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Here's an early look forward to the College Football Playoff semifinals, and a look back at some of the top performances on Conference Championship weekend.
FanDuel Odds: Michigan by 1.5
Computer Pick: Michigan by 5.83
Two of the game’s traditional powers will meet for just the sixth time ever on New Year’s Day in Pasadena.
The Rose Bowl Game got a doozy when the playoff committee selected Alabama over undefeated Florida State. While the Crimson Tide was the most scrutinized selection, the program is also one of the hottest teams entering the postseason. Bama has won 11 straight since falling to No. 3 Texas in Week 2, capped by a miraculous win over rival Auburn two weeks ago and last Saturday’s upset of Georgia to capture the SEC championship. This is by no means Nick Saban’s deepest team, but this might be his best coaching job since getting to Tuscaloosa in 2007.
The committee did no favors to Michigan by matching them with Alabama. They’ve yet to face a quarterback with Jalen Milroe’s athletic ability and the Tide is built for games of this magnitude. Still, the Wolverines are the No. 1 seed, and the odds-on favorite to win the national championship, for a reason. They have a championship-caliber roster and a chip on their shoulder after losing in the semis the last two years. The ground game is terrific and the D allows an FBS-low 9.5 points per game. But to beat this opponent, the Big Ten champs must unlock the potential of QB J.J. McCarthy who threw just one TD pass over the final five games.
FanDuel Odds: Texas by 4.5
Computer Pick: Texas by 4.82
It’s a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl. Suffice it to say, the stakes will be a wee bit higher this time around.
Texas and Washington are coming off their best regular seasons in years. The Longhorns, long rumored to be on the brink of a breakthrough, finally delivered in Steve Sarkisian’s third season in Austin. They banked a statement Week 2 win at Alabama, rebounded from a Red River loss to Oklahoma and closed with seven straight wins, including their first conference championship since 2009. This season’s difference? The Horns have always had speed and skill talent, but this year they also have elite linemen, such as LT Kelvin Banks and interior defensive linemen T'Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy. UT ranks second nationally in run defense and is one of just seven FBS teams allowing less than three yards a carry.
But can Texas stop an elite passing game? It didn’t in Dallas and Washington is far more advanced than Oklahoma. The Huskies are an interesting team. They’re part flash, with QB Michael Penix Jr. slinging it to the nation’s best receiving corps, comprised of Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’Lynn Polk. However, U-Dub has grit and an uncanny ability to rise up in close games. Remarkably, the Huskies have won nine straight games by 10 or fewer points, a credit to the preparation of head coach Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the staff. Two of those wins were over Oregon, including last Friday in Las Vegas, when the entire world wrote off their chances of winning the Pac-12 title.
Texas’ 28-year tenure in the Big 12 Conference began with a title and ended with a title this past Saturday, the school’s first since 2009. The Longhorns pounded Oklahoma State, 49-21, behind the accurate passing of Ewers who shattered Sam Bradford’s Big 12 Championship Game record for passing yards. In his sharpest performance of the year, he completed 35-of-46 passes for 452 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
On Nov. 12 Boise State was 5-5 and adjusting to the firing of head coach Andy Avalos and a season-ending injury to QB Maddox Madsen. Three short weeks later, the Broncos are Mountain West champs. The in-season turnaround has been fueled by interim coach Spencer Danielson and a three-headed ground game that gashed UNLV for 301 yards Saturday at Allegiant Stadium. Green accounted for 316 total yards and four of Boise’s five offensive touchdowns. He was especially crisp through the air, completing 12-of-15 for 226 yards and a pair of scores.
For all the talk about the quarterbacks, no one was more valuable Friday night in Vegas than Johnson. The Pac-12 Championship Game was supposed to be where Oregon got revenge for the Oct. 14 loss in Seattle and Washington’s perfect run ended. But Johnson and the rest of the Huskies had other plans. The Mississippi State transfer took advantage of the Huskies’ dominance in the trenches by rushing for 152 yards and two scores on 28 carries.
Before getting dinged in the third quarter, Pavia was on the verge of leading the Aggies to a historic Conference USA crown Friday night at undefeated Liberty. He was at his gritty, multi-dimensional best in Lynchburg. Before giving way to true freshman Blaze Berlowitz, Pavia accounted for 233 yards and four touchdowns in just a little over a half of action.
Salter plus new head coach Jamey Chadwell have magic on the Mountain this season. The quarterback led Liberty to its first-ever FBS conference crown Friday night, outslugging New Mexico State, 49-35, in the Conference USA Championship Game. Salter was named MVP after accounting for 484 total yards, the most in a game by a Flame player in over 13 years. He rushed for 165 yards and a score, while completing 20-of-25 attempts for 319 yards and two touchdowns.
Spearheaded by the running of Vidal and an attacking defense, Troy disposed of Appalachian State, 49-23, to win back-to-back Sun Belt championships. Vidal could not be slowed by the Mountaineers, rushing 26 times for 233 yards and a school-record five touchdowns. The junior is just the third player this season to rush for five scores in a game and the first to ever do it in an FBS conference title game.
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here’s a look at last week’s standout defenders.
On a night the Noles were forced to use a third-string true freshman quarterback, the D raised the bar before hoisting the ACC Championship trophy. The Florida State defense played at an entirely new level in a 16-6 win over Louisville, led by Fiske, Jared Verse and Patrick Payton in the trenches. Fiske was relentless all night, explosive off the snap and too strong for the Cardinal blockers, racking up a team-high nine tackles, 4.5 stops for loss and three sacks of Jack Plummer.
The Big 12 Championship Game did not go as planned for the Cowboys who bowed to Texas. But Martin continued to make big plays, just like he has throughout this breakout sophomore season. The league leader in tackles tacked on 13 more stops Saturday at AT&T Stadium, including a game-high eight solo stops. Martin also returned an interception 27 yards to set up an early Oklahoma State touchdown.
Sainristil is the epitome of a Wolverine defender – tough, versatile and fundamentally very well-coached. Michigan pitched a shutout in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game while allowing a season-low 155 yards to Iowa. Sainristil, a receiver when he first arrived in Ann Arbor, was the team’s chief defensive playmaker with two tackles, one sack, a couple of forced fumbles and a pass breakup. He’s been a key contributor on each of the last three conference championship squads.
The RedHawks upset top-seed Toledo Saturday at Ford Field, 23-14, to win their 17th MAC championship and first since 2019. The league’s top-ranked offense was held 21 points and 114 rushing yards below its season average. Salopek, who is rarely far from the ball, was once again a key contributor in the defensive effort. He led Miami with nine tackles, including seven solos, a stop for loss and a hurry of Rocket QB Dequan Finn.
Before leaving for the ACC next year, SMU copped a parting gift from the American Athletic Conference – a league championship. The Mustangs capped a torrid finish by beating Tulane, 26-14, in New Orleans and winning their first conference title since 1984. Smith led a defense that held the vaunted Green Wave ground game to 31 yards, its lowest single-game total in over seven years. The sophomore from D.C. had four tackles, including 2.5 sacks of Michael Pratt.
Appalachian State arrived in Troy for the Sun Belt Championship Game as hot as any other team in the league. The Mountaineers left campus on the short end of a 49-23 defeat. The Trojans dominated both lines of scrimmage, rushing for 271 yards and making 10 stops for minus yards. Solomon was a playmaking terror off the edge with eight stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Rich Cirminiello is the VP of College Awards at Maxwell Football Club. He can be followed on Twitter at @Rich Cirminiello
This season had 117 of the 133 FBS schools facing one FCS opponent, and Army played two such games for a total of 118 FBS-FCS matchups.
Of the 16 FBS schools that did NOT play a FCS program, 7 were in the B1G (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin). 6 more are evenly split between the Big 12 (Houston, Oklahoma, Texas) and Pac-12 (Colorado, USC, Washington). The other three were Liberty (CUSA) , UTSA (American), and Virginia Tech (ACC).
The FBS programs were 114-4 this year against the FCS schools. Over-all, the FBS is a collective 1,800-152 (.922) since we began tracking this in 2003.
Here are the FCS wins in 2023, so far:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
GEORGIA - Had Won 29 straight over-all. Has won 25 straight home games, and 15 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 27-24 to Alabama in SEC Championship game in Atlanta on Saturday, December 2
Next: Awaits playoff fate, bowl destination
WASHINGTON - Won 20 straight over-all
Last: 34-31 win over Oregon in PAC-12 Championship game in Las Vegas on Friday, December 1.
Next: Awaits playoff fate, bowl destination
MICHIGAN - Won 24 straight conference games.
Last: 30-24 home win over Ohio State on Saturday, November 25
Next: Iowa in B1G Championship in Indianapolis on Saturday, December 2
VANDERBILT - Lost 10 straight over-all.
Last: 48-24 loss at Tennessee on Saturday, November 25.
Next: Season complete
STANFORD - Lost 9 straight home games.
Last: 56-23 home loss to Notre Dame on Saturday, November 25
Next: Season complete
TEMPLE - Lost 14 straight true road games.
Last: 45-21 home loss to Memphis on Saturday, November 25
Next: Season complete
ULM - Lost 10 straight over-all, lost 10 straight conference games.
Last: 52-21 loss at Louisiana on Saturday, November 25
Next: Season complete