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Ohio State was the only top 3 team to get a major scare on championship weekend, but the Buckeyes shutout Wisconsin 27-0 in the second half en route to a 34-21 win and a 3rd straight Big Ten championship. The victory likely means Ohio State will hold the Number 1 seed in the College Football Playoff Final Four and face Oklahoma in thew Fiesta Bowl.
LSU rolled 37-10 over Georgia in the SEC Championship, and Clemson blasted Virginia 62-17 in the ACC title game. If I'm right about the Ohio State-Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl pairing, the Peach Bowl becomes an all-Tiger showdown between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds.
This year's national championship game will be played on Monday, January 13 in New Orleans.
The computer (Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com) actually has Clemson at 2 and LSU at No. 3, but that wouldn't change the semifinal matchups.
No. 2 Clemson (13-0) 62, Virginia (9-4) 17
Game played at Charlotte
Sportsbook odds: Clemson (-28.5)
Computer: Clemson (-22.37)
These teams hadn't met since November 2, 2013 in Charlottesville when Clemson pounded UVA 59-10. Not much has changed in 6 years. After the Cavaliers tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter, Clemson scored 24 unanswered points to take a 31-7 halftime advantage. Virginia made it 31-14 in the 3rd, but the Tigers closed out the game on a 31-3 tear.
No. 1 Ohio State (13-0) 34, No. 9 Wisconsin (10-3) 21
Game played at Indianapolis
Sportsbook odds: Ohio State (-16.5)
Computer: Ohio State (-16.43)
These teams just met on October 26 with Ohio State crushing the Badgers 38-7 in Columbus.This outing was quite different with Wisconsin running all over the Buckeyes in the first half as they led 21-7 at halftime. First-year head coach Ryan Day and his staff made all the right adjustments at halftime and stifled Wisconsin in the second half for a 34-21 win.
The Buckeyes have won 8 straight in the series, including victories of 27-21 in the 2017 championship game and 59-0 in the 2014 title game.
No. 6 Oklahoma (12-1) 30, No. 8 Baylor (11-2) 23
Game played at Arlington, Texas
Sportsbook odds: Oklahoma (-9.5)
Computer: Oklahoma (-5.33)
Baylor only lost two games all year - both to the Sooners, and both by a touchdown or less. These teams met in Waco on November 16 when Baylor rescued defeat from the jaws of victory, losing 34-31 after owning a 28-3 lead.
This time, Baylor lost starting QB Charlie Brewer early in the second quarter while trailing 10-0. But backup QB Gerry Bohanon rallied the Bears to a 13-10 halftime lead. In the second half, Jacob Zeno took over and threw an 81-yard touchdown pass and a 71-yard bomb that set-up the game-tying field goal that made it 23-all with 3:25 left in regulation.
In overtime, Oklahoma scored on a 5-yard touchdown run on its possession and left it to the defense to force an incomplete 4th down pass for Baylor from the 35-yard line to give the Sooners the 30-23 win.
No. 10 Oregon (11-2) 37, No. 5 Utah (11-2) 15
Game played at Santa Clara, California
Sportsbook odds: Utah (-6.5)
Computer: Utah (-0.69)
Oregon knocked Utah and the PAC-12 out of the Final Four with a decisive 37-15 win in Santa Clara. The Ducks led 20-0 at halftime and staved-off a second half rally attempt, finally putting the game away with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns.
No. 3 LSU (13-0) 37, No. 4 Georgia (11-2) 10
Game played at Atlanta
Sportsbook odds: LSU (-6.5)
Computer: LSU (-3.73)
LSU was a 36-16 winner over Georgia in Baton Rouge a year ago. These teams have met three times previously in the SEC Championship game with LSU winning in 2003 and 2011, and Georgia winning in 2005.
This time around, it was all Heisman front-runner Joe Burrow and LSU. Burrow was 28-of-38 for 349 yards and 4 TD's in the rout.
No.18 Memphis (12-1) 29, No. 22 Cincinnati (10-3) 24
Game played at Memphis
Sportsbook odds: Memphis (-10)
Computer: Memphis (-3.30)
This was a rematch of the final regular season game which Memphis won 34-24 to claim the division title. This time, a Cotton Bowl berth was at stake at it looked as though the Tigers were going to surrender that bid to Mountain West champ Boise State, but Memphis scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:14 remaining Brady White's 6-yard toss to Antonio Gibson. The Bearcats the drove to the Memphis 21 before turning the ball over on downs.
No. 16 Appalachian State (12-1) 45, No. 21 Louisiana (10-3) 38
Game played at Appalachian State
Sportsbook odds: Appalachian State (-6)
Computer: Appalachian State (-5.86)
Appalachian State doesn't lose many Sun Belt games (42-7 since entering the conference) and it never loses to Louisiana (7-0). The Mountaineers led this one by as much as 42-17 before the Ragin' Cajuns mounted a failed comeback that only got them to with 7 with 1:19 left to make the final score more respectable at 45-38.
This was the 3rd meeting in the last 15 games between these teams, and the 4th in the last 21.
Appalachian State's loss at home to Georgia Southern on October 31 ultimately prevented them from getting the Cotton Bowl bid.
No. 19 Boise State (12-1) 31, No. 44 Hawaii (9-5) 10
Game played at Boise State
Sportsbooks odds: Boise State (-15)
Computer: Boise State (-11.07)
Picking Hawaii to win its division was one of the best preseason predictions by the computer. This was Hawaii's first MWC Championship appearance in its 7-year history and Boise State's 4th.
The Rainbows were never really in this game. Boise State was led 31-3before the Warriors finally scored a touchdown 47 minutes into the contest.
Boise State had won each of the last 8 meetings by at least 20 points.
No. 33 FAU (10-3) 49, No. 46 UAB (9-4) 6
Game played at FAU
Sportsbooks odds: FAU (-7.50)
Computer: FAU (-12.12)
This hotly-contested conference wound up with a championship game walkover by FAU in what quickly became Lane Kiffin's last game as the Owls' head coach. Shortly after its conclusion, Mississippi announced Kiffin as the next head coach of the Rebels. The 49-6 win over UAB gave the Boca Raton school its second CUSA title in three seasons under Kiffin.
No. 69 Miami, O. (8-5) 26, No. 57 Central Michigan (8-5) 21
Game played at Detroit
Sportsbooks odds: Central Michigan (-6.50)
Computer: Central Michigan (-0.55)
Most preseason magazines and rankings had the Chippewas finishing last in their division, but they won 6 of their last 7 to claim the division title.
Miami won this game, 26-21, for its first MAC Championship since 2010. The RedHawks trailed 14-10 at the half, but went ahead to stay just 2:55 into the 3rd quarter..
114 games this year pit FBS teams against FCS schools. That's two more than a season ago when FBS teams won 105 of 112 games.
FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) for the season. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS schools are 1,435-127 (.919).
FCS victories over FBS teams in 2019:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)
FCS victories over FBS teams in 2018
August 29: UC Davis 44, San Jose State 31
September 1: Villanova 19, Temple 17
September 1: Northern Arizona 30, UTEP 10
September 1: Nicholls State 26, Kansas 23 (OT)
September 2: North Carolina A&T 28, East Carolina 23
September 8: Maine 31, Western Kentucky 28
September 22: Illinois State 35, Colorado State 19
CLEMSON - Won 28 straight over-all (FBS longest). Won 29 straight regular season games (FBS longest) games. Won 21 straight conference games (FBS longest). Won 22 straight home games (FBS longest). Won 12 straight true road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 62-17 over Virginia in ACC Championship game on December 7
Next: College Football Final 4 Playoff
RUTGERS - Lost 21 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 27-6 at Penn State on November 30.
Next: Season complete.
AKRON - Lost 17 straight overall (FBS longest). Lost 8 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 52-3 at home to Ohio on November 26.
Next: Season complete.
SOUTH ALABAMA - Lost 15 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 34-30 at home over Arkansas State on November 30.
Next: Season over