Welcome back to the Funvee Tailgate BLOG, The THUNDERBLOG’s Weekly College Football Series. If you noticed the emphasis on BLOG, that is because this season we have the podcast tying in as well! Matty D and I broke everything down in the football world this week. We talked about the Coaching Carousel and made our final CFP picks. You will definitely need to check it out and here’s the iTunes link to go subscribe. Everything is on the line this week. LET’S FIIIIRE IT UP!

Last Week’s Record:

7-7 ATS, 74-80-5 in 2017. 

Pac 12 Championship

USC defeated Stanford last night in the Pac 12 Championship. The Cardinal had the opportunity to hammer in the go-ahead touchdown but USC held them. The Trojans lock in a New Year’s Six appearance but won’t be in the College Football Playoff. That’s one Cold Hard Lock you can bet on.

The Final Push

Everything comes down to this afternoon. The College Football Playoff, Bowl Season, coaching jobs, and an undefeated season. Let’s get right to it:

• American Atheltic Conference Championship: #20 Memphis (+7) at #14 UCF at noon on ABC–That’s right, UCF gets a home game for this conference championship. Charlie Strong and the Knights have been able to piece together a great season. As great as Memphis has been, it’s tough to go on the road with these stakes. UCF wins and covers.
• Big XII Championship: #11 TCU (+7.5) vs. #3 Oklahoma at 12:30 on FOX–The first big rematch of the day. Baker Mayfield has all but sealed up the Heisman at this point. The Sooners won in a big fashion last time and I don’t think it’ll be that big this time. Sooners win but don’t cover.
• SEC Championship: #6 Georgia (-1.5) vs. #2 Auburn at 4:00 on CBS–As one rematch ends, another gets underway. Auburn has been on a roll since their victory over the Bulldogs and should be able to pull this one out. Kerryon Johnson should be the difference maker as the Tigers win outright.
• Mountain West Championship: #25 Fresno State (+9.5) at Boise State at 7:45 on ESPN–The second half of a doubleheader as Fresno State won this game last week. BSU may be at home but those are a lot of points coming right off the loss. BSU wins but doesn’t cover.
• ACC Championship: #7 Miami (+10) vs. #1 Clemson at 8:00 on ABC–A TON of points for the turnover chain to be getting. It makes the pick easy. As for the actual winner, Miami will need to look like the U from a couple weeks ago and not the team we saw last week. Both defenses will be on full display but the Canes will find a way to pull it out. Miami wins outright.
• Big Ten Championship: #8 Ohio State (-4) vs. #4 Wisconsin at 8:00 on FOX–Jonathan Taylor and the Badgers will have their work cut out for them. The Buckeyes have been playing GREAT football since the comeback over Penn State and that should continue today (unfortunately). OSU wins and covers.

Final CFP Predictions:

Matty D: #1 Clemson vs. #4 Alabama & #2 Georgia vs. #3 Oklahoma
Geordie: #1 Oklahoma vs. #4 Alabama & #2 Auburn vs. #3 Miami

Disagree with my picks? Let me know in the comments…

(cover photo via)