Football Future-see 2015: Championship Week

It's Championship Week here at the blog, but other news is trying to overshadow the title games. Georgia has fired their head coach, Mark Richt. More on that at the end of this post. Four of the Power 5 (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and PAC-12) will decide their champion this weekend.

But more important than any of that...your humble blogger is getting married this weekend. That's right, God sent a very incredibly awesome woman into my life, and we're saying the vows and exchanging rings this Saturday. Life is good. I love you, Kathryn!

RECORD

Week One	9-1
Week Two	4-1
Week Three	3-2
Week Four	2-3
Week Five	2-3
Week Six	3-2
Week Seven	5-0
Week Eight	3-2
Week Nine	4-1
Week Ten	4-1
Week Eleven	3-2
Week Twelve	5-0
Week Thirteen	0-0
Championships	0-0
Bowls	0-0
OVERALL	47-18	.723

The Games:

American Athletic Conference Championship Game

22 Temple vs 19 Houston (Saturday, Noon, ABC)

Houston absolutely crushed Navy. The Cougars offense has been on a roll lately. Temple, meanwhile, just hasn’t been the same since losing their undefeated season to Notre Dame. I wish I knew more about Houston and Temple, but from what I have seen, I have to believe that Houston is simply going to steamroll the Owls. Cougars win.

Final Score:  Houston 42, Temple 20

SEC Conference Championship Game

2 Alabama vs 15 Florida (Saturday, 4:00pm, CBS)

Wherever the Gators offense has gone, they had better find it before their date with the Tide in the Georgia Dome. Alabama is simply the best team in the country at the moment. Sure, the Tide wasn’t exactly dominant against Auburn, but rivalry games tend to bring out the best in both teams. Just look at what South Carolina was able to do against Clemson, even in a losing effort. Florida has played good defense all season, but they’ll need to find the endzone if they want to overcome Alabama. The Crimson Tide, even with one loss, has climbed all the way up to #2 in the nation, and may even be able to lay claim to the top spot once the playoff begins. I’m looking for the Gators to put up a fight in the first half, but I think Alabama shuts them down completely in the second half and pulls away. Roll Tide!

Final Score: Alabama 31, Florida 14

PAC-12 Conference Championship Game

20 USC vs 7 Stanford (Saturday, 5:00pm, ESPN)

Stanford and USC meet in what amounts to Stanford’s back yard. The PAC-12 looked like a shoo-in for the playoff just a few weeks ago, but things happened and teams lost and now the conference is on the outside looking in. Stanford is their best shot at the playoff, but they need several teams to lose, including both participants in the Big Ten championship game. USC has been on a rollercoaster this year, and only recently announced the hiring of Clay Helton as their new head coach. I like Stanford to win here and lock down a spot in the Rose Bowl against most likely either Iowa or Ohio State.

Final Score:  Stanford 27, USC 17

ACC Conference Championship Game

1 Clemson vs 10 North Carolina (Saturday, 8:00pm, ABC)

Clemson very nearly stumbled against in-state rival South Carolina, scraping by the rather hapless Gamecocks, 37-32. The Tigers are still in the playoff discussion, but the pressure of being at the top might be getting to them. North Carolina, meanwhile, is on a heck of a run. Offensively, the Tar Heels are one of the hottest teams in the nation. Unless Clemson can get their act together, UNC very well may sneak out a win here. But I think Clemson will get it together. They’ve had plenty of opportunities to “Clemson” so far, and they’ve not done so. QB Deshaun Watson should rally the Tigers to the call of reaching the playoffs with an unblemished record. UNC will make it tough, but Clemson should win. Tigers win.

Final Score:  Clemson 34, North Carolina 28

Big Ten Conference Championship Game

4 Iowa vs 5 Michigan State (Saturday, 8:00pm, Fox)

Iowa is still undefeated. They struggled a bit against Nebraska, but it feels like one of those games that made the team battle-hardened. Michigan State absolutely cake-walked over Penn State to reach the conference title game. Sparty is still riding high after beating Ohio State, and they’ll use that momentum to their advantage. Iowa will fight them close, and I won’t be surprised if the Hawkeyes win. But for the sake of the picks, I’m going with Michigan State. If Connor Cook is able to play, then Sparty will have better QB play (no offense, C.J. Breathed). Iowa’s defense is stout, but so is Michigan State’s. I’ll take the Spartans, but the more I think about it, the more this game feels like a coin-flip.

Final Score: Michigan State 26, Iowa 21

Right Wing Top Ten

Week Eight of the poll features some things changing and some things staying the same.

NR = Not Ranked the previous Week

NC = No Change from previous week

+ = Moved Up

-  = Moved Down

Dropped Out: Navy Midshipmen, Oklahoma State Cowboys

15. Northwestern Wildcats (NR)

14. Houston Cougars (NR)

13. Michigan Wolverines (-4)

12. Florida Gators (-2)

11. Baylor Bears (-3)

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-5)- Notre Dame lost to Stanford, and it dropped them down the polls.

9. Florida State Seminoles (+4)- Florida State has been a bit under-the-radar, and they just held Florida to a total of 2 points during Rivalry Week.

8. Ohio State Buckeyes (+3)- Ohio State’s late season loss probably cost them any chance at the playoff.

7. Stanford Cardinal (+7)- Stanford knocked off Notre Dame, but the PAC-12 is basically out of the playoff, barring some chaotic calamity in college football.

6. Michigan State Spartans (+1) – Michigan State took down Ohio State and Penn State, leaving only Iowa standing between them and a likely playoff spot.

5. North Carolina Tar Heels (+1)- North Carolina may have a chance to make a move in the playoff standings with a win over Clemson…if they can beat Clemson.

4. Oklahoma Sooners (NC)- Oklahoma is playing as good as anyone in the nation, and they demolished Oklahoma State just to prove it.

3. Iowa Hawkeyes (NC)- The quietest undefeated team in the country gets a chance to make a huge statement against Michigan State this weekend.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (NC)- Alabama is possibly the best team in the nation, and they now face a Florida team that’s forgotten how to score.

1. Clemson Tigers (NC)- Clemson faces the toughest challenge they’ve faced all year, and it may bring their season crashing to a halt. North Carolina is the best offense the Tigers have seen all season.

Some Words about Georgia and Mark Richt

On Sunday word broke that Mark Richt was out at UGA after 15 season. He is the second all time in wins at UGA, behind only the legendary Vince Dooley. Richt would have started his 16th season next year. In an odd turn of events, it took Vince Dooley 17 seasons to finally bring a national championship to Georgia.

But the Dawgs parted ways with Mark Richt after a 9-3 season, with a bowl game still remaining, that should have been so much more. Georgia continually brings in top five or top ten recruiting classes, yet they’ve not reached the SEC Championship Game since 2012, and they’ve not won that game since 2005.

Mark Richt departs as one of the most loved coached in Georgia history. And in all honesty he’s a coach I would love for my son to play for, if I had a son. Richt’s has a proven track record of caring just as much about making the young men that play for him better human beings, as well as players. He’s strongly religious and enforces stout morals on his players.

He’ll end up coaching somewhere else, and that school will be lucky to have him. He’s interviewing with Maryland, Miami, and possibly Missouri.

Georgia, meanwhile, is already on the hunt for a new coach. Alabama DC Kirby Smart is the obvious front-runner. Mississippi State’s current coach, Dan Mullen, is also in the running. The Dawgs could go in-house and promote current DC Jeremy Pruitt. Whatever they do, the Georgia faithful are both happy for the change, but sad to see the old coach go.

UPDATE: Georgia reportedly has a deal in place with Alabama DC Kirby Smart. Since the Tide will be playing in the SEC Championship Game this Saturday, Smart cannot make anything official until after the game. A rumor has begun that Kirby Smart strongly wants to bring in Auburn DC Will Muschamp to serve in the same capacity at UGA.

Mark Richt, meanwhile, has been hired by the University of Miami as their new head coach.

Current UGA DC Jeremy Pruitt is apparently in the running for the head coach job at South Carolina. It's also possible, I would assume, that Pruitt follows Richt to Miami.