College football’s regular season concludes with nine FBS conference championship games.
The stakes for these games range from College Football Playoff berths to conference bragging rights.
The Big Ten features a matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 2 between Ohio State and Indiana to decide the last undefeated team.
Our staff panel of pigskin prognosticators is back to weigh in one final time as college football wraps up its regular season with nine conference championship games. The stakes range from College Football Playoff survival to mere seeding among the top-tier leagues and mainly bragging rights in a couple of cases, but for us the payoff is enormous as we learn who will be crowned the year’s top predictor. Well, OK, there aren’t any actual prizes involved for us either, but we’re told negotiations with high-end sponsors are ongoing.
The headliner is the showdown of No. 1-vs. No. 2 showdown in the Big Ten matching long-time power Ohio State and recent upstart Indiana, which will determine the last undefeated squad entering the playoff. Another top-10 showdown is on tap in the SEC as No. 3 Georgia renews acquaintances with No.10 Alabama. The Big 12 and ACC finales are also rematches as No. 6 Texas Tech takes on No. 11 Brigham Young and No. 17 Virginia meets unlikely finalist Duke.
A few ranked teams get a Friday night jumpstart on the weekend as No. 19 James Madison hosts Troy for the Sun Belt title, and No. 20 North Texas heads to the Big Easy to face No. 21 Tulane for the American championship.
Here are the pairings for all nine games, along with how we think they’ll unfold.