Much is on the line this weekend in college football. Six championship games pit two ranked teams against each other, and four of them have direct implications on who gets into the College Football Playoff. These are the biggest games of the season for these teams, and for some players, their legacy may be defined here.
What are the keys to victory for the twelve teams contesting these six big games? Let’s have a look.
Pac-12 Championship
USC — Slow down Bryce Love
If Bryce Love has a big game, the Trojans are probably in some trouble. The nation’s yardage leader went for 160 yards against USC when these two teams met in September, but the Cardinal are a better all-around team now. The Stanford passing game is good enough to complement Love, who will be motivated to have a big game after their defeat earlier in the season. The Trojans have to find a way to bottle him up at the very least.
Stanford — Force some Sam Darnold mistakes
The Cardinal have racked up ten interceptions so far this season, including two picks of Darnold when these teams met in September. Stanford could not capitalize then, but Darnold is clearly USC’s chief weapon, and Stanford has a gifted group of defensive backs to counter him. Their penchant for interceptions, mixed with Darnold’s turnovers — he’s thrown 12 picks — could lead to some mistakes. If the Cardinal can force some turnovers, they might be able to pull off a win.
AAC Championship
Memphis — Play over-your-head on defense
The Tigers are facing a rough combination — they’ve allowed about 31 points per game and they’re facing an offense that has shown an ability to score at-will against AAC opponents. In fact, when these two teams met earlier in the season, UCF ripped Memphis apart 40-13. The Tiger defense — which has been playing better lately — simply must find a way to slow down McKenzie Milton and the Knights. Limit them to between 20 and 30 points and the Tigers have a chance. A shootout favors UCF.
UCF — Don’t let Riley Ferguson beat you
Ferguson, the Memphis quarterback, has been on fire lately, having topped 3,500 yards for the season in his last game against ECU. In short, the Knights cannot let Ferguson do what Quinton Flowers did to them in their rivalry game against South Florida, which is go off for five touchdowns and over 500 passing yards. Even 400 yards would be troublesome for the Knights, though they have the offense to stick with Memphis. On the season, UCF’s defense has allowed only 22 points per game. If they do that to Memphis, they’ll win.
Big 12 Championship
Oklahoma — Shoot for big plays; don’t get stuck in the red zone
The Horned Frogs are among the nation’s best at red-zone defense. Opponents scored against them only 17 of 28 times in the red zone, and only ten of those scores were touchdowns. Even Oklahoma might find themselves struggling against that mean of a unit. The key will be to lean on Baker Mayfield and Rodney Anderson. Both have the ability to launch big plays, which would enable the Sooners to avoid the red zone altogether and put up points against a quality TCU defense.
TCU — Stop Rodney Anderson
It’s bad enough when you have to deal with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, but the emergence of running back Rodney Anderson has made Oklahoma the elite team they are. Anderson’s most explosive performance came earlier in the season against TCU. He rushed for 151 yards, had 139 more in the passing game, and put up four total touchdowns. If that happens again, TCU is toast. Gary Patterson and his staff will have to come up with a gameplan to contain him — then at least they can focus more on Mayfield.
SEC Championship
Georgia — Get the run game going
A big reason Auburn beat Georgia comprehensively when these two teams met during the season was because the Bulldog two-pronged rushing attack was bottled up. Nick Chubb has 1,098 yards rushing and Sony Michel has 903, with the pair combining for 26 touchdowns — 13 each. Against the Tigers, they totaled 48 yards in a blowout loss. The Bulldogs simply must run the ball to overcome Auburn. Their failure to do so was the biggest reason they lost in the first meeting.
Auburn — Make sure Kerryon Johnson is as healthy as possible
The health of Auburn’s own thousand-yard rusher is vital to this game. Johnson left the Iron Bowl with a shoulder injury, and he’s currently being characterized as day-to-day. He’s only been limited in practice this week, though it’s hard to imagine him not trying to play if he’s at all physically capable. They need him as healthy as possible — the Tigers’ gameplan is significantly hindered if he’s limited in any way.
ACC Championship
Clemson — See the Turnover Chain as little as possible
Clemson has a very good defense and a steady offense with multiple threats. That alone makes them hard to beat. If they take good care of the football, the task for Miami may become nearly impossible. The Hurricanes have made turnovers a key part of their defensive play this season, and the Turnover Chain has become a symbol of their renaissance. If Clemson turns it over, they may find themselves in for a very long night.
Miami — Rehabilitate Malik Rosier’s confidence
There weren’t many questions about Rosier, but that was until and then the loss at Pitt happened. That defeat saw Rosier abruptly and controversially benched for part of the fourth quarter of Miami’s first loss of the season. The big question now is how he’ll respond. Mark Richt has made it clear that he’s the starter, but one has to wonder if the performance and the benching did anything to dent Rosier’s confidence. He faces a tough test, and it could spell trouble if he gets off to a shaky start.
Big Ten Championship
Ohio State — J.T. Barrett’s health
This is a simple one. Barrett suffered a rather bizarre injury against Michigan, and though Dwayne Haskins may have a bright future ahead of him, it’s definitely Barrett who gives the Buckeyes a better chance to win this game. How will his knee respond this week? We’ll know soon enough, but a rather nasty Wisconsin defense would salivate if a redshirt freshman were thrown into this one, even if Haskins held his own against Michigan. For what it’s worth, though, Barrett has said he’s playing.
Wisconsin — Get Jonathan Taylor carrying the load
Taylor’s freshman season has been nothing short of remarkable. The freshman running back has rushed for 1,806 yards and 13 touchdowns, carrying the load for Wisconsin’s offense. They’ll need him more than ever here. Quarterback Alex Hornibrook is solid, but he’s not going to fall into any lists of elite quarterbacks, making the battle up front even bigger for Wisconsin. They need Taylor to run the ball effectively. They’re in trouble if Ohio State’s defense contains him.
