By The Pigskin Prognosticator, PubClub.com College Football Expert
Alabama remined alive with the improbabe 4th and Forever, Washington stayed in its Dog House with a bold fourth-down call (as well as a questionable official’s call), Florida State ran to a narrow victory, Michigan managed to crack open the Nuts from Ohio and Georgia flattened its overmatched rival.
Meanwhile, Indiana did a mini-Texas A&M by paying its coach millions ($15,5 in this case) to leave, the Aggies tried to raid Kentucky for a coach and wound up with one from Duke, Mississippi State went boom with an offensive coach from the Boomers and in LaLa Land, Chip Kelly managed to stay in his office despite hardly being a wizard in Westwood.
This all leaves us with Conference Championship Saturday, eight teams vying for four College Football Playoffs positions, setting up a dramatic weekend that will vanish like Jimbo Fisher next year when the system expand to 12 teams.
Now onto the games. All times Pacific because The Prognosticator lives on the West Coast.
Friday, Dec. 1
Oregon vs. Washington (5 p.m., ABC, Las Vegas)
The Waddlers fly into Sin City on more than a wing and a prayer. They have been soaring and not just because of a Heisman Trophy-leading quarterback but also a pair of pass rushers that give them – wait for it – a physical defense. If defense and Oregon seem akin to jumbo shrimp and postal service, then you’ve not seen this team play of late. Sure, the offense moves at the speed of the Formula 1 cars that just raced on the Strip but this game will be won or lost when the Dogs have the ball. And as much as the Alaskan Malamutes have won, their bark has been far worse than their bite much of the year. They have not won a game by more than 10 points since September. In that time they have benefitted from a puzzling coach’s call (against Arizona State), a dropped pass (Stanford) a false-start penalty that turned a potential touchdown into a field goal in a two-point win (Oregon State) and a bold call along with a was-it-really roughing-the-passer penalty before kicking a last-second game-winning field goal against the in-state rival (Washington State). Of couse, they had to be good enough to take advantage of all those breaks but it does make the Prognosticaor wonder how the Huskie Houdinis will escape out of this one and get into the playoffs. Winner: Oregon
Saturday, Dec. 2
Oklahoma State vs. Texas (9 a.m., ABC, Jerry’s World, Dallas)
Guessing which Oklahoma State team shows up on Saturday is like trying to figure out which way to run in a cattle stampede, the one that beat Oklahoma or the one that got run off the plains by Central Florida and took overtime to beat 5-7 BYU. The Pokes could poke a hole in the Horns’ playoff chances or they could put the cattle prod on themselves. Sark will try and steer the Steers clear of any danger and while things might get a little tight in the Arlington corral, it will clear out by the fourth quarter. Winner: Texas
Alabama vs. Georgia (1 p.m., CBS, Atlanta)
Fresh off the Prayer (Answered) at Jordan-Hare, the Pachyderms cleared a path to the SEC Championship game with momentum and the last time they went to Hotlanta after a dramatic win over their in-state rivals they stomped the heavily-favored woofers from Athens. For that to happen this time, they will need to rediscover thier run defense and have a couple minor Milroe Miracles on offense. The Kirby Canines are a bit like Michigan in that they have been largely untested but unlike those potential future foes from up north, have not had to sweat out any Ws. It won’t be easy but this will turn out to be the Dawgs day. Winner: Georgia
Iowa vs. Michigan (5 p.m., FOX, Indianapolis, IN)
If any team were ever gifted a conference title, it would be Big Blue in the not-so-Big 10. The Sign Stealers have had such an easy road to Indy that this is only the third ranked team they have played all year. And it doesn’t stop this week. In facing the Flightless Birds, they face a team so offensively challenged it has scored more than 26 points just once and has won by old-school scores of 15-6, 10-7 15-13 and, most recently, 13-10. While Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Washington fight for their playoff lives, Michigan gets to slide in as if riding a sled on a snow-covered hill. At leaset those watching at the final stop of the Big 10 Pub Crawl won’t be sweating out a close one. Winner: Michigan
Florida State vs. Louisville (5 p.m., ABC, Charlotte, N.C.)
Perhaps the Birds were looking ahead when they got their beaks caught in the Kentucky bluegrass, but they had better find their wings and take flight this week or else they will find themselves trampled by Osceola and Renegade. The Spears are going to rely on #3 to try and stay #4 in the playoff rankings in order to mimimize any heroics that might be needed by their backup signal caller. If they do that, then things will be cool for them. If not, then they will be sweating it out like it’s summertime in Tally. Winner: Florida State
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