By Brian Towle
The first Saturday in December begins the end of the college football regular season. This includes conference championship games across the land, regular season finales that decide title appearances and the coaching carousel keeps spinning throughout December. Lets get right to the beef of the games, shall we?
Marathon MAC Championship – Detroit, Michigan
Ohio vs Northern Illinois – Friday 6:00 PM, ESPN
MACtion makes its final regular season curtain call as the fighting Frankies head to Detroit’s Ford Field to take on Northern Illinois. The Huskies, who are ranked No. 8 in FBS rushing offense, bring in dual-threat quarterback Chandler Harnish to face a Bobcat defense that is adequate.
Ohio is also riding a wave of momentum into this game thanks to a five-game win streak.Surprising sophomore quarterback Tyler Tettleton has thrown for nearly 3,000 yards. Northern Illinois can score, but they can also be scored upon (with a No. 94 scoring defense). Look for Frank Solich to get a conference title, though this one won't take him to Tempe.
Winner: Ohio
Pac-12 Championship - Eugene, Oregon
UCLA vs. No. 9 Oregon – Friday 7:00 PM, FOX
The inaugrual Pac-12 title game will be hosted by the folks in Autzen as UCLA, accompanied by their lame duck head coach Rick Neuheisel, try to keep the spread inside 40 against the high-octane Oregon offense.
The Bruins' defense gives up a lot of points, and the offense doesn't put many on the scoreboard. Here’s hoping Neuheisel has as much grace falling on his sword following this game as he has through the week. Oregon should cruise even without LaMichael James
Winner: Oregon
SEC Championship Game – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 14 Georgia vs No. 1 LSU – 2:00 PM, CBS
For a game that has had plenty of implications in previous years, this year’s tilt in the Georgia Dome won't factor much into who will make the BCS title game. According to whom you listen to, that is. LSU is the only undefeated BCS team in America, and they will take on a surprising Georgia squad that somehow found themselves atop the SEC East.
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and a better-than-most offense has saved Mark Richt’s job (again) and has bought him some time between the hedges. However, these are the LSU Tigers that they are playing. That the game's taking place in Georgia means nothing.
The Tigers spotted a decent Arkansas team 14 points before running them out of the building by the fourth quarter. This will be close early, but put your money on the horseshoe hiding in Les Miles’ body.
Winner: LSU
The Defacto Big 12 Championship Game - Stillwater, Oklahoma
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 3 Oklahoma State - 7:00 PM, ABC
Bedlam has arrived and folks across the country are amped, even without the fanfare and title implications that we were hoping in the middle of October. A very interesting game as Oklahoma State finally has all of the ponies to defeat the Sooners.
However, Okie State has been known to take the night off during games like this. Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide receiver Justin Blackmon have shown up all year, but they need one more dynamite night to get Oklahoma State into the BCS with a chance at a title game appearance.
Oklahoma isn’t the same team on offense without the threat of injured wide receiver Ryan Broyles, whether people admit it or not. The Cowboys need a big win to get into the title game. I don’t think they'll be victorious by a wide margin, but they should finally bring a Big 12 title back home.
Winner: Oklahoma State
Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game - Charlotte, North Carolina
No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. No. 20 Clemson – 7:00 PM, ESPN
These two teams were picked by many to meet for the conference crown before the season began. Few thought that Clemson would be reeling as they are right now having lost three of their last four games. Virginia Tech is coming into the game looking to avenge their only loss of the year, losing to the Tigers in Lane Stadium 23-3 on October 1.
Clemson was white hot on offense back then. However, quarterback Tajh Boyd is still throwing the ball pretty well, though the Hokies' defense has only improved. Usually in games like this, you look at what each team has done over the last month and factor that in heavily. That's exactly what makes the pick easy.
Winner: Virginia Tech
Inaugural Big 10 Championship – Indianapolis, Indiana
No. 15 Wisconsin vs No. 13 Michigan State – 7:17 PM, FOX
Finally, we head to Lucas Oil Stadium for a rematch between two teams who supplied us with of one of the best finishes of the year. When they first played on October 22, a hail mary pass from Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins to wide receiver Keith Nichol on the final play of the game stunned everyone as Wisconsin had come down from 14 points to tie the game with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Both teams haven't changed much since they first met. The one thing that stands out as this game approaches is that Wisconsin’s running game has gotten bigger and better down the stretch, meaning Russell Wilson isn’t as necessary for a win. That alone could mean that the Spartans need to shut down the running game entirely and make Wilson beat them.
Michigan State's defense isn't too shabby (No. 6 in FBS), so if Cousins can move the ball and get six on the board more often than assisting in setting up three, it should mean good things for the Spartans. That being said, I just can’t see the Badgers playing as poorly in the first half as they did in East Lansing.
Winner: Wisconsin
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