The final College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled Sunday afternoon and there's plenty taking place Saturday before we learn the Buckeyes' ultimate fate. Championship weekend has arrived and Ohio State is heading to Indy for the third time since the playoff era began in 2014.
Oklahoma clearly has the advantage as the two programs are vying for what is expected to be the No. 4 seed, and the Buckeyes could use a major assist from Tom Herman and the Longhorns. That, of course, is assuming they can take care of business against the Wildcats Saturday night.
Kevin and Ramzy were at the top of their game last weekend as both turned in 8-2 performances. Andrew was on the other side of things with an ugly 3-7 showing. Six of our 11 participants are still hitting at over 50 percent for the season as we head into the final week.
Unfortunately we put too much faith in West Virginia last week and that's also hurting Ohio State's playoff chances. The Sooners were favored by 1.5 but most of the staff had the Mountaineers covering in Morgantown. Defense was optional in that contest (because obviously Big12) and Andy and Dan were the only ones who correctly pegged the outcome.
The forecast was split on Washington and Washington State, but fortunately the Huskies pulled through and did give the Buckeyes a bit of a boost. Now Ohio State may actually be on track to face Chris Petersen's squad in the Rose Bowl.
Most had the Buckeyes covering in The Game but did anyone actually see 62 points coming? Michigan as a four-point favorite is about what we expected when the lines were released, but seeing the nation's No. 1 defense get ripped apart was a glorious sight to behold.
- Reminder: All of our submissions are *against the spread*. The odds will certainly fluctuate a bit throughout each week, but we'll be using sportsbook.ag for all betting lines.
This week's slate is smaller due to the limited supply of action, and does anyone really care to pick a winner for the non-conference title games? I don't think too many people are making big plans for the Iowa State vs. Drake barnburner.
| CHRIS | RAMZY | HOPE | HARRISH | JONES | WEBB | ELLIS | WERTHEIM | REGIMBAL | ANDERSON | VANCE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST WEEK: | 6-4 | 8-2 | 6-4 | 8-2 | 5-5 | 5-5 | 3-7 | 5-5 | 6-4 | 7-3 | 6-4 |
| OVERALL: | 61-68 | 62-67 | 69-60 | 67-62 | 61-68 | 60-69 | 71-58 | 66-63 | 63-66 | 68-61 | 67-62 |
| ACCURACY: | 47% | 48% | 53% | 52% | 47% | 47% | 55% | 51% | 49% | 53% | 52% |
| #10 Washington (-5.5) vs. #17 Utah | WASH | WASH | WASH | UTAH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | WASH | UTAH |
| #5 Oklahoma (-7.5) vs. #9 Texas | OKLA | TEXAS | TEXAS | TEXAS | TEXAS | TEXAS | OKLA | OKLA | TEXAS | TEX | OKLA |
| #7 UCF (-3.5) vs. Memphis | MEMP | MEMP | MEMP | MEMP | MEMP | UCF | UCF | UCF | UCF | MEMP | UCF |
| #1 Alabama (-13.5) vs. #4 Georgia | BAMA | BAMA | UGA | BAMA | UGA | BAMA | BAMA | UGA | BAMA | BAMA | UGA |
| #19 Boise State (-2.5) vs. #25 Fresno State | FRES | BOISE | FRES | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | BOISE | FRES |
| #2 Clemson (-26.5) vs. Pittsburgh | CLEM | PITT | PITT | PITT | PITT | CLEM | PITT | PITT | PITT | PITT | CLEM |
| #6 Ohio State (-14.5) vs. #21 Northwestern | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | OSU | NW | OSU | OSU | OSU |
The Utes and Huskies will be the lone Friday evening contest and Washington is a 5.5-point favorite following last week's win over its in-state rival. Again, this one may be worth watching as there's a very real chance the Buckeyes could face one of these teams in Pasadena. Pretty much everyone is rolling with UW in this one.
The Red River Rematch goes down at noon on Saturday and the stakes are ridiculously high in this one. A Texas win and subsequent Buckeye victory could make all of our dreams come true. Unfortunately Kyler Murray has been playing out of his mind and it's not easy to beat a really good team twice. The Sooners are just over a touchdown favorite and we are split on the outcome.
So UCF plays Memphis and Boise plays Fresno State. We'll bunch these together since they're far and away the least important games on the weekend slate. Several are taking Memphis and the points and I'm guessing that wouldn't be the case had McKenzie Milton not gone down with that horrific leg injury. We're also mostly feeling the Broncos who are favored by 2.5 for the Mountain West crown.
Alabama is favored by nearly two touchdowns over the No. 4 team in America. Georgia winning this game would be downright disastrous for both Oklahoma and Ohio State, so let's all hope nothing like that transpires. It was an instant classic the last time these two met.
Pat Narduzzi has played the spoiler a few times but it would be a shock for the Panthers to even keep it close against Clemson. Last week Pitt lost by three touchdowns against an unranked Miami team, but maybe they were simply looking ahead to this one? Probably not. Clemson should roll.
The Buckeyes are favored by 14.5 points in Indy and everyone is hoping for the 2014 Wisconsin game as opposed to the 2017 version. Northwestern has been hot following early silly losses against Duke and Akron. Their tailback is an Ohio native who's been playing quite well lately and the Wildcats have a tendency to keep things close even in defeat. We're all riding with Urban Meyer to cover on Saturday night (except for David, of course).
Who are your picks for the weekend? Can Texas put together a repeat performance against the Sooners? Does Georgia have a shot to take down the Tide?
Ok. Cool. Hook Em! #GetRich
