Saturday Predictions: Championship Week

UCF has eight wins though only two have come against FBS
teams with winning records. The Knights will end their
season with a challenge. David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

Army and Navy battle on December 13th, but it's the last week of the season for everyone else whose regular season is not already over. That means it's championship week for most conferences. Not every programs aspires towards national championships (most don't), but just about every team hopes to contend for conference titles. So while there may not be many games this weekend, we will get plenty of high-stakes competition and have plenty to discuss.

Tonight's game is the regular season finale for UCF and East Carolina. Both of these American (Athletic Conference) teams are 8-3 and looking for their ninth win. Memphis has already won at least a share of the conference title, but UCF and Cincinnati could also earn a share if they win again this week. East Carolina was eliminated from a potential co-championship after Memphis's win over Connecticut last Saturday. The game will be a classic offense-versus-defense match-up. The Knights possess one of the best defenses in the lower tier conferences while the Pirates have one of the best passing attacks. UCF will need their defense to play exceptionally in order to compensate for a lackluster offense.

Northern Illinois faces Bowling Green on Friday night for the Mid-American Conference Championship. The Huskies hold the better record but have had their fair share of close escapes on their way to 10 wins. The Falcons, on the other hand, have lost three of their past five. Despite this, they won the MAC East and are representing their division in Detroit. Northern Illinois is a running team will a decent defense. BGSU has a poor defense but a more balanced offense. Underdogs have a history of performing well in MAC Championship Games, so don't be too surprised if Bowling Green upends NIU.

The Ducks have looked nearly unstoppable since mid-October;
Arizona was the last team to defeat them but are underdogs
coming into the rematch. Steve Dykes/Getty Images

Levi's Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area will host the first-ever Pac-12 Championship Game held at a neutral site late Friday night. Oregon enters the game as sizable favorites over Arizona, despite having lost to the Wildcats in Eugene earlier this season. This time, however, the Ducks will have a healthy offensive line and better protection or Marcus Mariota. Arizona will probably need to play their best game of the year to win and even then it may not be enough. An Arizona win may eliminate all Pac-12 teams from playoff contention.

Saturday begins with Louisiana Tech playing Marshall for the Conference USA Championship. The game will be played at Marshall's home stadium in Huntington, West Virginia. The Thundering Herd lost their first game of the season last Friday and barely beat UAB the Saturday before. Still, they are 11-1 and nearly a two-touchdown favorite against the Bulldogs. Marshall has a good, balanced offense and plays well on defense, too. Louisiana Tech has had an up-and-down season, with as many impressive wins as inexplicable losses. The Bulldogs need another great performance from quarterback Cody Sokol to pull the upset.

For several years in the recent past, the SEC Championship Game had been considered a national semi-final. That's not the case this year, as Missouri does not have the potential to reach the playoffs even if they shock the nation by defeating Alabama in Atlanta. The Tigers might have the best defensive line in the country. But they are not as balanced as the Crimson Tide. Mizzou needs their D-line to create major disruptions in Alabama's blocking schemes in order to create chaos and beneficial turnovers. They probably need an interception or two from Blake Sims and/or some fumbles from T.J. Yeldon and company. It's unlikely that Maty Mauk and the Missouri offense will be able to score often enough to keep up with Alabama unless their defense provides a lot of help. Mizzou would not have won 10 games this season without a remarkable defense. However, they might need a little magic to stop the Tide.

If fortune favors them, the Bayor Bears might sneak into the
playoffs. But they need to get past Kansas State before they
can worry about that. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State will take on Baylor in the final Big 12 game of the season. The Wildcats need to win and hope Iowa State pulls the highly improbable upset over TCU in order to win a share of the conference championship. These are two tall orders, though the former is far more plausible. Both teams have good offenses with a biases for the pass. Likewise, both teams have respectable (well, by Big 12 standards) defenses. The Bears will have the advantage of playing in Waco, where they have not lost all year. A little luck has helped Kansas State topple favorites in the past, though there's no knowing whether that luck will show up this Saturday.

The ACC Championship Game will feature its biggest match-up in history when Georgia Tech takes on Florida State in Charlotte. Undefeated FSU is a slight favorite over this season's quietly successful Yellow Jackets squad. Georgia Tech's had their best team in years but hadn't been ballyhooed much until their overtime upset of Georgia last Saturday in Athens. The Seminoles, meanwhile, have garnered much publicity for their unbeaten record despite a half-dozen death-defying escapes. Georgia Tech needs their option offense to attack a vulnerable corps of Seminole linebackers while their defensive backs need to play their best game of the season in order to reduce Jameis Winston's effectiveness. The Seminoles have developed some recent success running the ball with Dalvin Cook. They may need to continue this development in order to keep the Ramblin' Wreck's defense off-balance.

Wisconsin will compete with Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship when the two teams kick off in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes must overcome the loss of star freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury last week against Michigan. The Badgers have a Heisman-contender of a running back in Melvin Gordon but an otherwise one-dimensional offense. Both teams, and particularly Wisconsin, have excellent defenses. This game will probably come down to how well Cardale Jones plays in relief of Barrett.

The final conference championship game of the week will be played on the blue turf of Boise, Idaho. There, the six-win Fresno State Bulldogs will face the 10-win Broncos. Boise State hasn't gained much national attention this year, but have a strong team and must avoid a major let-down playing the middling Bulldogs at home. The Broncos can secure a major bowl-berth with a win this Saturday.

Championships:

• MAC: Northern Illinois (10-2) over Bowling Green (7-5), 27-20
• Pac-12: #3 Oregon (11-1) over #8 Arizona (10-2), 45-27
• Conference USA: Louisiana Tech (8-4) over Marshall (11-1), 38-34
• SEC: #1 Alabama (11-1) over #14 Missouri (10-2), 38-17
• ACC: #12 Georgia Tech (10-2) over #2 Florida State (12-0), 34-27
• Big Ten: #11 Wisconsin (10-2) over #6 Ohio State (11-1), 31-23
• Mountain West: #22 Boise State (10-2) over Fresno State (6-6), 38-31

State of Florida:

• East Carolina (8-3) over UCF (8-3), 24-20
• FIU (4-8), END OF SEASON
• Florida (6-5), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• Florida Atlantic (3-9), END OF SEASON
• Miami (6-6), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• South Florida (4-8), END OF SEASON

Southeastern Conference:

• Arkansas (6-6), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #20 Auburn (8-4), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #15 Georgia (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• Kentucky (5-7), END OF SEASON
• #23 LSU (8-4), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #13 Mississippi (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #10 Mississippi State (10-2), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• South Carolina (6-6), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• Tennessee (6-6), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• Texas A&M (7-5), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• Vanderbilt (3-9), END OF SEASON

Top 25:

• #4 TCU (10-1) over Iowa State (2-9), 49-20
• #18 Oklahoma (8-3) over Oklahoma State (5-6), 35-14
• #5 Baylor (10-1) over #9 Kansas State (9-2), 41-27
• #7 Michigan State (10-2), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #16 UCLA (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #17 Arizona State (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #19 Clemson (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #21 Louisville (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #24 Utah (8-4), END OF REGULAR SEASON
• #25 Nebraska (9-3), END OF REGULAR SEASON