to survive an 8OT thriller in Clean Old-Fashioned Hate while Texas easily dispatched A&M at Kyle Field. While I'm not sold on UGA being the juggernaut everyone says they are, I'm really not sold on the Longhorns body of work this year. Not to mention they were clobbered by this team at home 1.5 months ago. It's hard to beat a team twice in a season, but they may need to beat em three times. Georgia isn't consistent enough at QB, but they have plenty of NFL players ready at any moment. I expect a repeat of what we saw in Austin. The Dawgs may be able to lose any given Sat...but they can beat anyone if they roll seven. UGA: 27--UT:17
Hoying: If you know me, you know I hate rematches in conference title games. But this one presents an interesting knot to unwind. Texas finished a game ahead of everyone else in the SEC, including Georgia. But Georgia beat Texas. And Georgia faced each of the other top contenders in the SEC, while Texas played Texas A&M, and...um...Georgia. So this makes for a great "prove-it" game for Texas. A win would solidly cement them as the 2-seed (or even 1-seed if Oregon loses (they won't, see below)) while a loss would really raise the fraud alert. Carson Beck has been wildly inconsistent this season, but when these two teams met in Austin, he threw two picks in the first half and the Dawgs still went in at the break up 23-0. I'm still not convinced that the Horns can handle a defensive front as nasty as Georgia's (other than Michigan's, aaaaaagggghhh). For Georgia's part, usually Kirby has to manufacture some ridiculous disrespect to get the Bulldogs' to bring their A game, but this time the pundits and bookies are doing it for him as Georgia comes in as the underdawg. Expect to see a better version of Georgia than we've observed over the last month or so. More so the "blowout the other UT" Dawgs than the "go to 8 overtimes with mediocre Georgia Tech" Dawgs. UGA: 24--UT: 20
Schweinfurth: I think Georgia is the better team, but don't have the right QB this year. Texas wins. UGA: 21--UT: 28
Seeberg: Much has been made of Texas winning just 1 Big 12 title the last decade then immediately making the SEC title game, but they got a seriously soft schedule en route. UGA is far more battle tested and it will show in a closer one than the first time around. UGA: 20—UT: 13
Hoying: If you know me, you know I hate rematches in conference title games. But this one presents an interesting knot to unwind. Texas finished a game ahead of everyone else in the SEC, including Georgia. But Georgia beat Texas. And Georgia faced each of the other top contenders in the SEC, while Texas played Texas A&M, and...um...Georgia. So this makes for a great "prove-it" game for Texas. A win would solidly cement them as the 2-seed (or even 1-seed if Oregon loses (they won't, see below)) while a loss would really raise the fraud alert. Carson Beck has been wildly inconsistent this season, but when these two teams met in Austin, he threw two picks in the first half and the Dawgs still went in at the break up 23-0. I'm still not convinced that the Horns can handle a defensive front as nasty as Georgia's (other than Michigan's, aaaaaagggghhh). For Georgia's part, usually Kirby has to manufacture some ridiculous disrespect to get the Bulldogs' to bring their A game, but this time the pundits and bookies are doing it for him as Georgia comes in as the underdawg. Expect to see a better version of Georgia than we've observed over the last month or so. More so the "blowout the other UT" Dawgs than the "go to 8 overtimes with mediocre Georgia Tech" Dawgs. UGA: 24--UT: 20
Schweinfurth: I think Georgia is the better team, but don't have the right QB this year. Texas wins. UGA: 21--UT: 28
Seeberg: Much has been made of Texas winning just 1 Big 12 title the last decade then immediately making the SEC title game, but they got a seriously soft schedule en route. UGA is far more battle tested and it will show in a closer one than the first time around. UGA: 20—UT: 13
ACC: Clemson Tigers vs. Southern Methodist Mustangs
Draper: Coinflip part Deux of conference championship week. Not because this is a battle of epic proportions, but because someone's gotta win. SMU's schedule is paper thin....they've played one game against a decent team (BYU) and lost. Yeah they won the rest, but against no one (looking at you FSU). On the other hand, Clemson....ALSO has beaten no one. In their 2 biggest games, they were curbstomped by UGA and taken down at home by in-state rival in the Palmetto Bowl. SMU's best win: Louisville? Clemson's best win: Pitt?? I guess?? Oh well. Clemson has better athletes but I'd venture that the Ponies have a slight coaching edge as Dabo has seeming lost it with the introduction of NIL. While a SMU loss would add a little intrigue to Selection Sunday, I can't pick the Kitties. CJK5H. SMU: 28--Clem: 24
Hoying: It's hard to tell how good any of the teams in the ACC are, when the top teams (SMU, Clemson, and Miami) don't play each other. I have a good sense that Clemson wouldn't do particularly well in the SEC after bookending their conference play with a blowout to Georgia and a loss to South Carolina. SMU apparently wouldn't do great in the...Big 12...with a loss to BYU. This game feels a lot like the SMU-Pitt game earlier this year, just a contest to see who's the bigger poser. It wasn't SMU back then, and I don't think it will be this weekend either. Clemson's been mired in mediocrity ever since Justin Fields' Revenge, and while a favorable schedule and the Miami Tropical Depressions have paved their return to Charlotte, the comeback train ends now. The much longer comeback story of the once literally dead SMU football program finally comes to fruition. SMU: 27--Clem: 20
Schweinfurth: I haven't watched any SMU. I don't like Clemson. SMU: 31--Clem: 21
Seeberg: SMU appears to be for real, and this one would go a long way towards cementing that. Gotta go through Dabo though. Angry after their rivalry loss is a bad omen for the Mustangs. Tigers late. SMU: 24—Clem: 27
Hoying: It's hard to tell how good any of the teams in the ACC are, when the top teams (SMU, Clemson, and Miami) don't play each other. I have a good sense that Clemson wouldn't do particularly well in the SEC after bookending their conference play with a blowout to Georgia and a loss to South Carolina. SMU apparently wouldn't do great in the...Big 12...with a loss to BYU. This game feels a lot like the SMU-Pitt game earlier this year, just a contest to see who's the bigger poser. It wasn't SMU back then, and I don't think it will be this weekend either. Clemson's been mired in mediocrity ever since Justin Fields' Revenge, and while a favorable schedule and the Miami Tropical Depressions have paved their return to Charlotte, the comeback train ends now. The much longer comeback story of the once literally dead SMU football program finally comes to fruition. SMU: 27--Clem: 20
Schweinfurth: I haven't watched any SMU. I don't like Clemson. SMU: 31--Clem: 21
Seeberg: SMU appears to be for real, and this one would go a long way towards cementing that. Gotta go through Dabo though. Angry after their rivalry loss is a bad omen for the Mustangs. Tigers late. SMU: 24—Clem: 27
B1G: Pennsylvania State Nittany Lions vs. Oregon Ducks
Draper: As the Fantasy Footballers once said: I am an M&M with no chocolate....I just don't care. The Buckeyes suffered arguably the worst loss in the HISTORY of the program this week so it's hard to get excited for this one. The Lions backed into this one (James Franklin's only hope it would seem) while Oregon has been a machine all year outside of Madison and Eugene (oddly). I don't have faith that Penn State is very competitive here. The Ducks are looking forward to the playoffs, while the Lions weren't planning on being in Indy this weekend. Another game destroyed by the 12-team playoff. Both teams are jockeying for position, but oddly, the LOSER might have a better path (get ready for reseeding the 2nd round next year--calling it now). Regardless, the Ducks would love to hoist a B1G Championship Trophy their first year in the conference, and I doubt Drew freaking Allar is going to stop them. Abdul Carter is a beast, but the Ducks are too versatile. Quack... (I hate everything)....See you in the second round for round 2 Mr. Lanning. PSU: 17--UO: 31
Hoying: It's been said over the last few years, somewhat more forcefully over the last week, that Ryan Day is the Michael Jordan of James Franklins. Whether this is fair or not, the underlying point remains: are we really going to trust James Franklin to deliver on the biggest of stages, against the number 1 team in the country? Last I checked, James has one win in this stratosphere, eight years ago against our own beloved Buckeyes, and that was at home during a white-out on a fluky blocked field goal. Now, judging by the $12 get-in-the-door price to the B1G Championship, there may not be a whole lot of Duck fans making the trip, so the home environment ingredient may be in place for PSU, but they're still going to have to overcome what may be the only team in the country consistently performing at a top level. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd take the field over Oregon if I were predicting this year's Playoff champion. Dillon Gabriel has been solid every week, and the run game, although not a feature of the offense, has been a good consistent enough change of pace. And nobody has been able to move the ball against them absent a Heisman finalist or Ohio State with offensive line V 1.0. I've yet to see Drew Allar prove that he can guide the Penn State offense to a score when they absolutely need one; the Silver Bullets have positively stymied him two years straight and I don't expect the Ducks to have much more trouble. A blowout could lead to a bit more favorable Playoff seeding for the Buckeyes but I think Oregon will be happy to just get up a couple scores and choke the Lions out. PSU: 13--UO: 27
Hoying: It's been said over the last few years, somewhat more forcefully over the last week, that Ryan Day is the Michael Jordan of James Franklins. Whether this is fair or not, the underlying point remains: are we really going to trust James Franklin to deliver on the biggest of stages, against the number 1 team in the country? Last I checked, James has one win in this stratosphere, eight years ago against our own beloved Buckeyes, and that was at home during a white-out on a fluky blocked field goal. Now, judging by the $12 get-in-the-door price to the B1G Championship, there may not be a whole lot of Duck fans making the trip, so the home environment ingredient may be in place for PSU, but they're still going to have to overcome what may be the only team in the country consistently performing at a top level. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd take the field over Oregon if I were predicting this year's Playoff champion. Dillon Gabriel has been solid every week, and the run game, although not a feature of the offense, has been a good consistent enough change of pace. And nobody has been able to move the ball against them absent a Heisman finalist or Ohio State with offensive line V 1.0. I've yet to see Drew Allar prove that he can guide the Penn State offense to a score when they absolutely need one; the Silver Bullets have positively stymied him two years straight and I don't expect the Ducks to have much more trouble. A blowout could lead to a bit more favorable Playoff seeding for the Buckeyes but I think Oregon will be happy to just get up a couple scores and choke the Lions out. PSU: 13--UO: 27
Schweinfurth: I really have no heart to pick this game. Oregon is better. PSU: 14--UO: 35
Seeberg: It’s Franklin in a big game. That’s all anyone needs to know. PSU: 17—OU: 33
Seeberg: It’s Franklin in a big game. That’s all anyone needs to know. PSU: 17—OU: 33
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