It’s time for one more Sampler Platter this season — with several neutral-site dining establishments.
It’s Championship Saturday. Playoff spots will be doled out and league titles will be won. Lame duck coaches and coordinators are everywhere. Let’s open this one up and dig in.
…
GAME OF THE WEEK: IOWA vs. MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten Championship Game)
The winner of this game makes the Playoff. Michigan State is trying to break through to levels it hasn’t seen since the mid-1960s. Iowa is still trying to gain national validation despite running the table in the Big Ten West. Survive and advance; lose and play in the Capital One Bowl.
…
UPSET SPECIAL: TEXAS at BAYLOR
Baylor is coming off a gutting loss to TCU that knocked the Bears out of playoff contention. A win for Texas puts the Longhorns at 5-7 and potentially in line to make a bowl game. Nothing about the previous two sentences would make any sense a decade ago, but the times have changed.
Charlie Strong has shown that he can coach up his team with the win over Oklahoma and near misses against California and Oklahoma State. The Bears are playing for their third straight season with at least 10 wins, and their fourth under Art Briles. The winner of this game will be the one that comes to the stadium with motivation. Neither is in the spot it wants to be in, but a win would certainly soothe some wounds for both.
…
UNIMPORTANT GAME OF IMPORTANCE: TEMPLE at HOUSTON (AAC Championship Game)
This game certainly is important, but this is the slot it gets because of everything else around it. It’s hard to believe that Temple was kicked out of a league, the Big East, in 2004 because of poor play on the field and a lack of support from the institution. Fast forward to this year: The Owls won their first eight games, hosted Notre Dame in a GameDay game, and won The American’s East Division. A win in Houston would be a cherry on top of an amazing season in Philadelphia.
For the Cougars the game will be a welcome respite after a rollercoaster week. Head coach Tom Herman seemed to have his name connected to every job opening in America before signing an extension to stay at Houston. The Cougars are banged up, and to a slight degree at quarterback, but they’ll come ready to play in front of a partisan crowd and what should be a packed stadium.
The winner of the game gets the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Six bowl games, and the millions of dollars that come with it. There aren’t many stakes higher than that.
…
NERDOUT OF THE WEEK: FLORIDA vs. ALABAMA (SEC Championship Game)
Florida is coming off of a putrid performance against Florida State. All signs point to Alabama losing its defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart, to the head coaching vacancy at Georgia. That’s a lot for both teams to process. How will it affect them? Some teams mail it in when playing for a coach on the way out. Others rally hard to send their coach out on a wave of momentum and success. With a game so big, especially for Alabama, the attitude within the locker room must remain positive. Bama has made strong, tough defense its calling card under Smart. With him on the way out, maintaining that energy level could be the determining factor in whether or not the Tide makes the Playoff.
…
ODDITY OF THE WEEK: GEORGIA SOUTHERN at GEORGIA STATE
Neither team can win the Sun Belt, Arkansas State has already locked that up, but both have quite a bit to play for. Georgia Southern, in its first year of bowl eligibility, will try to win nine games for the second straight year, also the second year in which the team has played at the FBS level. Georgia State will try to become bowl eligible for the first time in its three-year FBS existence. A win by the Panthers would be their sixth of the season, one more than the previous four seasons combined.
