Week 14 was derided by many as being meaningless with Conference championship games that were virtual exhibition games with lucrative TV contracts being the only reason for them. But in the Big 12 Conference the championship game proved to be incredibly valuable. Four years ago, the Big 12 was left out of the college football playoff despite having two strong teams in the Baylor Bears and TCU Horned Frogs. But the league didn’t have a championship game and was rejected out of hand due to a missing “data point.” Thus, the Big 12 created a championship game and it proved to be quite timely for 2018.
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Oklahoma Hooks Texas
The Oklahoma Sooners got the money and a berth in the college football playoff following their 39-27 win over the Texas Longhorns as 9.5-point chalks. Best of all the Sooners actually had a hint of defense that has been missing most of the season and may have swayed the playoff committee as a result. Additionally, quarterback Kyler Murray enhanced his Heisman Trophy candidacy with 379 yards passing with three touchdowns. The Sooners finished with a 12-1 record that catapulted them over Georgia for the last playoff spot.
Georgia Hurts over Jalen
The Georgia Bulldogs seemed to have the Alabama Crimson Tide on the ropes with a 28-14 third quarter lead and had the chance to apply the dagger with a 31-yard field goal attempt by the usually automatic Rodrigo Blankenship. But Blankenship misfired and let the Tide off the hook. Alabama then rallied with former starting quarterback Jalen Hurts taking over for the injured Tua Tagovailoa. In a made for movie story Hurts was seven out of nine good for 82 yards and one touchdown pass. Late in the fourth quarter Hurts tied the game at 28 with a ten-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy and then won the game on a 15-yard touchdown run to make the final score 35-28 to win the SEC championship for the Tide. Georgia did cover as 11-point dogs but the loss proved to be fatal for their playoff chances as they finished 11-2.
Memphis Fails to Hold Off Knights
Perhaps the worst beat of the day was the Memphis Tigers 56-41 loss at the Central Florida Knights as one-point dogs. Memphis seemed to own the game with leads of 24-7 in the first quarter, 31-14 in the second quarter, and 38-21 at the half. But Central Florida showed the heart of a champion to rally and win the championship going away 56-41 as backup quarterback Darriel Mack Jr threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns while Greg McCrae ran for 206 yards and one TD. Despite missing their superstar starting quarterback McKenzie Milton, UCF delivered to finish a perfect 12-0.
Clemson Clinches Second Seed
The Clemson Tigers covered with ease in a 42-10 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers in the ACC championship game as 27-point favorites to clinch the number two ranking from the playoff committee. This game made one of the better cases about how weak the conference championship divisional system is. In no way was Pitt qualified to play for a league title.
Coming Up Roses
The Ohio State Buckeyes paid off in the Big Ten championship game with a 45-24 win over the overmatched Northwestern Wildcats as 16.5-point chalks. Ohio State finished 12-1 but couldn’t overcome their 49-20 loss at Purdue in the eyes of the committee. But the Buckeyes get a nice consolation prize with a Rose Bowl berth against the Washington Huskies. The Huskies won the Pac 12 title with an ugly 10-3 win over the Utah Utes as 4.5-point favorites. U-Dub closed strong to finish 10-3.
MAC Smack
Another bad beat was the Buffalo Bulls blowing a 29-10 lead that they took late in the third quarter as the Northern Illinois Huskies rallied for a 30-29 win in the MAC championship game as three-point dogs. What was a dream season for Buffalo ended in the heartbreak of a loss in the final minute.
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