Breaking Down The Six Biggest College Football Conference Championship Games

This is one of the best weeks of the year for college football fans and bettors, as we're now going to get to watch some conference championship games. 

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Breaking Down The Six Biggest College Football Conference Championship Games

1. Utah Utes vs. USC Trojans - Friday, 8:00PM ET

The Pac-12 Championship Game will be a rematch from earlier in the season. Utah narrowly beat USC 43-42 on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City. That is the only blemish on USC’s record as of now. This is a must-win game for the Trojans if they want to make the College Football Playoff.

In the previous meeting between these two teams, Utah struggled to defend the pass. USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender Caleb Williams threw for 381 yards and five touchdowns. A similar performance Friday night would make Williams a lock for the Heisman.

LEAN: USC -3 - The last game between Utah and USC was a track meet. Expect more of the same here. Williams can beat this solid Utes defense in so many ways that it’s hard to pick against him and the Trojans. Don’t forget about that stacked receiving corps either. USC is playing its best football of the year and we like Lincoln Riley's squad minus the points.

2. Kansas State Wildcats vs. TCU Horned Frogs - Saturday, 12:00PM ET 

It will be a purple-heavy crowd inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday. Kansas State and TCU already met this season, with TCU winning that game 38-28. Kansas State quarterback Adrian Martinez was injured in that game and backup Will Howard was thrust into action. Howard has gained valuable experience since that last meeting.

Expect the Wildcats to come out strong, as they are riding a three-game win streak. But Kansas State did struggle to defend quarterback Max Duggan and the rest of the TCU offense last time out.

LEAN: TCU -2.5 - We think this will be a tight game throughout. Kansas State’s defense is good enough to keep the team in the game. We think this game will come right down to the wire with the Horned Frogs pulling it out and covering the spread in the end.

3. LSU Tigers vs. Georgia Bulldogs - Saturday, 4:00PM ET

Georgia is virtually a lock to make the College Football Playoff. However, a second straight SEC championship will look nice in the trophy case in Athens. Meanwhile, LSU is coming off a bad loss at Texas A&M.

The Bulldogs tend to play down to their opponents this season. They did it against Missouri, Kent State, Kentucky and even in the first half against Georgia Tech. LSU has the talent to catch them off guard if Georgia doesn’t bring its A-game.

LEAN: LSU +18.5 - With that being said, there is no doubt that Kirby Smart will have his team ready to go. We still think that LSU is good enough, especially with the dual-threat ability of quarterback Jayden Daniels, to keep this closer than what Vegas thinks. Give us LSU plus the points...assuming Daniels is ready to go. 

4. UCF Knights vs. Tulane Green Wave - Saturday, 4:00PM ET

The Knights and Green Wave will meet for the second time this season on Saturday. The first meeting was won by UCF, 38-31, in New Orleans. The winner of the AAC Championship will play in the Cotton Bowl. 

UCF quarterback John Rhys Plumlee gave the Tulane defense all sorts of trouble in the first meeting. He ran for over 100 yards and threw for over 100 yards. The Tulane defense needs to do a better job of containing Plumlee.

LEAN: Tulane -3.5 - The X-factor for this game is Tulane running back Tyjae Spears. He has run for over 100 yards in each of Tulane’s last six games. Don’t expect that to change. It’s hard to beat a team twice in the same season. Tulane will get revenge on UCF and cover the spread.

5. Purdue Boilermakers vs. Michigan Wolverines - Saturday, 8:00PM ET

Along with Georgia and possibly TCU, Michigan is basically a lock for the College Football Playoff, especially after beating Ohio State last week. Michigan is playing its best football of the year. The Wolverines are taking on a hungry Purdue team that won the Big Ten West division.

The health of star Michigan running back Blake Corum is a question heading into this game. However, Michigan should be fine without him. Backup Donovan Edwards ran for 216 yards against Ohio State.

LEAN: Michigan -16.5 - Michigan is heavily favored and rightly so. We don’t think this spread is big enough. Purdue may find some success through the air with quarterback Aidan O’Connell, but don’t expect the Boilermakers to be in the same area code as the Wolverines for 60 minutes.

6. Clemson Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels - Saturday, 8:00PM ET

This game lost its playoff implications after Clemson was upset by South Carolina last week. North Carolina also lost to its in-state rival in NC State. This puts both teams in a unique situation where they are both looking for bounce-back wins and an ACC Championship.

The Drake Maye hype train was a popular place to be earlier in the season, but Maye struggled in the Tar Heels’ last two games. It will be interesting to see how he responds going up against the No. 3 scoring defense in the ACC.

LEAN: North Carolina +7.5 - Who is Dabo Swinney going to play at quarterback? D.J. Uiagalelei was 8 for 29 for 99 yards against South Carolina. Uiagalelei has got progressively worse throughout the season. If Uiagalelei plays, North Carolina can win this game outright. If true freshman Cade Klubnik plays, we like Clemson. For the sake of the article, we will go with the safe bet of North Carolina plus the points.