With Championship Week finally upon us, the final four of the 2018 College Football Playoff picture will become crystal clear and come into focus. Below are my brief picks and predictions of who will win!
12. Stanford vs. 10. USC | PAC-12 Championship Game Presented by Dr. Pepper : In what will likely be their final games as collegiate stars, Stanford tailback phenom—and Heisman hopeful, Bryce Love will go head to head with projected top overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft in USC quarterback, Sam Darnold. A rematch of a 42-24 USC win down in Los Angeles, expect Love and Darnold to ball out in what will be a back-and-forth game featuring Love’s one-cut running and Darnold’s gun-slinging, look for USC to outlast a feisty Cardinal squad. Prediction: USC 31 Stanford 21
11. TCU vs. 3. Oklahoma | Big 12 Championship Game: In another regular-season rematch on Championship Week, Oklahoma outlasted TCU 38-20 in Norman. Sadly, expect more of the same from the red-hot Sooners offense and Baker Mayfield. In what may be the crowning jewel for his Heisman season, look for the likely 2018 first-rounder to carve up a stout TCU defense, looking to redeem themselves on Texas home soil. Prediction: Oklahoma 52, TCU 24
7. Miami vs. 1. Clemson | Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game: Let’s make one thing clear, Kelly Bryant is NOT Deshaun Watson, nor will he ever be. But he will need to channel the former Clemson national title-winning Alabama-slaying legend if he hope to avoid seeing MIami’s “Turnover Chain” make an appearance in Charlotte.
Malik Rosier and the ball-hawking Hurricane defense ain’t no slouch either, as a determined Miami team is ready to make amends for laying an egg up north in the Steel City. Prediction: Miami 34, Clemson 28
8. Ohio State vs. 4. Wisconsin | B1G Championship Game: One cannot help see the many parallels between the Buckeyes 2014 title-winning team that used an unknown third-stringer named Cardale Jones and a Wisconsin team that had a dynamic feature back named Melvin Gordon.
Well, it’s 2017, and while some parts of the old story are true, the Badgers have a stout defense that will likely zero in on Barrett’s hobbled knee.
While the Badgers have a quality defense and one of the country’s best tailbacks in Jonathan Taylor, Ohio State has a pretty good duo of their own in J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber Jr. and too much talent on offense for the Badgers to keep up. Prediction: Ohio State 45 Wisconsin 21
No.6 Georgia vs. No. 2 Auburn | SEC Championship Game: After stunning then top-ranked Georgia in a 40-17 blowout on The Plains, it will be much touch for the Tigers to beat Georgia twice in what is basically a de facto home game for the Bulldogs at the brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. If Auburn hopes to beat Georgia, they will likely have to do it without their do-everything tailback Kerryon Johnson, while finding a way to contain likely NFL-bound UGA running back Nick Chubbs, who will be motivated to put on a show in from of friends and family. Prediction: Georgia 24 Auburn 14