Best NCAA Football Conference Championship Games in 2015

Add caption

We have officially reached one of the sacred days of the sports calendar every year - College Football's “Conference Championship Saturday”. Here is my preview of the notable games.

Temple vs Houston (2015 American Athletic Conference Championship) - Greg Ward, a duel threat quarterback, is having a monster 2015 season, and is a borderline Hesiman Trophy candidate. Temple comes in here the higher ranked team though, ranked 25^th in the polls. Greg Ward has another big game and Houston wins 55-31.

Texas @ Baylor - The Big 12 doesn't have a conference championship game, so their schedule spills over into this weekend. Baylor is unable to win the Big 12 because of their loss to Oklahoma, so now it is a matter of pride for them, and playing in as good of a bowl game as they can. This is an important game for recruiting in Texas, and it doesn't help Baylor that they are down to their third string quarterback. Texas pulls off the stunner here 38-31.

Florida vs Alabama (SEC Championship) - Florida won a mediocre SEC East, and Alabama navigated their way through the nightmare SEC West to get to this game. This should be an easy win for the Crimson Tide, 34-13.

Stanford vs USC (PAC-12 Championship) - Stanford knocked Notre Dame out of the college football playoff race last weekend with a last second field goal. USC back-doored their way in here following Utah's late season meltdown. This will be a good pro-style game with Stanford winning 31-24.

Michigan State vs Iowa (Big 10 Championship) - This game has MAJOR college football playoff implications. The winner is in, essentially, the loser is out. This will be a physically brutal game, with a lot of hard hitting. Iowa wins 23-16.

North Carolina vs Clemson (ACC Championship) - The Tar Heels have rattled off 11 impressive wins in a row following that opening night disaster against South Carolina. Clemson is the number one ranked team in the nation. This should be this best game of the day, with Clemson winning 48-41.

2015 NCAA Football Predictions for the Week.

Included with my prediction for the outcome of the next Badgers football game, I submit for your review my predictions for all the marquee games coming up this week.  

Thursday

Washington @ USC(W)- The PAC-12 has been brutal so far this season. They won't produce a playoff participant by the time they are all done beating each other up. USC wins this game by three touchdowns over a lackluster Washington team 38-17.

Friday

(W) NC State @ Virginia Tech- This is going to be a dull, boring 20-13 NC State victory.

Saturday

(W)LSU @ South Carolina- Leonard Fournette is off to a historic start and is in the Hesiman conversation right now. He has another great game as LSU roles 45-17.

Illinois @ Iowa(W)- This Hawkeye team just smells of a classic Iowa squad that goes 10-2 and plays in the Capitol One Bowl. 23-14 Iowa.

(W) Baylor @ Kansas- Baylor wins 62-6. Move along.

(W)Oklahoma @ Texas- Baker Mayfield is off to a terrific start at his new school. Charlie Strong is safe, for now. Oklahoma Wins this edition of the Red River Shootout 48-20.

Maryland @ Ohio State(W)- These Ohio State quarterbacks are terrible. This is not the number one team in the nation. Fortunately Maryland is even worse. Ohio State wins 24-13.

(W)Indiana @ Penn State- Don't Worry Christian Hackenberg, the scouts no this isn't your fault. Still, Indiana wins 34-23 after giving Ohio State all they could handle a week ago.

Virginia @ Pittsburgh(W)- This is going to be a defensive war. Pittsburgh wins 13-6.

Wake Forest @ Boston College(W)- Same as above. 10-3 Boston College.

Georgia Tech @ Clemson(W)- This Georgia Tech team has underachieved this season in a major way. Clemson hasn't been pretty at times, but they have gotten the job done. Clemson wins 34-16.

(W)Georgia @ Tennessee- Georgia get's back on track this week against a Tennessee team that has underachieved as well. Georgia wins 38-17.

(W)Navy @ Notre Dame- The Midshipmen's first season in the American Athletic Conference is off to a good start. Notre Dame's luck ran out a week ago. Navy pulls the upset here 34-27.

(W)Northwestern @ Michigan- Two of the surprises so far in college football meet in this game. Northwestern pulls off a tough road win here 23-13.

Wisconsin @ Nebraska(W)- Joel Stave is a bad quarterback. The only question is how long until Redshirt Freshman D.J. Gillins is in? Nebraska wins 20-6.

Minnesota(W) @ Purdue- Joel Stave is bad. Mitch Leidner is even worse. Fortunately, the Gophers defense is strong and Purdue is one of the worst power conference teams at the moment. Gophers win 13-3.

Iowa State @ Texas Tech(W)- Texas Tech wins this game by scoring 70 points and winning 70-42.

Oregon State @ Arizona(W)- Arizona wins this game 38-20.

Washington State @ Oregon(W)- I told you this Ducks team wasn't that good. Still, they are better than Washington State. Oregon wins 55-31.

Arkansas @ Alabama(W)- The Razorbacks are the biggest disappointment of 2015. Bret Bielema's job could be in jeopardy if the Razorbacks continue to go south. Alabama wins 41-13.

(W)Oklahoma State @ West Virginia- This will be a high scoring affair and it will be won by the Cowboys 62-55.

(W)TCU @ Kansas State- TCU wins this game 56-34.

(W)Florida @ Missouri- The Gators pulled off a stunning upset last week of Mississippi and are off to a great start. That continues this week with a 34-16 victory over Missouri.

Miami @ Florida State(W)- The Seminoles are very quietly unbeaten and will remain that way 38-23.

(W)Michigan State @ Rutgers- I think this Spartan team is the best team in the nation at the moment. Michigan State wins 34-0.

California @ Utah(W)- Jared Goff is the number one pick in the making and California is off to a great start. However, this Utah defense is good an their special teams are insane. Utah wins 34-23.