Championship Weekend

I certainly don’t envy the role of a College Football Playoff Committee member. Every year, their choices are met with nothing but criticism and outrage over the supposed snubs…and this year, they could be facing their most difficult decision yet 😬

• A four-team field is bound to have some worthy contenders left out of the party, and ironically, in the last season before playoff expansion, that holds especially true. Just take a look at the latest edition of the CFP Rankings, with the regular season now in the books

Eight teams remain in legitimate contention for a playoff spot, so even if the committee had to make their decision today, they’d still have their hands full. But with conference championship weekend ahead of us, there’s a plausible scenario in which all hell breaks loose 👇

I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell four of those teams they aren’t good enough to compete for a national title. But one way or another, the Power Five conference championships on Friday and Saturday will determine this year’s playoff field; check out the weekend’s loaded slate ⬇️

• Friday 12/1, 8PM: PAC-12 Championship - Oregon (-9.5, -360) vs. Washington (+280)

• Saturday 12/2, 12PM: Big 12 Championship - Oklahoma State (+14.5, +490) vs. Texas (-710)

• Saturday 12/2, 4PM: SEC Championship - Alabama (+6.5, +180) vs. Georgia (-225)

• Saturday 12/2, 8PM: Big 10 Championship - Iowa (+23.5, +1400) vs. Michigan (-4000)

• Saturday 12/2, 8PM: ACC Championship - Louisville (+2.5, +115) vs. FSU (-138)

Michigan and Georgia both look like good bets to receive playoff invites, regardless of their outcomes on Saturday, so for argument’s sake let’s say those two spots are accounted for. But besides that, your guess for how the rest of the field shakes out is as good as mine 🤷🏻‍♂️

• It’s almost fitting the PAC-12 will be settled first on Friday night, as that matchup feels like the most straightforward in regards to playoff impact. The general consensus for both teams in the conference’s last ever title game is that if they win, they’re in ✅

• That’s undoubtedly true for the undefeated Huskies, who have already taken down the Ducks once this season. But even with a PAC-12 trophy, a one-loss Oregon team could still face some stiff competition depending on the rest of the weekend’s results

FSU might be the biggest domino of all. The Seminoles’ longterm outlook took a massive hit with the loss of their Heisman contending QB Jordan Travis, but never in the history of the CFP has an undefeated P5 been left out of the field. So, in theory a win should have them in…but who knows?

They may find themselves all the way down at #8 in the latest rankings, but if Alabama is able to take down the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship, can you keep the Tide out of the field? Their only loss this season would be a pretty excusable one to a Texas team that’s in the hunt themselves…

And speaking of the Longhorns, how much does the needle move if they best Oklahoma State? It’s been a down year for the Big 12, but that signature win at Bama is huge for the resume 👀

Then there’s the Ohio State Buckeyes, who will be sitting out this weekend’s festivities after their third straight loss against Michigan this past Saturday. If they’re going to sneak into the CFP field, they likely need Oregon, FSU, Texas and Bama all to lose…but hey, there’s always a chance 😏

Trivia Question: When was the last time Texas won the Big 12 Championship?

For My Parlay Gurus

A win from Georgia and a loss from FSU this weekend would certainly make life easier on the committee members. I’ll be parlaying those two picks, along with Washington to cover, in what I expect to be another back-and-forth game. Check it out 👇

• Washington +9.5 vs. Oregon: -106

• Georgia -6.5 vs. Alabama: -105

• Louisville ML vs. FSU: +115

$100 on this bet would win you $716 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Texas last won the Big 12 in 2009. Led by Colt McCoy, the undefeated Longhorns then lost in the BCS National Championship Game to Alabama

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