We've spent the season using our top-of-the-line #analytics to forecast some of college football's top games. Some weeks have been pretty good. Some weeks have been downright awful. Last week's conference championship games were the final round of this little shindig.
Seven games were on the championship slate and from a win-loss perspective the favorites were victorious in all but one of those contests. Our selections, of course, have been against the spread all season long which adds a trickier element to things. It was a weekend that saw Andy and Chris came through with the top performances while Kevin was driving the struggle bus.
| LAST WEEK | OVERALL | ACCURACY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELLIS | 4-3 | 75-61 | 55% |
| HOPE | 4-3 | 73-63 | 54% |
| VANCE | 6-1 | 73-63 | 54% |
| ANDERSON | 2-5 | 70-66 | 51% |
| WERTHEIM | 4-3 | 70-66 | 51% |
| HARRISH | 1-6 | 68-68 | 50% |
| REGIMBAL | 3-4 | 66-70 | 49% |
| CHRIS | 5-2 | 66-70 | 49% |
| RAMZY | 2-5 | 64-72 | 47% |
| JONES | 3-4 | 64-72 | 47% |
| STAFF TOTAL | 34-36 | 689-671 | 51% |
Washington and Utah went at it on Friday evening in what had to have been one of the least exciting games of the season. That being said, it feels good every now and then to see some defense and both teams delivered from that standpoint. The Huskies were favored by 5.5 and ended up winning by a score of 10-3 thanks to a superb secondary that will challenge Dwayne Haskins and the Buckeye passing attack. Kevin and Andy were the only ones to miss out.
Ohio State needed a favor from the Longhorns, but as we all now know that did not come to fruition. The Sooners were favored by 7.5 points in the rematch and Lincoln Riley was able to avenge the lone loss of the season. Most of the staff was siding with Tom Herman in this one.
We were split on the UCF/Memphis game, and that one turned out to be a pretty good one with the Knights battling back to take home the AAC championship. Central Florida was favored by 3.5 and ended up winning by 15 in a game that almost hit 100 points.
I think it's become a rule that Alabama vs. Georgia has to live up to the hype. Saturday's SEC championship game had plenty of storylines but the biggest takeaway may have been Kirby Smart's ridiculous fake punt that probably cost them the game. Jake Fromm and the Bulldogs put together a nice showing even in defeat, and their defense may have taken the Heisman from Tua Tagovailoa. Georgia had no issue covering the 13.5-point spread.
No one expected Clemson to fall to Pitt, but many did have the Panthers covering the spread. It wasn't even close in the ACC championship with Dabo Swinney again coming away victorious. The Tigers scored on the first play en route to a 42-10 stomping. Elsewhere, Fresno State was an underdog but captured the Mountain West title game outright with a win over Boise State. I doubt anyone was too interested in this one but three of our staffers had it nailed.
Dwayne Haskins was on fire once again as the Buckeyes took it to Northwestern. Everyone (minus David) had Ohio State covering the 14.5 points and it ended up being a three-touchdown victory in Indy. Things got a little dicey at times but it never felt like the game was getting away from Haskins and Co. The redshirt sophomore's performance helped to earn him a spot in New York for this weekend's Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Thanks for following along this season and a shoutout to those who finished above the 50-percent mark. Don't forget the Army/Navy game kicks off at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday and the bowl season gets underway on Dec. 15. #GetRich
