Pick Six Conference Championship Edition: 6 Storylines to follow into Week 14

It has arrived ladies and gentlemen, the coveted Conference Championships that decide the true winners of the season. These are going to display an array of teams ranging from Alabama to Appalachian State. These games will also help sift out the bowl matchups and the College Football Playoff spots. Lets look at what needs to be watched:

Battle of Red in Atlanta

Alabama will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to take on Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. To make this game boast more importance than it already holds, if Georgia wins there will most likely be two SEC teams in the Playoff this year. However, don’t be too hopeful because Alabama has been trouncing through high-ranked opponents all year. Nick Saban is sure to want to erase any doubt of this Alabama squad being fully dominate dating back to last year’s national championship. And on the other hand, Kirby Smart wants to have a game back that should have marked the Bulldogs as national champions. This one is looking to give us one of the most exciting SEC championship games in years.

PAC-12 Mess

Once again, a late season PAC-12 Playoff Contender has been eliminated due to a constantly upset-bound conference. Now, we get the treat of watching Utah and Washington battle it out in Santa Clara to give one of them the Rose Bowl bid. And to be quite honest, don’t be surprised if we see another upset in this championship game with the Utes trying to prove a point. This still, fortunately, should be a great game for us all to watch on Friday. Both teams bring in a passing game that can compete against teams across the whole country. All we can hope is that its not a blowout or one-sided and we receive a deserving PAC-12 Champion.

Red River, Blood River

Let’s be honest, this is going to be the absolute game to watch Saturday with two teams built on hate for each other. Also, there is a real narrative of a revenge tour on Oklahoma’s behalf coming into this game. This stems from the early win Texas had over the Sooners to control the Big 12 at the time, that had deemed this Texas squad “back”. However, the Oklahoma team and Kyler Murray had a sense of redemption building up ever since this game and haven’t lost a game since. This will be either a full-blown shootout or a defensive battle between these rivals in the Big 12 Championship Game. And if the Sooners get it done, they have the best shot at filling that #4 spot in the playoff.

Clemson, Your ACC Champ

Clemson has won the ACC Championship game. Yes, I am three days early, but no one is going to tell me otherwise. Not even the die-hard Pittsburgh fans that think they have a shot at beating the undefeated Clemson Tigers only days after getting trounced by Miami. This game pits a, most likely, #2 Playoff Squad against a 7-5 team that has gotten trounced multiple times. Clemson brings in Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and a front four that could be in the NFL. Pittsburgh is a decent squad, don’t get me wrong, but Pickett and Ollison aren’t going to rack the points up that Clemson could easily amount.

Wolverine Blood

Ohio State has topped Michigan for the 7th year in a row. This was not what the Big Ten needed when coming down to Playoff Contenders. Michigan appeared to be the clear front runner for the Big Ten and to make the College Football Playoff. This came to a shock when the Wolverines had been taken down by 30-points to the Buckeyes last Saturday. Now Ohio State gets to have a shot at a Northwestern squad that has won three in a row and only dropped their, would-be, 8-win streak to Notre Dame. Look for the Wildcats to give the Buckeyes a battle for their life in this Big Ten Championship Game that they have waited so long to get into. This won’t be a blowout by any means and we might even get an upset.

Without Milton

Mackenzie Milton will not be playing Saturday against a hungry Memphis team that will want to take down the “National Champions”. UCF will want to end their season on a record of 12-0 and hope for an induction into the College Football Playoff. However, things aren’t looking up for the Knights with teams like Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio State standing in front of them. But if those three were to drop, no one should see a UCF team in the playoff as impossible. However, Memphis has other plans for UCF. Memphis has placed more points on the board, on average, than UCF this season. This should scare the Knights, especially since they have lost Milton to injury. Make sure to tune in this Saturday and see if UCF can pull off another undefeated regular season.

Photo Credits: https://wtop.com/ncaa-football/2018/11/family-of-ucfs-milton-says-qb-recovering-from-nerve-damage/