Nov 29, 20178 min read

CFB: Championship Week Preview

Week 13, otherwise known as Rivalry Week, was just as unbelievable as always. It got going on Thanksgiving night when Ole Miss upset Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl, and then on Black Friday, No. 2 Miami suffered their first loss of the season on the road at Pittsburgh, right before No. 10 Central Florida slipped past No. 20 South Florida in a Game of the Year candidate. On Saturday, The Game saw No. 22 Michigan hold a 14-0 lead before No. 8 Ohio State roared back for the win, and then the Iron Bowl gave us a shocker as No. 7 Auburn dominated No. 1 Alabama in the second half to advance to the SEC title game.

Week 14, which is Championship Week, doesn't have a ton of games, but the ones that are being played should be great ones. The weekend kicks off on Friday night as No. 11 USC faces No. 14 Stanford in the Pac-12 title game. Early Saturday, there are a trio of championship games as No. 9 Central Florida hosts No. 17 Memphis in the American championship, No. 24 Toledo will play Akron in the MAC title, and then No. 2 Oklahoma takes on No. 12 TCU in the Big 12. After those games, No. 4 Auburn and No. 6 Georgia play with a CFP berth on the line. And to finish things off, the ACC and Big Ten title games take place in primetime.

Our CFB Staff - Charles Post, Chase Zayac, Chinedum Wejinya, and Caleb Henderson - will break it down.

*Maximum of 100 Points.*

Top-25 Rankings:

1. Clemson (11-1, 8-1) - 97 Pts.

2. Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1) - 95 Pts.

3. Wisconsin (12-0, 9-0) - 94 Pts.

4. Auburn (10-2, 7-1) - 93 Pts.

5. Alabama (11-1, 7-1) - 86 Pts.

6. Georgia (11-1, 7-1) - 85 Pts.

7. Miami (11-1, 7-1) - 81 Pts.

8. Ohio State (10-2, 7-1) - 78 Pts.

9. Central Florida (12-0, 8-0) - 75 Pts.

10. Penn State (10-2, 7-2) - 73 Pts.

11. USC (10-2, 8-1) - 72 Pts.

12. TCU (10-2, 7-2) - 71 Pts.

13. Washington (10-2, 7-2) - 64 Pts.

14. Stanford (9-3, 7-2) - 63 Pts.

15. Notre Dame (9-3, 4-1) - 56 Pts.

16. LSU (9-3, 6-2) - 54 Pts.

17. Memphis (11-1, 7-1) - 51 Pts.

18. Michigan State (9-3, 7-2) - 49 Pts.

19. Oklahoma State (9-3, 6-3) - 46 Pts.

20. Northwestern (9-3, 7-2) - 44 Pts.

21. Washington State (9-3, 6-3) - 40 Pts.

22. Virginia Tech (9-3, 5-3) - 34 Pts.

23. Fresno State (9-3, 7-1) - 33 Pts.

24. Toledo (10-2, 7-1) - 24 Pts.

25. Boise State (9-3, 7-1) - 21 Pts.

Just Missed the Cut:

26. San Diego State (10-2, 7-2) - 15 Pts.

27. NC State (8-4, 6-2) - 14 Pts.

28. Michigan (8-4, 5-4) - 6 Pts.

29. Mississippi State (8-4, 4-4) - 5 Pts.

30. Iowa State (7-5, 5-4) - 3 Pts.

Trending Upward: No. 4 Auburn (+3) is the hottest team in the country, riding a five-game winning streak, including victories over Texas A&M, No. 6 Georgia, and No. 5 Alabama. They are fresh off of a great showing against the Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl, advancing to the SEC title game to face the Bulldogs again. The winner will make the College Football Playoff for the first time in it's existence. Kerryon Johnson has been a stud all year long for the Tigers, but after a couple of dominant performances against two of the nations best defenses, he's starting to get some Heisman buzz (i.e. Tre Mason in 2013). However, Auburn isn't the only team that's playing their best ball at the right time, as No. 1 Clemson (+2), No. 14 Stanford (+2), and No. 24 Toledo (+4) are on the rise and will be playing in conference championship games this weekend.

Trending Downward: Michigan (-6) may be the coldest team in all of America, especially since starting the year 4-0, they've gone 4-4, and are likely to get a middle tier bowl game, far from preseason expectations in Jim Harbaugh's third season. The Wolverines failed to defeat No. 18 Michigan State, No 10 Penn State, No. 3 Wisconsin, and No. 8 Ohio State, even though two were played in Ann Arbor. And things have only gotten worse as Wilton Speight has announced his decision to transfer. We'll see what Michigan can do in the bowl game, but for now, they're projected to face Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Bowl, according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report. Although, the Wolverines have some company with teams playing shaky down the stretch, as No. 5 Alabama (-4), No. 7 Miami (-5), and No. 15 Notre Dame (-6) have experienced recent falls.

Charles Post:

AAC: No. 17 Memphis (11-1) @ No. 9 Central Florida (12-0)

ACC: No. 7 Miami (11-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (11-1)

Big Ten: No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 3 Wisconsin (12-0)

Big 12: No. 12 TCU (10-2) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1)

C-USA: North Texas (9-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (9-3)

Mid-American: Akron (7-5) vs. No. 24 Toledo (10-2)

Mountain West: No. 25 Boise State (9-3) vs. No. 23 Fresno State (9-3)

Pac-12: No. 14 Stanford (9-3) vs. No. 11 USC (10-2)

SEC: No. 6 Georgia (11-1) vs. No. 4 Auburn (10-2)

Sun Belt: Troy (9-2) @ Arkansas State (8-3)

Week 13 Record: 24-6.

Overall Record: 115-35.

Chase Zayac:

AAC: No. 17 Memphis (11-1) @ No. 9 Central Florida (12-0)

ACC: No. 7 Miami (11-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (11-1)

Big Ten: No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 3 Wisconsin (12-0)

Big 12: No. 12 TCU (10-2) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1)

C-USA: North Texas (9-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (9-3)

Mid-American: Akron (7-5) vs. No. 24 Toledo (10-2)

Mountain West: No. 25 Boise State (9-3) vs. No. 23 Fresno State (9-3)

Pac-12: No. 14 Stanford (9-3) vs. No. 11 USC (10-2)

SEC: No. 6 Georgia (11-1) vs. No. 4 Auburn (10-2)

Sun Belt: Troy (9-2) @ Arkansas State (8-3)

Week 13 Record: 15-15.

Overall Record: 100-50.

Chinedum Wejinya:

AAC: No. 17 Memphis (11-1) @ No. 9 Central Florida (12-0)

ACC: No. 7 Miami (11-1) vs. No. 1 Clemson (11-1)

Big Ten: No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 3 Wisconsin (12-0)

Big 12: No. 12 TCU (10-2) vs. No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1)

C-USA: North Texas (9-3) vs. Florida Atlantic (9-3)

Mid-American: Akron (7-5) vs. No. 24 Toledo (10-2)

Mountain West: No. 25 Boise State (9-3) vs. No. 23 Fresno State (9-3)

Pac-12: No. 14 Stanford (9-3) vs. No. 11 USC (10-2)

SEC: No. 6 Georgia (11-1) vs. No. 4 Auburn (10-2)

Sun Belt: Troy (9-2) @ Arkansas State (8-3)

Week 13 Record: 18-12.

Overall Record: 105-45.

Elimination Game of the Week: No. 4 Auburn (11-1, 7-1) advanced to the SEC title game with a victory in the Iron Bowl last week, and they'll be in an elimination game this Saturday, as well. However, this time it will be against No. 6 Georgia (11-1, 7-1), a team the Tigers dominated a couple of weeks ago, 40-17. But this one will be played in the Peach State, and with Kerryon Johnson going down with an injury, this one could be a little different. Georgia has wins over No. 24 Notre Dame and No. 17 Mississippi State, while Auburn has taken down No. 24 Mississippi State, No. 1 Georgia, and No. 1 Alabama. This is just one of many games that can be seen as an elimination game this week, as the ACC and Big Ten titles are also projected to be CFP quarterfinals, but the SEC title game is the headliner. Who wins? 75 percent of us are taking Georgia.

Teams Eliminated:

Week 1: Florida (0-1)

Week 2: Stanford (1-1)

Week 3: Louisville (2-1)

Week 4: Mississippi State (3-1)

Week 5: Virginia Tech (4-1)

Week 6: Utah (4-1)

Week 7: San Diego State (6-1)

Week 8: USC (6-2)

Week 9: West Virginia (5-3)

Week 10: Oklahoma State (7-2)

Week 11: Notre Dame (8-2)

Week 12: Michigan (8-3)

Week 13: Washington State (9-3)

1. Who wins the Big Ten title game between No. 3 Wisconsin (12-0, 9-0) and No. 8 Ohio State (10-2, 8-1), and if the Buckeyes can pull off the upset, what does their path to the College Football Playoff look like and what else do they need to happen in order to make their third CFP appearance in four years?

Wejinya: I believe that Ohio State will out last Wisconsin and win the Big ten title game. Even then, it will take a lot of help for Ohio State to make it into the CFP after that blowout loss to Iowa, which really hurt their chances. They would need Miami to unimpressively beat Clemson and Georgia to beat Auburn, as well as needing the CFP Committee to look favorably opon them compared to Alabama's resume.

2. What happens in the SEC championship game, in the rematch of No. 4 Auburn (10-2, 7-1) and No. 6 Georgia (11-1, 7-1), and what are the College Football Playoff ramifications of it? How will this game impact the chances of No. 5 Alabama (11-1, 7-1) climbing back into the top four spots?

Zayac: I think that Auburn will beat Georgia for the second time, by two touchdowns. Georgia has just not been impressive and Auburn is a totally different team than they were at the beginning of the season. As far as Alabama's chances, the only way they get in is if Ohio State beats Wisconsin so the SEC championship game doesn't affect Alabama's chances.

3. Who is going to be the difference maker in the ACC championship game, as No. 1 Clemson (11-1, 7-1) and No. 7 Miami (11-1, 7-1), with the winner likely ascending to the College Football Playoff? Elsewhere, does No. 12 TCU (10-2, 7-2) have a shot at upsetting No. 2 Oklahoma (11-1, 8-1), or is it a done deal that the Sooners are going to the playoff?

Post: The Chain! The Turnover Chain is going to be the difference maker in ACC championship, because if we see it being handed out on the sidelines more than once or twice, then the Hurricanes are likely going to win. This game will come down to Clemson's ability to take care of the ball and not put their defense in bad spots. When the Tigers' offense is running smoothly, and the defense can play away from their red zone, the Tigers are the best team in the country. As they've shown against Auburn, Louisville, Virginia Tech, NC State, and South Carolina. A lot of this pressure will fall on Kelly Bryant's shoulders so it's going to be up to him to make smart decisions and allow the defense to do what they do best. If all goes well, Clemson will make their third straight CFP appearance. In the Big 12, Oklahoma is probably going to win, especially since they blew out TCU, 38-20, just a couple of weeks ago. However, don't sleep on the Horned Frogs and Gary Patterson. What have we seen Baker Mayfield and the Sooners struggle with over the last three years? In losses to Texas, Clemson, Ohio State, and Iowa State, they've all had good defenses. You're not going to beat Mayfield and Co. in a shootout, and the one thing that is on TCU's side, is the fact that they play the best defense in the Big 12. I'm taking Oklahoma, but if Patterson's team pulls off the upset, don't be surprised.

*Maximum of 20 Points.*

Heisman Standings:

1. Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma QB) - 20 Pts.

2. Bryce Love (Stanford RB) - 16 Pts.

3. Jonathan Taylor (Wisconsin RB) - 12 Pts.

4. Lamar Jackson (Louisville QB) - 9 Pts.

5. Nick Chubb (Georgia RB) - 5 Pts.

Movement: Baker Mayfield (+0) has been leading over standings for nearly two months now, and he is the clear favorite in this race, but he still needs one more performance to put him over the top, as a loss could be costly. He totaled 281 yards and three touchdowns on 14-17 passing last week. Bryce Love (+0) has been at the second slot for much of Mayfield's run, and he stayed there after going for 125 yards on 20 carries against Notre Dame. Jonathan Taylor (+2) gained a couple of spots, and is now the favorite to take home Big Ten Player of the Year, after rushing for 149 yards and a score on 20 rushes. Lamar Jackson (-1) hasn't been getting the love he deserves, but his team is on a four-game winning streak, and he passed for 216 yards and gained 156 yards on the ground last week to stay in our top five. Nick Chubb (+1), meanwhile, has ascended into our standings for the first time all year, as he's surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season.

College Football Playoff Picks - Week 1: