FTRS Picks Championship Week

results from last week

Last week was tough since there were 30 picks to make. One person stood above the rest with 18 correct picks, that person was jimmymc. Good Job.

Going into the 2nd to last week of the regular season the standings are as follows:

1st place BuzzForPresident with 87 correct picks

2nd place Cliff Clavin with 85 correct picks

3rd place is a 3 way tie between aknartrebna, AHolt, and @LeeNobody with 83 correct picks

The last week of the regular season is a single game between Army and Navy so for all intents and purposes this is the last week where a significant change in the standings can take place. Pick wisely

Rivalry week led to a bevy of upsets, unfortunately not the upset we were all hoping for. Now with championship week coming up all eyes are looking to USC, TCU, Michigan, and some team in athens to see if they can keep their playoff spots.

Personally I’m hoping for as many upsets as possible. Is it worth it to have Purdue win the BIG 10 at the cost of possibly let another SEC team into the playoff. I’ll let you decide for yourself, but I believe all the Purdue fans would think so.

picks:

Conference USA Championship played at the Alamodrome in San Antonio, Texas: North Texas Mean Green v UTSA Road Runners (-8.0)

Logan: The last game between these two was a home game for UTSA and they were only able to win by 4 points. I might be missing something, but I’m not seeing any injuries for the Mean Green since that last game. I actually think North Texas has a pretty good shot in this one. I’ll take North Texas.

Logan’s pick: North Texas

The PAC 12 Championship played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada: Utah Utes v USC Trojans (-2.5)

Logan: Another rematch game. Utah won the last matchup by a single point. The biggest difference between the two teams is that the Utah defense has been significantly more successful at shutting down the passing attack of their opponents which is where USC gets most of their offense. Heisman Candidate Caleb Williams is going to have to play lights out if he plans to lead his team to victory. Tough one... I will expect to see Caleb Williams in New York after leading a last minute drive to win this one.

Logan’s pick: USC

The BIG 12 Championship played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas: Kansas State Wildcats v TCU Horned Frogs (-2.5)

Logan: Yet another rematch (well that makes things easier to analyze). TCU had to make a comeback against Kansas State last time to win at home. While not exactly a home game this Championship will certainly be easier to get to for TCU fans. Kansas State is currently struggling with shuffling players who were injured and coming back and players who recently suffered injuries. I think Kansas State has a chance to win this game, but that’s not what I expect to see. I expect to see TCU win by at least a touchdown.

Logan’s pick: TCU

MAC Championship played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan: Toledo Rockets (-2.5) v Ohio Bobcats

Logan: This is the first match we are discussing that isn’t a rematch. Toledo lost their last 2 games and come into this game limping. Meanwhile Ohio lost their star QB Kurtis Rourke a few games ago. This hasn’t stopped Ohio from winning though, the backup QB CJ Harris managed to lead the Bobcats to a win over Bowling Green despite only completing 10 of 21 passes. Ohio technically has a worse defense than Toledo statistically, but I think Ohio should still win this one, they just have more talent overall.

Logan’s pick: Ohio

The Sun-Belt Championship: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers @ Troy Trojans (-10.0)

Logan: Coastal Carolina comes into this game after losing 47-7 against James Madison. They also have a key injury at QB which complicates things, although the backup has played in the past 2 games for Coastal Carolina. Troy wins most of their games by suffocating the offense out of the opponent and using good field position to get the points they need to win. 10 points is a big spread, but given the circumstance I think Troy can deliver.

Logan’s pick: Troy

The SEC Championship played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA: LSU Tigers v uga (-17.0)

Logan: LSU looked so bad last week. I hope it was because they were looking ahead to this one. uga hasn’t covered the spread in the past 2 games they played, so I’m gonna say LSU finds a way to keep things within 17 points.

Logan’s pick: LSU

The American Athletic Conference Championship: UCF Knights @ Tulane Green Wave (-3.0)

Logan: UCF won the last match played between these two teams (at the same stadium by the way) by 7 points. I like Tulane but I have not seen anything that would indicate things have changed since the last time they played. I think UCF will win this match.

Logan’s pick: UCF

The Mountain West Championship: Fresno State Bulldogs @ Boise State Broncos (-3.5)

Logan: I believe in a past article I said something along the lines of “I pick Boise State because they own the Mountain West Conference”. I stand by that statement, Boise State should runaway with this one.

Logan’s pick: Boise State

The BIG 10 Championship played at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Indiana: Purdue Boilermakers v Michigan Wolverines (-16.0)

Logan: I put the comment about Purdue in the intro, but how do I actually feel. Well I will say the closest game Michigan played all year was against a team Purdue beat. I will also add that the chaos out west meant that Michigan probably hasn’t had much time to scope out the Purdue game plan specifically. I think Purdue covers, but I don’t feel particularly confident about that.

Logan’s pick: Purdue

The ACC Championship played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina: Clemson tigers (-8.0) v North Carolina Tar Heels

Logan: Despite being in North Carolina this is more of a home game for Clemson, go figure. Both these teams ended the season on down notes, so winning this game might be their consolation prize for falling short of the playoff. Clemson still makes the most sense to pick for me. Despite the loss to a South Carolina team which caught on fire at the end of the year, Clemson is still more talented and has shown more stability over the end of the season. So yeah, I guess I’m going Clemson.

Logan’s pick: Clemson