Championship Week Predictions - and who makes it into the CFP

Jack Frantz
Nov 29, 2018
2 min read

College Football's Championship Week is upon us - and this is when the excitement begins. With some big championship games going down this weekend, I'm going to break down each major game and its possible implications on CFP teams.

SEC Championship: #1 Alabama vs. #4 Georgia

The winner of this game of course punches their ticket into the playoff. Alabama is the clear favorite, but don't count Georgia out. Their only loss came to a good LSU team and outside of that have played pretty consistently well throughout the season. What makes this matchup interesting, however, is if Georgia is able to pull off the upset, it's likely that both teams could make it into the CFP. If Georgia loses, they are most likely out.

My prediction: Alabama

Big 12 Championship: #5 Oklahoma vs. #14 Texas

The Sooners obviously are the only Big 12 team with a shot at a CFP spot, and as much as their poor defense has been criticized this season they are still the favorite to win this game. Kyler Murray and Oklahoma's offense might be the best in the country, and with their only loss being a close one to their rival Longhorns, they have a chance at revenge - and a possible CFP spot. They will need some help from Alabama in knocking out Georgia as well if they want to bump up to #4 - but what if the Longhorns win? They spoil Oklahoma's CFP hopes while putting an end to the Sooners' Big 12 Championship streak.

My prediction: Oklahoma

Big 10 Championship: #6 Ohio State vs. #21 Northwestern

After the Buckeye's huge win over Michigan last weekend, they are the obvious favorites here. Their CFP chances are slim, however. The best case scenario for Ohio State is if Georgia AND Oklahoma both lose their championship games. Even then it's still up in the air, and probably the most complicated things could get. What it would come down to is this: would a 2-loss Georgia team in the SEC hang on at #4 over an Ohio State team that shot themselves in the foot with a blow-out loss to Purdue? Or after OSU's big win over the Wolverines do they claim rights to #4 as a conference champion with 1 loss? This is probably the most interesting possible scenario that could leave multiple teams heart broken, and not to mention, what about an undefeated UCF team in this scenario? I'd like to see them make it in, even though they haven't seen much love yet.

My prediction: Ohio State