Tuesday, December 1, 2015

My College Football Week 14 Picks/Predictions (Conference Championship Week)

After another exciting week of college football.  We now head into "Conference Championship Week", where there is going to be multiple really good matchups, and teams are trying to get not only their conference crown, but also some teams are fighting for playoff spots.  Here are my week 14 picks/predictions:


______________________________________________________________________________
#18 Florida (10-2) at #2 Alabama (11-1) (4:00 PM ET, on CBS, in Atlanta, Georgia)

My pick: #2 Alabama defeats #18 Florida 27-0

What to watch for: Alabama's defense.  Florida's offense has struggled mightily in recent games, and the only points they could put up against Florida State in their most recent game was on defense, and it won't get any easier for them vs Bama in the SEC Championship game.  I think that Alabama's defense will be too much for the Gators' offense in this one, and I see Alabama's defense being a huge reason why Bama gets the win and gets their 3rd SEC championship in 4 seasons.

My thoughts/reasons; Alabama is coming off of defeating Auburn 29-13, while Florida is coming off of getting beat by Florida State 27-2, so both teams are coming into this game off of totally different results.  Both teams will obviously come into this game wanting to get the victory, but I think Alabama will come into this game more prepared, and I see Bama eventually getting the victory to clinch their spot in the CFB playoff and to win their second straight SEC championship.

Photo credit: Vasha Hunt - AL.com
______________________________________________________________________________



















______________________________________________________________________________
      #20 USC (8-4) vs #7 Stanford (10-2) (7:45 PM ET, on ESPN, Santa Clara, California)

     My pick: #7 Stanford defeats #20 USC 37-24

    What to watch for: Stanford's defense.  USC has a very talented offense, who can score with the best of them, so Stanford will have their hands full vs the Trojans' offense in this game.  But, I think that although Stanford has struggled at times this season, I think they'll make the plays needed to be made to pull off the victory over USC to become this season's PAC-12 champions.

My thoughts/reasons: This is a rematch between these two teams, Stanford beat USC in their first meeting of the season, and their may be some incentive for the Trojans in this game since Stanford beat them the first time.  But, I think that Stanford is playing too well right now for USC to handle, and I see Stanford out-executing USC in the end to come up with the victory.

Photo credit: Kelley L. Cox - USA Today Sports
______________________________________________________________________________





















______________________________________________________________________________
#10 North Carolina (11-1) vs #1 Clemson (12-0) (8:00 PM ET, on ABC, in Charlotte, North Carolina)

My pick: #1 Clemson defeats #10 North Carolina 38-34                                                    

What to watch for: Clemson's rushing game.  Clemson has one of the best QBs, if not the best QB in college football in Deshaun Watson, but the reason I think they should try to take advantage with their running game is because North Carolina is ranked 107th in the nation in stopping the run, while North Carolina is 23rd in stopping the pass.  I'm sure Watson and the Tigers' passing game is capable of passing the ball effectively in this game, but I think it'll be easier for Clemson to try and run the ball.  In the end, I see Clemson taking advantage with their rushing game en route to a victory to become ACC champions.

My thoughts/reasons: North Carolina has played great since their opening season loss to South Carolina in week 1.  I think that they'll play well in this game vs #1 Clemson, and I think they'll give Clemson a run for their money, but I see them falling just short because of their lack of being battle tested among other things, and I see Clemson becoming the ACC champions and improving to 13-0 by the time this game is finished.

Photo credit: Tyler Smith - Getty Images
______________________________________________________________________________





















______________________________________________________________________________
#5 Michigan State (11-1) vs #4 Iowa (12-0) (8:17 PM ET, on FOX, in Indianapolis, Indiana)
UPSET

My pick: #5 Michigan State defeats #4 Iowa 31-24                                                             

What to watch for: Michigan State's passing game.  Michigan State has a very talented, experienced QB in Connor Cook who played well last week after not playing the week before with a shoulder injury.  He and the rest of the Spartans' offense will face a pretty tough challenge in an Iowa defense who has played pretty well recently and forced four interceptions in their 28-20 win over Nebraska last week.  Michigan State's running game will need to do their part in this game, but I think it'll be even more important for Michigan State to get their passing game going since I think this game will be a pretty close one.  I think that Michigan State will make the big plays in the pass game that they have to make to come up with the victory when this game comes to an end.

My thoughts/reasons: Iowa has been one of the surprise teams of the season, they are undefeated and currently ranked #4.  Michigan State has had a great season as well, they are ranked #5 and 11-1 coming into this game.  Both teams are trying to make it to the CFP playoff, and this is most likely if not surely a CFP quarterfinal matchup between these two teams.  So there is a lot to play for in this game for both sides.  As for how I think the game will go, I think that this will be a pretty close game the whole way through, but I think Michigan State will come up big when they have to mainly because they've been in those situations more than Iowa has this season, and because of their experience at QB.  I see Michigan State getting the victory, and becoming BIG-10 champions in the end.

Photo credit: Mike Carter - USA Today Sports
______________________________________________________________________________













______________________________________________________________________________
#23 Temple (11-1) at #19 Houston (11-1) (12:00 PM ET, on ABC, in Houston, Texas)

My pick: #19 Houston defeats #23 Temple 31-20

What to watch for: Houston's passing game.  Houston is 13th in rushing offense, and 37th in passing offense.  From those stats you may think that Houston should try to run effectively instead of trying to pass, and I think that running the ball will still be important for Houston too.  But since Temple is ranked 13th in stopping the run, and 50th in passing.  I think that the Cougars should try to take advantage of that, and I think they will successfully.

My thoughts/reason: This game is probably the most under-looked conference championship game between ranked teams of this weekend, and because of that, it's this week's "Sneaky Good Game Of The Week".  This is also the first ever AAC Championship game, and both of these teams are gonna be hungry to be the first team to ever win in an AAC Championship game.  But, I think that Houston will come out a little more prepared, and I think they'll carry some of their momentum from their last game vs then-#15 Navy into this game as well.  Plus, I think having the home field advantage helps them too.  So, I see Houston pulling out the victory over #23 Temple to become AAC champions when this game come to a finish.

Photo credit: Bob Levey - Getty Images
______________________________________________________________________________


This week in college football should be as exciting if not more exciting than any other week there has been in college football so far this season.  Enjoy week 14 of the college football season!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

No comments:

Post a Comment