Thursday, December 11, 2014

Conference Championship Rewind

Conference Championships Weekend

 
Thursday, Dec. 4th

 
UCF 32, East Carolina 30
Line: ECU -7, O/U: 54
As I finished the recap of this game just before ECU gave the ball back with 10 seconds left in the game, a thought crossed my mind.  How crazy would it be if UCF somehow pulls this out?  Well… The Pirates roared back from a 26-9 fourth quarter deficit, taking the lead on a 13 yards touchdown from Shane Carden to Justin Hardy with 2:17 to play.  UCF’s 51 yard Hail-Mary attempt was hauled in by Rashad Perriman, stifling one of the best comebacks of the season for ECU.  The win gives UCF a share of the AAC title.

UCF will play NC State in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 26th.
ECU plays Florida in the Birmingham Bowl on January 3rd.

 

 

Friday, Dec. 5th

 
MAC Football Championship- Detroit, MI
Northern Illinois 51, Bowling Green 17
Line: NIU -6.5, O/U: 62.5
NIU avenged last year’s MAC Championship loss to Bowling Green in style.  The Huskies shot out to a 20-10 lead at half and completely ran away in the second have, outscoring the Falcons 31-7.

NIU will play Marshall in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 23rd.
Bowling Green is going to the Raycom Media Camellia Bowl on Dec. 20th to play South Alabama.

Jeremy- NIU 34, Bowling Green 27

 

Pac-12 Championship- Santa Clara, CA
No. 2 Oregon 51, No. 7 Arizona 13
Line: Oregon -14.5, O/U: 74.5
Oregon was on point and in control from the get go.  Marcus Mariota’s performance in this route should seal the deal for his Heisman campaign, finished the game with an efficient 313 passing and four total touchdowns.  As good as Mariota was, it was the Oregon defense that was the real story in Friday’s game.  The Ducks defense, which has been mostly average all season, was aggressive and completely shut down Arizona, limiting the Wildcats to 11 first downs, 224 total yards and 3 of 15 on third downs.

Oregon finishes as the 2nd seed and will play Florida State in round 1 at the Rose Bowl.
Arizona gets the representative from the Group of 5, Boise State in the Vizio Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Jeremy- Oregon 34, Arizona 27

 
 

Saturday, Dec. 6th
 

SEC Championship- Atlanta, GA
No. 1 Alabama 42, No. 16 Missouri 13
Line: BAMA -14.5, O/U: 49
The Crimson Tide put the pedal to the metal against Missouri.  After a slow first half, 21-3 at half, the Tigers were able to narrow the gap in the third quarter and actually pulled within eight points of the Tide.  The Blake Sims, Derek Henry show got going in the fourth as Sims hit Christion Jones for a six-yard score to open the period and Derek Henry took over as the closer.  Henry had carried the Tide down the stretch, putting an exclamation point on the win with two fourth quarter touchdowns. 

Alabama finishes with the 1 seed and will play Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl in round 1.
Missouri gets Minnesota in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on January 1st.

Jeremy- Alabama 34, Missouri 20
Nick- Alabama 27, Mizzou 24
 

 
ACC Championship- Charlotte, NC
No. 4 Florida State 37, No. 11 Georgia Tech 35
Line: FSU -4, O/U: 61
This game went pretty much as expected.  Georgia Tech’s option offense gave the Seminoles defense trouble, totaling 331 rushing yards but down the stretch, as they’ve done all season, the Seminoles D got stops when they had to.  Offensively, FSU had probably their most effective game of the season.  Jameis Winston was on point throughout going 21 of 30 for 309, 3TD’s and no picks but the story of the night for FSU was freshman running back Dalvin Cook.  Starting in place of an injured Karlos Williams, Cook had his best night in garnet and gold, gashing the Yellow Jacket defense for 177 rushing yards and a touchdown. 

The Seminoles finish seeded No. 3 in the playoff and will play Oregon in the Rose Bowl. 
Georgia Tech will play Mississippi State in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Jeremy- FSU 27, Georgia Tech 24
Nick- FSU 34, GT 28

 
 
B1G Championship- Indianapolis, IN
No. 5 Ohio State 59, No. 13 Wisconsin 0
Line: Wisc -4, O/U: 52.5
There’s really not much to say here except, WOW!  The Buckeyes, with a third-string quarterback completely ripped Wisconsin apart and were absolutely dominant in every aspect of this game.  Cardale Jones, the third-stringer, was solid going 12 of 17 for 257 and three TD’s.  He was helped out by Ezekiel Elliot, who ran for 220 and 2 TD’s.  As good as OSU was on offense, the real shocker here was how the Buckeye defense shut down Heisman contender, Melvin Gordon.  Gordon was limited to his second lowest rushing total of the season (he was injured in a 38 yard performance against Western Illinois), scraping together only 76 yards on 26 carries (2.9ypc) and no touchdowns. 

The Buckeyes earned the 4 spot in the playoff and a trip to New Orleans to face Alabama in round one.
Wisconsin will play Auburn in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Jeremy- Ohio State 30, Wisconsin 28
Nick- Wisconsin 31, Ohio State 24

 

Conference USA Championship
Marshall 26, Louisiana Tech 23
Line: Marshall -11, O/U: 69
The Herd overcame a 23-16 fourth quarter deficit to beat Louisiana Tech and win the Conference USA title game.  Marshall overcame four turnovers and poor weather conditions to finish the season 12-1 and C-USA Champs.  Quarterback, Rakeem Cato was 25/46 for 308 and two touchdowns, despite the rain and threw the game winner to Deon-Tay McManus with 1:50 in the fourth.   

Marshall will play NIU in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 23rd.
Louisiana Tech gets an invite to the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on Dec. 26th against Illinois.

Jeremy- Marshall 37, LaTech 27
Nick- Marshall 31, LaTech 30

 

Mountain West Championship
No. 22 Boise State 28, Fresno State 14
Line: BSU -22, O/U: 69
The final score was much closer than I expected but the game wasn’t as close as the score would suggest.  Boise State lead 28-0 until late in the third quarter and Fresno added another late score to make the final look respectable.  Grant Hedrick was solid both running and passing, leading the Broncos with 81 rushing yards.  The Boise defense turned Fresno over three times, including a pick-six by Tanner Vallejo.

Boise State gets the nod from the Group of 5 to play Arizona in the Vizio Fiesta Bowl.
Fresno State will play Rice in the Hawai’i Bowl on Dec. 24th.

Jeremy- Boise 51, Fresno 24
Nick- Boise 49, Fresno 38

 

 

Best of the Rest

 

Cincinnati 38, Houston 31
Line: Cincy -7, O/U: 57.5
Houston did everything they could down the stretch but ultimately fell short in their comeback against Cincinnati.  The Bearcats lost Gunner Kiel but Munchie Legaux kept Cincy afloat along with a solid defensive effort. 

Cincinnati will play Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl on Dec. 27th.
Houston plays Pitt in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Jan. 2nd.

Jeremy- Cincinnati 37, Houston 20
Nick- Cincy 35, Houston 28

 

SMU 27, Connecticut 20
Line: Uconn -11.5, O/U: 43.5
Way to go SMU!  Not only did they get the win on Saturday, they got a comeback win.  UConn led 20-6 at half but the Mustangs scored 21 unanswered in the second half to get their first win of the season.

*Neither team is bowl eligible

Jeremy- UConn 28, SMU 10
Nick- SMU 24, UConn 21

 

No. 3 TCU 55, Iowa State 3
Line: TCU -34, O/U: 69
There’s really not much to say here.  TCU, sitting at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings thought they just needed to take care of business to get in.  Well, ultimately they didn’t get in but they took care of business in a big way.  Trevone Boykin capped a Heisman worthy season with 460 passing yards and four touchdowns and the Horned Frog defense held ISU to 236 yards of total offense and 13 first downs. 

TCU will play Ole Miss in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
Iowa State is not bowl eligible.

Jeremy- TCU 41, ISU 17
Nick- TCU 45, ISU 17

 

Oklahoma State 38, No. 20 Oklahoma 35
Line: OU -21, O/U: 60
We always talk about how you never know what could happen in a rivalry game.  The game turned on a punt return by Tyreek Hill that went for 91 yards, tying the game at 35.  The Cowboys would go on to kick the game winning field goal in overtime.

Oklahoma State plays Washington on Jan. 2nd in the TicketCity Cactus Bowl.
Oklahoma plays Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29th.

Jeremy- Oklahoma 37, OK State 17
Nick- Oklahoma State 41, Oklahoma 37

 

Temple 10, Tulane 3
Line: Temple -3, O/U: 44
In an offensive shootout, Temple was able to edge Tulane in the final minutes.  Okay, it wasn’t exciting but Temple does come away with a tough win against a Tulane team looking to finish the season on a high note.

Temple was not invited to a bowl.
Tulane was not bowl eligible.

Jeremy- Temple 24, Tulane 16
Nick- Temple 24, Tulane 17


 
No. 6 Baylor 38, No. 9 Kansas State 27
Line: Baylor -7.5, O/U: 66.5
The Bears took control early and never let up on Kansas State, giving Baylor a share of the Big 12 Championship.  The Bears put up 584 yards on a stiff K-State defense, led by quarterback Bryce Petty and his 412 yards. 

Baylor plays Michigan State in the GoodYear Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 1.
Kansas State goes to the Valero Alamo Bowl to play UCLA on Jan. 2.

Jeremy- Baylor 40, K-State 38
Nick- K-State 38, Baylor 37

 

 

 

 

 

 

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