Championship Weekend Previews
It’s Championship Weekend in college football with six conference championship games scheduled over Friday night and Saturday, and the Big 12 having a de facto title game in their regular season finale. Here’s the Notebook outlook on each game…
FRIDAY
MAC: Ohio-Northern Illinois (7 PM ET, ESPN2, Ford Field in Detroit)
Tonight offers a chance to watch NIU’s all-everything quarterback Chandler Harnish. Skilled both running and throwing the ball, Harnish was the MAC’s Offensive Player of the Year and no one else was even close. Ohio has a good quarterback of their own in Tyler Tettleton. While he’s not as versatile with his feet, the Bobcats do have a better conventional running game with Donte Harden in the backfield. The coaching matchup is intriguing. Ohio’s Frank Solich has rebuilt this program since being dismissed by Nebraska, but he’s yet to win the conference championship. NIU’s Dave Doeren is on the other side of the spectrum, and up-and-coming former Wisconsin assistant looking to make a quick splash. Northern Illinois did not play in two home games to close the season, though they escaped both times, but I look for Harnish to put on a show in Ford Field tonight and give the Huskies the championship.
Pac-12: UCLA-Oregon (8 PM ET, Fox)
The Pac-12 awards homefield advantage for its championship game, so even the remotest chance UCLA might have had of upsetting the Ducks is out the window. The pointspread on this game is up at 32 and I can see Darron Thomas, LaMichael James and that fast-paced Chip Kelly offense to cover it by halftime. The Bruins are only in this game at 6-6, because USC (10-2) is on probation and no one else was left in the South Division. For UCLA, it’s Rose Bowl or no bowl as far as their postseason hopes, but with coach Rick Neuheisel out the door, I look for the Bruins to have a hard time keeping their focus when things go against them, which they will, early and often.
SATURDAY
Conference USA: Southern Miss-Houston (Noon ET, ABC)
Another homefield advantage championship game, this one will be in Houston and is a good example of why more conferences should look at moving their games off of neutral sites. You give a reward for the best league record and you protect your top teams as they play for BCS position. Principle and pragmatism work as one. Houston is looking to lock up a major bowl bid with a win here and on a neutral field it would be tough. Southern Miss hasn’t played well down the stretch, losing to UAB, but quarterback Austin Dantin is underrated and this is a program with steady track record of success. But I doubted Case Keenum, Patrick Edwards and Houston a week ago against Tulsa and after a 48-16 win I won’t make the same mistake here. The Cougar defense showed their stuff last Friday and they’ll play well again here, securing a title.
SEC: LSU-Georgia (4 PM ET, CBS, Georgia Dome in Atlanta)
We’re being assured that even though LSU has all but clinched its berth in the BCS National Championship Game, they’ll still be going all-out. We’re being assured that even if Georgia wins it makes perfect sense to have two teams that couldn’t win the SEC play for the national title over the Bulldogs. If the assurances on the former are right, we won’t need to worry about the latter. The Bulldogs can keep this game close with Aaron Murray at quarterback and if Isaiah Crowell’s persistent ankle problems are okay. But LSU is too good defensively and their ability to create points on D and special teams will give this game a “closer than the score made it sound” kind of feel. Let’s call it 27-10 for the Tigers.
Big 12: Oklahoma-Oklahoma State (8 PM ET, ABC)
If Oklahoma State can’t get a big win over the Sooners this year, they need to give up the fight. They’ve got homefield advantage and injuries over the course of the season have limited Oklahoma’s explosive capacities offensively, namely the loss of running back Dominique Whaley and receiver Ryan Broyles. If the Cowboys tandem of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon gets rolling, OU can’t keep up. And I expect Weeden to answer the bell, make his Heisman case and make a strong appeal for voters to spare us an SEC rematch and give Okie State a shot at the national title.
ACC: Virginia Tech-Clemson (8 PM ET, ESPN, BankofAmerica Stadium in Charlotte)
Virginia Tech lost this matchup at home in a decisive 23-3 fashion back in October. But the Hokies are coming on strong, with sophomore quarterback Logan Thomas clicking. Thomas has thrown 23 TD passes against only two interceptions down the stretch and running back David Wilson is one of the best in the country. Clemson has all the weapons to move the ball against that stout Tech defense, but the Tigers have looked dysfunctional of late. Tajh Boyd played himself out of both Heisman and ACC Player of the Year discussion and Andre Ellington hasn’t been a factor running the ball. I think this game will be good, because I can’t look past that October result too much, but there are also seems little doubt that the Hokies aren’t just the hotter team right now, they have really come together and are capable of playing like this on a sustained basis. Frank Beamer wins his third straight ACC title.
Wisconsin-Michigan State (8 PM ET, Fox, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)
The rematch of an extraordinary October game in East Lansing where Michigan State won on a last-play Hail Mary pass. Both offenses can move the ball. Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins will throw the ball well in the climate-controlled environment. Wisconsin’s running game is better, with hard-charging Heisman hopeful Montee Ball, but the Spartans are much better on special teams. They blocked a punt for a touchdown in the October win and Wisconsin has had coverage issues all year long. I won’t make a pick in this game because I’m a Wisconsin fan, but I’ll offer this sobering thought—the Badgers haven’t won a close game all year. Now if you can win ten blowouts that says something good about your team, but with the issues they have on special teams I’m hard-pressed to say that 0-2 in close ones is bad luck.
The final BCS Standings and the bowl matchups will then be announced on Sunday.

SportsNotebook Featured Products
TheSportsNotebook.com is home to an extensive archive of sports history articles along with blog posts on contemporary sports.
SportsNoteBook Articles
- Blog
- College Basketball History Articles
- College Football History Articles
- MLB History
- NBA History Articles
- NFL History Articles
- Sports History Articles
- Stanley Cup History
- Uncategorized
The Derailed 3-Peat Bid Of The 1974 Miami Dolphins
Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins were riding high, having won three consecutive AFC championships and two straight Super Bowl titles. But there was a lot of rockiness in the waters of South Beach, from player dissatisfaction off the field and some injuries in it. The 1974 Miami Dolphins were still very good, and it took one […]
The Repeat Super Bowl Run Of The 1973 Miami Dolphins
1972 had been a historic year, for both football in Miami, and in the NFL. The Dolphins not only won the Super Bowl in their seventh year of existence, they did with an undefeated season. The 1973 Miami Dolphins didn’t run the table, but they did win a repeat championship. And given the fact they […]
The Undefeated Season Of The 1972 Miami Dolphins
In 1970, Don Shula took over Miami’s four-year old expansion franchise and immediately put them in the playoffs. One year later, they went to a Super Bowl. The 1972 Miami Dolphins not only took the final step, they did it in historic fashion—the only undefeated season in league history that was capped off with a […]
1971 Miami Dolphins: A Breakthrough Super Bowl Trip
In their sixth year of existence, and in the second season under head coach Don Shula, the 1971 Miami Dolphins were seen as a team on the rise. Shula had put the Fish in the playoffs in his first year of 1970. Now, Miami was looking to take the next step. They did just that, […]
1970 Miami Dolphins: The Shula Era Begins
Pro football came to Miami in 1966 with the creation of the Dolphin franchise. After four losing seasons that were basically predictable, the organization hired Don Shula. Already a successful coach in Baltimore, Shula would make his legend in Miami. And he immediately turned the 1970 Miami Dolphins edition into a playoff team. The success […]
The Road To The 2011 Final Four
Even by the often-chaotic standards of college basketball in March, 2011 had some unique storylines. It isn’t often you use the seemingly contradictory phrase “repeat Cinderella”. But that’s what Butler was. It isn’t often a proud blueblood like Kentucky has to pull consecutive upsets to make the Final Four. But they did. It was—and remains—unprecedented […]
The Road To The 2010 Final Four
The national championship in 2010 came down to a battle between a Blueblood and a Cinderella. It came down to a single shot from halfcourt. In the end, there was no Cinderella ending and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski won his fourth NCAA title. Here’s a look back on the paths that Duke, along with Butler, West […]
The Road To The 2009 Final Four
The 2009 Final Four brought together three teams who had won relatively recent national championships—North Carolina in 2005, Michigan State in 2000, and UConn in 2004. They were joined by Villanova, no stranger to the winner’s circle themselves, with a historic 1985 title run. Here’s a look back at the road these teams took to […]