An up and down college football regular season has reached its final week. If you think the season is winding down, however, you are mistaken.
Two weeks ago, I correctly predicted Auburn’s victory over then #1 Georgia. In the prediction I mentioned that the Auburn Tigers had everything in front of them in terms of the Playoff, as they would host both Georgia and Alabama to end the year. They got past Georgia, setting up a humongous Iron Bowl match-up against their bitter in-state rival; the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. The winner of the Iron Bowl clinches a spot in the SEC Championship against Georgia and would continue on a path towards a Playoff berth while the loser would put its faith in the hands of the committee as well as other teams. It’s a winner-take-all game, and the last time Alabama faced Auburn in a game like that, Auburn’s Chris Davis returned a missed field goal the length of the field for a touchdown to stun the world. Look for Auburn to once again upset the Crimson Tide.
Later tonight, the #3 Clemson Tigers travel across the state to Columbia, South Carolina to face the #23 Gamecocks. In a rivalry game, anything can happen. With the Gamecocks at home with a chance to ruin their rival’s season, Columbia will be rocking to “Sandstorm,” and the Gamecocks will pull off the upset. It certainly will be closer than 14 points, which is the current spread.
Those will be my two official picks, but there are a few other top ten teams that I believe might lose today. The #9 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to “The Big House” to take on Michigan, and Michigan will play with nothing to lose other than ruining their rival’s season. The #7 Georgia Bulldogs go to Atlanta to play the triple-option offense of Georgia Tech, and if the Yellow Jackets can keep the Bulldogs off the field, they could clinch bowl eligibility while upsetting the Playoff picture. The #5 Wisconsin Badgers head north to Minnesota, and I still believe the Badgers haven’t faced a real test all year, yet here they are at #5. I don’t know that they’ll lose, but if they let their guard down looking ahead to the BIG 10 Championship Game, the Golden Gophers could pounce and surprise them.
Today is shaping up to be a wild day in college football, so get ready and gear up for madness.