College Football Conference Championships Part 2

College Football Conference Championships Part 2.  Ok lets break down three more conference title games to be played on Saturday.

Both North Carolina and Clemson are stumbling into the ACC title game. The Tar Heels have lost their last two games while the Tigers were defeated by South Carolina this past Saturday. That snapped their 40-game home win streak which was the longest in ACC history.

Dabo Swinney has won seven conference championship games. That ties him with Bob Stoops for the 2nd-most by any head coach trailing only Nick Saban, who has won 10 conference championship games. In addition, all seven of Swinney’s conference titles have come in the last 7 seasons. Just one shy of matching Saban for the longest streak by a head coach all-time.

The Tar Heels are looking to win 10 games in a season for the first time since 2015 and the first time under Mack Brown since 1997. For Brown, this would be the 13th time in his head coaching career he won 10+ games in a season.

This marks the first time both team’s entered the ACC title game off a loss since 2012, when both Florida State and Georgia Tech entered off losses.

This game will likely determine the Group of 5 representative in the Cotton Bowl as that goes to the highest ranked projected Group of 5 conference champion.

For the first time, Tulane will compete in a conference championship game, taking on UCF. UCF defeated Tulane 38-31 in their regular season meeting on November 12.

This past weekend, the Green Wave snapped a 61-game on-field losing streak vs AP-ranked opponents when taking down Cincinnati. That was the longest such losing streak in the Poll Era (since 1936).

After losing 10 games last season, Tulane has won 10 games this season. That marks its first 10-win season since 1998 when the Green Wave were in Conference USA. Tulane is also the first FBS school to lose 10 games in a season and then win 10 in the following season since Navy in 2018-19.

Tulane will look to slow down John Rhys Plumlee, who is one of two players with 2,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards this season, along with LSU’s Jayden Daniels.  Craig Shemon would disapprove of this game because it is a rematch.  Sorry Craig.

Toledo is back in the MAC championship game for the 7th time, breaking a tie with Marshall for the 2nd-most all time. Northern Illinois has played in this game nine times.

As for Ohio, it is in the MAC title game for the 5th time, but it is 0-4 in its four previous appearances. The Bobcats’ four conference championship game appearances without a win is tied for the most by any school in FBS history. Missouri is also 0-4 in conference championship games.

However, Ohio has significantly more momentum entering this game compared to Toledo. The Bobcats have won seven straight games, their longest win streak within a season since 2012. The last time Ohio won eight or more consecutive games within a season was 1968 (10 straight)

College Football Conference Championships Part 1.  Today I will be previewing the Pac-12, Big 10, Big-12 and SEC title games.  On Friday I will post part 2 which will include the ACC, AAC and of course, the MAC.  My chaos theory is still very much alive and well!

USC and Utah will face off once again as the Utes look to play spoiler. Utah won the first meeting 43-42 after scoring a touchdown and converting a two-point conversion with under a minute to go.

Dalton Kincaid had a monster performance that day, recording 16 receptions for 234 receiving yards. That is the most receptions by a tight end in a game this season and one shy of matching the most in a game by a tight end in FBS history.

Although it came in a loss, Caleb Williams finished with five passing touchdowns and zero interceptions against Utah. That is tied for his most passing touchdowns in a game this season.  Williams is having a Heisman-like season, leading USC to an 11-1 record, its best start since 2008. The Trojans have scored 38+ points in six straight games, their longest streak within a season since 2003 (seven straight).

This is the fourth time USC and Utah will make an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game, which began in 2011. That is tied with Stanford for the 2nd-most appearances, both trailing only Oregon (5).

With a win, USC has an opportunity to become one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff. The Trojans would be the 3rd Pac-12 team to reach the CFP, joining 2016 Washington and 2014 Oregon.

The Wolverines are 12-0 for the first time since 1997, the season they split the national title with Nebraska, and will put that undefeated record on the line against Purdue. After not reaching the Big Ten championship game in its first 10 seasons of existence, Michigan has a chance to capture the conference crown for a 2nd straight season.

Purdue is making its first appearance in the Big Ten championship game. Could the Boilermakers play spoilers? They have nine wins vs an AP Top-2 team when unranked, five more than any other school in the Poll Era (since 1936).

Kansas State is back in the Big 12 title game for the 4th time and its first appearance since 2003 when the Wildcats defeated Oklahoma. They lost their other two appearances in 1998 and 2000.

TCU has won the Big 12 title once, back in 2014 when the Horned Frogs shared the title with Baylor. Kansas State has secured the conference championship twice, once in 2003 and the other in 2012, when the Wildcats shared the title with Oklahoma.

TCU has gotten to this point by winning five games when trailing in the 2nd half, tied with Troy, Coastal Carolina and North Carolina for the most such wins in the FBS this season. One of those wins came against Kansas State earlier this season.

Fun Facts: TCU has also committed the fewest turnovers in the Big 12, while Kansas State has forced the most turnovers in the conference.  These two teams also played earlier this season in October in Ft. Worth.  TCU overcame an 18 point deficit to defeated K-State 38-28.

This will be the fifth time LSU and Georgia have met in Atlanta, making it the second-most frequent matchup in SEC championship game history behind Alabama-Florida (10 meetings). The Tigers won three of the previous four.

Brian Kelly is the fourth coach to reach the SEC championship game in his first season in the conference. Gus Malzahn is the only one to win the title in his first season.

Stetson Bennett enters the SEC championship game with 3,151 passing yards, putting him within striking distance of the Top 5 on Georgia’s single-season passing list. After throwing for at least 250 yards in nine of the Bulldogs’ 10 games he has a *total* of 256 passing yards in the past two games.