Overall Record A.T.S. ( 31-24-4)
Last Week A.T.S. (3-2)
Finally. We have one of the best college football weeks of the year upon us. I love the conference championship games. They mean a lot more than bowl games do to most teams and this year it appears as if the matchups are going to produce some really good games.
Conference championships are great because a team doesn't have to impress any pollsters to win one. For one day, winning is more important than looking impressive or running up the score. There are no strength of schedule arguments and teams can't complain about not getting a fair chance to make the game. A team plays the same pool of teams all its competitors have to face, and — get this — they actually have to beat their competitors to be ranked ahead of them where it counts: in the conference standings.
Every team, from the Northwesterns and Mississippi States of the world to the Oklahomas and Floridas, starts the season with conference title aspirations. There is no need to hyperbolize, polish or overplay the meaning of a conference championship because every team, every coach and every player innately understands the magnitude of the accomplishment. Often the simplest expressions carry the most meaning, and if you've ever been to a historic college football venue I think you'll have to agree.
If you make the trip to Ben Hill Griffin stadium in Gainesville you'll notice "SEC champs 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000" written above the South endzone. In Tuscaloosa it's "SEC champs 33, 34, 37, 45, 53, 61, 64, 65, 66, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 81, 89, 92, 99." In Ann Arbor, you read "Big Ten champs 1898, 01, 02, 03 ,04, 06, 18, 22, 23, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 33, 43, 47, 48, 49, 50, 64, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 86, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 97, 98, 2000, 2003, 2004."
Such simple proclamations convey more meaning than entire books can sometimes. These championships connect the glories and the teams of today to the countless tales and legends of the past, and if they don't get you excited then you're not a college football fan. The conference champs crowned this Saturday will be rewarded with spots in the five lucrative BCS bowls, but that's not why this weekend is important. An SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or Pac-10 title means a lot more than getting to play in some over-commercialized exhibition game in January.
No. 8 Arkansas (+3) vs. No. 4 Florida
Florida has been winning ugly this year, really ugly. Five of the Gators' wins have come by less than a touchdown, and Urban Meyer has urged voters to ignore style points when evaluating his team. Florida probably doesn't have much of a shot to play in the BCS title game even if it wins. The Gators would need to blow Arkansas out of the water and there is no reason to believe that that is going to happen since they haven't dominated anyone (not even Kentucky) during SEC play.
Arkansas' offense might be the most dichotomous I've ever seen. Its running game is nothing short of phenomenal; Darren McFadden with his 1485 yards and 14 TDs on the ground will surely be invited to New York's Downtown Athletic Club for the Heisman presentation, and his backfield mate Felix Jones isn't far behind. Jones has gone over 100 yards four times this season, and two of those performances came against Auburn and LSU. There is simply no stopping the Hogs' running game and I'm really hoping they pull this one out.
With LSU's apparent selection to the Rose Bowl, the winner of the SEC title game will likely play Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Wouldn't you love to see Notre Dame's defense try to contain McFadden and Jones? I would.
Pick: Arkansas (+3) over Florida
No. 19 Nebraska (+3.5) vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
It's hard to believe that this will be the first meeting between OU and Nebraska for a Big 12 title. The two former Big Eight foes joined the newly formed Big 12 in 1994, and the title game pitting the winners of the North and South divisions began in 1996. There have been 11 championship games played thus far and eight of them have featured either Nebraska or Oklahoma.
The line for this game seems pretty fair. I like what Bill Callahan has done at Nebraska and I think the ship has definitely been righted, but the Huskers are still a year or two away from winning the Big 12. It could happen this year, but I wouldn't count on it.
Pick: Oklahoma
(-3.5) over Nebraska
No. 23 Georgia Tech (-2.5) vs. No. 16 Wake Forest
Wake Forest Coach Jim Grobe should be recognized as the national coach of the year. He has taken an injury-plagued and marginally talented team to 10 wins and legit shot at a BCS bowl. Once the laughingstock of the ACC, Wake Forest managed a 38-0 shutout victory over Florida State and its only loses have come to solid Clemson and Virginia Tech squads.
As far as this game goes, I don't think the sting of the loss to Georgia has worn off yet for the Jackets, and Reggie Ball always seems to find a way to lose big games.
Pick: Wake Forest (+2.5) over Georgia Tech
No. 13 Rutgers (+10) vs. No. 15 West Virginia
West Virginia's offense looked great all season until last week. Rutgers has the best defense in the Big East. Looks like Rutgers wins this game and then heads to the BCS, so of course I'll take the 10 points.
Pick: Rutgers (+10) over West Virginia
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