Familiar foes meet for titles
Playoff picture should clear up after championship games
Some familiar matchups in conference championship games today should help sort out the playoff picture.
In the Southeastern Conference championship game, No. 6 Georgia (No. 6 College Football Playoff ) seeks revenge against No. 4 Auburn (No. 2 CFP) with a playoff berth on the line. No. 2 Oklahoma (No. 3 CFP) figures to earn a playoff spot as well if it beats No. 10 TCU (No. 11 CFP) for a second time this season in the Big 12 championship game.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten have championship games aren’t rematches, but both contests have playoff implications.
No. 1 Clemson (No. 1 CFP) meets No. 7 Miami (No. 7 CFP) for the ACC title. No. 3 Wisconsin (No. 4 CFP) faces No. 8 Ohio State (No. 8 CFP) for the Big Ten championship.
Best game
GEORGIA vs. AUBURN in
Atlanta: This year’s Southeastern Conference championship game is a rematch of a mismatch. Auburn is on a five-game winning streak that includes a 40-17 home blowout of Georgia on Nov. 11.
The big question heading into their second meeting involves the health of Auburn’s Kerryon Johnson, who rushed for 167 yards against Georgia in the regular season. Johnson injured his right shoulder last week in a 26-14 victory over Alabama, whose three-year reign as league champ ends. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn calls Johnson’s status “a dayto-day deal.”
Heisman watch
BAKER MAYFIELD, QB,
Oklahoma: The Heisman Trophy has pretty much been Mayfield’s to lose ever since he threw for a school-record 598 yards in a 62-52 victory over Oklahoma State on Nov. 4. A big performance against TCU would make Mayfield even more of a front-runner. Mayfield threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-20 victory over TCU on Nov. 11.
Mayfield leads the nation in completion percentage (.714), pass efficiency (203.3), yards passing per attempt (11.8) and yards per completion (16.6). The guy who finished fourth in the Heisman balloting in 2015 and third last year likely will take home the trophy this time.
Numbers to know
23: Clemson has won the last 55 games in which it has held an opponent under 23 points.
26: Florida Atlantic’s Devin Singletary has run for 26 touchdowns — three shy of the Conference USA record held by Florida Atlantic running backs coach Kevin Smith, who ran for 29 touchdowns in 2007 with Central Florida.
35: That’s how many consecutive seasons Florida State has reached a bowl game, which represents the nation’s longest active streak. The Seminoles must beat Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday to become eligible for a 36th straight bowl appearance.
95.3: The combined scoring averages for No. 12 UCF (CFP No. 14) and No. 16 Memphis (CFP No. 20), who will meet in the American Athletic Conference championship game. UCF scores 48.3 points per game to lead all Football Bowl Subdivision teams . Memphis averages 47 points to rank second.
120: The number of yards Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor needs to break the FBS freshman record held by former Oklahoma star Adrian Peterson. Taylor has rushed for 1,806 yards. Peterson ran for 1,925 yards in 2004.
7-1: Oklahoma’s record in Big 12 championship games.
2004: The last time Toledo played in the Mid-American Conference championship game before this week. Toledo is facing Akron, which is making its first MAC championship game appearance since 2005.
Under the radar
FRESNO STATE (CFP No. 25)
at BOISE STATE: These two teams just met last week, with Fresno State winning 28-17 at home. Now they meet again in Boise with the Mountain West Conference championship at stake. This is the first time two teams have faced each other in a regular-season finale and a conference championship game since Stanford and UCLA did it in 2012. Former California coach Jeff Tedford has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround in his first season at Fresno State. After going 1-11 last season, the Bulldogs are 9-3.